How are the LED Headlight kits?
 

I reviewed the old posts, but was hoping there may be additional choices out there, and more recent experiences.

I want to upgrade the headlights on my '69 Firebird, but I do not want to modify my new wiring harness. I don't necessarily need the brightest solution, but I do need a significant improvement over the conventional T-3 style headlights.

So, any suggestions for both the low beam and high beam headlights?

Thank you!

First thing I would do is install a Headlight Relay wire harness kit....

https://www.americanautowire.com/sho...ncer-relay-kit

This will get you a true 12v to the headlights..... and take the load off the factory headlight switch in the car....

From there..... you can then convert your bulbs to what you need...... Halogen , LED, etc - without fear of overloading the stock wiring....

Troy,
Thank you for the response. While I agree in principal with your suggestion, I was hoping to not have to cut into the new wiring harness. Is this something that can be completely hidden?
Thank you,
Shelly

You won't necessarily have to cut, you should be able to just de-pin the low and high beam wire off of the plugs and use them as-is.

Are the T-3's in the car now sealed beams? If yes, how old are they?

T-3's dim with age, even if they're not used much.

Halogens are a step up from sealed beams. And draw nearly the same amount of amps as the sealed beams.. Got a brighter whiter light that stays with you longer. They do dim with age, just not as fast.

A real LED headlight probably uses less amps than sealed beam and halogen. Need to do some homework there to find out for sure. Relays would be overkill if they use less amps.

Just Thinking
Clay

They are definitely older sealed beams...could be 15+ years! If I were to go the inexpensive route and just try new sealed beams first, which ones are the brightest? That would be great if it solved the issue!

Kits are plug and play...... easy

Troy,
Where can you get the LED kits that fit our old girls, a 66 GTO in my case?

TIA.

I have these on my 69 Firebird:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GUPLFMQ

https://www.ebay.com/itm/282395337505

...makes the stock lights seem like candlelight lol.

https://www.americanautowire.com/sho...ncer-relay-kit


I think this is the kit I got

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ceramic-H4-...pe!19607!US!-1

If you go LED now, you can skip doing relays. They are not needed for the LEDs. I have Hella E-code headlights on the Firebird with H4 and H1 bulbs. I wired up the necessary relays myself but after seeing the kits that Troy linked, If you do go with relays and halogen, I'd go that way - cheap and easy. I switched to Moritomo Stroke LED on the Honda. Way brighter. I will probably go LED on the Firebird so I don't have to replace bulbs anymore.

I put Hella "E-code" housings in my '67 bird and "BEAMTECH H4 LED" lamps from amazon.

The E-code housings have a sharp horizontal cutoff line on low beams so you're not blinding oncoming traffic and also have an angled line to the right that lights up the side of the road pretty good.

I get MUCH better (brighter & whiter) light on the road now and rarely even need high beams. When I do kick it on high, it lights up everything... a long way down the road. The only "downside" to high beams is that they are so bright, you will get a bright "splashback" from street signs.

I have the same setup in my bird, CJ-7, & '91 suburban and they all are a huge improvement.

Just make sure that you install the LED bulbs right side up, otherwise the light pattern looks like crap. You will have to cut some of the headlight bucket to get everything to fit, but you'll never see it once they are installed.


amazon or google: About $88 & comes with halogen bulbs.
HELLA 002850811 135mm H4 High/Low Beam Halogen Conversion Headlamp Kit

That's not a good option when there are plenty which don't require that. The one I posted didn't require any modification, the bulbs can only go in one-way, and the 9007 is an updated lighting design over the old H4 style.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I spoke with Mark at Dapper LIghting last week ( https://www.dapperlighting.com/colle...d/products/575 ). We decided on replacing just the outer lights with the Dapper LED hi/low 30w bi-xenons, no halos, OE glass. I'll put two new standard sealed beams in for the inner high beams. This should give me a near stock look, but with much better lighting. I'm am also trying a couple of their LED 1157s for the taillights as well.

Once installed, I will provide pictures. I much appreciate everyone's inputs!

Sylvania halogens are pure white & bright / $10.00 per bulb

Chrisp, Thank you. Others have stated that the halogens require changes to the wiring harness, due to higher power draw. As stated, I do not want to do that.

FWIW...
 

I wanted brighter lights and still maintain a stock look.
These fit the bill perfectly. Pricey but no mods needed and have been trouble-free for years.

https://www.lectriclimited.com/lighting-fuse-flashers

I upgraded my headlights with the Dapper Lighting low/high beams. Great improvement. I posted details and pictures on the '67-'69 Firebird Tech Forum.

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...d.php?t=842201

Thank you for all of the assistance!

Shelly