When Glenn Wakefield of Rocky Road Outfitters (formerly Summit Offroad) e-mailed me asking if I'd like to try out a set of IPF H4s, I jumped at the chance. I'd already upgraded from standard incandescent headlamps to halogen lamps, but I wasn't satisfied with the results. Although the halogens provided whiter, brighter light, the pattern was your usual "general purpose" headlamp pattern, which diffuses the light too much.

Since we would be meeting at Bassi Creek in only a few days to run the Rubicon for the 1999 edition of Suzukis on the Rocks, we decided to do the swap there.

Not long after arriving at Bassi Creek, Glenn handed me four boxes. The IPF replacement headlamps for two-lamp systems come packaged as two individual components for each headlamp assembly; the lamp reflector/lens/housing and a separate halogen bulb. Rocky Road Outfitters provided the housings and a set of 55/60W bulbs. Installation is as easy as changing your headlights.

Installation

1. Disconnect the wiring harness from your existing headlamps
2. Remove the plastic grille from the front of the truck.
3. Locate the three retaining-ring screws for each headlamp and remove the screws, rings and headlamps. Be sure not to unscrew the adjuster screws, or your lamp aiming will be all out of whack.
4. Remove the rubber boots from the back of the IPF housings
5. Unlatch the retaining clamp and remove the protective cover from the back of the housing.
6. Unpack the bulbs, being careful not to touch the glass portion of the bulbs with your fingers. Use a clean rag or piece of paper to prevent transferring oils to the glass. Dirt and/or oils on the bulbs will cause premature failure of the bulb.
7. Install the bulbs into the housings (they only fit one way) and latch them in.
8. Replace the rubber boot on the housing, making sure to orient the area marked TOP so it will be at the top of the assembly as installed. Be sure that the boot is fully snapped into place and properly oriented, or the housing could leak water and dirt, ruining the reflector.
9. Install the housings exactly as you would a new sealed-beam headlamp and replace the grille.
10. Reconnect your wiring harness.

Impressions

The first night-time driving I did with the new lamps was on the drive home from this year's Suzukis on the Rocks. It was a great test, as it gave me a chance to see how the lights performed on long, open stretches of highway as well as on the twisty sections climbing the mountain near home.

The first thing you'll notice is that the apparent brightness is much greater than either incandescent or sealed-beam halogens on both low- and high-beam settings.

The low-beam pattern is concentrated and sharply defined. Seen from the driver's seat, the vertical pattern is dead flat on the left with a change to a 15 degree rise to the right at about the middle of each headlamp's beam. There is a very sharp cut-off at the top. The horizontal pattern also "favors" the right side, providing a more rapid fade on the left to prevent irritating on-coming drivers. (IPF also makes a version with the pattern reversed, for countries where you drive on the left). The low-beams illuminate the road ahead and the area towards the shoulder extremely well, without causing on-coming traffic to be constantly flashing you, thinking you had your high-beams on. I found the sharp top cut-off to be a little distracting for the first few minutes of driving in twisty, hilly terrain, but rapidly got used to it.

The high-beams are down-right incredible. Switching from low- to high-beam shifts the pattern to a tightly focused broad, flat oval while still retaining good close-in illumination. Again, the pattern provides more illumination to the right and a sharper fade on the left as seen from the driver's seat. On a couple of occasions I deliberately left the highs on to see how soon other drivers would flash about them, only to find that there was often no indication from them at all of being irritated. The light is bright, intensely white and will easily illuminate reflective objects out to about one-half mile. Non-reflective objects were plainly visible out over three-tenths of a mile.

I'd highly recommend these lamps (which are available in a variety of wattage choices) to anyone looking to improve their night-time vision. I've had mine installed for nearly a month, now, and am thoroughly pleased with them.

--Scott Gomez