i wanted to add more light to the road in the back country on the way up to go snowboarding. i thought about a set of hella driving lights but not fond of putting them on the car. so a cheaper option to TRY for now would be to replace the stock 55w highbeam bulbs with a 100w bulb.

is this SAFE to do? i know some cars the inner headlight housing would burn/melt from a higher wattage bulb any one have experience doing this?

No. Very good chance of melting your wiring harness.

....new harness...THEN 100w bulbs...or ya almost certainly will deep fry something

after you upgrade the wiring, you still might melt the housings or reflectors

Shane

after you upgrade the wiring, you still might melt the housings or reflectors

Shane

+1

Want more light? Go add ons - they may even be legal

yeah thats what im gonna do a set of hella driving lights. now i need to decide Hella 500s or FF1000s

not to mention that those higher wattage bulbs will die much faster than any stock one will.

Yup even with a new harness you run the risk of damaging the lenses. Highest I'd run for high beams is some HIRs at ~65watts

Go with some Hella FF1000 they are VERY good for ~100 bux; and mount'm on a Rallyho bracket:

http://www.rallylights.com/hella/Lamp_Mounting_kits.asp

+1 for FF1000s!! got mine from rallylights and put 100W bulbs in them...SUPER bright!!!:eek:

just my 2 cents guys.
I tested headlight bulbs for over two years working at APC. We would get bulbs to test and compare from other MFG like PIAA, Raybrig,Sylvania along with APC bulbs and no name generic bulbs from china. Higher wattage bulbs always presented problems even the big ones like PIAA and Raybrig, some would simply burn out after 2hrs of use while some exploded from the heat. I remeber the Raybrig Bulbs would get so hot the lenses would begin to warp from the heat. Burned up harnesses was the number one problem. Some would simply melt the wire while other would met the harness itself. I would suggest you stay away from any high wattage bulbs.

A far better way to upgrade the stock hibeams is with 9011 bulbs.

A far better way to upgrade the stock hibeams is with 9011 bulbs.

...add the Osram 65w h7's....they are an h9 capsule on the h7 base....and ya got :eek: :banana: lights

I kinda like the HID lights.

Go with separate driving / fog lights, heavy duty relays, and wiring. Back in collage I "upgraded" to halogens and melted a $137 dollar column switch assembly. Some coin 20+ years ago. I wound up drilling out the rivets and fixing the mess, but you do NOT want to go there. Still had to install the relays...

Dont do the 100watters, i did, and after a month or 2 when the driverside lamp stopped working the connectors just pulverised in my hands.
A 10 buck visit to the junkyard fixed it, but I learned a lesson there.

Go HID, or go FF500 or FF1000.