9004 high wattage bulbs

[scottmo@tekig5.pen.tek.com (Scott John Mockry)]

I purchased some of the high wattage 9004 bulbs last Dec. from the source
listed in autoweek. At the time they offered 65w/80w (I think?) bulbs. I
installed them in my 86 5000CS Turbo and at the time thought they worked
better than the stock 55w/65w bulbs. Well, the left side bulb only lasted
3 months and when I replaced it with a stock bulb I really could not see
much difference between the two different bulbs. The right side burned out
after 4 months. Of course the high wattage bulbs come with the standard 
disclaimer about shorter life etc. You may also want to check the
electrical connectors that plug onto the 9004 bulbs. One of my connectors
suffered a meltdown due to some corrosion left unattended. I have to agree
with the advice about getting the Euro spec light assemblies. I didn't want
to spend the $600 so I purchased some some PIAA 930 fog lights (80watts each)
and they work great lighting up the sides of the road in the rain and snow.
The roads up here in the soggy Northwest are not marked (striped) very well
and at night in the pouring rain it is a bitch!! seeing where you are going.
The PIAA lights are a little spendy at $200 though. 

I did notice that the stock electrical system does not use relays to
switch on the stock low or high beam headlights. I measured a 1 volt drop
between the alternator output B+ connection and the bulb connection with
the engine running.
Scott M.