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Thread: Autopal H1/H4 conversion

  1. #1
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    Autopal H1/H4 conversion

    OK so I bought these lights. I have the H4s in no problem...the 3 prings for the bulb match up perfect for the 3 OEM 3 prong wire adapter.

    BUT with the H1...there is only ONE prong on the bulb! The OEM adapter needs 2 prongs...I have tried plugging the bulb into each of the 2 prongs but it does not come one.

    Sorry but I am electrically retarded. So is there an adapter I could buy that would let me use my new H1s? Or do I need to find a different bulb and hope it fits in the H1 body?

    Oh and I used he new H4s last night and they were a major improvement over my old sealed beams...

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  3. #3
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    Anybody have these Autopal lights? The set of four H4/H1 on ebay sells for about $90 shipped vs a set of Hellas for about $165 shipped. I would like to do the conversion for my car. Any suggestions/feedback?

  4. #4
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    I originally had these, there is a reason why they cost that much. The Hella light pattern just puts those to shame. I found the Autopal pattern to be too concentrated and cut off.

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  7. #7
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    Those are the Autopal I was asking about. I'm leaning towards the Hella because they're hella good, but hella expensive too.

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    If you're still on the fence, I'd listen to Blitz. He's used them, and he's saying to go w/ the Hella. No use in saving $20-$40 and having to live with hot spots and shallow cutoff angles. FWIW...I have the Hella ones, put on my car back in 1999. No complaints. They work so well, I don't even notice anything weird with them.
    Last edited by DHoang; 04-30-2009 at 08:19 AM.

  9. #9
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    Yeah, Blitz already had the experience with them. I plan on ordering the Hella's. The ebay deal seems pretty good for four Hella:
    http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Hella...6774QQtcZphoto
    Last edited by gabmwdrvr; 04-30-2009 at 08:32 AM.

  10. #10
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    the ebay ones are not hella sadly,
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  11. #11
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    I'm not a Hella nuthugger () I'm just saying that the Hella's are just that good. No problem with trying to save a few bucks right now and going with the Autopal. I didn't actually notice the Autopal's inferiority's until I put the Hella's on. I went from the sealed beams to Autopal so you can imagine even that was a huge upgrade.

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    I see no reason not to use them if you can't afford the hella. What no one should ever do is buy more sealed beams! Those things suck. I have the hella though and they are worth every penny. Cibie are even better, but much more expensive.

  13. #13
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    Neolites

    http://www.classicgarage.com/534rounhealb.html

    I put these in my E21 three years ago. I am not sure how they compare to Hella's, but I find the light patern to be very good, when compared to the sealed beams. The bulbs they supplied have not had a problem since installed. At $15-$16 per lamp it may be worth a shot.

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  14. #14
    uberpanzer's Avatar
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    ...I thought the Cibie's were the same price as the Hella's. Hmmm....maybe I just got a screamin' deal on my Cibie's then.

    I was going to also suggest those as an option, especially if you want/have to keep the H4 low/high buckets on the outside mounting. I'm only running 3 buckets (no high beam on driver's side), so I needed to go that way myself if I still wanted decent high beams. H4's are a must for an application like this. The other option (that I would have done otherwise) is get a set of e30 elipsoids. The can be made to work in our housing, but aren't direct drop-in replacements as the Autopal/Hella/Cibie H4/H1 units are.
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  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by pthm View Post
    the ebay ones are not hella sadly,
    The ones in my link are not Hella's? They describe them as Hella and are about the price you woud expect, 100% positive feedback too.

  16. #16
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    since we are on the topic... where is a good place to source a set of Hellas

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    Quote Originally Posted by uberpanzer View Post
    The other option (that I would have done otherwise) is get a set of e30 elipsoids. The can be made to work in our housing, but aren't direct drop-in replacements as the Autopal/Hella/Cibie H4/H1 units are.
    Unfortunately ellipsoids suck. They're all looks and no performance.

    Quote Originally Posted by gabmwdrvr View Post
    The ones in my link are not Hella's? They describe them as Hella and are about the price you woud expect, 100% positive feedback too.
    Yes, those are for real. I bought something from that company before, don't remember what it was but I do remember being satisfied.

    I got my Hellas from www.rallylights.com Also a very good place to deal with.

  18. #18
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    Thanks for all the feedback. I just ordered the Hella's on ebay, $164 shipped for all four
    I should be updating the "progress on my car thread" next week since I should be recieving my Recaro covers and the headlamps

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Layne View Post
    Unfortunately ellipsoids suck. They're all looks and no performance.

    That is just plain WRONG.

    Elipsoids are THE shit.

    Ask anyone around here thats seen my drift car. It has the brightest lights out of ANY car I have ever driven.

    I have Hella H4's on my e28 533i, and the difference to the elipsoids is literally, night and day.

    BTW I got my Hellas from Rallylights and they were very easy to deal with and had good prices.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by EFreak View Post
    That is just plain WRONG.

    Elipsoids are THE shit.

    Ask anyone around here thats seen my drift car. It has the brightest lights out of ANY car I have ever driven.

    I have Hella H4's on my e28 533i, and the difference to the elipsoids is literally, night and day.

    BTW I got my Hellas from Rallylights and they were very easy to deal with and had good prices.
    Brightness and beam patterns are two different things. I agree with Layne. Ellipsoids FTL.

  21. #21
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    does anyone here know a website that i can buy individual lights. im looking for the h4 with the parking light in it, i know someone has posted up a website before but i have miss placed it, thanks

  22. #22
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    This one is from the link Layne posted:

    http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=115

  23. #23
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    thanks, i appreciate it!

  24. #24
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    You're right, it IS all about beam pattern, and the H1 euro elipsoids are so much superior to the H4's, even the Cibie's, there is no need to compare them. I've had sealed beams, US Elips (9005/9006 combo) from the e30, Cibie H4, and Euro Elips, all right next to a buddy with Hella H4. The Euro's are better than all in BEAM pattern, light output, everything. H4's are very nice, just not really the tech of the elipsoids though. The tech that went into the Cibie's is about as close as you can get to the H1 Elispoids, but it still isn't there. Close. And good enough for a cigar.
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  25. #25
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    I got lucky and found a set of Hellas H1's off a mercedes for $89 shipped on ebay. I put in some 100W bulbs and they are close if not better than the performance of my truck's headlights. If you bide your time or check out the junkyard you may be able to find a set.

    From here:


    To here:


    I couldn't get any night pictures worth posting....

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