best new headlights for a stock 240Z

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Well I am about tired of the crappy lights on my Z, and I am desperately wanting to update them. My cars alternator is completely stock as is all my wiring. I would like to upgrade, but was wondering what is the best choice, for a stock wired 240Z I know Zsonthebrain sells that fabulous wiring harness, and thats a good option. But is there an improvement possible without it?

[Zs-ondabrain]

Not really. A new set of Halogens or H4's are still going to be dull without improving the power situation. The HLH will introduce relays into the system and the headlight will get their power directly from the battery, turning your combo switch into a switch that only sends a signal to the relays, rather than powering the whole circuit.

Being a plug and play harness, you won't have to cut, drill or alter anything to instal and use the HLH. Just unplug your headlight plugs in front of the radiator, mount the relay pack using one of the Voltage regulator screws, connect the harness to your headlight plugs, connect the power wire to the battery, bolt down the ground wires using your lower vallance bolts that are located on the inner frame of the front end and you're done.

With the harness in place, you can use any new set of lights that fit, including H4 conversion lights up to 100 watts without ANY issues to the system.

Email me if you're interested.

Dave

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Very Much interested!!! I will be contacting you, as it seems this is the proper way to solve the problem. If there was a nice OEM replacement that would have worked I would have gone that direction, but using your harness was always the preferred solution.

[beandip]

Well I am about tired of the crappy lights on my Z, and I am desperately wanting to update them. My cars alternator is completely stock as is all my wiring. I would like to upgrade, but was wondering what is the best choice, for a stock wired 240Z I know Zsonthebrain sells that fabulous wiring harness, and thats a good option. But is there an improvement possible without it?

Zed, I don't know of one. I like you dealt with the inadequate headlights for a long time. When I redid the entire Z and bit the bullet and installed the H-4 . this was about the same time Dave started building the wiring harness, and I installed one as well. If you add any higher wattage draw to the stock system , you well shorten the life of the Combo switch, spendy to replace, and melt the fuse box. My H-4s are 90/100 watt and the fuses don't even get warm. I tried the new headlights before installing the new harness and within 30 seconds the fuses were so hot I burned my fingers touching them. I have been running this system going on about 7 years now with zero problems. I did need to up grade the Alternator to handle the extra load I used a '83 Maxima Alt.

Gary:classic:

Edited June 29, 2009 by beandip

[Arne]

I also have Dave's harness installed, with a pair of vintage Cibié H4s, stock 55/60 watt bulbs. Works great.

Once past upgrading the wiring, the particular H4 light assemblies that you pick will have more impact on the output than how hot the bulbs are. From years of personal experience with lighting upgrades, a pair of premium, name-brand E-code lights will give about as much benefit with 55/60 watt bulbs as a less expensive headlight with higher-power bulbs. It doesn't matter how much light the bulbs put out if that light is not directed, controlled and aimed properly. I've personally owned many different brands over the years, and can easily say that Hella, Cibié and Bosch are my favorites. Just make sure that you get the real E-code (Euro-approved) versions, not the cheaper semi-sealed or DOT approved versions. (Assuming, of course, that you can get non-DOT lights past state inspections, if any.) Last, they will need to be well aimed to deliver the desired results. Badly aimed H4 lights can be blinding to on-coming traffic, and at the same time do very little good for you to see. And note that E-code lights can not be aimed using the little gadgets that clamp onto the face of lens. They need either a photometric aimer, or human intervention.

[doradox]

Here's a source of good info on lighting that may be of help.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

Steve

[Inf]

I'll chime in again as I have before on this topic:

I had a LOT of problems with my combo switch, almost from the time I got my car 7 years ago. I would pull up someplace, flip the switch off, and the lights would stay on! I would have to fidget with the damn thing for a few minutes to get it to flip off. Sometimes I would be cruising down the road, hit a small bump, and all the lights would go out, or at least flicker. All the parts in my switch had been destroyed by the heat of all the current flowing through the switch. Particularly scary was the time smoke started rising out of my steering column while I was driving down the road.

I pretty much went the whole nine yards and got the headlight harness, the parking light harness, as well as had Dave refurbish my combo switch all at once. I have not had any problems since. I think it's been about two years now.

I still need to upgrade my headlights. What I have now, I'm accustomed to, but it's nice to know that I can upgrade without problems.

[moritz55]

Similar to Dave , Arne , Gary and Andrew - do the Harness upgrades and convert to the 60amp 280zx Alternator with Built-in Regulator. You'll need Dave's Regulator Adapter along with the Headlight & Parking Light harneses. I have H4 conversions to 100watts and they are outstanding with the harness. Last weekend I was caught in a terrible storm driving back from Saratoga Sprins on RT 87 - Thruway. They were oustanding.

I also went so far as to install the MSA - MAXI fuse box, just to assure my overall electical system was in good shape. This cost roughly $75.00 last year. It was a plug in and I saved the old fuse box - not hard at all to do (10-15mins.)

Lastly - I just installed this 240z Relay Starter Kit from eBay. It made a huge difference in starting when the car is Hot. My car now starts instantly and reliably in 90F heat.

Link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220393746648&viewitem=

I feel much better about the electrical system and reliability after all these upgrades. If I had to do it over with limited funds - I'd do the following sequence for providing me the best improvement on my overall electrical system:

1) 60amp Alternator (w/builtin regulator) use Dave's Plug-In Adapter into regulator socket

2) Headlight Harness (Dave's)

3) Parking Light Harness (Dave's)

4) H4 headlight upgrade (MSA)

5) Starter Relay Kit upgrade (eBay - $15 plus shipping)

6) MSA MAXI Fuse box upgrade...(items 2 thru 5 will put less load on your fuse box).

Good luck ....

Edited July 4, 2009 by moritz55

[srbigbutt]

I recently upgraded to AutoPal H4 Ecode headlights with Narva XB3 bulbs. Definately an improvemnt over stock for my 280z. The Narva XB3 bulbs are stock wattage and did not require any harness upgrade. Although i'm pretty sure it wouldn't hurt and would probably help more.

I would recommend you invest in Dave's harness, upgrade the alternator and then contact John@h4lights.com about headlight and bulb options.

[doradox]

Light output is proportional to V^3.4. A small increase in voltage to the lights can make a huge difference in output. Just a 1 volt increase from 13V to 14V will increase light output by almost 30%. An upgraded harness will ensure your lighting dollars give you the greatest value.

Steve

[Hardwyre]

Sent you a PM Zs. I'm curious what everyone thinks of the Ebay H4's like these: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/75-82-DATSUN-280Z-260Z-EURO-XENON-HEADLIGHT-CONVERSION_W0QQitemZ110420837947QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item19b598463b&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245

I also saw ones with halos around them; but I'm not sure if they're look dumb or not.

[Arne]

Sent you a PM Zs. I'm curious what everyone thinks of the Ebay H4's like these: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/75-82-DATSUN-280Z-260Z-EURO-XENON-HEADLIGHT-CONVERSION_W0QQitemZ110420837947QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item19b598463b&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245

I also saw ones with halos around them; but I'm not sure if they're look dumb or not.

1.) Blue tinted bulbs are a sales gimmick. The blue tint does not help, and can only hinder light output.

2.) Those are clear lens "Multi-Surface Reflector" lights (MSRs). If they are properly and precisely designed, and built with exacting precision, MSRs can aim and control the light output as well as or even better than a normal refractive (fluted lens) headlight. Problem is that all these cheap MSRs from China and Taiwan are neither designed nor built with the necessary precision. No way these lights will be the equal of a true high quality E-code light such as Hella, Cibié or Bosch to name a few of the good ones. Over the past 30+ years that I've been using E-code H4 lights in my vehicles, I've personally used at least 10 different brands in the 7" round size, and I always end up coming back to those three.

That said, ANY halfway decently assembled H4 light will be better than sealed beams.

3.) Halos are a personal preference, have no bearing on light output. I personally think they are tacky looking gimmicks, even on the BMWs that come with them from the factory. (And I even own a BMW.) But if you like them, it's your car.