Brightest legal headlight?

My headlights while still working, are really REALLY dim lately. The bulbs just aren't what they used to be anymore..

What are the brightest legal bulb I can get? Also, ones that won't BLIND oncoming drivers. I care about them too..

first google search your state for color info. blue are usually ones you want to stay clear of, but there are h.i.d. (high intensity discharge) bulb conversion kits available, i would go with "bright white" i think is what they are called by Sylvannia

I thought HIDs are illegal to install if the car didn't come with them from the factory, and that was a country wide rule..

its not illegal in illinois and i used to live in fl. and have installed hundreds of them on bmws and mercedes and porshces

I believe it depends on your state and/or county laws. Here in Arizona it may be slightly different. In my state they are sometimes very specific and give you the min/max intensity in candlepower.

If you cannot easily find it online for your state/county maybe just ask a cop or call your police station.

It's not statewide. DOT says that if a car does not have HID as OEM, it is illegal to fit HID lamps in a car for street use..

I checked the law again, it sure isn't..

The stock lights on these cars suck, plain and simple. If you adjust them so the low beams are right the highs are in the powerlines or if the highs are right the lows barely clear the bumper. Then the fluting on the lenses dispurses the light terribly.

Legally and for reasonable cost about all you can do is a relay harness to get full voltage to the bulbs and put a fresh set of bulbs in I would say the Sylvania XtraVision. The silverstars are VERY short lived and the blue coating on the bulb reduces output and makes visibility in rain fog or snow bad. I know snow is not a concern for you.

I have been daily driving 94-96 b-bodies since early 2000 put over 200K total on my three b-bodies and have tried different things on each to improve lighting. Higher wattage bulbs help some but are illegal. Ebay HID kit is illegal and makes a LOT of light but puts it in other driver's eyes. Tried a cheap relay harness on one car and it melted:frown:.

If I try again I might try a projector headlight kit, this will be expensive and require fabrication.

Halogen bulbs are like many others in that they lose intensity with use even before they blow, that is why I said put new bulbs in. Even just new of whatever you have will likely help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAUkhRYGbq4

That's how my lights look like right now. Skip to 1:23..

I'll go get some new bulbs and throw them in, the extra bright ones mentioned..

My headlights while still working, are really REALLY dim lately. The bulbs just aren't what they used to be anymore..

What are the brightest legal bulb I can get? Also, ones that won't BLIND oncoming drivers. I care about them too..
I just installed HID lights,the pair is less than $60. this is the page http://www.hidny.com/product.sc?productId=1&categoryId=36 They are great,they focus more a a beam forward instead of just a wide bright light,they use only 35 watts I got the 6000K, they make halogens look yellow.you can aim them down if you like.

The problem with the HID conversion kits is that they do not project the light the way the incandescent bulbs do - this is due to the location of the light source within the lamp. If there's an HID kit that puts the light source at the same point as where the filament in the standard bulb is, you'll be OK.

I just installed HID lights,the pair is less than $60. this is the page http://www.hidny.com/product.sc?productId=1&categoryId=36 They are great,they focus more a a beam forward instead of just a wide bright light,they use only 35 watts I got the 6000K, they make halogens look yellow.you can aim them down if you like.

So you have not had them long enough to get sick of being flashed by oncoming drivers, and lost hi/lo operation.

The 6000K is coated to make them more blue, the same can be done with Halogens, HID is naturally about 4300K and those would be the brightest due to nothing used to shift the color.

It can't be avoided that the factory lense is the biggest issue, no bulb swap will fix that.

I got the SilverStar ultras, for a review..

They aren't THAT bad..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/Evilweredragon/silverstarultras1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/Evilweredragon/silverstarultras2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/Evilweredragon/silverstarultras3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/Evilweredragon/silverstarultras4.jpg

The one thing I worry about is how long they'll actually last. The bulbs are blue tinted..

Note: All pics were low-beams..

I got the SilverStar ultras, for a review..

They aren't THAT bad..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/Evilweredragon/silverstarultras1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/Evilweredragon/silverstarultras2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/Evilweredragon/silverstarultras3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/Evilweredragon/silverstarultras4.jpg

The one thing I worry about is how long they'll actually last. The bulbs are blue tinted..

Note: All pics were low-beams..

I am using the SS Ultras as well. I had Silver Stars in it before these ... those lasted me about 4 years.

Taken directly from Sylvania's website. http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/HighPerformance/Silverstar/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/
Q) How long do SilverStar headlights last?
A) The life of any halogen bulb will depend upon your vehicle type and how much you drive. However, all halogen headlights dim over time. That’s why we recommend replacing headlights in pairs about once a year, before they burn out.
SilverStar is a high performance halogen headlight that produces a whiter light that research has shown can improve driver visibility and reaction time. The benefits of increased light output and improved color quality can result in a shorter life for high performance headlights, compared to standard bulbs.

Those of you who find them to last are likely relying on too little voltage from inadequate stock wiring. Feed a bulb proper voltage and it will be brighter and the life possibly shorter, BUT you can use good wiring and cheaper bulbs and get more light and life than the Silverstar. Will also serve to whitten standard halogen bulbs some too.