Need more out of stock headlights. Could use some advice.

[davethecota]

I have been getting off of work later these days and driving home in pitch black night. I drive a lot of small county roads with no street lights. The problem I have is my current stock lights are not getting the job done especially when it rains.

Is there a bulb I can buy that can get me a wider angle on the road because I feel like I am turning blind on some of the curves where if I didn't already know the road I would be a bit worried. I have already had a few scares with people walking on the side of the road where I don't see them until i'm basically on top of them. The depth of the light seems fine for looking down the center of the road but the problem is the sides.

I would prefer to not have to do some radical modifications and maybe just help me with a quick fix like some nicer bulbs or is there a way possibly to aim the lights slightly more to the sides?

I don't understand how different bulbs are supposed to produce a wider beam without a modification to the reflective housing or style of the bulb? Do these bulbs that advertise a wider beam actually work?

 

[rdss]

Do your high beams not help any? Beastlick does great work on hid conversations and is a wealth of knowledge on lighting. After driving my STi with hid lighting it is awful going back to a car with conventional lighting.

 

[davethecota]

Do your high beams not help any? Beastlick does great work on hid conversations and is a wealth of knowledge on lighting. After driving my STi with hid lighting it is awful going back to a car with conventional lighting.

The high beams are very bright and greatly help but the problem is I am not super late night driving so there still is traffic on the road and I don't want to blind people so I rarely am able to use them.

 

[Sneakerfix]

Search thru cruze talk about bulbs you'll find your answer

 

[Beastlick]

The high beams are very bright and greatly help but the problem is I am not super late night driving so there still is traffic on the road and I don't want to blind people so I rarely am able to use them.

If you want a safe, non-blinding, brighter type of light out of the stock headlights, you can look into other drop in halogen bulbs or retrofit a projector inside. I strongly urge you not to do the cheap drop in HID kits. There just not designed for a reflector housing and will cause a blinding effect. I've done a handful of Sonic headlight retrofits for other forum members here. PM me if you have questions.

Here are a couple links:
http://www.sonicownersforum.com/for...s/8151-bkamp613s-trs-chrome-hid-retrofit.html
http://www.sonicownersforum.com/for...77-custom-hid-projectors-w-demon-eye-mod.html
http://www.sonicownersforum.com/for...s/16269-trs-d2s-headlight-retrofit-build.html

 

[Breezybro]

If you want a safe, non-blinding, brighter type of light out of the stock headlights, you can look into other drop in halogen bulbs or retrofit a projector inside. I strongly urge you not to do the cheap drop in HID kits. There just not designed for a reflector housing and will cause a blinding effect. I've done a handful of Sonic headlight retrofits for other forum members here. PM me if you have questions.

Here are a couple links:
http://www.sonicownersforum.com/for...s/8151-bkamp613s-trs-chrome-hid-retrofit.html
http://www.sonicownersforum.com/for...77-custom-hid-projectors-w-demon-eye-mod.html
http://www.sonicownersforum.com/for...s/16269-trs-d2s-headlight-retrofit-build.html

Do you sell kits or anything? Also, how do you feel about led bulbs?

 

[davethecota]

So it looks like I am either going to put in a pair of the Sylvania Ultras or the Phillips CrystalVision Ultras.. not sure which yet.

 

[EPYON96R]

Dave, I have the same issue. i cant see anything but straight ahead on dark roads. I think its because the headlight housing design. its pretty recessed. and im not sure what would remedy the issue.

 

[davethecota]

I am wondering if I should just buy a foglight kit to help with side illumination... something like this.

2012-2014 Chevy Sonic OEM Style Replacement Fog Lights Kit - Clear

looks like they use H11 bulbs so I can throw the same type of bulb in my lows into my fogs and try to aim them to the side as much as I am able to.

 

[EPYON96R]

For a little over hundred not bad. You should try it.

 

[KartRacer]

I am wondering if I should just buy a foglight kit to help with side illumination... something like this.

2012-2014 Chevy Sonic OEM Style Replacement Fog Lights Kit - Clear

looks like they use H11 bulbs so I can throw the same type of bulb in my lows into my fogs and try to aim them to the side as much as I am able to.

Think you will be disappointed in the fogs, they are 35W H8 and higher wattage will melt the lens.
I agree that out in the country brighter whiter lamps would be Benificial.
I tried some of the cheaply aftermarket and lighting distance, while whiter was reduced dramatically.

 

[davethecota]

Link says it includes H11 bulbs. Have you put this kit on before? I don't want to buy something that is going to melt if I use it heh.

 

[KartRacer]

Link says it includes H11 bulbs. Have you put this kit on before? I don't want to buy something that is going to melt if I use it heh.

Factory is H8, picture shows 27W. Just buyer beware something seems off!

 

[mja]

For side visibility nearer the car, look for fog lights. The stock fogs will help with some nicer bulbs. My sonic has JDM PIAA 2500k bulbs in the fogs that AndrewGS installed and they help greatly with seeing up close and giving a wider beam to the side when turning. Send Andrew a message if interested in PIAA stuff, he's working on getting a set of PIAA LED 2800k bulbs from Japan to install in fogs on a new sonic.

For regular driving lights, you really can't beat HID's. PM Beastlick, he's the man for HID's.

I had some similar problems as you, so I looked into a bunch of different halogen bulbs. The best ones that we can use on our 55w circuits without overloading them are the JDM PIAA bulbs. Better yet would be Osram silverstar (not sylvania ones), and Philips vision plus, something equivalent to this, but these only come in 60w as far as I know. HIR bulbs will also drain too much power and overheat the lighting circuits/fuses over time.

From what I've read, a few rules of thumb are around 4500k temperature will get you the most visible spectrum of light for seeing out on the road, and anything with a tint on the bulb, especially a blue tint, will decrease the output.

I've been looking at Rostra LED fog lights, they have projectors made for the LED's but they come installed in an aftermarket housing so it'd be a custom install, not OEM. The other downside is they're very expensive. Google Rostra LED under the focus st forums, they compare them to other aftermarket LED setups, and the side output is excellent.

Lights, as with anything, you get what you pay for.

Here's some reading on stock type fog lights:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/lights/fog_lamps/fog_lamps.html

 

[KartRacer]

I can't wrap my head around the cutoff of bulbs. I always thought the cutoff was created by the lense but after research on lighting forums it seems the cutoff is from the bulb. If the filement creates the cutoff why can't a better longer viewing bulb be built. I am so confused.
A $500 upgrade is not in the cards for normal use, racing sure! There are other driving light installs here on the forum behind the upper grill. Can anyone attest to their ability to light up the road. I need to do something and am frustrated by the limited options.

 

[mja]

I can't wrap my head around the cutoff of bulbs. I always thought the cutoff was created by the lense but after research on lighting forums it seems the cutoff is from the bulb. If the filement creates the cutoff why can't a better longer viewing bulb be built. I am so confused.
A $500 upgrade is not in the cards for normal use, racing sure! There are other driving light installs here on the forum behind the upper grill. Can anyone attest to their ability to light up the road. I need to do something and am frustrated by the limited options.

It's not the cutoff that is made from the bulb. The brighter the light output, the more refined the projector needs to be so people aren't blinded. This is why bright lamps, set up properly, have sharp cutoffs.

If you want more lumens from the stock setup, buy an HIR or 60w high output halogen. If the circuits fry you'll be paying a lot more than 500$ in the long run. Other than that, JDM PIAA bulbs are the best 55w you can buy.

Also try cleaning the lenses, get one of those plastic headlamp cleaning kits, could work in your favor.

 

[laborsmith]

When I bought my Sonic LT, the after sale but GM part fog light install was oart of the deal just as if it was factory final assembly roll off.

The reason is I had learned (thru trial and error) that automobile lights did not meet my night time driving needs due to the lack of close in side illumination. My sister and long time friends live in Michigan's northern Oakland County, which has street lights spaced every quarter or hafd mile. Literally and I challenge any North Oakland County members to show there are no areas where the street lights are so spaced.

The point: long before I bought my first Sonic I decided I needed fog lamps for night time driving because as improved as current headlamps are compared to previous generations, they are limited in providing close in subdivision style lighting and fog lamps provide lighting that overcomes that limit. The Sonic headlamps are not any more limiting than the Malibu or Impala headlamps and all three are limited when it comes to close in rural or suburban subdivision lighting.

My two cents and informed challenges are welcome.


Laborsmith

 

[davethecota]

Trust me after this scenario im running into my next car will have fog lights installed for sure.

 

[busterbrown]

FWIW, I've had Sylvania SilverStar Ultra's installed in my Rainier for 4 years now. The first set lasted over 3 years...a relatively good lifespan for a higher watt bulb on an OEM harness. The increased range of downroad and peripheral visibility was helpful many-a-nights during pre-dawn commutes.

As my second (mini) mod, my ultra's are enroute to my home...via Amazon Prime. I also ordered some LED replacements for my tail lights, license plate, and reverse lights via ebay. This will be my first attempt at LED modifications to my exterior lights.

 

[davethecota]

I just wanted to give you guys an update so far. I bought some Sylvania Silverstar Ultras for the low-beams and some Sylvania Silverstar high performance for my high beams. I got the high performance for my highs rather than ultras only because I found them on sale for 20 bucks and could not pass it up.

Anyways, after pulling the stock bulbs I noticed some interesting things after inspecting them. First of all the code on the stock bulbs I am pretty sure match the "long life" version of the bulbs which would produce less lumens as the benefit of longer life. Another thing was the glass around the element on the low-beams looked to be smudged and had a cloudy smear on one side of each one. Wasn't really happy with either of those findings.

Anyways I put in the ultras and the light output was very much higher and I probably got about 15 degrees improvement in my side output. I also aimed my lights slightly higher to match my other car's lights and that really helped my down road vision because they were really too low. I have not been flashed at all driving down the road yet so I know I am doing good with my aim. The light itself is also much whiter and I am quite happy with the color. The high beams were also much improved in that rather than the light super focused in a straight beam I feel like it really opened up the light beam and I can see a lot more if I hit my high beams vs before with the stock bulbs.

So as of right now switching out those bulbs was well worth it to me. The big question is how long will they last. Only time will tell.