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Adding higher wattage bulbs (9004) to the SAE/DOT light which came on your car may not only increase the stress on your relay, wiring, and high beam combo switch, but is likely to NOT give you a proportionate amount of light. This is because of the poorly designed optics as allowed for (some might even say mandated) by the SAE/DOT. I certainly wouldn't risk the extra wattage for electrical reasons, either. While I'm pretty sure the relay (which is either a 20 or 30 amp relay) can handle it, and the wiring probably can too (long as you only go up to 80w), the high beam switch cannot, and the 9004 bulbs themselves will likely end up with melted housings if run at the 80w setting for extended periods. The full headlight current goes through the high beam combo switch in your steering column, and I've had problems using stock wattage. This can be alleviated/prevented by taking some sandpaper or other means of contact cleaner to all the terminals on that switch every couple years.
The best alternative is to buy the European spec headlights, but those are anywhere from $200-$250 per side. The do drop right in, however. :) And, they use the H4 bulbs, which can safely handle any crazy wattage you want (for instance 100w low beam/130w high). In addition, if you are running overwattage H4 bulbs, you should add an upgraded harness including two relays, which will use 12 gauge or larger wire, and draws power either from the alternator (best) or battery. Even with stock wattage bulbs, this alone may make an improvement, simply by providing much less voltage drop between the battery and lights, which can make the same bulb brighter.
As for the foglights, I would suggest looking into aftermarket brands which have a slightly different mounting than the stock BOSCH lamps, which IMHO are crap and far overpriced (but hey this is a dealer price). The stock lamps have the center of their housing at the bottom of the 'U' bracket. I'd suggest an aftermarket lamp which has a straight mounting bolt which is the LOWEST part of the assembly, meaning the entire lamp will then be above the bottom of the 'U' bracket. Yes, you want fog lights as low as possible, but in my experience, the extra few inches of height and resulting loss in performance is more than made up for by the extra ground clearance. It's WAY too easy to bang up the stock fog lights entering or leaving any kind of inclined driveway. And even using protectors, the lights can still be demaged due to the poor lens design.
Sorry to ramble on so long! I've been on a quest for the best lighting for many years, just ordered my new harness and 80w/100w H4s! Time to get some new fog light lenses too..
Cheers!
Aaron Gilbert
1987 9000T 248k miles
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