I'm not a fan of the old sealed-beam headlights in the Fiero. Every low-end car on the market has better headlights than the stock ones in the Fiero.

Last year I spent some extra money and bought some Sylvania bulbs that were supposed to be brighter and better ("Xtravision", I believe). They were, but the standard H6054 bulbs set the bar pretty low. Then I parked the car for half a year (that was another thread).

This year while on the Watkins Glen trip, I did my first night-drive of the year. How I had forgotten how poor the headlights are. I almost wished I was driving my Cobalt

I decided enough was enough. If I can't see the road ahead of me, it's a safety issue.

Started researching headlight replacements. I was dazed and confused reading about replacement buckets, and projector fittings, and ballasts, etc. etc. Don't know where to start, and what is technically for "off-road use".

Finally, I stumbled across the Philips LED02X1. I believe they are identical to the Truck-Lite 27450C. I believe you can also get them GE branded. I bought them on amazon.ca, though maybe I got the last two. You can also get them from Blacktop Racing, who I'd preferred to support -- however their US pricing put them over $50 more after conversion. Still, those of you not having to worry about currency conversions will probably be happy there.

Reason I picked these: Drop-in replacement for a H6054 bulb. DOT certified. No extra cabling or wiring to figure out.

Installed them last week, but this was my first night-time drive with them. I didn't have them aimed correctly, so I did a rough correction on the side of the road. Could probably be fine-tuned a bit, still, it is about a thousand times better.

I've put a video of them in use on youtube. My Dad also came by and I took some comparison photos with his headlights. The camera doesn't really illustrate how much easier it is to see with the white light. The coverage also seems to be much wider.

I'm a happy camper. It's a shame about the steep price, because I'll have to order another set now -- but that's a story I haven't posted about yet

If anybody wants to see them, I'll be at the the Fleetwood Country Cruise-in in three weeks. It's the largest car show in Canada.

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Seq

1987 Fiero GT : Information | Gallery

[This message has been edited by seq (edited 05-15-2016).]

LED HL can use less power but $200+ is way too much and 0-3 year warranty? And you often have to deal w/ vendor not manufacturer for all warranty issues.

quote Originally posted by seq: I'm not a fan of the old sealed-beam headlights in the Fiero. Every low-end car on the market has better headlights than the stock ones in the Fiero. Last year I spent some extra money and bought some Sylvania bulbs that were supposed to be brighter and better ("Xtravision", I believe). They were, but the standard H6054 bulbs set the bar pretty low. Then I parked the car for half a year (that was another thread). This year while on the Watkins Glen trip, I did my first night-drive of the year. How I had forgotten how poor the headlights are. I almost wished I was driving my Cobalt I decided enough was enough. If I can't see the road ahead of me, it's a safety issue. ....

Sorry but just the "performance problem" for using hotter bulbs means your LED review does not mean much. (Ignoring Aim problems that most old cars have.)

SilverStar, Xtravision, and many other H6054 are basically using same Bulb as 9003/HB2 (50-55w low/65w high) bulbs in many Current cars and trucks in a sealed beam shell and try to eat More Power vs OE H6054 (35w low/65w high). Bad wiring switches etc will make All Halogen bulbs perform badly, worse burn up even cause fires when dimmer and HL switches are weak.

My Fiero is using old Phillips HI-VISIBILITY H6054HV and while pattern is different is as bright as the Kia SUV w/ HB2 HL. I have No problems driving Fiero at night. I did fixed old Dimmer switch and clean G101 G102 grounds a few years ago but been using them years before that. (These grounds are use by turn/park lights, radiator fan, etc.)

If you visit Philips page by clicking HL link on top... http://www.usa.philips.com/...category.p-grid-icon
You get no listing for this or any other sealed beam. The product is likely discontinued and page is likely to remove in near future.

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Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 05-16-2016).]

quote Originally posted by theogre: LED HL can use less power but $200+ is way too much and 0-3 year warranty? And you often have to deal w/ vendor not manufacturer for all warranty issues.

I'll agree the price was pretty steep.

I'd imagine the warranty situation is pretty similar to your Philips bulbs.

Regarding vendor/manufacturer for warranty concerns: that doesn't really matter to me anyway.

quote Sorry but just the "performance problem" for using hotter bulbs means your LED review does not mean much. (Ignoring Aim problems that most old cars have.)

True, buying the brighter bulbs might not have been the best choice had I done more research at the time. But I was replacing dim standard (GE I think?) bulbs. They did make an improvement at the time. I suppose that was just "less shitty" though

quote All Halogen bulbs perform badly, worse burn up even cause fires when dimmer and HL switches are weak.

I suppose I could have started replacing wiring and switches instead. I still might clean some contacts off when I get a chance.

quote If you visit Philips page by clicking HL link on top... http://www.usa.philips.com/...category.p-grid-icon You get no listing for this or any other sealed beam. The product is likely discontinued and page is likely to remove in near future.

It's under all supported products, rather than current products. So Philips may have decided to stop rebranding it. It is still browsable on both the GE Lighting and the Truck-Lite website (the latter I believe is the actual manufacturer). So they're still available.

Note the comparison with standard sealed-beams in my photos was my Dad's car, whose headlights were not dimmed like mine were, and still operating in a proper (safe) condition. I was in his car at night a few weeks ago, which contributed to the disappointment with my headlights. Even then, the throw on the LEDs is much wider and brighter, and the higher colour temperature is nicer on the eyes at night.

It's also the same colour temperature as most of the streetlamps now, which is actually very nice when I drove through the city the other night.

quote Originally posted by seq: I'd imagine the warranty situation is pretty similar to your Philips bulbs.

I don't care about warranty on bulbs that cost $10-$30us each.

LED cost $200+ and maybe doesn't last are a big problem to many. Having to deal w/ vendors for warranty is a big problem too.
I have Dorman and other "Lifetime Warranty" parts and you must return to same vendors that sold whatever to you get parts replaces under warranty. Lifetime Warranty means nothing in many cases because vendors often have many rules to deny most warranty claims. And that when the vendor is still in business.

LED HL rated 20,000+ hrs but doesn't tell the whole story. Far from it. (Philips says "Expected benefits 50x longer life." Compared to exactly what? Many 55w/65w Halogens are only 150-400hrs. Osram/Sylvania already got sued over this type of hype.)
Example: All above w/ Aluminum back shell... That shell is Passive Heatsink for the LED's!
Good idea? Maybe.

Big problem is Many old cars and trucks have HL buckets that very restrict air flow over the back and can, likely will, shorten LED lifetime. Overheated LED could last months or a few seconds depending just how bad the problem is.

Most products worldwide are RoHS complaint = lead free solders and often these joints can fail from overheating parts because many are brittle vs 60/40 lead/tin solder. Even if LED are good but have joint problems... LED's meeting DOT rules have all LEDs wired in series. Just ONE LED goes out for any reason then that bulb, low or hi beam at minimum, goes dark. Many Companies are require by law in more countries to use RoHS construction. Had a game box or PC hardware die in last 10+ years? You can blame RoHS for many of these failures. Google: rohs solder problems

SEQ, thanks for the info on a possible better option. I normally go with the default light but would consider this drop in replacement as it doesn't require any effort and appears to be brighter, which would be good. I may try it on one of the fieros and see how much difference I can tell. Always good to hear about some options.

Thanks for sharing and keep us informed if you have any issues with them.

Hey SEQ, lights look good, like to compare them at night to my HID's. I'm using Bosch H4 bulbs with 8000K HIDs AC ballast. Been running it 10 years+ now. Last year I replaced my harness, corrosion on the relay after so many years and I just changed one ballast this year. They've been pretty good to me and my car see's all weather from spring to fall. If you want to try HID's may be able to get you into them for half the price of the LED's. Can't find Bosch lenses anymore but I know a shop in Whitby that still carried another brand. Should be able to find a set of HID's on eBay for $50, mind you it will come from china, but everything does these days, we just skip the middle man.

Great review on the LEDs! Nice choice SEQ.

A choice I like are these:

http://m.autoanything.com/l...Tk6csCFcQjgQodz14I6g

http://www.rallylights.com/...on-headlamp-kit.html

Use 55/100w H4 style bulbs. Plug an play. SAE/DOT, or you can get Euro style. About $80 (US) for two with available discounts w/ free shipping.