Is it my sho, or do our lights suck?

[yozsi]

I was just wondering if it was just my sho, or all of ours? My headlights absolutely suck, i thought they were crappy bulbs and i pulled em out to find that they are already silverstars. i also checked the aim and its spot on, it just seems like they dont put out enough light.....

 

[Russsho]

Yes, compared to newer cars they really suck.

 

[SHO Continental]

my '93 has silverstars with new housings.. they work as well as my friends '05 RX-8 with HIDs

 

[T.O_SHO]

I think my headlights and foglights work great...Are you sure your headlights arent faded/yellowed? I think that can effect the light output...

 

[yozsi]

Do they look faded?

 

[SASHO91]

they are more glazed then fadded....

there is a thread abotu how to "refinish" your head lights....

i on the other hand went to Auto Zone, and bought one of their headlight polishing kits... has like 5 pads with pre applied "stuff" to them... hook them to a drill, and have at it.. well with alittle water too...
they come out alot better...
then after that i give them a bath with an Sea Foam's engine degreaser IIRC its the D4 one... put a coat of that stuff on (just dont get on paint, and sit there for awhile..) and let it sit for 10-15mins... come back out with a cloth... and buff out...

they are very clear, and light output increase as well... (not by alot, but noticeable)

i only buy that kit, every few months, and in between that i just use the D4 stuff...
one day i will just break down and go get a set from the junkyard and be done with it. but for now, this will sufice...

 

[MelectroK]

cheak the voltage at the connector with a voltmeter while the lights are on (bulb connected) there should be 12-13 volts when the car running, if not you have an electrical problem not a light problem.

 

[yozsi]

ok, first ill check the electricals. then ill try to polish out the lights, freezing weather might not permit me to.

 

[NJSHO]

Put relays on the lights.

 

[MelectroK]

Put relays on the lights.

Depends If and what there is an electrical issue

 

[EMB2580]

Mine are the same way Yozsi, seems like lenses are yellowed, in my opinion, too much of a hassle to clean them, think I'll just buy some new ones. Btw, i usually drive with the hi beanms on funny thing is, nobody notices LOL. Heh, NW Indiana, huh? Not too far from me, LOL

 

[Dan Werling]

Headlights

A while back, my sho was wrecked. When I bought all the new front end parts, I got new headlight housings, I bought silverstars to go with them. The lights are hella bright. Funny thing is maybe 2 times a week at night, driving with my low beams on, people flash their highs at me and i just smile then flick my highbeams back. The lights are actually really good for their generation of lighting, I have no complaints. My 94 Mark VIII on the other hand though, hella sux, I can drive with the highs on and nobody notices.

 

[Fastball]

Super easy to polish them up and I noticed a big difference.

Old toothbrush, rag, and toothpaste. Yes, toothpaste. Some use aluminium polish like "Mother's" which will do the job too. Just start by putting paste on brush and circular motion with brush, then wipe away with rag. May take a couple of times if yours are really faded, but it works and you can do it with gloves on.

 

[Markus]

Depends If and what there is an electrical issue

All Gen I and II SHOs have electrical issues with the factory headlight wiring. Even when the cars were new the lamp out monitoring system stole at least 0.5v from the headlights. Given that light output for halogen bulbs increases exponentially (to the power 3.7) with voltage increase even a brand new gen I/II would have benefited from a good harness and relays. Now that these cars are at least 10 years old a new harness will make a huge difference.


Edit: I'm assuming Gen Is had the lamp out monitoring system and I may be in error. Even without the system, the wiring on the Gen Is is now so old that a harness will help anyway.

 

[LeddZepp8687]

A while back, my sho was wrecked. When I bought all the new front end parts, I got new headlight housings, I bought silverstars to go with them. The lights are hella bright. Funny thing is maybe 2 times a week at night, driving with my low beams on, people flash their highs at me and i just smile then flick my highbeams back. The lights are actually really good for their generation of lighting, I have no complaints. My 94 Mark VIII on the other hand though, hella sux, I can drive with the highs on and nobody notices.

HAHHAHA, yea my family has a 94 also, evertime I take that car out I think the headlights are actually OFF. When I first drove it I had to get out and make sure they were on at one point cause they suck so badly.

 

[Silver95]

Mequires PlastiX.....use this on your headlights and i guarantee you will see a difference, that is IF your headlights housing are beaten/yellowed, etc.

 

[SolidState]

my '93 has silverstars with new housings.. they work as well as my friends '05 RX-8 with HIDs

I call BS on that. Especially ona wet night.

A while back, my sho was wrecked. When I bought all the new front end parts, I got new headlight housings, I bought silverstars to go with them. The lights are hella bright. Funny thing is maybe 2 times a week at night, driving with my low beams on, people flash their highs at me and i just smile then flick my highbeams back. The lights are actually really good for their generation of lighting, I have no complaints. My 94 Mark VIII on the other hand though, hella sux, I can drive with the highs on and nobody notices.

While I don't doubt that the SHO lights are 'brighter', the reason people are flashing their lights at you isn't because your headlights are uber bright, but likely because they are aimed wrong. In which case, you 'high beams' likely alleviate the problem.

All Gen I and II SHOs have electrical issues with the factory headlight wiring. Even when the cars were new the lamp out monitoring system stole at least 0.5v from the headlights. Given that light output for halogen bulbs increases exponentially (to the power 3.7) with voltage increase even a brand new gen I/II would have benefited from a good harness and relays. Now that these cars are at least 10 years old a new harness will make a huge difference.


Edit: I'm assuming Gen Is had the lamp out monitoring system and I may be in error. Even without the system, the wiring on the Gen Is is now so old that a harness will help anyway.

Yeah, that and the generally faulty headlight switch/relay that saps a tonne of power.

BTW, markus, what did you do for a rear fog light? I have been toying with idea on how to do this myself. My GTI had a spot in the rear tail lights for a euro-spec rear fog, and it was nice to have...

 

[SHOracer86]

my headlights suck too but i was readin up on another thread
and heard about people using wiring harnesses bought off a website. here is a link to the thread. These harnesses really make a difference as u will see. http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=55465

 

[Fastball]

my headlights suck too but i was readin up on another thread
and heard about people using wiring harnesses bought off a website. here is a link to the thread. These harnesses really make a difference as u will see. http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=55465

That was damn good reading! Never saw that thread. Thanks!

Will be checking into that harness for my Gen. I.