How do you make Gen4 headlights brighter?

CrunchyAdams82 · Post by **CrunchyAdams82** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:31 pm

Hi guys,

As some of you will be aware, Gen4 headlights are a big pile of toss.

In fact, mine are so poor it's verging on the dangerous side!

What is the best way of improving this, if any? (without buying a Gen5)

I figured a good place to start would be nightbreaker bulbs? Or is there some modification that can be done to the assemblies themselves?

And if 60/50 nightbreaker's make no difference, would the 'illegal' 100's compensate & bring the illumination up to an average standard?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated..

Post by **indigolemon** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:32 pm

Standard Nightbreakers + a good clean of the lenses. Avoid the illegal 100's, you'll screw your loom/connectors with the extra draw.

Only other option is to retrofit projectors really.

bb1boy · Post by **bb1boy** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:34 pm

Clean lenses and decent quality bulbs is about the best you can do without retro fitting different headlights into the housing.. someone did an awesome looking BMW projector headlight mod IIRC.

bb1boy · Post by **bb1boy** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:35 pm

hahaha great minds Indy!

Post by **Vtecmec** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:41 pm

Get on you knees and have a good look at the headlight from a low angle, looking up to where the light is reflected from, you may notice that some of the reflective material has faded or flaked off, if this is the case then replacing the headlights will be needed. I think this is why most 4th gen lights are so poor now, and were probably ok at manufacture.

As mentioned above, cleaning and better bulbs will make some difference.

Post by **SPYDOR** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 5:08 pm

Surely a good clean of the inside housing and a fresh coat of silver paint would help if it was seriously flaking inside.

+1 on the Nightbreakers, been using these for many years and they are fantastic. I used to use Ring 100watt blue bulbs and used to have them blow every 3-4 months so I would avoid going down that route.

+1 on cleaning/refurbishing the lenses as well. At least give the outside a good clean up, getting rid of as many scratches/yellowing as possible by going through several grades of emery paper then a final polish or two and a good sealant/wax to stop them clouding over. Then think about taking them apart and cleaning the inside of the lens as it could be dirty which will be stopping a lot of light output.

The other thing that would be worth considering is replacing/upgrading the wiring loom. I have seem people fit thicker wires with less resistance, allowing more current through and therefore a brighter glow on the headlights.

One last point, if none of that works just be grateful, at least you don't have 5G headlights. I really hope the guy who designed them was flogged for his crimes against humanity.

CrunchyAdams82 · Post by **CrunchyAdams82** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 5:12 pm

Excellent, cheers guys.

Figured as much. My lenses could do with a spruce up. Anyone got a link to the guide on how to best achieve this?

And haven't checked the reflective coating as of yet, although it did cross my mind. Would there not be some way of renovating this with some kind of reflective material/paint, for example?

Post by **SPYDOR** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 5:28 pm

I think I following both of these guides:
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/s ... p?t=229157
http://www.preludeonline.com/f65/headli ... cs-238137/

Detailing World one is your best bet as nobody knows their stuff better than those guys!

I spent upto an hour per light, got rid of all the yellowing and most of the chips and scratches. Looks so good on the outside I realised there were watermarks and slight yellowing inside so need to sort that oneday! Think I started with about 600grit emery paper working up to 2000 or 2500. I went through each grade of paper. I did read you should never skip more than 1 grade though, otherwise you are unlikely to remove the previous scratches.

I finished polishing mine with a couple of Menzerna polishes on my rotary which gave it a fantastic finish.

I wouldn't worry too much about what sealant you use at the end if you wax the car regularly, otherwise you might want to get something good (expensive), or use one from a headlight refurb kit perhaps. I used Chemical Guys JetSeal, which never lasts more than a fortnight on my car windows. I keep the car waxed with Autoglym HD wax which is amazing stuff and the headlights look as good as the day I refurbed them well over 6 months ago.

CrunchyAdams82 · Post by **CrunchyAdams82** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 6:51 pm

Spot on. Thank you. I'll get reading!

The "S" express · Post by **honda-hardy** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 11:41 pm

definatly spend your money on a decent set of bulbs. the more expensive bulbs are made of quarts glass and give a crisper light output compared to the cheap sainsburys petrol station bulbs.