100 watt bulbs upgrade & led sidelight bulbs

Hi,just wanted to check before i upgraded to h4 100/80 watt bulbs and if i am right h7 100w in my p38 that the electrical system would be able to cope with this load (always worried about overloading) should i be putting relays in as well ? and also me not knowing a lot but as i have read on other threads i was going to put in led sidelight bulbs and to stop the error message coming up other members have suggested some kind of resistance,what would this take the form off? thanks

100w are illegal, cant see why it would overload anything, ive never had no probs with 100w

nathan5346 said:

100w are illegal, cant see why it would overload anything, ive never had no probs with 100w

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me neither,i have got 100 watt bulbs in my p38,no probs at all.

Only problem I had with 100w bulbs was that burning hotter, the fillament would blow a lot more readily.

I just put exon bulbs in dip beam on my 2000 yr p38, thought main beam was ok.

100w bulbs are indeed illegal for road use on cars built or first used after 1st April 1986, unless you want to push your luck you're better off opting for one of the legal e-marked xenon or similar upgrade packages.

I used to use them on my older cars and they were a vast improvement over standard; however headlight technology has moved on since then and improved lighting is not just down to sheer wattage. If it's off-road light output you want to increase then additional driving ligths would probably be a better option.

With regards to switching to LED bulbs, I believe from LRO acticle (June 09) that for cars built/first used after 1st april 1986 you can't legally fit LEDs to lamp housings that were designed to be fitted with normal filament bulbs. You can only replace whole units, ie. bulb and lens. Given the extreme shortage of upgrade parts for P38's I think you'll be likely to find any LED specific lamp units for them, but good luck.

100 watt bulbs have a knack of melting the wiring or the plugs they connect to,due to the power they need to get them to work,seen a few car fires as a result,and if it does happen the insurance won,t pay out so think carefully if your about too or are using them.the best ones i have found are the piaa range,they produce a nice crisp light near to hid and don,t cost much think i paid £20 for mine,and they are as bright as some of the new mercedes hid lights,they also use the same power as an average h4 bulb so no risk of any melting wires or fires.

have a look at specialist leisure they are the main uk dealer for them
or the piaa website

or fit the relay upgrade as in the Q's and A's section.

A worthwhile upgrade anyway.

just been on fleabay,and found loads of h4 piaa bulbs ranging from £15 upwards,a cheap mod for anyone wanting brighter headlights ready for the dark evenings

Hi,thanks for help people certainly opened one's eye's, me thinks i will stay away from 100w bulbs,thanks again