LED Headlights
Discussion
ChimpOnGas said:
The original reflectors used by TVR were off a truck, the only ones available now are off a Porsche.
The holes for the mountings on the Porsche ones are in a slightly different place, essentially you have two options:
1: Use the new mounting holes and adjust to compensate
2: Re-drill the reflector in the correct spot
Option 1 isn't ideal, option 2 is better but you're going to be breaking through the silvering which is also less than ideal.
I went with option 2 followed by a number of protective coats of 2K clear coat.
I don`t know why you persist messing about with the 1970`s lights ,I`m not saying fit Lupo but there are loads of options .The holes for the mountings on the Porsche ones are in a slightly different place, essentially you have two options:
1: Use the new mounting holes and adjust to compensate
2: Re-drill the reflector in the correct spot
Option 1 isn't ideal, option 2 is better but you're going to be breaking through the silvering which is also less than ideal.
I went with option 2 followed by a number of protective coats of 2K clear coat.
So as it turned out drilling a couple of holes in the rim of the Porsche reflectors was neither difficult or a significant issue for the silvering.
The post liked by SiliconeFlyd discusses a nasty hacked up reflector solution or the suggestion a reflector off EBay could be made to fit.
Neither of these are genuine options for someone looking to make a proper job of replacing the corrosion prone original reflectors while retaining the original look.
I looked at all this back to front and concluded the best option was drilling the almost identical Porche reflectors and 2k clear coating them to dramatically extend their life.
At the end of the day we're only talking about drilling two holes in the outer rim of the reflectors and about £20 in clear coat.
The whole project came in under £150 which is significantly cheaper than fitting Lupo headlights which are not to everyone's taste.
Actually there are other options, and ironically they come from the Porche world where the market value of a classic 911 can be anything from £45k to £250k so I doubt their owners will baulk at the £800 a pair being asked for these new light sets.
And to me they still look wrong anyway, have a look at the Singer Porsche website and you'll see what I mean.
I think I've done it the best way, way better headlights that should last well while retaining the original look, and all at a reasonable cost.
Merry Christmas to you all, Dave.
The post liked by SiliconeFlyd discusses a nasty hacked up reflector solution or the suggestion a reflector off EBay could be made to fit.
Neither of these are genuine options for someone looking to make a proper job of replacing the corrosion prone original reflectors while retaining the original look.
I looked at all this back to front and concluded the best option was drilling the almost identical Porche reflectors and 2k clear coating them to dramatically extend their life.
At the end of the day we're only talking about drilling two holes in the outer rim of the reflectors and about £20 in clear coat.
The whole project came in under £150 which is significantly cheaper than fitting Lupo headlights which are not to everyone's taste.
Actually there are other options, and ironically they come from the Porche world where the market value of a classic 911 can be anything from £45k to £250k so I doubt their owners will baulk at the £800 a pair being asked for these new light sets.
And to me they still look wrong anyway, have a look at the Singer Porsche website and you'll see what I mean.
I think I've done it the best way, way better headlights that should last well while retaining the original look, and all at a reasonable cost.
Merry Christmas to you all, Dave.
Ahh right, gotcha. Luckily us Wedgers have two advantages:
1. The Cibie reflectors are still available
2. Even if they weren't, when the lights are off they pop down (well usually) so the original look won't be spoiled.
I have been looking at another bulb off the same supplier site which is
http://www.dx.com/p/honsco-h4-24w-1800lm-5000k-l-h...
Which is more like the original H4 light levels and also less "blue". Any opinions of this one? Plus it's cheaper too ;^)
1. The Cibie reflectors are still available
2. Even if they weren't, when the lights are off they pop down (well usually) so the original look won't be spoiled.
I have been looking at another bulb off the same supplier site which is
http://www.dx.com/p/honsco-h4-24w-1800lm-5000k-l-h...
Which is more like the original H4 light levels and also less "blue". Any opinions of this one? Plus it's cheaper too ;^)
adam quantrill said:
Ahh right, gotcha. Luckily us Wedgers have two advantages:
1. The Cibie reflectors are still available
2. Even if they weren't, when the lights are off they pop down (well usually) so the original look won't be spoiled.
I have been looking at another bulb off the same supplier site which is
http://www.dx.com/p/honsco-h4-24w-1800lm-5000k-l-h...
Which is more like the original H4 light levels and also less "blue". Any opinions of this one? Plus it's cheaper too ;^)
But Adam, the Wedge cars are either winking or suffer no headlight pop up at all 1. The Cibie reflectors are still available
2. Even if they weren't, when the lights are off they pop down (well usually) so the original look won't be spoiled.
I have been looking at another bulb off the same supplier site which is
http://www.dx.com/p/honsco-h4-24w-1800lm-5000k-l-h...
Which is more like the original H4 light levels and also less "blue". Any opinions of this one? Plus it's cheaper too ;^)
ChimpOnGas said:
Right, my new reflectors are ready to fit but before we get into that here's a little reminder of what happens to them after just a few years of regular use.
...while not quite as bad as the one above they aren't far off....
Hmmm, I recognise that picture! ...while not quite as bad as the one above they aren't far off....
My refectors were pretty bad, the car was just 11 years old at the time I took that picture and had covered 45,000 miles.I like the look of those LED H4s. I think the reason you see a yellow blob is probably because the LED itself is yellow; the blob will be the means of diffusing the light: LEDs are not that easy to create a wide beam with.
This picture is part of an array in a 160W commercial high-bay fitting (which puts out around 20,000 lumens). I'm not surprised you were blinded; you can't look directly at these when they're 8m up in the air!
One of the most important parts of your set-up is the driver. Quite why a constant current driver is needed I don't know, but it's the same with commercial fittings. I suspect it's key to maintaining the 50,000 hours the LEDs are designed to operate for before beginning to degrade (they should do another 50,000 hours before they're useless).
How are they performing?
Performing very well thanks, they just needed a small adjustment to eliminate the occasional flash from oncoming drivers.
I'm still on my marginal reflectors so I can only imagine how good they'll be once my new reflectors go in.
Hopefully the silvering will last a reasonable amount of time now I've 2k clear coated them?
I'm still on my marginal reflectors so I can only imagine how good they'll be once my new reflectors go in.
Hopefully the silvering will last a reasonable amount of time now I've 2k clear coated them?
ChimpOnGas said:
So as it turned out drilling a couple of holes in the rim of the Porsche reflectors was neither difficult or a significant issue for the silvering.
The post liked by SiliconeFlyd discusses a nasty hacked up reflector solution or the suggestion a reflector off EBay could be made to fit.
Neither of these are genuine options for someone looking to make a proper job of replacing the corrosion prone original reflectors while retaining the original look.
I looked at all this back to front and concluded the best option was drilling the almost identical Porche reflectors and 2k clear coating them to dramatically extend their life.
At the end of the day we're only talking about drilling two holes in the outer rim of the reflectors and about £20 in clear coat.
The whole project came in under £150 which is significantly cheaper than fitting Lupo headlights which are not to everyone's taste.
Actually there are other options, and ironically they come from the Porche world where the market value of a classic 911 can be anything from £45k to £250k so I doubt their owners will baulk at the £800 a pair being asked for these new light sets.
And to me they still look wrong anyway, have a look at the Singer Porsche website and you'll see what I mean.
I think I've done it the best way, way better headlights that should last well while retaining the original look, and all at a reasonable cost.
Merry Christmas to you all, Dave.
"SiliconeFlyd" Don`t get personal ! At least i managed to make it to the end of this post The post liked by SiliconeFlyd discusses a nasty hacked up reflector solution or the suggestion a reflector off EBay could be made to fit.
Neither of these are genuine options for someone looking to make a proper job of replacing the corrosion prone original reflectors while retaining the original look.
I looked at all this back to front and concluded the best option was drilling the almost identical Porche reflectors and 2k clear coating them to dramatically extend their life.
At the end of the day we're only talking about drilling two holes in the outer rim of the reflectors and about £20 in clear coat.
The whole project came in under £150 which is significantly cheaper than fitting Lupo headlights which are not to everyone's taste.
Actually there are other options, and ironically they come from the Porche world where the market value of a classic 911 can be anything from £45k to £250k so I doubt their owners will baulk at the £800 a pair being asked for these new light sets.
And to me they still look wrong anyway, have a look at the Singer Porsche website and you'll see what I mean.
I think I've done it the best way, way better headlights that should last well while retaining the original look, and all at a reasonable cost.
Merry Christmas to you all, Dave.
Edited by SILICONEKID345HP on Friday 19th December 20:40
Right chaps these LED H4 bulbs are performing very well indeed, a small adjustment has made sure I'm not getting the occasional flash from oncoming drivers and I can only describe their performance on dip beam as game changing.
While the dip beams are beyond criticism the main beams are currently slightly disappointing in comparison, that's not to say they're not an improvement (they are), it's just the improvement over standard halogen incandescent bulbs isn't as big a margin on main beam as it is on dip.
However, this could easily be down to the fact my reflectors aren't in their first flush of youth, I have a new set ready to go in but it just too cold out there to start messing about with headlight right now.
As I pointed out at the very beginning of this post LED technology is currently very fast moving, my 3200 lumen H4 LED bulbs were at the cutting edge just a few months ago but the fact is they've already been relegated to yesterdays best.
Check out these bad boys at 6000 lumens per bulb for just £40 a set!!!
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2015-New-40W-6000LM...
Fek me, these things must be like looking at the sun!
While the dip beams are beyond criticism the main beams are currently slightly disappointing in comparison, that's not to say they're not an improvement (they are), it's just the improvement over standard halogen incandescent bulbs isn't as big a margin on main beam as it is on dip.
However, this could easily be down to the fact my reflectors aren't in their first flush of youth, I have a new set ready to go in but it just too cold out there to start messing about with headlight right now.
As I pointed out at the very beginning of this post LED technology is currently very fast moving, my 3200 lumen H4 LED bulbs were at the cutting edge just a few months ago but the fact is they've already been relegated to yesterdays best.
Check out these bad boys at 6000 lumens per bulb for just £40 a set!!!
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2015-New-40W-6000LM...
Fek me, these things must be like looking at the sun!
ChimpOnGas said:
Right chaps these LED H4 bulbs are performing very well indeed, a small adjustment has made sure I'm not getting the occasional flash from oncoming drivers and I can only describe their performance on dip beam as game changing.
While the dip beams are beyond criticism the main beams are currently slightly disappointing in comparison, that's not to say they're not an improvement (they are), it's just the improvement over standard halogen incandescent bulbs isn't as big a margin on main beam as it is on dip.
However, this could easily be down to the fact my reflectors aren't in their first flush of youth, I have a new set ready to go in but it just too cold out there to start messing about with headlight right now.
As I pointed out at the very beginning of this post LED technology is currently very fast moving, my 3200 lumen H4 LED bulbs were at the cutting edge just a few months ago but the fact is they've already been relegated to yesterdays best.
Check out these bad boys at 6000 lumens per bulb for just £40 a set!!!
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2015-New-40W-6000LM...
Fek me, these things must be like looking at the sun!
No fans on them either ... Just floppy heat sinks. While the dip beams are beyond criticism the main beams are currently slightly disappointing in comparison, that's not to say they're not an improvement (they are), it's just the improvement over standard halogen incandescent bulbs isn't as big a margin on main beam as it is on dip.
However, this could easily be down to the fact my reflectors aren't in their first flush of youth, I have a new set ready to go in but it just too cold out there to start messing about with headlight right now.
As I pointed out at the very beginning of this post LED technology is currently very fast moving, my 3200 lumen H4 LED bulbs were at the cutting edge just a few months ago but the fact is they've already been relegated to yesterdays best.
Check out these bad boys at 6000 lumens per bulb for just £40 a set!!!
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2015-New-40W-6000LM...
Fek me, these things must be like looking at the sun!
Phil
magpies said:
when they say 6000 lumen = that is 3000per headlight main beam and 2500 on dip.
CoG - are yours 3200 each headlight or total?
HmmmCoG - are yours 3200 each headlight or total?
, you could be right there magpies.... on a second look the new ones in my link are indeed 3000 lumens per bulb, the seller is quoting "6000 lumens per set" which is still mega bright BTW.Mine are 3200 lumens per bulb so in theory are a bit brighter, but the new ones are cheaper and to me having no fans is a good idea.
The lights I have are more than you could ever want on dip beam, and as 98% of driving is done on dip the main beam performance (which is still better than with standard halogen incandescent bulbs) isn't really an issue.
Saying that I have plans at foot to very discreetly add another 7000 lumens specifically to compliment the existing high beams.
That's over 13000 lumens in total on main beam, compared with the 2000 lumens you can expect from a pair of regular Chimaera headlights with brand new perfect reflectors, of course the reality is most Chimaeras out there with their corroded reflectors will put out significantly less.
Take my current super bright LED headlights on dip, add the main beam then chuck on a further 7000 lumens of focused long range power and I should at last have night visibility to match the car's performance.
After that all you really need is better wipers and the Chimaera will be right up there with a modern car.
Interesting. I have been watching this with interest as I am working on a conversion that will do away with the old reflector with separate lens system and use cheaply available Mini 7" enclosed headlights utilising H4 bulbs.
The intention is that the replacements units will be able to be installed with no modifications to the bodywork so if at a later date someone wanted originality it would be easily reversible plus it will be able to be used with the later faired in lights.
After much messing about with the mini plastic mounting cups and cardboard and plyboard templates I think I have the mounting sorted but the challenge is making the adjustable from the back. I am in the process of trialling my second solution. After all, how hard can it be?
The lights lenses do look different.
with the enclosed reflectors the LED bulbs should work very well.
Sorry to digress a little.
The intention is that the replacements units will be able to be installed with no modifications to the bodywork so if at a later date someone wanted originality it would be easily reversible plus it will be able to be used with the later faired in lights.
After much messing about with the mini plastic mounting cups and cardboard and plyboard templates I think I have the mounting sorted but the challenge is making the adjustable from the back. I am in the process of trialling my second solution. After all, how hard can it be?
The lights lenses do look different.
with the enclosed reflectors the LED bulbs should work very well.
Sorry to digress a little.
Tyre Tread said:
Interesting. I have been watching this with interest as I am working on a conversion that will do away with the old reflector with separate lens system and use cheaply available Mini 7" enclosed headlights utilising H4 bulbs.
The intention is that the replacements units will be able to be installed with no modifications to the bodywork so if at a later date someone wanted originality it would be easily reversible plus it will be able to be used with the later faired in lights.
After much messing about with the mini plastic mounting cups and cardboard and plyboard templates I think I have the mounting sorted but the challenge is making the adjustable from the back. I am in the process of trialling my second solution. After all, how hard can it be?
The lights lenses do look different.
with the enclosed reflectors the LED bulbs should work very well.
Sorry to digress a little.
The readily available 7" unit is a no brained if it can be made to fit and not look gappy around the headlight cowl.The intention is that the replacements units will be able to be installed with no modifications to the bodywork so if at a later date someone wanted originality it would be easily reversible plus it will be able to be used with the later faired in lights.
After much messing about with the mini plastic mounting cups and cardboard and plyboard templates I think I have the mounting sorted but the challenge is making the adjustable from the back. I am in the process of trialling my second solution. After all, how hard can it be?
The lights lenses do look different.
with the enclosed reflectors the LED bulbs should work very well.
Sorry to digress a little.
Good luck with the idea, hope you can make it work.
ChimpOnGas said:
The readily available 7" unit is a no brained if it can be made to fit and not look gappy around the headlight cowl.
Good luck with the idea, hope you can make it work.
Good luck with the idea, hope you can make it work.
Blimey even if they are front adjust its no big deal its not often you should have to adjust them all things being equal Front adjust I can do, but you need access to the back for bulb changing and my aim is to do this for faired in lights which makes the rear adjustment a must.
There will be a small gap around the lights which won't matter on faired in lights. Whether a way can be found to deal with it on the original cowls remains to be seen. I have a couple of ideas but will need to experiment with them.
Steve Edwards is helping me on this and worst scenario is a couple of his cowls with a slight extension to the rear at the bottom could be an easy solution.
There will be a small gap around the lights which won't matter on faired in lights. Whether a way can be found to deal with it on the original cowls remains to be seen. I have a couple of ideas but will need to experiment with them.
Steve Edwards is helping me on this and worst scenario is a couple of his cowls with a slight extension to the rear at the bottom could be an easy solution.
Tyre Tread said:
Steve Edwards is helping me on this and worst scenario is a couple of his cowls with a slight extension to the rear at the bottom could be an easy solution.
Perfect, a new cowl molding very slightly adapted to remove any gaps around the slightly smaller but ubiquitous 7" units and the job's a goodun If you can utilize the existing traditional front adjustment it's a no-brainer, as Sardonicus says it's not like you're adjusting them every day.
Sardonicus said:
yes: Blimey even if they are front adjust its no big deal its not often you should have to adjust them all things being equal
Agreed Just whip the new cowls off, adjust, and pop the cowls back on.
Tyre Tread said:
Interesting. I have been watching this with interest as I am working on a conversion that will do away with the old reflector with separate lens system and use cheaply available Mini 7" enclosed headlights utilising H4 bulbs.
The intention is that the replacements units will be able to be installed with no modifications to the bodywork so if at a later date someone wanted originality it would be easily reversible plus it will be able to be used with the later faired in lights.
After much messing about with the mini plastic mounting cups and cardboard and plyboard templates I think I have the mounting sorted but the challenge is making the adjustable from the back. I am in the process of trialling my second solution. After all, how hard can it be?
The lights lenses do look different.
But not much, the new cowls would need painting which adds to the cost but you're only painting them once, after that it's cheap replacement headlights all the way The intention is that the replacements units will be able to be installed with no modifications to the bodywork so if at a later date someone wanted originality it would be easily reversible plus it will be able to be used with the later faired in lights.
After much messing about with the mini plastic mounting cups and cardboard and plyboard templates I think I have the mounting sorted but the challenge is making the adjustable from the back. I am in the process of trialling my second solution. After all, how hard can it be?
The lights lenses do look different.
Tyre Tread is onto an idea with real merit here
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