Improving Headlamps?

Getting the headlamps re-mirrored would probably cost more than new ones! One is only a few years old anyway, and was no better then.

I am partially tempted to stick a pair of Ph2 units in, although they don't fit well against a Ph1 grill.

The HID kit I went for was about £15, still Chinese but they claimed the ballasts were waterproof, considering what I use the car for that is a great benefit.

Another vote for Nightbreakers here, have them fitted to the Disco and Alfa, bought on eBay (power bulbs) so may be fakes but perform well (did have 1 failure). The other thing if the lights are glass is to give them a good clean/polish.

What is the glare like on LEDs? I've been tempted ; I know as foglight they are massively bright!

If I make my own headlamp wiring kit, what gauge wire would I be best using?

another osram nightbreaker licker here as well, those mixed with the n.o.s headlamps i fitted to my saph, are like daylight

Hi all,

I'm kinda new to this forum (like it says to the left of the screen!) but I've been building and running road rally cars for most of the last 30 years - and of course road rallying takes place in the dark, and some areas of the country don't allow you to fit auxiliary lights either, so...

Firstly I'd endorse the suggestion of checking the voltage drop in the power feed to the lights, and from memory Vauxhalls can use pretty thin wire (i.e. big voltage drop). A home-made relay kit using the original power feed to trigger the relays is a good and cheap solution and I would use something around 1.5mm2 wire (which will be rated at more than 20A, a single headlamp will draw about 4A) to provide the power, you could go direct from the battery via a new dedicated fuse. Using over-rated cable will mean that the voltage drop will be minimal.

Checking/cleaning/polishing the lenses is worth a go, too. When I replaced the headlights on my road car (Skoda Fabia) for the MoT 3 years ago, I was amazed at the instant improvement and comparing the misty old ones with the new was - erm - illuminating (sorry).

Others have posted great reasons not to use an aftermarket HID kit so I'll leave that one hanging.

Next after that, I'd probably try making a four-headlight conversion (mainly because I think they look pretty cool). In the good old days loads of cars used the old 5 3/4 diameter sealed beam units (e.g. Capris, Dolomites etc) and Cibie made great halogen conversion units. You can still find individual light units and the mounting bowls/rings online via generic wholesalers or from motorsport suppliers like Demon Tweeks (though I wouldn't pay their prices).

Looking at the front of the car in your profile photo, there is indeed not a lot of room for a bespoke 4-round-headlight conversion

So if you check over the existing OEM light units and make sure the lens is clear and not gone foggy (any plastic lenses will degrade with exposure to UV, but even a dirty glass will mess up the light pattern) and make up the relay harnesses, that will get you the best lighting within a standard-looking set-up.

I don't think you will find any lighting solution that gives you more than one pair of dipped beams, I'm afraid. I'm not intimately familiar with the construction and use regulations (I do get to sleep without the need for such artificial aids) but I wouldn't be surprised if they restrict you to a single pair.

You mentioned the Phase 2 lights are noticeably better than your OEM Ph1. How difficult would it be to fit them, what other mods would you have to carry out, and how would you feel about creating a chimaera?

How about these? They are rusted, but replacement lamps are quite cheap.



www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vauxhall-Astra-MK2-Morette-Front-Headlights-Race-Rally-Track-/142182380834?hash=item211abaf522:g:Y6gAAOSw44BYLhHg