Hello there! I recently installed a pair of Hella 700 FFs on my Wrangler for night rural driving as the stock headlights are horrible. While i'm quite pleased with the light output/beam for the price, I wish they would be a bit brighter. Would the stock wiring harness be able to handle the added wattage? Apart from being connected to the battery, I wired the lights to be completely independent of any electronics on the car (not spliced into high beams). Any advice is much appreciated.
100w Bulbs in Hella 700s?
- Thread starter 4thstpositively
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Not a good idea, if you want a real product look at jw speaker, pricey but worth it
http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/categories/headlights/
http://www.amazon.com/Jeep-Wrangler-Evolution-Headlight-Conversion/dp/B00GMRM54E
http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/categories/headlights/
http://www.amazon.com/Jeep-Wrangler-Evolution-Headlight-Conversion/dp/B00GMRM54E
Just to clarify the housings should be able to handle the bulb but all the wiring would need beefed up to handle the double load
Those require H3 bulbs, correct?
100W replacement halogen bulbs are quite common with those and give a nice bump in output. It's typical for off road types to do this.
The 100W bulbs will draw about 7-8A each. As long as the harness is capable of 16+ amps, it will be fine. The fuse holder is probably not up to the task and many people simply remove it. Not saying this is ideal or smart, only that many people do it.
There are also LED and HID options. The LED thing is really a guess at this point. Some work incredibly well, some are junk.
35W HID's will produce about 3000 lumens, however they take time to "warm up" and can be annoying to drive behind when shutting them off/on as cars pass. Otherwise, quality HID's provide the most light.
Another possible option is the HIR (halogen infrared reflecting) bulb in H3 size. These bulbs, (if you can find them) are awesome. Wonderful color temperature and very, very bright, without excess current requirements.
100W replacement halogen bulbs are quite common with those and give a nice bump in output. It's typical for off road types to do this.
The 100W bulbs will draw about 7-8A each. As long as the harness is capable of 16+ amps, it will be fine. The fuse holder is probably not up to the task and many people simply remove it. Not saying this is ideal or smart, only that many people do it.
There are also LED and HID options. The LED thing is really a guess at this point. Some work incredibly well, some are junk.
35W HID's will produce about 3000 lumens, however they take time to "warm up" and can be annoying to drive behind when shutting them off/on as cars pass. Otherwise, quality HID's provide the most light.
Another possible option is the HIR (halogen infrared reflecting) bulb in H3 size. These bulbs, (if you can find them) are awesome. Wonderful color temperature and very, very bright, without excess current requirements.
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Thanks for your suggestions, I guess i'll just keep the Hellas with 55w bulbs until they burn out and upgrade to proper LED driving lights, upgrading the entire wiring harness seems like a bit of a hassle for a pair of lights that cost ~$100
The cool thing about the 100W halogens is that they can be found for $6 each. Cheap and a nice bump in brightness.
The HIR bulbs you've mentioned have caught my attention!
Originally Posted By: 4thstpositively
The HIR bulbs you've mentioned have caught my attention!
HIR and HIR2 bulbs are truly fantastic. However, with the advent of LED's, HIR bulbs have fallen by the wayside. Finding an H3 HIR probably won't be easy, although it seems there were some produced. Adapting an existing HIR may be possible.
The current HIR2 65W bulbs produce 2800 lumens (on par with HID) and have, in my opinion, a perfect color temperature and spectrum. So, used correctly, they are really, really good.
NOTE: Tinted bulbs are awful. (the exception being the slight tint of HIR1 bulbs)
HIR(1) bulb:
HIR2 bulb:
The stock 55W bulbs you use are probably about 700-1100 lumens. The 65W HIR2 is 2800.
The HIR bulbs you've mentioned have caught my attention!
HIR and HIR2 bulbs are truly fantastic. However, with the advent of LED's, HIR bulbs have fallen by the wayside. Finding an H3 HIR probably won't be easy, although it seems there were some produced. Adapting an existing HIR may be possible.
The current HIR2 65W bulbs produce 2800 lumens (on par with HID) and have, in my opinion, a perfect color temperature and spectrum. So, used correctly, they are really, really good.
NOTE: Tinted bulbs are awful. (the exception being the slight tint of HIR1 bulbs)
HIR(1) bulb:
HIR2 bulb:
The stock 55W bulbs you use are probably about 700-1100 lumens. The 65W HIR2 is 2800.
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