Uprated headlights

[Sam]

Does anyone have any experience with fitting uprated halogen bulbs to betas? This was something I considered with my last Beta (which I left behind in Australia - sniff!) and am thinking of buying one here. The headlights on my '80 HPE were pretty feeble and dim. Are new bulbs easy to slot in without any other modifications, should the electrics be upgraded as well/ (I'm sure someone once told me about adding another relay or something). Any thoughts?

Sam

[Chris]

Ive put in some improved bulbs (some amperage etc), but only as a stopgap measure until i find the time to put in the relay. Dont put in massive wattage bulbs as you will just burn out your stalk switch. The results from the new bulbs are noticeable, but im still going to put in the relay. Changing the bulbs was a 5 min job (that said, it was snowing at the time and my fingers were numb)

[ALAN COOPER]

putting in reays for the supply will help as you will reduce the voltage losses then go for a higher rated bulb, you must not put in higher rated bulbs until relays are fitted or the column stalk will self destruct in a cloud of noxious burning plastic!

[Chris]

The bulbs I used had a different gas inside (though i cant remember what) and the same electrical requirements as the originals.

[ALAN COOPER]

those should be ok without the relay however a relay will improve output as there is quite a voltage loss in the wiring that goes through the lighting stalks. I don't think that a lot of these uprated bulbs give a lot more light though it is all sales talk. You could fit 100watt bulbs as long as you fit a relay in the circuit, as far as I know these are legal as long as you don't dazzle oncoming traffic on pre-1986 reg UK cars, after this the bulbs must be 'E' marked which none over 60 watts are as far as I know, if anyone knows different please correct me!!!!

[Keith Turner]

Put a relay in anyway, the column switch is incapable of carrying the current for a standard bulb especially when its a few years old & they are getting harder to find. You should notice an improvement immediately don't forget to clean the earth connections as well as they are usually corroded. Some of the high wattage bulbs are poor quality & don't focus correctly use known make bulbs, Phillips, Bosch, GE - Ring were crap but seem much better these days. If bulb is unknown make check to see how well the flange is fixed to the base is it square? many are not, high output or not if the focus is out you will not get much benefit from the higher wattage.
I also fitted new bulb connectors & cables they are not expensive, try cutting off one of the crimped connectors & strip the wire, fair bet that the wire under the insulation is dull or even black not nice shiny copper. Italian cable insulation does not protect the wire from moisture very well!

[Sam]

Thanks for all the help!! Back soon with more questions!

Sam

[Bill]

78 Beta Coupe
I switched from 55w H3 bulbs in the high beams to 100w H3 from Wal-Mart. The high beam on the coupe have a factory relay so the amps don't fry the column switch. I did switch the fuses from 8 to 16 amps, though.