A few months ago I replaced my XJS headlight setup. I have had some
awesome results so I figured I would share them with you guys.

As you all know, light output on the quad-US headlights are
TERRIBLE. I did some reading in Kirby’s book about headlight
upgrades a while back. I never got around to upgrading until I had
a rock fly up and hit my driver side (low beam) sealed beam lamp in
the rain. That night I went online and found some generic glass /
metal H4 headlight housings online. I think I paid around $50
shipped (for 2 hi/lo beam housings). I initially just wanted low
beams BUT, I could only find a hi/low housing. For the price... you
really cant beat 'em.

Next, I planned on throwing in some cheapo H4 halogen bulbs but, at
HID prices these days, you can get a set of high powered HID's for
the same price as the high end Silverstar halogens. 4-5 of my
friends and I have used HID kits from a website called
DDmtuning.com. They are dirt cheap and have a lifetime warranty on
ballasts. They are obviously not on par with something like
Phillips HID’s but, We have not had any problems in the 2-3 years
we have used these kits. I ordered an H4 55w Hi/Lo kit. The price
was bumped up from $30 to $60 because I opted for 55watt(+$10)
power output and (+$20) hi/lo beam (I was worried that the regular
kit would be built with a ''high'' beam, leaving me stuck with two
dedicated high beams). I also ordered the 4500k color
temperature... I did not want to drive around town looking like a
riced-out Honda. The color of my HID's are the same color as a
modern-day lexus, mercedes, caddy, etc. HID system. They are very
close to a pure white.

Install...
The installation was pretty straight forward... There is enough
room to fit the HID Ballasts in the “cavity” behind the Headlights.
The included wiring harness is plenty long enough to reach both
headlight ''cavities'' and a 12v power source. Also, Note that Hid
ballasts have their own built in “relays”. These kits use only one
original sealed beam headlight plug to trigger the relay. They pull
their main power from a separate wire (I tapped mine into a thick
(8ga) wire that I have powering my electric fan). This pulls a very
small amount of current through the original headlight wiring. This
is basically the equivalent of Kirby's ''headlight relay mod''. Very
little stress is put on the original headlight wiring. Overall,
it's pretty much a plug-‘n-play installation... you just need to
find a good 12V source and ground.

As for performance... these lights are ridiculous. Theoretically, I
have two low beams and four high beams (I made no changes to the
original dedicated high beams). The housings are cheap but, they
have a good cut-off to the left which is very important; oncoming
drivers will not be blinded. I have been using this setup for about
6 months and have not been flashed by an oncoming driver once.
Otherwise, the light spread is just ''okay'' in low beam mode.
However, the ''just okay'' light spread is offset by the crazy light
output. As for high beams... they are perfect. I can easily see AT-
LEAST 200 yards in front of me on a dark night. If high beams are
on in a city environment, I can't even read any of the road signs.
The reflection is too bright. On a rural road on a dark night, You
have more than enough time to see any animals or obstacles ahead
(even at interstate highway speeds). You will also have a lot of
adjustability with 4 high beams... you can aim your original sealed
high beams sideways so that you can see off to the side of the road
too.

As others have stated before, the stock sealed beams on this car
are borderline un-safe. For just over $100, you can't beat this
setup. FWIU H4's are not legal in the US. Where I live, cops have
much bigger fish to fry. As long as our lights are aimed properly
and not blinding anyone, we do not get any trouble.

A lot of credit goes out to Kirby Palm for this setup. Most of my
setup is based off of his concepts.

Hopefully this will help someone else

Thanks!
Cody

Here is a link to the H4 housings...
http://www.slickcar.com/productdetai...ProductID=1028

And here is a link to the DDM HID page...
http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/Apexcone

 

You may want to post some pics, if you get around to it.

Thanks for the writeup!

 

ahh! i was going to but never got around to it.

i'll throw some up in a few minutes

 

well... cant find out how to edit my posts so.....
here are a few pics. my car is super dirty right now.... Daily driving an xjs doesn't leave a whole lot of money left over for cosmetics. it sucks up all my money just keeping it on the road!

Cameras always have a tough time accurately depicting headlights but, hopefully these will give you an idea the end result...

 

Is that a plastic lens, or glass?

 

The outer lights are supposed to be hi/low, not just "low". Four light systems in the US come that way.

When you hit the hi beams, the outer bulb switches over to the hi beam filament and the beam pattern changes. The low beam filament goes off.

It's also possible to wire the outers so that both the high and the low beam filaments are on simultaneously when the high beams are engaged, but the heat output would shorten the life of the bulb, I'm sure.

H4 bulbs are legal in the US. They are actually the standard equipment in several cars. They must be used in an approved lighting housing, however.

 

Yes, HID bulbs are a bit different though. The gas tube physically moves into a position that changes the light outupt or; a little "shield" moves when you hit the high beams, allowing light to shine to the "high beam" reflective area. they never actually change voltage though.

I didn't know H4's were legal though... that sgood to know. I knew most motorcycles had them. I wasn't sure about cars though. are they legal even if they are not factory equipment?

Oh and vee, They are metal and glass housings