headlight confusion

[garetcurry]

There were a few threads I found when I did a search about people switching to Ebay headlights, but I'm not tracking on something.

Where is the high or low beam on these things? I'm not too familiar with the sealed type headlights (the stockers). So, how they transform over into the aftermarket world, ya gots me.

These headlights look pretty schweeeeate, but what the fuck is that lower bulb for: :confused:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Parts-Accessories_Car-Truck-Parts-Accessories__86-97-NISSAN-PICKUP-PROJECTOR-HEADLIGHTS-BLACK-88-89-95_W0QQitemZ300271238492QQddnZPartsQ20Q26Q20Access oriesQQadiZ2865QQddiZ2811QQadnZCarQ20Q26Q20TruckQ2 0PartsQ20Q26Q20AccessoriesQQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotor s_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item30027123849 2&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A543%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

If the bulb is just some cool.. "feature" how does one bulb switch between high and low? Can I get an explanation?

[JRock]

the lower bulb is an LED ring around the projector that will probably melt and fall off anyway.... it'll either stay on, or most people wire them into the parking light switch.

i'd just get a black non-eyeball set and throw some HID's in it. My HID kit doesn't have high beams, but honestly, you don't need them. I get people flashing their brights at me constantly, and I even got pulled over for them once, and they're only 8000k's...

[zach]

yeah man, its hard to find but i had a set of composit casings that were glass and looked like the stock sealed casings, looked awsome with my 12000k HIDs in them but i got pulled over ALOT.

[youngdragger]

Jrock yours are only 8000? because those things are bright as hell. I remember when you drove past me that night we met up i was like damn that has to be the guys im meeting

[bigbeto]

from the looks of it, that bottom bulb is just a "city light". nothing to take too seriously, and like whats-his-face said, most people just wire them up to their parking lights. i doubt it'll melt and fall off...


and to answer (somewhat) your initial question, the aftermarket (and the stock) bulbs for our trucks have both high and low beam capabilities unlike Chevy trucks that use a high bulb and a low bulb. They use 2 separate filaments in the bulbs to be able to achieve this. If you grab an H4 bulb and look at it, you would see that one sticks out further than the other. Thats the low beam filament. The shorter one is the high beam. Thats it... no magic, no invisible midgets with a candle and a flashlight... and those headlights DO look nice...

[JsD21HB]

dont get them those are junk they melt, they are made out of cheap ass plastic u want the ones that are glass i had a pair of those same ones and sucked ass had to modify them to fit in the housing. they suck.

[layinframe]

I got some off e bay. Dunno why but on of them is SO much brighter than the other.

[Nein7Oh]

The light at the bottom is most definitely what is known as a city light. Its a euro thing, its a similar idea to day time running lights. Since most densely populated cities have street lamps everywhere there is little need for actual headlights, so in actual euro form they are designed to come on as an intermediary step. There is a reason that nearly every OE HID setup uses projector lenses. It is because the lenses provide something called a "cut-off" Basically it allows the super bright light produced by the HID bulb to be focused and channeled in a straight forward direction rather than all over the place like regular reflector housings. The way the projector is shaped also allows for a the light output to be controlled so that the passenger side light projects out and up and to the right to illuminate street signs.

Most halogen bulbs are 55W while most HID kits are 35W. With HID there is less power used after initial start up and less heat produced. There is the option of 55W HID kits. Just about everything you do will be a definite increase over the sealed beam units, but I would recommend buying either the chrome or the black projector lens headlights and a 35W H4 HID kit. The H4 has HID hi and low beams, if you buy the right kit.

[garetcurry]

bigbeto & Nein -- thanks for the detailed insight.

I'd figure I'd do a quick follow-up on what I decided to purchase. I went with these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120325609543&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT&viewitem=#ht_5630wt_0

Not too entirely sure if it's the best deal, but I didn't feel like hunting any further. I really wanted lights with a black background because I'm slowly converting my truck to the blacked out look (minus a few things), but none of the black lights were DOT/SAE certified. Sorry, I'm still worried about cops to a degree...

[Nein7Oh]

If that's what you're going with, then I'd recommend getting getting some Sylvania Silverstars from Walmart or some PIAAs. Either way I am still pretty adamant about the fact that HID bulbs are only meant for projector lenses. The "diamond cut" housing will definitely update the look a bit. Best of luck with your purchase.