Headlight Upgrade

[dznucks]

I am trying to decide on the type of headlights to upgrade too. I have read that the HID are way too expensive but they are the brightest. I have also read alot about the H4's and i am thinking i want to upgrade to these. does anyone know who makes the best H4's and what bulbs and etc. i need to get the best performance out of them.
I have jsut upgraded the wiring harness this past weekend.

thanks

[VetteVet]

I don't know what setup you have in your truck or even what year it is but if you have a pre 74 and it's stock then your alternator will not have enough power for the lights you want . The current running through them will more than likely burn out the headlight switch. I recommend updating to an internal regulated alternator and installing the headlight relay wiring circuit in the FAQS and you may notice that your lights will be bright enough that you won't have to spend your money on the expensive lights.

[dznucks]

Its a '69, with the stock lights in it. i just added the relay and wiring so they are running off direct battery power instead of through the switch. I am trying to find out who makes the best H4's and what bulbs i should use.

[Brad]

Any H4 bulbs will be just as good as any other H4's. Up until just recently I was running them for years and had no problems with them burning out. I was even running 80/100 H4's and had no problems.

[neonlarry]

I would recommend Hella's for the housing and PIAA for the bulbs.

[dznucks]

Where is a good place to get the Hella housings and the PIAA bulbs?
I updated my wiring and the current is running through a relay instead of the switch. will i stll need to upgrade to an internally regulated alt?

[neonlarry]

I just did a search on the internet and came up with a lot of places that carry one or the other or both. Search for:
Hella 7" H4 Replacement Headlamp and or
PIAA H4 bulb
With this setup you can probably get by with what you have but why ? an internally regulated alt is so much easier and so much more readly available if you breakdown on the road. And you can get higher amp ratings for when you add additional accessaries.

[Longhorn Man]

The old alt verses the internally regulated one is like comparing points to HEI... or old headlamps to new ones.

[dznucks]

I am going to upgrade the alternator and the remaining headlight wiring and plugs before i swap out the headlights.
I found part numbers for the alt, headlight plugs with bigger gage wire, and the wiring diagram for the new alt so i think i got theinfo i need to finish the upgrade.

thanks

[danman987123]

hid's are not that expensive anymore....i purchased brothers h4 conversion kit...then put the hid kits i sell inside and it worked great.....nice fit, nice light, everything...you can get hid's almost anywhere now...2-3 years ago they were over 300 a set

[ERASER5]

Does any one know if there is a housing that would fit the GMC size head light buckets? I looked and I just can't seem to find the sizes.

[BLE 'BURBAN]

HELLA makes some real nice lenses that accept the H4 bulbs.

[ERASER5]

If/when I get H4 housings, do I have to cut out the back of the light bucket to fit them?

Is H4 different than HID? I seem to get both on my google searches.

[neonlarry]

H4's fit fine no cutting needed. HID's are different they also require a ballast.

[ERASER5]

Good to know. I just hate cutting on the truck.

[71 skittle]

New to this forum game. I have a 71 gmc with 4 headlights in front. looking to upgrade all 4 have already done the painless wiring kit as well as relay for headlights. Just looking for a little brighter bulbs. Who sells the best kit for this truck?