# LED headlight bulbs



## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

i know a lot of new cars are now coming with LED headlights, so was wondering if anyone is running aftermarket LED bulbs? i remember a discussion about this a while ago, and it was the beams not being unto the halogen bulbs that seemed to be the main bugbear of them back them, so, are they any better now?

if so, are there a type to go for, and ones to avoid? anyone have a pic of their own LED headlight bulb for reference, maybe the way they are designed?

:thumb:

like these?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2X-H7-CRE...822423?hash=item2815866a57:g:NaoAAOSwoudW68Md


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

I had Cree LED dipped beams in my last 407. They looked good, and worked pretty well. They did however cause very bad interference on the radio.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/72W-12000...e54bd195e230f379e79030&pid=100505&rk=1&rkt=1&


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

PugIain said:


> I had Cree LED dipped beams in my last 407. They looked good, and worked pretty well. They did however cause very bad interference on the radio.


is that what those "extra" cables are for, in the pics? the cables with a block in the middle of them?


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## VIPER (May 30, 2007)

Interested in seeing how this progresses as I've fancied some for a while too. I have LED sidelights already, and am planning to replace the whole rear light clusters with plug 'n' play LED units soon, but as for LED headlight replacement bulbs, I've yet to find anything that looks like it won't throw a canbus dash error light up.


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## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

Interesting thread. I've got Cree sidelights in the Caddy Maxi and they look awful next to the halogens.

IME if you get decent Canbus rated LEDs, they shouldn't throw an error (the cheaper ones always do!). I can only imagine it being similar with headlights.

Any clarification on the legality of doing this on a car designed for halogens? Not trolling but can't help but think about all the issues with retrofitted xenons.


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

bidderman1969 said:


> is that what those "extra" cables are for, in the pics? the cables with a block in the middle of them?


The ones I had were like this 









I assumed the little black box was like a ballast. Sort of like HIDs have.

And no that picture was not taken with a potato. It was in fact taken with a slightly elderly courgette.


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## Mcpx (Mar 15, 2016)

LED sidelight bulbs are one thing, but for retrofit to normal projector (halogen) main/dipped beam forget it. 

Halogen projector headlights are designed to take a very specific light source and focus it precisely in a specific area, so it lights up the part of the road that you need it to. Whilst they may be much brighter and far more energy efficient, LED bulbs do not emit the correct pattern of light to allow the headlight to focus it, so you get a scattered beam that a: doesn't light up the road properly and b: dazzles any other road users unlucky enough to be coming towards you.

They might look great when fitted, but you'll annoy the hell out of everybody and will have difficulty where there is no street lighting. You also won't get through an MOT or a police spot check as the bulbs will not be e-marked and so are not road legal, although I am aware that that doesn't seem to matter to many people.


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## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

^^^ That's exactly what my concern was in my comment.


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## Smithy225 (Dec 29, 2015)

I've been running LED mains, dipped and sides on my Ds3 for about a year. Made an amazing difference! The headlights need slight adjustment on the beam height but other than that been great. Theyre canbus and have the ballast built into the unit themselves. I'll get some pics later

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

Mcpx said:


> LED sidelight bulbs are one thing, but for retrofit to normal projector (halogen) main/dipped beam forget it.
> 
> Halogen projector headlights are designed to take a very specific light source and focus it precisely in a specific area, so it lights up the part of the road that you need it to. Whilst they may be much brighter and far more energy efficient, LED bulbs do not emit the correct pattern of light to allow the headlight to focus it, so you get a scattered beam that a: doesn't light up the road properly and b: dazzles any other road users unlucky enough to be coming towards you.
> 
> They might look great when fitted, but you'll annoy the hell out of everybody and will have difficulty where there is no street lighting. You also won't get through an MOT or a police spot check as the bulbs will not be e-marked and so are not road legal, although I am aware that that doesn't seem to matter to many people.


Exactly the same as those who fit aftermarket HID's when the lenses arn't designed for them.

One bit of advice, If you are looking for some regardless, go through a uk company (i believe we have a sponser on here, or had) as it's just not worth the hassle buying the cheap eBay Chinese imported stuff.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=331351&highlight=HIDs


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Smithy225 said:


> I've been running LED mains, dipped and sides on my Ds3 for about a year. Made an amazing difference! The headlights need slight adjustment on the beam height but other than that been great. Theyre canbus and have the ballast built into the unit themselves. I'll get some pics later
> 
> Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk


that would be great, and a link to what you got? :thumb:


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

^^^^ yep - I'd be interested in seeing your Ds3 too chum.

Cooks

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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

DLGWRX02 said:


> Exactly the same as those who fit aftermarket HID's when the lenses arn't designed for them.
> 
> One bit of advice, If you are looking for some regardless, go through a uk company (i believe we have a sponser on here, or had) as it's just not worth the hassle buying the cheap eBay Chinese imported stuff.
> 
> http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=331351&highlight=HIDs


Personally, I wouldn't recommend Horizon.
I bought mine from them.They caused very bad interference on the radio, basically rendering it unlistenable at night.
I emailed them thinking, hey it's their kit that's at fault.

Took about 3 emails and a few weeks and the reply was buy more things to stop it.

Not likely. I took them out instead.


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

PugIain said:


> Personally, I wouldn't recommend Horizon.
> I bought mine from them.They caused very bad interference on the radio, basically rendering it unlistenable at night.
> I emailed them thinking, hey it's their kit that's at fault.
> 
> ...


Don't get me wrong, i wasn't recommending them in particular, its just i knew we had a sponser and couldnt remember the name.

All my led's and Hid's have come from HIDS direct, and i cant fault them for customer service. Just didn't know if it would be wrong to post a link up for the website.


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## Banksy40 (Sep 5, 2012)

If you do go for them double check you have the space for the fans and extra so the fans right up against something. Also ensure you have the space to get them installed. If you have caps over the backs of the existing lights expect to have to remove them.

Bought them for my Mazda 6 and ended up returning them due to the space. Sidelights and indicators are now all LED and touch wood no issues yet.


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## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

I have some led main beams and tbh I'm not entirely convinced by them. I love the 'clean' light, I love the instant on / off, and I like that the colour matches my dip beam hids. However, they don't cast as much visible light onto the road as a decent halogen bulb does. They weren't cheap either and had the highest lumen rating I could find at the time.

I think the problem is they're an aluminium tube with an led each side which isn't a very good representation of the bright spot of a filament inside a transparent glass tube. The LEDs would need to be mounted back to back as close to the centre of the tube and have a much wider viewing angle to hit the reflector anything like a halogen does.

I have an aftermarket hid kit in the dip beams which have projector lenses as standard, they're much nicer to drive with than the standard candles, and have a perfect beam cutoff, as good as any oe fit hids I've seen. I would love something similar in the main beams but hids simply aren't suitable as they don't like flicking on and off and have a few seconds warm up time to reach full brightness.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cree-LED-...033816?hash=item568778e218:g:Vp0AAOSwR5dXSBx~

compare that with this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2X-H7-Cre...974593?hash=item4b00faa981:g:LlAAAOSwUdlWcjMV

confuses peeps i would imagine


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## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes, lots and lots for sale are little more than glorified sidelights. Trying to use those as main beams would be like using candle power.


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## Ben108 (Jul 26, 2014)

Harry_p said:


> Yes, lots and lots for sale are little more than glorified sidelights. Trying to use those as main beams would be like using candle power.


I'll share a video with you later that would prove your comment otherwise. Some of them are pretty impressive

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Ben108 said:


> I'll share a video with you later that would prove your comment otherwise. Some of them are pretty impressive
> 
> Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


that would actually be quite helpful :thumb:


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## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

Ben108 said:


> I'll share a video with you later that would prove your comment otherwise. Some of them are pretty impressive
> 
> Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


I'm sure some are, but there are lots using multiple cheap, low power LEDs in random arrangements being sold as headlight bulbs which won't put out any kind of useful light. The ones that do run high power leds, need heat sinks of some sort and cost a lot more.


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## Smithy225 (Dec 29, 2015)

Some photos of my LED full set










































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## Smithy225 (Dec 29, 2015)

These are the set I've got, had them off Amazon for £35 a set last November. Cannot fault them, canbus shows no errors, never failed, there's no warm up time instant light, flicking main beam on is instant and they use Philips components so shouldn't fail. They have a direct connect plug on them which is no different to plugging a normal bulb in










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## LSpec (Apr 7, 2013)

Smithy225 said:


> These are the set I've got, had them off Amazon for £35 a set last November. Cannot fault them, canbus shows no errors, never failed, there's no warm up time instant light, flicking main beam on is instant and they use Philips components so shouldn't fail. They have a direct connect plug on them which is no different to plugging a normal bulb in
> 
> 
> 
> ...


they look good, but in the pictures is hard to be sure. Are you happy with they?

better than halogens?


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## Smithy225 (Dec 29, 2015)

A massive improvement over halogens, I wouldn't be without them now! Best money I've spent on the car!! 

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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Might tempt me to try them

These are my light lens, are they "projector" type? Would those bulbs be good enough for mine do you think?


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Also, what about full beams?


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## Smithy225 (Dec 29, 2015)

I wouldn't like to say with the projector types, although they do direct the beam so may be even better pattern. The main thing is that you have the space at the back for the heatsink/fan to fit. Main beams are astonishing! Literally like day light

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## Spike85 (May 22, 2016)

Those led h7s look brilliant and easier to for then HID's 

May have to get some of those for the winter


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## Smithy225 (Dec 29, 2015)

Yeah and the best thing is they are just plug and play! 

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## LSpec (Apr 7, 2013)

Smithy225 said:


> A massive improvement over halogens, I wouldn't be without them now! Best money I've spent on the car!!
> 
> Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk


I would try them..


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

i am tempted, but if you have to leave the back of the bulb holder off, the cover/cap, wouldn't moisture get into the headlight itself?


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

bidderman1969 said:


> i am tempted, but if you have to leave the back of the bulb holder off, the cover/cap, wouldn't moisture get into the headlight itself?


I modified the ones on my 407 using electricians tape and a cardboard loo roll tube.
Worked a treat


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## ShampooEfficient (Jan 19, 2008)

How does the beam pattern hold up with these, compared to a halogen bulb?

I'm more concerned with not dazzling oncoming traffic than I am with ultimate light reach, or indeed the aesthetics of the bulb colour.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

ShampooEfficient said:


> How does the beam pattern hold up with these, compared to a halogen bulb?
> 
> I'm more concerned with not dazzling oncoming traffic than I am with ultimate light reach, or indeed the aesthetics of the bulb colour.


From what I have seen/read, they seem to be more geared up to projector lights? Unless I'm mistaken………


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## no1chunk (Nov 18, 2012)

Dont even bother ordering anything from horizon leds emailed them asking for advice on which leds would be best even gave over my car details which they replied which ones would be the best so ordered them . Couple of days later they turned up having spent over £100 on them and they dont fit, been emailing them since the 20/7/16 to which i have no solution and no refund and a set of bulbs which are completly useless because they dont fit any car my family own, so thank you horizon for taking over £100 off me and leaving me chasing you up to 3 times a week for nothing. 1st class customer service.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

no1chunk said:


> Dont even bother ordering anything from horizon leds emailed them asking for advice on which leds would be best even gave over my car details which they replied which ones would be the best so ordered them . Couple of days later they turned up having spent over £100 on them and they dont fit, been emailing them since the 20/7/16 to which i have no solution and no refund and a set of bulbs which are completly useless because they dont fit any car my family own, so thank you horizon for taking over £100 off me and leaving me chasing you up to 3 times a week for nothing. 1st class customer service.


Pay with credit card/debit card at all?


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## Smithy225 (Dec 29, 2015)

ShampooEfficient said:


> How does the beam pattern hold up with these, compared to a halogen bulb?
> 
> I'm more concerned with not dazzling oncoming traffic than I am with ultimate light reach, or indeed the aesthetics of the bulb colour.


Pattern wasn't too bad on mine, which aren't projectors. But needed to adjust the height

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## no1chunk (Nov 18, 2012)

bidderman1969 said:


> Pay with credit card/debit card at all?


Yes mate i think i paid with my debit card just frustrates me that i have to do all the chasing.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

I know that feeling all too much!

Still in 2 minds about this


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

anyone else took the plunge yet?

im torn between something these......

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/H7-499-50...199196?hash=item3a9d1fa21c:g:tz4AAOSw7ThUgahj

and these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160W-1600...720801?hash=item4b066356e1:g:DL4AAOSwdzVXsuyp

or even these...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2X-H7-R3-...256251?hash=item33be22613b:g:O7UAAOSwtPZXHba2

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Bulbs-P...hash=item542e864187:m:mTTmKHAzKB0CsCNbRdyhOpg

some with fans, some without fans, some with like metal heat displacement things, aaaarrrrgggghhh!!


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## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

I've just bought another pair of led H1s to try in my main beams. Will give them a go tomorrow if the weather is ok.


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## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

Well, I bought these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232031128548

And put them in the main beam of my 1996 BMW e36. They are an h1 fit, and the lamps are standard reflector type.

They're superb!

I had some other led bulbs in, which were never anything more than ok. I liked the colour and the instant on / off, but light output was so so. As such I didn't really reccomend them to anyone.

These new ones are a whole new kettle of fish! I have 55w HIDs in the outer projector lens dip beam units, which look very bright in normal use, but flicking the mains off leaves them looking like candles.

I tried taking a video but it doesn't come close to showing how good they are.

Old on the left, new on the right 









The extra depth is annoying, my rear covers are a tight fit so will need a tophat extension to fit over them, but the integrated balast and no additional wiring is very handy.

I would like to try them in my dip beams to see how they work with a focused / shaped beam, but for main beam use I'm more than happy with them.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Wow, thanks for that write up, much appreciated!

So, can I ask what the difference in bulbs are? New ones Cree maybe? 6K lumens compared to the other one? 

What is it that's crucial to a good bulb?


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## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

Honestly, I don't know how you're supposed to know what's good and what's not, which is why it's such a lottery at the moment unless you pay £80 a pair for proper branded ones from a shop.

Both sets are cree, the old ones were listed as 55w and I think 3500lumens (7000 the pair ) the new ones are 40w and 4000lumens, however the new ones are at least twice as bright. The old ones just illuminated the patch above the dip beam pattern, the new ones completely over power it and make everything a lot brighter.

Looking very closely at the led chip, the old ones look to have 9 light emitters in them, the new ones have 30!

6000k is the colour temperature, which is independent of power or light output. 6000k is a crisp white 'daylight' colour. a lower k will tend towards the orange end of the spectrum, higher values start to show as blues.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

just to drag this up again, I'm yemted to go for these...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LED-Headl...449045?hash=item568cdc8295:g:EfoAAOSwxg5X0CY~

but whats confusing me is this cooling malarkey, some have a fan (which is supposed to get clogged up with crud like dust), others have metal strands coming out the back that look ghastly, but the confusing part to me, is that these LED bulbs are supposed to be cooler than halogens anyway, so whats the need for all these cooling things?


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## Spike85 (May 22, 2016)

The leds run cool but the backs get hot so they use the strands/legs for heat dissipation 

Basically a heat sink , similar to what a fan will do.


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## slim_boy_fat (Jun 23, 2006)

"Well, I bought these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232031128548

And put them in the main beam of my 1996 BMW e36. They are an h1 fit, and the lamps are standard reflector type."

Do they trigger a 'bulb out' warning in Canbus?


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

So do modern cars with LED headlights have the same bulbs that's been shown on this thread? With the heat-displacement metal bits or fans on them?


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## tosh (Dec 30, 2005)

bidderman1969 said:


> So do modern cars with LED headlights have the same bulbs that's been shown on this thread? With the heat-displacement metal bits or fans on them?


No, they're a completely different design; uses an array of LEDs rather than fixed bulbs (at least mine does)

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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

While LEDs themselves are arguably far superior to incandescent bulbs, they are in some ways not as robust. Bulbs are not heat sensitive since they work by getting hot (and their resistance increases as they do so, so they can't burn out so long as the voltage is stable). LEDs absolutely cannot be allowed to get hot, if they do their resistance drops and you get thermal runaway which lets the magic smoke out. Hence they have to be heatsinked properly - there's nowhere near as much waste heat as there is with a halogen bulb, but what there is *has* to be got rid of.

As a result retrofitting them to existing fittings will always be suboptimal. No way I'd put bulbs in the car that mean the lamp units can't be sealed, it's no good having your headlights go out when you're driving in heavy rain!


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

well after so long deliberating wether to have some or not, i decided to give them a try, i got these bulbs from Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B074CHNG6N/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

found they didn't fit into the headlight, so got some adapters...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B073QX8QHQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and after some cussing and all sorts, taking half the front of the car off just to get one bulb in, the other one took 5 minutes, had this....










looks ok, but for some reason not brilliant, at dusk they were terrible, was expecting better tbh, especially in this projector light, i dunno, maybe i just need to get used to it?










anyone else done the change and felt disappointed?


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

This is how Harley Davidson do it.

https://www.harley-davidson.com/store/daymaker-led-headlamp-pa-11-67700145--1

As you can see each led has a lens to focus the light.

On the back are huge fins I assume for heat dissipation.


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

A lot of cars come with poor quality halogen bulbs fitted. Just buy branded ones from OSRAM etc and the improvement is 100%.

My truck was just like this. On dipped beam you could not see more than 5m clearly. Changed bulbs and it was probably triple that and easier on the eye, too.


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## MBRuss (Apr 29, 2011)

Mcpx said:


> LED sidelight bulbs are one thing, but for retrofit to normal projector (halogen) main/dipped beam forget it.
> 
> Halogen projector headlights are designed to take a very specific light source and focus it precisely in a specific area, so it lights up the part of the road that you need it to. Whilst they may be much brighter and far more energy efficient, LED bulbs do not emit the correct pattern of light to allow the headlight to focus it, so you get a scattered beam that a: doesn't light up the road properly and b: dazzles any other road users unlucky enough to be coming towards you.
> 
> They might look great when fitted, but you'll annoy the hell out of everybody and will have difficulty where there is no street lighting. You also won't get through an MOT or a police spot check as the bulbs will not be e-marked and so are not road legal, although I am aware that that doesn't seem to matter to many people.


This is the main issue with these LED bulbs. I'm not sure if any of them are road legal or will pass an MOT. Plus you may be dazzling oncoming cars, which is very dangerous, unless you enjoy head on collisions... IMO light bulbs, tyres, brakes, and wiper blades aren't things that should me messed about with. Just buy some Osram Nightbreakers or something - a proven bulb that is bright and legal to use.

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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

I shall try and pop into my MoT garage today or tomorrow to see if they are out badly or not


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Much as I like the idea of LED lights, I won't be changing any of mine - the reason being, if I was unlucky enough to be involved in an RTA where any kind of lighting became a question, an insurer could point to any kind of improperly* modified lights on my car and use them to either shift blame onto me, or worst case even invalidate my cover. It doesn't matter if the lights in question are better, worse or no different to what is OEM on the car, what matters here is the letter of the law - and if you're outside of it, you better believe the sharks who run insurance in this country these days will do anything they can to wriggle out of a payment if they can.

*As it currently stands, *no *LED bulbs can be retrofitted and used legally on UK roads - you would have to replace an entire headlamp unit with a specifically manufactured replacement (like the one Osram makes for the Mk7 Golf, for instance).


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## Mcpx (Mar 15, 2016)

steelghost said:


> Much as I like the idea of LED lights, I won't be changing any of mine - the reason being, if I was unlucky enough to be involved in an RTA where any kind of lighting became a question, an insurer could point to any kind of improperly* modified lights on my car and use them to either shift blame onto me, or worst case even invalidate my cover. It doesn't matter if the lights in question are better, worse or no different to what is OEM on the car, what matters here is the letter of the law - and if you're outside of it, you better believe the sharks who run insurance in this country these days will do anything they can to wriggle out of a payment if they can.
> 
> *As it currently stands, *no *LED bulbs can be retrofitted and used legally on UK roads - you would have to replace an entire headlamp unit with a specifically manufactured replacement (like the one Osram makes for the Mk7 Golf, for instance).


Is the same not true of aftermarket HID's? If the headlight itself is not designed for them then they will not give the correct dispersal and light pattern. Headlights in modern cars have come on leaps and bounds but I still get blinded by people who don't know what the angle adjustment button does.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

No one has flashed me yet, in fact I was flashed more than once when I had the Chevvy Epica, with standard bulbs in tbh, had them checked at the time more than once, and it was perfect

Looking at the Osrams etc, that give more light actually only last 1/2 the time which is a bummer lol


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

Mcpx said:


> Is the same not true of aftermarket HID's? If the headlight itself is not designed for them then they will not give the correct dispersal and light pattern. Headlights in modern cars have come on leaps and bounds but I still get blinded by people who don't know what the angle adjustment button does.


It's unlikely these lights are manufactured to any recognised and ratified standard, and as a result the same thing almost certainly applies.

https://www.motoringassist.com/motoring-advice/news/fit-led-lighting-car-legally/

https://www.motoringassist.com/motoring-advice/news/gems-latest-research-on-illegal-car-bulbs/

https://www.motoringassist.com/motoring-advice/news/avoid-fitting-illegal-led-light-bulbs-car/

https://www.motoringassist.com/motoring-advice/car-maintenance/blinding-ridiculous/

Whilst some of the articles are a bit alarmist in tone, the key message is that there is no way to do this legally. Whilst I agree it's highly unlikely to get you stopped by the police (unless your lights are just ludicrous), it's the potential to cause problems with insurers that keeps me away from it, even looking at replacement DRLs (which on my car are rather yellow and grubby looking).


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## Smanderson117 (Jan 19, 2015)

In projector headlights just go for a HID kit, tried and tested and better focus and throw


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Smanderson117 said:


> In projector headlights just go for a HID kit, tried and tested and better focus and throw


Never been too sure about these tbh, also, as my lights are on/off a lot, especially during winter months, don't suppose the bulbs would last too long?


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## Welshquattro1 (Dec 6, 2013)

bidderman1969 said:


> Never been too sure about these tbh, also, as my lights are on/off a lot, especially during winter months, don't suppose the bulbs would last too long?


Had HID's in my Audi A4 which has projector headlights for coming up to 10 years(same set) and had no problems with them,it has auto lights aswell. They are a great improvement over the poor standard lights and I've added LED sidelights aswell. One thing I would say is which ever you fit be it LED or HID is to make sure your headlights are aligned properly after.


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

ollienoclue said:


> A lot of cars come with poor quality halogen bulbs fitted. Just buy branded ones from OSRAM etc and the improvement is 100%.
> 
> My truck was just like this. On dipped beam you could not see more than 5m clearly. Changed bulbs and it was probably triple that and easier on the eye, too.


Agree with this. Plenty of vehicles on the road with the £5 or less standard halogen bulbs from the local parts shop and they're rubbish.

My sons car had Philips Longlife installed which I believe are just standard halogen bulbs although they were perfectly adequate and certainly better than the £5 bulbs but one blew so changed both to Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited. They're great IMO, range is improved but they do get flashed at, even though I've had the adjustment checked.


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## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

Tried osram night breakers in the mrs' car as the standard lights were poop.

They were better, but cost about £17 and only lasted 8months, I decided that wasn't acceptable so I gave up and retrofitted hid projectors into the standard housings, loads more light, much sharper and more accurate cut-off and no worries about a short life span.

If a car has projector headlights I would always swap an hid kit in without hesitation.

I've had them in several cars and the light spread and beam shape has always been as good if not better than with the original bulbs, overall lighting improved and made zero difference to cutoff sharpness or aim. Despite no end of internet scaremongers saying they'll blind everyone on the road and be worse than standard.

I wouldn't put an hid kit in a normal reflector setup, hence my brief and dissapointing experiment with osrams as mentioned above.


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## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

bidderman1969 said:


> Never been too sure about these tbh, also, as my lights are on/off a lot, especially during winter months, don't suppose the bulbs would last too long?


How often is a lot? They've not suitable in main beams where they need to be flashed on and off, but every now and then isn't going to be an issue. I've had sets used every single day for 10 years without a problem. If a bulb does go you can buy them on their own for a lot less than buying a complete kit each time.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Harry_p said:


> How often is a lot? They've not suitable in main beams where they need to be flashed on and off, but every now and then isn't going to be an issue. I've had sets used every single day for 10 years without a problem. If a bulb does go you can buy them on their own for a lot less than buying a complete kit each time.


i can turn them on/off unto about 15 times a night, maybe more if i get loads of crappy short trips (taxi)


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

looked at these,

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-12...=1509977937&sr=1-8&keywords=h7+headlight+bulb

and it says on there that although they are brighter than normal, they can last longer? seems to say 450 hours, but that isn't a lot


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Rayaan said:


> Agree with this. Plenty of vehicles on the road with the £5 or less standard halogen bulbs from the local parts shop and they're rubbish.
> 
> My sons car had Philips Longlife installed which I believe are just standard halogen bulbs although they were perfectly adequate and certainly better than the £5 bulbs but one blew so changed both to Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited. They're great IMO, range is improved but they do get flashed at, even though I've had the adjustment checked.


was that these ones?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Lo...10063418&sr=1-1&keywords=philips+ecovision+h7

how long do you think they'd last though? they claim "unto 100.000 KM" but i can't see that myself


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

these ones claim, in the Q&A section, to be road legal ??????

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-L-He...r=1-2-spons&keywords=h1+headlight+bulbs&psc=1


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## Mcpx (Mar 15, 2016)

bidderman1969 said:


> these ones claim, in the Q&A section, to be road legal ??????
> 
> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-L-He...r=1-2-spons&keywords=h1+headlight+bulbs&psc=1


Copied and pasted



> Question: Are these lights UK road legal?
> Answer: hello, yes these lights are legal in UK Road. hope this can help you.
> By Green-L Lighting UK SELLER on 15 December 2016


Pretty much says it all.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

think they are saying this means road legal,

*Certificate: CE(EMC, LVD), ROHS*


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## Mcpx (Mar 15, 2016)

If it’s not E marked, it’s not legal. Even then, it’s a modification to the cars original spec and so could invalidate your insurance if you don’t tell them


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

Changing a halogen bulb for a better quality one I can't see the difference.

I have not found the Osram or similar bulbs have a shorter life than the £5 version that is found in most cars. I can't see how they have any difference, internally the design is similar.


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## Smanderson117 (Jan 19, 2015)

Shouldn't be an issue turning them on and off. Had them in my E46 that had projectors and have previously had them in my A3 8L that had projectors as standard. They were great, sharp as you like, not dazzling, bright and focussed. Basically the same pattern etc as the halogen bulb but with the white light and increased range and brightness of xenons. I never had them in main/full beam just the dipped beam


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## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

ollienoclue said:


> Changing a halogen bulb for a better quality one I can't see the difference.
> 
> I have not found the Osram or similar bulbs have a shorter life than the £5 version that is found in most cars. I can't see how they have any difference, internally the design is similar.


Osram night breakers even have a graph on the back of the package showing that increased brightness leads to a shorter expected lifespan.


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## dax (Dec 9, 2016)

Two years ago i replaced the standard bulbs of our car to Osram Night Breaker Unlimited. It was a huge difference! I knew they would have a shorter lifespan, but good light in the dark is worth it. About two weeks ago one of the bulbs died and for a brief moment i have looked into the better LEDs. But they are not road legal and not worth the risk to me, so i ordered Osrams again - Night Breaker Lasers this time. Again great light and if they live again 2 years i am happy. 
As for the 2 years lifespan i had with them i have to mention we drive about 10,000km a year.


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## AS_BO (Sep 29, 2013)

dax said:


> Two years ago i replaced the standard bulbs of our car to Osram Night Breaker Unlimited. It was a huge difference! I knew they would have a shorter lifespan, but good light in the dark is worth it. About two weeks ago one of the bulbs died and for a brief moment i have looked into the better LEDs. But they are not road legal and not worth the risk to me, so i ordered Osrams again - Night Breaker Lasers this time. Again great light and if they live again 2 years i am happy.
> As for the 2 years lifespan i had with them i have to mention we drive about 10,000km a year.


I've always sworn by Nightbreakers, fantastic headlight and the difference is literally night and day


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

bidderman1969 said:


> was that these ones?
> 
> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Lo...10063418&sr=1-1&keywords=philips+ecovision+h7
> 
> how long do you think they'd last though? they claim "unto 100.000 KM" but i can't see that myself


Yes those were the ones.

Well I think VW fit them as OEM on the Golf MK5 after 2007. They've lasted 70k miles and 10 years.

I like the nigjtbreaker unlimited on sons car. Will try out Philips racing vision next


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Bizzarely, it seems the more I use these LED's the brighter they seem, they seem to be getting better, M25 and M3 were great the back roads were the biggest problem but I'm kinda getting used to them now, have until 31st Jan to send them back, decisions decision


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

kinda getting used to these now, but i still think theres room for improvement, i know about the lumens, which is why i went for the ones i did, but how do they all measure up in w/lm? 

mine are 30w/6000 lm per bulb, but would a 36w/8000 lm per bulb be better?


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

these must be awesome

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2pcs-160...236665?hash=item3ae40e29f9:g:N-cAAOSwjqVZFYSh


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## J306TD (May 19, 2008)

Should light up the sky those ones Bryan


Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

bidderman1969 said:


> mine are 30w/6000 lm per bulb, but would a 36w/8000 lm per bulb be better?


would be if its true...alot of the amazon/ebay stuff is like the 2000 watts max boy racer speakers and amps etc , all made up and far from the truth


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Philips-...hash=item58fddd7a65:m:mi5oHqv7bPj6WQz525YtIDQ

should be looking at something in this price range to get quality? even then id want to be sure im not buying fakes


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Has to be a way of telling you getting a good item


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

yeah if youre prepared to buy a brand name then buy direct or ask them if theres any approved sellers

have you tried the lighting forums , no doubt theres chat on these bulbs that might help


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Didn't even know there was a "lighting" forum! lol


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

forums for everything mate...you name it lol


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

had the headlights checked at the MoT garage today, and all is perfectly lined up :thumb:


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)




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## Wilco (Apr 22, 2010)

I've had mine in for 5 months now and wouldn't be without them. I do have projector lights though so I guess I'm lucky in that respect. A few people have had issues with horizon but the service I got was spot on. http://www.horizonleds.co.uk/cree-l...ips/HIR2-9012-philips-luxeon-led-headlight-v2 they fit perfectly in my light enclosure with no cutting or leaving the rear cover off. Highly recommended.


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