The all new GTR Lighting Tru-Projector Sealed Beam Headlights

Posted by betterautomotivelighting on February 18, 2013

This 7″ round dual beam projector headlight is available in black or chrome.

Last year GTR Lighting came out with a new set of replacement sealed beam type headlights and they were pretty decent, but the new generation that was just released in 2013 is really great. These headlight housings allow you to replace your 7″ Round Sealed Beam or 5×7″ Rectangular Sealed Beam headlights with new true projector dual-beam housings that can use a halogen or HID bulb!

Here’s a Chevy Camaro with the new 2nd Generation Tru-Projector headlight housings installed!

These headlights come in pairs with bulbs and relay harnesses for quick an easy installation, but you can upgrade from halogen to an HID conversion kit for even better light output. When we tested them it was incredible how much better the lights performed when using HID over halogen!

See for yourself in this video review and demo:

JW Speaker 8800 4×6″ LED Headlights

Posted by betterautomotivelighting on November 12, 2012

The #8800 LED Headlight from JW Speaker is a 4×6″ rectangular LED headlight replacement housing.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… LED technology is taking over the world! The incredible light output reached by LED forward lighting products today is nearly as potent as any xenon product of any style, and it won’t be much longer until LED is king of the hill in every regard. Because I see the future of lighting technology trending towards Light Emitting Diodes, I want you to see this headlight, developed and manufactured in America, by a company called JW Speaker, from Wisconsin. J.W. Speaker produces high-end LED lighting products for industrial, commercial and aftermarket purposes.

LED Headlights are commonly found in older vehicles and modern day semi trucks.

The majority of the LED headlights JW Speaker is making are designed to replace old style sealed beam headlight housings with new LED technology. This is because one of the largest lighting industries in the world still use standardized sealed beam type headlights: Semi trucks and military vehicles. This industrial market fuels the growth of LED headlight development, and although there are still not many 4×6″ rectangular LED headlights available, this one is the best.

Introducing the JW Speaker Model #8800 4×6 LED Headlight:

Back To The 50′s Car Show – Halogen Sealed Beams Everywhere!

Posted by betterautomotivelighting on June 25, 2012

This custom low-rider was getting lots of attention even though it had stock sealed beam headlights!

This past weekend was the 39th annual Back to the 50s car show held at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds in St. Paul, MN. I got to go for a day and see everything and I must say the event was a blast! There were big name vendors like Chevrolet, Rousch, Ford and many smaller local vendors like Union Speed & Style and lots of flea-market style setups selling all sorts of automotive goodies! It was just incredible to see so many restored classics, hot rods, street rods and wild custom muscle cars. Arguably the biggest attraction for myself was trying to spot the different lighting upgrades these enthusiasts were doing to their classic domestic rides. It was unfortunate to see so many cars with stock halogen sealed beam headlights though. The vast majority of these vehicles had stock headlights, tail lights and interior lighting. It was only a characteristic of the nicest of all vehicles in attendance to have upgraded headlights.

Crowds of people watching parades of classic cars!

I noticed a trend throughout the entire show, that was if a vehicle did have upgraded forward lighting, it was a stock-style composite housing with a blue halogen light bulb inside. I did not see a single HID conversion kit fitted car, or any type of radical LED headlight. I thought for sure there would be SOMEONE there with some crazy headlights, I must have just missed them. The second most common site to see on these cars was some type of film or vinyl over the headlight to give it a different look, but sometimes it was even done on the stock sealed beam headlights! We saw mostly 7″ round headlights and many 5.25″ round headlights, but I don’t think anyone had rectangular headlights in attendance. It really goes to show how far headlight design has changed since the middle of the 20th century. If you need new headlights for your classic car, then look no further than TLG-Auto. You can replace all of your sealed beam headlights, of any style with HID, halogen, or even new LED technology. Simply visit http://www.TLG-Auto.com

: This custom low-rider was getting lots of attention even though it had stock sealed beam headlights!

: Crowds of people watching parades of classic cars!

What are E-Code, or ECE, Headlights?

Posted by betterautomotivelighting on June 11, 2012

E-Code headlamps are very high quality and generally provide more lighting output than their DOT counterparts.

Certainly you’ve heard the term “DOT Approved” and know that it means the lighting product you are using is approved by the United States Department of Transportation to be used on your automobile while driving on public roads. Now, if you do a lot of work with older vehicles and any commercial or industrial vehicle, you may have even heard of “E-Code” lighting products. E-Code, or ECE, is a term used in the European’s version of the American DOT. In short, ECE stands for Economic Commission for Europe and it refers to legislative regulations on all sorts of products sold over the world, but there is a special section of ECE regulations just for automobile lighting products. (The full description of what E-Code or ECE stands for is: “The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations is a working party (WP.29) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe”) As of 2009 there are 58 countries that participate in ECE standards, including Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, Australia and Sweden.

Here is a comparison showing stock Jeep headlights to new Autopal housings.

Autopal headlights use replaceable light bulbs so you never have to take your housing out again.

So what does this mean for you? If your vehicle has sealed beam head lights from the factory that are DOT approved, when you replace them with E-Code housings not only will they provide MORE light output, but the beam pattern will be better than before also. Generally speaking, American automobile lighting regulations are very strict, more-so than other parts of the world. There are several brands of sealed beam conversion headlights that provide this upgraded E-Code style headlamp but my favorite is Autopal. I like Autopal E-Code headlights because they are a high quality product made in India with a thick glass lens and a sturdy metal housing-back, but they don’t break the bank like Hella E-Code housings.

Autopal E-Code headlights are available in 5×7, 7×6, 6″ Round, 7″ round, 200mm and 165mm. The other thing that Autopal E-Code headlights are great for are installing an aftermarket HID conversion kit. Because of their unique design you are able to install a shielded H4 HID kit into an H6054 style housing and not blind everyone who you drive next to on the highway. Here are a couple pictures of a 5×7 e-code headlight housing accompanied by a GTR Lighting HID system:

Mazda Miata with E-Code Headlights and a 6,000K HID conversion kit.

Pontiac Fiero with E-Code headlights and an 8,000K HID conversion kit.

So you can see that even though the Autopal E-Code headlight housings are reflector type, paired with a high quality HID kit from GTR Lighting, they provide a good cutoff line AND superior lighting output. In a sense with these housings you can have your cake and eat it too! Because these headlights come in such a variety of sizes you can fit any sealed beam headlight vehicle with a set of better housings. These types of headlights are available from TLG-Auto for a variety of vehicles including VW Passat, Hummer H1, Hummer H2, Mercedes G500, Pontiac Fiero, Toyota MR2, Toyota Celica, Mazda Miata, Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Grand Cherokee and many more vehicles including semi trucks and tractors.

6″ round E-Code headlight housings.

5×7 or 200mm E-Code headlight housings.

4×6 or 165mm E-Code headlight housings.

Projector Headlights for Sealed Beam – 7×6 Housings

Posted by betterautomotivelighting on April 25, 2012

New headlights provide upgraded lighting for older vehicles.

Many vehicles from the past are outfitted with “sealed beam” headlights from the factory, which means that the headlight housing and the headlight “bulbs” are one and the same. There are no replaceable capsules like modern headlights and when the filament burns out the entire assembly needs to be replaced. We’ve seen this issue overcome multiple times in the past by manufacturers creating something called composite headlight conversions. This means you take a headlight housing (round or square) that is the same dimension as the old style sealed beam housing but the new product has replaceable light bulbs. This allows for less expensive and less time-consuming light bulb changes and the opportunity to upgrade with high power halogen light bulbs or HID conversion!

Watch this video review I did on a set of the GTR Lighting 7×6 Tru-Projector Headlight Housings:

The problem that people have run into in the past with this type of product, however, is that when installing an HID component into these new headlight housings, the light output was super bright and blinding! In order to do away with this issue all together, GTR Lighting has introduced a line of single-beam housings that use real OEM grade projector lenses. The product line is called Tru-Projector and can be used with a halogen bulb or HID and provides the coveted cutoff line that all enthusiasts seem to be after today!

GTR Lighting Tru-Projector Headlights offer style and functionality!

OEM Grade Projectors create a sharp cutoff line for use with either halogen or HID bulbs.

This product has never existed before, so it is very exciting to be able to add an actual projector headlight to an older car. The two biggest benefits are performance and style. Not only do these headlights use a real projector assembly (not just a cheap lens) but they also utilize an LED halo ring constructed from fluted plexiglass. Simply wire the halo to your parking lights (2 wires, positive and negative) or a switch inside your vehicle for an updated custom look:

LED Halos built into the housings.

HID Lights turned on behind the projectors.

For more information on these headlights visit http://www.GTRLighting.com

Sealed Beam Headlights

Posted by betterautomotivelighting on April 12, 2012

Sealed Beam Headlight conversion with projector lens and LED halo.

Some of the first headlights used in cars and trucks after upgrading from candles and lanterns was a housing with built-in filament running on 12v electricity with the name “sealed beam” headlights. It’s called this because unlike today’s modern headlight housings, this entire headlight acted as the bulb. The glass housing was filled with halogen gas and the filament lit up inside just like the filament inside of a modern light bulb.

Sealed beam headlights have been used in new manufacturing even today in some heavy machinery and tractor trailer trucks, however less and less frequently. Today people are still restoring and modifying vehicles from the ’80s and early ’90s that came with sealed beam headlights by installing something called a composite headlight conversion. It’s called a composite headlight because it is produced with multiple components. These headlight components are comprised of a housing separate from the bulb. This allows for easier bulb replacement (instead of replacing the entire housing) and the ability to install HID headlights in sealed beam housings which was not previously possible.

For example, you can install new projector headlights for the Pontiac Fiero (which used 7×6 sealed beam headlights from the factory) which will allow you to have upgraded styling, better light output and HID options or high-power halogen bulbs. All of these things relate to one big idea: Better Automotive Lighting!

This headlight is basically a big light bulb, in the shape of a headlight housing. This is old technology and the filament is built into the housing.

Better Automotive Lighting Blog

HID and LED Lighting Technology Information

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