Upgrade to Brighter Headlights

[hikerneil]

I have a 2003 Eurovan and would like to increase the brightness of my headlights.

Has anyone else used the Philips Xtreme lamps?
- If so, are you happy with the results?
- Do you get significant increase in light levels?
- I assume it is a whiter light as well??

Thanks.

[rcowan]

I haven't used those bulbs, sorry. However, adding relays helps. Switching to Euro-spec light housings helps even more. Both are more work and more expense than bulbs, but you will gain more improvement from these options.

[subdewd]

Try the relay kit first. It's plug and play

[jjvincent]

[postjosh]

i have the Philips 9004 X-tremeVision bulbs in my ev. they are an improvement over the sylvania bulbs that came with the van. whiter and slightly further throw. it's not a huge improvement but it is noticeable.
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'93 EV Wkndr – 5 cylinder – 5 speed - 280k+ miles

[Abscate]

You’ve either glazed over the glass or your reflectors have died from ozone

In CA the latter is common

The stock lights on my 2002are awesome in the inky black Berkshires
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.ssS!

[billwiggins]

I replaced my bulbs with a LED bulb package, the back cover will not fit with this type bulb. Very bright, almost to bright. I now need to adjust them down some because I get a lot of on coming cars flashing at me with my lights on dim.

[d-9]

Relays make the biggest difference due to the voltage drop over the factory wiring and switch.

I've used Philips extreme-some-amazing-percent-light-bulbs and they help compared to standard Chinese bulbs, particularly when fed through relays because you get a nice white light.

Aftermarket HID and LED typically give a very poor beam pattern and dazzle oncoming drivers.

[katmndoo]

I'll second the relays. Quick and easy to install if you buy a kit. It doesn't need to be Eurovan specific, just specific to the bulb socket type (H4, 9003, etc).

You can roll your own, but you won't save a lot over the pre-made harnesses.

[orbeamike]

[Noryia]

[Busdepot]

[Noryia]

[JFBx]

Just ordered a set from BusDepot. Many thanks.

--jb
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'02 Weekender, '02 S6 MT, '06 A3 3.2

[1961tbird]

Daniel Stern is very help with relays, wiring or any other issues with headlights

https://www.danielsternlighting.com/

[Busdepot]

I should mention that while adding relays will usually help, it does not address the biggest weakness which is the lenses themselves. We in the U.S. got different headlights from the rest of the word, with far inferior beam dispersion and control, thanks to archaic D.O.T. regulations. Nothing you shine through those lenses can truly compensate for that deficit. It can help, to be sure, but ultimately you're still "polishing a turd." For maximum improvement you want to replace your U.S. spec headlights with proper European-spec E-codes and H4 bulbs (optimally with relays as well). We sell kits for early and late Eurovans:

https://www.busdepot.com/701941017kit (early)
https://www.busdepot.com/7d1941005kit (late)
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- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
www.busdepot.com

[ocelotpotpie]

A big second on the headlight upgrade. The e-codes have a much better beam pattern and are a pretty damn good bargain for the price.

Cool to see Busdepot responding on the forum also!

[orbeamike]

[Busdepot]

The wiring is really simple. There are + and - ring terminals that go to your battery. There are also two sockets that connect directly to your actual headlight bulbs in place of the factory ones. There is a 5th plug that connects inside the passenger side headlamp to the factory socket that used to connect to the bulb before you unplugged it. That's it for wiring, it's literally plug-and-play.

You will have to notch the dust cap behind your headlight to allow the wire to pass through it. It's a tiny notch and I used a pair of wire cutters. It took me 5 or 10 minutes with a pair of wire cutters. A dremmel tool would be faster/easier but I weighed that time savings against the time it would take to remember where I put my dremmel tool. The instructions show you pics of where the notch goes.

Most of the harness resides on the passenger side, except for the single wire that stretches across to the driver side to plug into that headlight bub. That wire makes a straight shot across the front of the engine bay, above the grill and just below the hood latch. You'll want to use a few wire ties or something similar (not included) to secure the wire and relays.

That's about it.
_________________
- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
www.busdepot.com

[lucksp]

my mechanic recommends Xenon Halogen bulbs for brightness.