Review: US H4 Eurolite Conversion Kit

[pbureau@attbi.com (ATS - Patrick Bureau)]

Being a person that constantly tries new items for the scirocco (when there
is a new item to be found), once I discovered H4 bulbs lights into an US
format (4x6" quad lights front) headlight, I decided to order a pair to see,
the cost was minimal 38.99 + shipping and I knew the H4 bulbs even at 55w
was going to be much superior to the US Sealed beam rated at 35w.

Eurolite, H4 50/60w 12v Head Lamp Conversion kit from Toucan Industries, is
composed of 2 Headlights, 2 H4 "blue bulbs", 2 wiring looms and rubber
capping seals.  Now the big thing about these headlights (and there are
other manufacturers that have a similar set of headlights) is that they went
ahead and got DOT approval and the product code us WF-D4658.

Impressions;

The packaging is good, the good arrived quickly and very well packed.
Excited, I unpacked and loaded the head lights with the H4 Bulbs, I am no
fan of colored lenses, but I decided that I was going to try the kit as
sold. Now the first thing I noticed about the head light unit itself
(housing) is that the front is tempered glass, but the housing itself seems
like a heavy duty plastic/polymer of sorts, and the BIG warning sticker atop
the headlight " Only use 50/60w H4 bulbs" did caution me right away ( and I
am a big fan of German Euro lights with 100/130w rally H4 bulbs) that
upgrading the bulbs to something "hotter" will cause some severe melting of
the casing itself. This I found to be a Major drawback on the design itself.
Aside from this point everything is very good quality the lens is a Clear
lens and not the usual frosty US Sealed beam headlight and by the looks
promised to be fairly bright none the less once installed.

Installation;

Removing Sealed beams was a quick and easy thing, the looms with adapter is
not required for the scirocco has the H4's are wired the same way has the
sealed beams (if converting the high beams with this type of headlight you
will have to relocate the connectors to adapt to the new headlight.) First
thing I noticed, the headlight is not exactly the proper size, it is about
1/8" smaller all around than the mounting bracket on my 88 Scirocco. Annoyed
at seeing my first mounted headlight floating in the casing, I pop it back
out and stick some foam tape (3m) around the edge of the headlight to
compensate for the "space" and refit the lens in place, happy it no longer
moved, and a small concern about "melting" came to mind again, I will follow
up on this once I have drive 3K miles with them to tell you how they held
out. Once both headlights are mounted, I turn on the lights, right away I am
pleased with this change, the clear lens let all the 50w bulbs brightly
light the parking lot, with a slight "hid" blue light (I will be changing
the bulbs for Phillips Clear 50/60w bulbs, the blue haze is just not my
thing. I drove to work and was very much happy with the clarity of the road
being brought to me once again.

Personal comments;

I would like to have other people comment on the other H4 conversion kits
out there (I have found 7 companies building these now) to see if there are
better ones for the $$.

All in all, I am please of my 40$ expense, it is a cheaper way to have H4's,
but if you were to convert all 4 headlights, (implementing H3 or H1 head
lamp conversion from same companies you find yourself at a cost of over 90$
for bright lights in US Spec headlights size. is it worth it? considering
that a little effort and patience can produce you with complete German Spec
or Uk Spec Euro light for as little as 100$ through Ebay, I would say it all
depends on a personal taste, especially if you are trying to keep your car
looking stock  This mod would not change the look of the car, all in all it
becomes a personal choice.

Other kits are a little more expensive, note the casing are usually in
aluminum, and I have seen some, even come out with a "city light" bulb in
them to fully convert the look like of the European counterparts, shopping
wisely as to what you want to be done with your headlights on your car will
become you guiding point in your purchase.

I rate this kit a 7/10, the polymer casing and size differential, being the
points for a lower mark than would be expected, but I suspect other kits
would rate at a higher mark, especially ones with metal casing with city
lights incorporated in the headlight.






==========================================
ATS - Patrick Bureau
1985 8v **Planning 3A/JH  Upgrade**
1988 16v ** Euro Project/maybe 8v **
Web Site : http://longcoeur.com/scirocco