H4LIGHTS

Dan Muramoto from Nissan North America is scheduled to come out and show the latest ads for the new 350Z,(some not seen yet). More 350Z's to view and maybe some other surprises? We meet at Fuddruckers; 91 freeway at the Beach Blvd. off, go north one block, (cross street is Orangethorpe) at 7:30 PM. Come early for best parking. There will be a raffle.

How to prepare your car for the "Dark Season" According to regular servicing data for 2001, around 36 percent of the vehicles inspected had defective lamps. In the dark months of fall and winter in particular, fully functioning lights are the most important guarantee of road safety. Defects such as faulty brake lights or indicators usually go unnoticed by the driver inside the car. Moreover, faulty headlamp settings cannot be detected with the naked eye. So please - check your vehicle’s entire lighting system, from the headlamps to the reversing lights - make sure you can see and be seen better in the fall and winter months and reach your destination safely. H4Lights.com

GroupZ Meeting! Date: Thursday October 10th. 2002 Time: 7:30 PM to ??? Location: Fuddruckers Restaurant; 91 Fwy. and Beach Blvd. in Buena Park CA, (cross street is Orangethorpe Ave.) Speaker: Steve Millen from Stillen. Come early for best parking. Always a raffle.

GroupZ monthly meeting will be held on Thursday Sept. 12, 2002 at Fuddruckers Restaurant; 91 Freeway and Beach Blvd. in Buena Park at 7:30 PM. Guest Speakers: Jack from Aerotech (body kits) Terry from JIC (exhaust upgrade featured in this months Sport Compact Car) And...we will have club members 350Z's at this months event! All are welcome to attend. Come early for best parking.

This is the problem with the majority of retrofit HID kits out there. Not to mention the stray light because the lens/reflector are not designed for HID. It's better to upgrade wiring and relays for now and wait for a true high/low HID assembly in 7 inch.

Globes do vary in quality, ie. filament alignment, base alignment, etc. For examples of tests go to; http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/front_index.php?cp=1 and click on Product Test and next click on either H1 or H7 bulb. Amazing differences from what are considered equally good manufacturers. Most all the german manufactured bulbs are of excellent quality. I am not familiar with the beam pattern from the Narva's. If you can see them both lit up you will get the best idea of their performance.

The only severe service globes they show are the #48888 "heavy duty" ones in 60/55. If you are happy with the current Narvas I would say don't fix what ain't broke.

http://www.mccullochmotors.com/x2R6024.htm

Your Narva supplier should be able to help. They are usually listed as "severe duty".

Narva makes bulbs in may applications/configurations. They are German and good. At some point if your wallet can afford it you might think about the HID auxillary driving lights. They are used here in the states in off road racing applications and the light output is nothing short of amazing. Nice thing is that the tubes are only 35-55 watts and the stepping transformers draw a lot less power than conventional lighting technology. Durability is supposed to exceed anything else. Hella seems to be the leader right now in this application, I'm sure others will follow. Nice comparison of differing Hella HID models: http://www.hella.com/produktion/HellaPortal/WebSite/Internet_de/ProdukteServices/Fuer_Den_Autofahrer/Lichtkanal/XenonFern/XenonFern.jsp

The problem is that there is no really good way of getting high and low beams from a single tube, plus a halogen housing (ie.H4) is not configured for an HID tube and thus does not 'focus the beam correctly. You get a lot of light with the HID "retrofit" kits but it's not properly focused light...guaranteed to wizz off oncoming drivers. There are HID housings made for replacing 7inch sealed beams, but the price is between $800 and $1000 usd. Most Z owners do not spend money in this arena for improved lighting. My concern with what you bought is there are too many "claims" that seem a too good to be true. Let me know how they work out.

I saw those on E bay as well. Interesting claim of DOT...how do you adjust them? (no alignment tips on lens per DOT requirements). I did not know that DOT had approved sidelights in upgrade housings especially in colors not approved for street use. What SAE standard does the housing meet? (is it for size, materials, transmission, focus). Claims of high wattage out of lower wattage bulbs are very inaccurate. Most of the coated bulbs have such a dark colored coating as to decrease candella (light output) but do change the color of the light emitted. Use of xenon gas and differing filament materials and configurations do allow for more efficient operation and output, but most of the bulbs use low amounts of xenon gas or just include the word xenon in the name as a selling tool. I carry and sell an Ultra Blue bulb that gives the color, but if you want light output I do not recommend them...strictly for the "look". There all all kinds of lights out there, some good, many bad. For your 'accessories', any good auto electric business should be able to help you.

How are you using the 130/100? With relays, with both filaments lit? What brand of bulbs? The major advantage of the xenon gassed dichroic coated bulbs is colour of the light. The only thing that beats wattage is the new HID technology; Bright from relative low wattage due to colour temperature. No filament! But the down side is cost. Hella and others have great HID auxillary lighting that put out amazing light with low current draw due to the power of the transformers used to run the HID tubes. The Narvas are an improvement for most street driving applications and are better than standard H4's. BTW: There are high wattage bulbs designed for severe duty applications, ie. rallye, but usually only go up to 100/80 in H4.

An example of the potential difference with the proper upgrade:

Of the many different brands I sell I've found the Hella E code H4 headlights to give an excellent beam pattern. With the early Z's my recommendation and favorite combination is to use the H4's and the Narva XB3 bulb. The E codes give the best beam pattern and the XB3's put out a brilliant white light but use only the current necessary for a standard 60/55 bulb. If you are going the high wattage route, use relays and understand that bulb life is much shorter with wattage increases. Remember that you really do get what you pay for in lighting in most cases.