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i found these bulbs on ebay and was going to buy them except it say buyer needs to see if car can run 100w bulbs....can the camaro run these?
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Re: Headlight wattage...
or would these be better?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Xenon...Q5fAccessories
i don't know a whole lot about headlights...
& whats the difference w/these
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Xenon...Q5fAccessories
onees a 9005 and ones a 9006...Comment
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Re: Headlight wattage...
Don't bother with cheapo ebay bulbs. If you want a bit more light output, get some silverstar Ultras or some of PIAA's lightbulbs. And stick to halogen. A standard headlight is 55W, those are 100W, which means you are trying to force almost twice the power through the stock wires, designed for 55W. This means you may burn out the wires. One way to counteract this is to buy a plug extension with a lower gauge wire. But it's not worth it, IMO.
The HIDs you linked to are actual HID (High Intensity Discharge) bulbs rather than halogen bulbs like the first link you posted. In order to make the HIDs work, you will need to have already installed an HID ballast to your stock wiring harness which is sounds like you haven't. I'd also suggest against going to HID unless you have projector housings.
The difference is high and low beam, which in this case is just the plug type. 9005 is the High beam, the plug has a little ridge disallowing you from putting the high beam bulbs in as low beams. If those were halogens, the difference (in addition to the plug) would be that the 9005 is 65W and does not have a cap and the 9006 is 55W and does have a cap.Comment
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Re: Headlight wattage...
Wattage is unaffected by wire size and gauge for the most part, because wattage does not determine wire guage. Voltage and amperage determine wire gauge. BUT, thru saying that, it is possible to use a 100W bulb, so long as it is rated for a 12VDC system like an auto.Don't bother with cheapo ebay bulbs. If you want a bit more light output, get some silverstar Ultras or some of PIAA's lightbulbs. And stick to halogen. A standard headlight is 55W, those are 100W, which means you are trying to force almost twice the power through the stock wires, designed for 55W. This means you may burn out the wires. One way to counteract this is to buy a plug extension with a lower gauge wire. But it's not worth it, IMO.
Wattage is simply a measurement of how fast one ampere flows thru the potential difference of one volt. In itself its indeterminate of wire guages.1995 Pontiac Firebird
2008 Chevrolet Silverado LT Crew Cab 4x4Comment
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Re: Headlight wattage...
Power ("wattage") is calculated by the equation P=VI or power=voltage*current. Because Power is increased (100 vs. 55) and voltage is constant, current is increased to make up for the difference. Current, obviously measured in amperes, as you said is a big part of the gauge of wire required for the application. So a 100W bulb will require a larger gauge wire than a 55W bulb to run safely.Originally posted by Mogobs30th View Post
The stock wiring harness can handle it, but with prolonged use may heat up to the point of failure, which is why I advised him to get an extension with larger gauge wire.
edit:
So,
P/V=I
100/12=8.33 A
55/12=4.58 A
Or nearly twice the current.Last edited by TheGr8Schlotzky; 04-29-2010, 05:49 PM.Comment
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Re: Headlight wattage...
So its basically 4 and a half amps stock to a little over 8 amps stock, with from what I have seen is 12 gauge wire to the headlamps. He isn't going to have a problem with the wiring at all. Its either a 14 or 16 AWG conductor, and for going no more than 10 ft total, with no more than 10 amps, the conductors would handle it appropriately.
Now, whether or not I would put a 100W in there would depend on the year car. I think the 93-95 would handle it better than anything with the DRL module.1995 Pontiac Firebird
2008 Chevrolet Silverado LT Crew Cab 4x4Comment
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Re: Headlight wattage...
I know my HID's use less watts than my stock headlights since they are wired through the ballast i think they were 35w compared to stock 55w. Just like the new fans I installed also stocck wire 12ga. they only draw like 6 amps each (80watts) compared to stock 10-12amps( don't remember watts) each from stock fans. I guess it all adds up as you go and mod stuff.Last edited by ssms5411; 04-29-2010, 06:16 PM.08' L76 6.0L 4X4 Chevy EXT.Cab LTZ Vortec MAX with Snug top cover, Dynomax exhaust,Hptuners& K&N intake
96' Camaro M5 to A4 conversion, alot of mods . GT35R Turbo full suspension. Built engineComment
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Re: Headlight wattage...
Thank you Scholtzky, I know how electrical formulas work, I have several books sitting right next to me. The whole point is that with the current gauge wire used to power the headlights will handle the amperage change in the headlight system, so long as the breakers/fusible links are rated for that amperage. There is no need to change the wiring, nor is there any need for an extention.1995 Pontiac Firebird
2008 Chevrolet Silverado LT Crew Cab 4x4Comment
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Re: Headlight wattage...
Point taken, and yes, you're correct that more than likely the stock wiring will handle the additional current. I'm not saying 100W will burn out stock wiring, I'm saying with the fluctuations in voltage and wattage of the bulb there is a possibility that if nothing else, a 15 year old wire which may not be operating at it's full potential could reach temperatures it was not designed for. I believe there was a reason they over-engineered certain areas of cars, and taking away some of that wiggle room is not necessarily the best idea.
And I'm a little confused as to what you mean regarding the DRL modules. 93-96 doesn't have DRLs.Comment
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Re: Headlight wattage...
Well I am thinking about for the price and everything, going with these low beam bulbs...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/55W-9...Q5fAccessories
They are only 55w, same as stock and provide the highest light output. I am not really a fan of the colored bulbs plus they attract cops.
as for the high beams..
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Xenon...Q5fAccessories
These are 65w, which i'd assume are stock??
for the price and everything. I think these are pretty good. I don't need to spend a whole lot of money getting an HID conversion kit w/some 10000k bulbs and get pulled over.
But anyone think I'd have problems with these? Seem like they would be plug n play...Comment
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Re: Headlight wattage...
Read my first post again thoroughly, I've pretty much answered all of those questions already.
Any kind of coating on the bulb will reduce the effective light output. The blue coating on those bulbs will make the output color much whiter, but they will more than likely be noticeably duller than stock because of the coating. Trust me, I know this from experience with many bulbs on the market. If you want more light output, you have to get a bulb that is designed to be brighter at the expense of longevity. The silverstars are the most readily available, but Hella and PIAA have comparable bulbs.
Both lights you linked to are 9006, which as noted in my first post, are not interchangeable.
Those fog lights will match color-wise, but again will be less effective at lighting up the road. Some will say that the blue-white tint makes the lights seem brighter, but they are not. They look cool, but that's about it.Comment
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