[UberRoo]

Debates are no fun once they become uncivilized.

The low cost and standardization of sealed-beam headlights is pretty cool. Unfortunately, even the highest quality ones still produce an unfocused beam. I rather like the color of the light they produce, but getting it where you want it can be challenging. One major downside of sealed-beam lights is that the face of the lens is square with oncoming debris. Any small rock that gets kicked up by a tire will break the lens. Lights that angle back will deflect rocks rather than try to absorb them, (which glass just doesn't do very well.) Amazingly, they do frequently function for a quite a while even with big rock dings and water in the bottom. On the Sylvania bulbs, the little glass stem that holds the filaments tends to break off. I haven't found an explanation for this. Vibration or sudden cooling seem like the only possible causes. Wagner and GE don't have this problem.

There are five major sizes I know of. Large round, small round, large rectangle, small rectangle, and a subsize rectangle which is as wide as the small one, but not as high.

Sylvania bulbs don't last very long but are usually cheaper by about ten percent. Wagner or GE are both pretty good, with GE being the least expensive.

Regular sealed beam bulbs are 35 low, 45 high. These are somewhat uncommon because most people find them too dim. The most common seems to be 45/55, but 45/65 and 55/65 are fairly easy to find. The large sizes are sometimes available in 55/75, and seem to be focused better. Generally speaking, small reflectors, such as those found in HIDs and fog lights, tend to have difficulty creating a quality beam pattern and to oncoming traffic appear very bright. Larger reflectors consistently produce a more useful beam and appear less intense to people looking directly at them.

I buy the small 55/65 GE lights for one of my cars, but they cost about $14 apiece, as opposed to the 45/55 Sylvania bulbs which are about $5 each. I have seven sealed-beam headlights, which I use for rallying. With the shock and vibration they don't last very long. Sometimes I turn on both high and low filaments simultaneously and this shortens their life-span tremendously.

I've seen assemblies to replace sealed-beam lights with a special lens and reflector housing that accepts the replaceable filaments like modern cars use. I don't know if the quality of their reflectors is any better as I've never had an opportunity to use one. The potential is there. I'm consistently amazed that the round light on the front of my motorcycle can produce a perfect, square beam that surpasses virtually any pair of lights on a car. I think just about all motorcycles have these fantastic assemblies, and have had them for decades. (Mine is over twenty years old!)