I know that lighting upgrades are a very popular modification for most of us, but I wanted to share my upgrade and the results. I will preface this by saying that I am relatively new to domestic vehicles, but not to vehicle modifications. I have always upgraded the lighting on my vehicles to ECE standards, as the lighting regulations and equipment in Europe are FAR superior to the sub-par trash we get here. Thank you FMVSS 108. 
So, when I bought my XJ, I looked into the available options for upgrading the stock headlamps(because we all know they suck). The offerings from Delta and Rampage looked too much like the cheesy aftermarket lights found on modified Hondas, and the IPF lights did not offer the built-in city light feature. So I held out until I found drop-in 200mm units from Hella. They've got the correct fluted glass lens with the proper ECE markings, take a replaceable H4 bulb, and are set up for city lights. The fit directly into the buckets already on our trucks, and they look like this:
Here you can see the difference in the lenses and housings(sealed beam on the left, Hella H4 on the right):
Now, I had already upgraded the headlamp wiring, which is necessary to go with the more powerful 80/100w bulbs I am using in the H4s. You can run standard 55/60w bulbs in the H4 housings without doing a wiring upgrade, but I highly recommend going the extra step so you can use the higher wattage bulbs. Here is a comparison on the sealed beam lamps vs the H4 lamps on low beam:
Sealed Beam -
H4 -
Notice the sharp cut-off of the H4 light pattern, and how full the fill area is from that cutoff down. I took the pictures before I aimed the lights, so this is a straight-up head-to-head comparison. The H4s are even better once they are aimed properly, and it may take a bit of toying with to get them right.
Here is a comparison of the high beams. You will notice how much higher the light is actually rising from the lamps. This translates to better long-range illumination in the practical application.
Sealed beam -
H4 -
All said and done, the cost of this upgrade was around $200(lamps, bulbs, and wiring harness), and the install took roughly 30 minutes. I've still got some adjusting to do, as I'm not sure I have the lights aimed just the way I want them, but I am very pleased with the results. Now I can see at night! :yelclap:
So, when I bought my XJ, I looked into the available options for upgrading the stock headlamps(because we all know they suck). The offerings from Delta and Rampage looked too much like the cheesy aftermarket lights found on modified Hondas, and the IPF lights did not offer the built-in city light feature. So I held out until I found drop-in 200mm units from Hella. They've got the correct fluted glass lens with the proper ECE markings, take a replaceable H4 bulb, and are set up for city lights. The fit directly into the buckets already on our trucks, and they look like this:
Here you can see the difference in the lenses and housings(sealed beam on the left, Hella H4 on the right):
Now, I had already upgraded the headlamp wiring, which is necessary to go with the more powerful 80/100w bulbs I am using in the H4s. You can run standard 55/60w bulbs in the H4 housings without doing a wiring upgrade, but I highly recommend going the extra step so you can use the higher wattage bulbs. Here is a comparison on the sealed beam lamps vs the H4 lamps on low beam:
Sealed Beam -
H4 -
Notice the sharp cut-off of the H4 light pattern, and how full the fill area is from that cutoff down. I took the pictures before I aimed the lights, so this is a straight-up head-to-head comparison. The H4s are even better once they are aimed properly, and it may take a bit of toying with to get them right.
Here is a comparison of the high beams. You will notice how much higher the light is actually rising from the lamps. This translates to better long-range illumination in the practical application.
Sealed beam -
H4 -
All said and done, the cost of this upgrade was around $200(lamps, bulbs, and wiring harness), and the install took roughly 30 minutes. I've still got some adjusting to do, as I'm not sure I have the lights aimed just the way I want them, but I am very pleased with the results. Now I can see at night! :yelclap:
