Brighter headlights

[rlott2k]

Originally Posted by ghaynes754

Echoing TranquilJim. Your added lights, while helping you see better for safety, may blind the driver coming in the other direction. That's why the NHTSA has their standards for lights. How many times have you been blinded with the ultra bright lights on an oncoming car and grumbled about that driver?

Can the lights be improved within the NHTSA guidelines? Can the supplier to Newmar or Newmar make improvements?

The larger problem in the last 4-5 years has been converting standard halogen headlights to H.I.D.
H.I.D bulbs are meant for a focused capsule ( like projector beams) when installed in a halogen ( common automotive) capsule the glare to oncoming traffic is greatly increased. I saw someone posted on DRL also. They are meant to make you more visible to oncoming traffic, NOT to illuminate your way.

[Dutch Star Don]

"NealC".......I mentioned the issues you would have earlier. I've played with lighting for years and made a lot of mistakes from buying cheap bulbs to trying to get LED's and HID's to work in lenses they're not designed for. Sometimes you just have to let people experiment, but I'm trying to save you money and aggravation. You may get some brighter light directly to the sides and in front of the coach by putting in the LED's, but you won't increase your down the road lighting, it will just fade out.

I have a new GMC Canyon with the focused headlight lenses. They're designed for use with HID or LED, but GM just puts in a cheap bulb. There is actually a forum for the new GMC Canyons and Chevrolet Colorados and these young guys are changing everything. I waited until several changed the headlights to see what brand worked best. I ordered the brand everyone liked (pretty expensive) and found that in order to really get the power and light you want, there is a lot of wiring, ballasts, drivers and capacitors that come with the kit and have to be wired in. The moral of the story cheap lights off ebay don't work. At minimum the LED's require a large cooling fan on the back of them.

I didn't mention it before, but there is something you can do if you want to spend about an hour doing it. I'm not sure which bulbs you're using, but this works on most of the common ones. If you look at your bulb, it has plastic tabs, usually three of them, positioned so that they only go into the housing one way (they're "clocked"). Typically a low beam bulb is 35 watts and has a material painted over the tip of the bulb (to prevent the blinding of oncoming traffic). Now....your high beam bulb is typically rated at 55 watts and has no material covering the tip. It's a more powerful bulb, but it won't fit in the low beam position because those three tabs are cut a little different, clocked differently.

I took a set of high beam bulbs and used a razor and a dremel to make the clocking the same as a low beam bulb. I found I got better lighting and it didn't blind oncoming drivers. If you try this, buy a good quality bulb. Phillips bulbs are often recommended.

[NealC]

The M4's worked well, the problem is one of the two were defective and they are out of stock. When they get more I'll give it a try again.

[ghaynes754]

Don which GM forum or which bulbs were suggested?

[Dan McMartin]

I saw somewhere that a guy who had an older Bay Star discovered the head light assemblies were actually from a Toyota. Knowing that, he was able to order aftermarket replacements that were LED and better overall.

Looking at most of Newmar's headlights, I suspect they are all borrowed from passenger cars and trucks. According to ComNet, the 2017 Ventana headlights have vendor part numbers of 334-1121R-AS and 334-1121L-AS.

A Google search reveals those are from a Dodge Nitro. I can tell you that when I traded out my stock /Wrangler headlights for LED's it was like night and day. But those are 7 inch round headlights and easy to find. But I did see LED Nitro replacements for sale. Can't speak to the quality but there you go.

[Dutch Star Don]

The GM forum is called Coloradofans.com

[ccusa]

I just replaced my stock headlights with M4 LED headlight. There was a tremendous difference. I have attached before and after pictures.

[Beyond]

Originally Posted by l1v3fr33ord1

Relays - Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

Sorry I don't have time to read all the posts here, but I strongly suggest you check out this link (from post #3). My DH communicated with Daniel Stern to come out with the best LEGAL solution to our very poor headlights. We could have replaced our "stock" head lights for under $100 but chose his suggestion of going with Genuine Honda headlights. Same external appearance but a huge improvement in illumination. He provided Amazon links for the replacements. He took no added on fee, just received something from the links. It was about a $500 improvement, but the increased visibility was well worth the expense.

We appreciated that Stern knew his business and saved us a lot of frustration.

[AzGoldDigger]

Rarely use the headlights, but I did recently. The high beams were useless. The low beams were mediocre. Looking forward to using one of the solutions posted here.

[NealC]

I got two hours of night in on the way south from Newmar. One hour of which was in rain. Very happy with the Sylvania brighter bulbs recommended above.

Making a right 120 degree turn onto the access road to this KOA was a treat. Fortunately I’ve done it twice before so I knew the road. Turning completely in the dark sucks!! I’m going to start using my powerful LED flashlight for left turns out the side window!! Good thing it’s not a stick shift.

[AzGoldDigger]

NealC - have you given up on the M4 leds? Did you replace both highs and lows with the sylvania bulbs

[NealC]

I liked the M4 but one of them was defective so I had to return it. He didn’t have anymore H13’s and there was a fit issue. I had to use two gaskets to keep it secure. The brightness and light pattern looked great though. One side of one of the bulbs would not illuminate.

[djtommysr]

Neal What bulbs did you finally use?

[NealC]

SYLVANIA H13 SilverStar Ultra High Performance Halogen Headlight Bulb, (Contains 2 Bulbs) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KDO8U0..._6GniAb3CG8YND