Front Headlight Upgrades

[aharonLTC]

I installed Philips Integral Beam H4656 and H4651 in my 88 Lincoln. The Philips LED H4656 is low beam only but it has a third wire so stays on with high beams. The new beam output is cool white, very wide, and the cutoff is very sharp. I'm happy with them but they are rather boring. I got them on eBay for around $100 a lamp.

Here is a video I took driving with them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulhlJORhSjw

There is a very expensive LED lamp by Holley called Retrobright (they want $200 a unit / $400 a pair / $800 for all four) that replaces H4656, they support low/high beams, and they most interestingly come in 3000k that matches the hue of Halogens, and they use lens fluting to control the beam so it mimics sealed beams. If they existed when I was in the market I'd have bought two to replace my outboard low/highs and kept my inboard Sylvania Halogen high beams.

This is Holley's page on the retrobrights: https://www.holley.com/products/exte.../parts/LFRB120

Their comparison image with the original sealed beam seems disingenuous since I remember my sealed beams being very bright, just not as wide as LED beams.

[jaywish]

LED can be an H4 bulb using an H4 or similar housing or can be a new led based housing. With Led it could be a replaceable bulb in a housing or an integrated housing with incorporating an array of emitters permanently installed.

[Lutrova]

I like these headlights too. I think I will end up going with something like this, something simple that still looks factory but updated from the old yellowish lights. Are these the ones with the H4 lamps?

Yes, these took H4 and H1 bulbs, or in my case LEDs made to be roughly equivalent. The trouble is they're hard to come by. I picked up 3 Bosch and a Hella for $90 a year ago, but a quick search on eBay today isn't showing anything in the used market. Autopal, an Indian manufacturer, makes a similar housing, but I'm not confident it's any good.

The only lead on this replaceable-bulb style housing that I'm currently aware of is through Daniel Stern - danielsternlighting.com. He seems to have a stock of pricey ($180/pair) but quality housings. He's also definitely not in favor of using LEDs in them, but at the end of the day it's your car.

[GM_Guy]

I changed mine to Led headlights on my 88 Lincoln Town Car. I love them, bright as hell. I paid about 210 CDN for them. I got them from Amazon.

Could you post a photo at night pointed at a wall or so? I'm curious to see how the beam pattern looks. I almost pulled the trigger on a similar set, but not knowning how it throws the lights had me stop myself.

Alex.

[Shayenne]

I don't have a picture of the lights at night. At the moment the car is in storage without the battery...

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[gadget73]

I've honestly not seen a useful improvement from anything beyond a relay harness. Other things might be brighter and whiter but none of it puts light where its useful and the cold white is really hard on my eyes. Relay the lights to get full voltage and aim them properly. It will do all you need to do without blinding anyone else.

[Mr Bean]

I am running custom HID projectors in mine with Morimoto Mini H1s. Output is pretty good.



Also check out this comparison video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATr3AnfcMZE

Holley Retrobright 4x6 is pretty good but pricey. JW Speaker are ok.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

...Autopal, an Indian manufacturer, makes a similar housing, but I'm not confident it's any good.

I actually got a set back in like 2017 or 2018. They're not terrible for the cost, but I made it a point to get the ones with the fluting on the glass as they offered something like a "diamond reflector" that looks like a more modern headlight housing, but 1.) I didn't trust it to have good beam pattern, and 2.) OPINION: They look awkward compared to a traditional sealed beam and the fluted face E-Code looked more "traditional". I don't have any photos of the light pattern on a wall unfortunately (and the car is away getting transmission work done), so I don't have anything there. Looked fairly E-Code spec light pattern though, with an even beam cutoff and a sharp uptick on the right hand side of the pattern.

Never did the H1 lamps on the highs though. The sealed beam highs and the H4s work pretty well for putting light well down road with the brights.

[Grand1]

+1 fluting on the glass, OE look for the win.