LED Headlights

[DamianS3]

Do you havce the E marked JW Speeker items? they seem to be totally legal but as you say are £600...

Not sure now.. Hmm..

Thanks

Damian

[mk1fan]

They are genuine Jeep items - fitted by previous owner - so if JW means Jeep Wrangler then it would appear so.

I pressume - I have not investigated - that the units are a universal fit and that they, like the small Hella units fitted to the T cars (Tamora aside), have multiple mounting points to suit left or right hand drive requirements. To my eye, the beam pattern on the 'garage wall' matches that of my other cars.

[alolympic]

Any thoughts on these Philips and Cree lights?
Much more expensive, but would they be more reliable?
http://www.horizonleds.co.uk/cree-leds/headlamp-cr...

[magpies]

DamianS3 said:

Also some are described as universal (ie not LHD or RHD..?) this concerns me somewhat as surly all they can be saying is that it neither illuminates the left or right side of the road.. whereas as well as not dazzling oncoming trafic its useful for the side of the road to be illuminated a little.. hmm...

Thanks

Damian S3

Edited by DamianS3 on Wednesday 30th September 12:41

I think the universal items just have a horizontal cut off with no angled path illuminating area which is the normal lhd / rhd difference

[magpies]

DaiBakes said:

Might give the brighter ones that you linked to a try:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251812245413?_trksid=p20...

Hi Dai

did you fit these and are they any good?

[cptsideways]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161858738281?_trksid=p20... 2x High Power 68W H4 9003 HB2 Xenon White CREE LED Low Beam Fog Headlight Bulb


Are in reality utter toss!! Beam pattern is flat, but too high too adjust & in reality are no better than the cars fog lights. Being sent back..

Not impressed so far, has anybody got any H4 success stories?

[ChimpOnGas]

cptsideways said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161858738281?_trksid=p20... 2x High Power 68W H4 9003 HB2 Xenon White CREE LED Low Beam Fog Headlight Bulb


Are in reality utter toss!! Beam pattern is flat, but too high too adjust & in reality are no better than the cars fog lights. Being sent back..

Not impressed so far, has anybody got any H4 success stories?

I have used and extensively tested two types of LED H4s and in two types of Chimaera headlight setups, standard headlights and more recently the Mk3 type. My latest version of these LED H4s do away with the integral fans cooling and LED driver boxes making them even easier to fit and removing the fan reliability question mark.

While my newer versions came with an even higher lumen figure to me they seem to deliver exactly the same amount of light as the first fan & driver type I purchased. I would say the lumen ratings are more of a guide than anything, I suspect the manufacturers are in a war of overstating their lumen outputs to gain sales over the competition.

All you really need to know is they are all insanely bright!

As the author of this post and I believe one of the first drivers in the UK to use this new breed of high lumen output LED bulbs, I can conclusively confirm the following:

1. The light output of these LED units is a massive step up, even from the excellent Philips Xtreme halogen bulbs I was using before going LED

2. They are on par with (if not slightly better) than HiDs

3. They run massively cooler and draw a lot less current than a halogen incandescent bulb or an HiD unit

4. Unlike HiDs the light is instant, there is no delay or warm up period when switching on and the transition from beams is again instantaneous, much faster and immediately noticeable even when compared with halogen bulbs in fact

5. They are super simple to fit, indeed the latest type with no fans or LED driver box's are no more complicated to fit than a standard H4 halogen bulb

6. My chosen LED H4s have proved (so far) to be 100% reliable

7. You should always replace your reflectors if you want to get the best from any headlight bulb upgrade, Chimaera reflectors corrode very quickly and are therefore nearly always shot


Now for the only disadvantage of going LED, and basically it's ll in the adjustment.

With our old fashioned bowl type reflectors after fitting these LED H4s you will find the following:

A: You can either adjust your headlights to give devastating low beam performance but suffer high beams that are a bit too high

B: You can adjust your headlights to give devastating high beam performance but find your low beams will be a bit too low to give the very best spread & reach of light when you dip to low beam

C: If you try to find the point where you get the best performance on both high & dipped beam you will dazzle oncoming drivers on dip beam

So they are rubbish then?

Well no, they are fantastic but just require a little help

I've chosen to adjust mine so that they are 100% safe to oncoming drivers on dip, because anything else would be irresponsible.

This means I'm already enjoying the devastating high beam performance but it also means I'm suffering from dip beams that don't really give the very best spread & reach of light when compared with the Philips Xtreme halogen H4s.

While this is a little disappointing on busy A & B roads where you more or less permanently need to be on dip due to the frequency of oncoming cars, it is not really a big problem and when you do get the opportunity go to high beam it's a case of "Oh my God, it's daylight again!"

Is this disappointing low beam situation with my current chosen adjustment a reason to give up on these LED bulbs?

No way

To my mind all that's needed is simply something to solve the slightly worse low beam spread & reach, I believe such a solution will give a perfect combination of the already insane high beam performance with equally devastatingly good dip beams.

But most importantly if I mount my auxiliary driving lights low enough they will be no problem to oncoming drivers.

To this end I have purchased (but not yet fitted) a set of tiny Ring Micro Cruise Lights.



The plan is to fit these well reviewed and powerful little lights in the lower of the two grill apertures, they will sit in the small voids either side of the outer edges of the front number plate.



I've already bonded the mounts in place, the low recessed position of these tiny lights makes them both virtually invisible when off but perfectly positioned to give a massive improvement to the current low beam spread & reach of light offered by the LED H4s without dazzling oncoming drivers.

All I need to do is run my already pre-made wiring loom with relay down the inner wings, tap into the sidelight circuit and add an isolater switch to the steering column cowl.

The idea is I can either:

A: Run the Micro Cruise Lights as daylight running lights by turning on the sidelights

B: Leave them on at night to give the better dip beam spread & reach and even better main beam performance

C: Turn off the Micro Cruise Lights completely using my isolater switch for situations where I don't want to use them, say parking at night with my low current draw LED sidelights left on so my battery is not drained

Only time will tell but I believe the above will give the best of all worlds TVR Chimaera headlights

I'll keep you all posted

Edited by ChimpOnGas on Wednesday 28th October 10:22

[Pink_Floyd]

ChimpOnGas said:

While my newer versions came with an even higher lumen figure to me they seem to deliver exactly the same amount of light as the first fan & driver type I purchased.

Do you have a link to the latest ones that you have tried.

[bobfather]

I'm refurbishing my headlamps this winter and have been watching this thread with interest, a great knowledge base offered by ChimpOnGas My problem is that most of my night time driving is in towns or in traffic so having lamps that work best at full beam but compromised at low beam doesn't fit for me. My plan is to have my reflectors re-chromed and fit new heavy gauge wire. I'm coming to the conclusion that Philips Xtreme Vision H4's will be the better option for me

[Bassfiend229hp]

bobfather said:

I'm refurbishing my headlamps this winter and have been watching this thread with interest, a great knowledge base offered by ChimpOnGas My problem is that most of my night time driving is in towns or in traffic so having lamps that work best at full beam but compromised at low beam doesn't fit for me. My plan is to have my reflectors re-chromed and fit new heavy gauge wire. I'm coming to the conclusion that Philips Xtreme Vision H4's will be the better option for me

You *CAN* have a really fantastic dipped beam on the LED H4's - it's just that when you do the main beam is too high and illuminates the trees as much as the road ...

I found exactly the same when we used them in my mates MX5 as a test.

TBH I'll probably happily choose to take that trade-off and fit my H4 LEDs into the chim (when she's back) and then do what Dave is going to do and add a set of LED driving lamps to fill in the bottom of the high beam pattern...

Phil

[ChimpOnGas]

Bassfiend229hp said:

bobfather said:

I'm refurbishing my headlamps this winter and have been watching this thread with interest, a great knowledge base offered by ChimpOnGas My problem is that most of my night time driving is in towns or in traffic so having lamps that work best at full beam but compromised at low beam doesn't fit for me. My plan is to have my reflectors re-chromed and fit new heavy gauge wire. I'm coming to the conclusion that Philips Xtreme Vision H4's will be the better option for me

You *CAN* have a really fantastic dipped beam on the LED H4's - it's just that when you do the main beam is too high and illuminates the trees as much as the road ...

I found exactly the same when we used them in my mates MX5 as a test.

TBH I'll probably happily choose to take that trade-off and fit my H4 LEDs into the chim (when she's back) and then do what Dave is going to do and add a set of LED driving lamps to fill in the bottom of the high beam pattern...

Phil

Absolutely spot on Phil, bobfather shouldn't discount these LED H4s on the grounds he needs improved dip beam.

When I put my first set in with no adjustment whatsoever they did a good job of illuminating the trees above my head on main beam, but on dip beam they were amazingly good.

I just chose to re-adjust mine so I had great main beam which simply means the dip beams are currently a little lower than I'd like. I haven't fitted my Micro Drive Lights yet but I've just got in from a 185 mile drive the last part of which was very dark indeed, and I had no problems on dip even on country lanes.

With the Micro Drive Lights it should be absolutely awesome!

[Bassfiend229hp]

When I first tried the LED H4's in my mates MX5 we were both absolutely gobsmacked by the dipped beam performance (especially as we didn't get flashed by *ANY* oncoming vehicles) which just made the high beam performance a bit of an anticlimax but still very acceptable - just didn't have the "f*ck me!" performance of the dipped beam...

Phil

[GC8]

Bizman928 said:

GC8 said:

My every day car has twin lamps (H7 & H1) so it wont be a problem. The H4 car (944 Turbo) has hardwired H1 driving lamps too, so I was curious rather than put off.

Thanks for the update.

GC8 noticed you were interested in fitting the LED bulbs to your 944 Turbo. There isn't a lot of room behind the headlight cover between the back of the bulb and the raising bar. Most 944 owners opt for the non fan bulbs that I know fellow 944 owners have fitted easily but have also sold a few of the G5 type bulbs to 944 owners without any problems. I think I saw that you have purchased a set back in July - did they fit OK?

If you fancy a chat about the LED bulbs then feel free to give me a call. 07775581044. I am not that far away form you in Uttoxeter so you could always call round if you were passing.

Steve
928 S4 with full LED conversion

Hello Steve

Only tried on an MX-5 NB so far, as the 944 is currently being fettled. Ive been meaning to buy a set of H7s for my work car, but haven't applied myself adequately yet...

[OutlawFlat4]

@Chimpongas - I followed your thread from the start, bought the reflectors from Russ (which he kindly drilled for me), bought the LEDs and ended up with 2 new lenses too as the (TVR Specialist) said they spontaneously exploded over night in their garage whilst fitting !

The output is amazing, I'm really please but am getting flashed by everyone so need to adjust them and wanted your guidance on how to do it, please.

I'm not fussed about main beam as where I drive I mostly need dipped so need to lower them.

I think I need to do it from the rear but can it be done with wheels on? Are the 2 adjusting wing nuts easy to get at and which way do I tweak then to drop the beam? Did you do it on a garage door or a proper alignment unit?

Although not rocket science is rather do the job quickly and once than waste hours trying to work it all out so any tips would be great.

Thanks!!

[ChimpOnGas]

OutlawFlat4 said:

@Chimpongas - I followed your thread from the start, bought the reflectors from Russ (which he kindly drilled for me), bought the LEDs and ended up with 2 new lenses too as the (TVR Specialist) said they spontaneously exploded over night in their garage whilst fitting !

The output is amazing, I'm really please but am getting flashed by everyone so need to adjust them and wanted your guidance on how to do it, please.

I'm not fussed about main beam as where I drive I mostly need dipped so need to lower them.

I think I need to do it from the rear but can it be done with wheels on? Are the 2 adjusting wing nuts easy to get at and which way do I tweak then to drop the beam? Did you do it on a garage door or a proper alignment unit?

Although not rocket science is rather do the job quickly and once than waste hours trying to work it all out so any tips would be great. Thanks!!

Hi there OutlawFlat4, I would recommend talking with your local MoT centre who will have a proper professional beam setter.

Ideally the adjustment needs to be done with the wheels off as this gives greater access, but if you do things this way two trolly jacks are are a great help as you'll need to fine adjust the height to mimic your current ride height with the wheels on.

Inside each wheel arche you'll find a small circular fiberglass inspection panel held in with three self tappers and TVRs usual heavy handed application of sealant. Remove the panels and make sure the car is at the right height, now the fun really begins

What you'll likely find is a set of very corroded adjusting screws, this corrosion is probably why the garage that fitted your new reflectors didn't adjust them properly although I'd be surprised if they didn't replace them.

Assuming the adjusters are corrosion free and not seized solid you simply wind the wing nuts in and out by hand until the beam setter shows the correct cut off.

I've come to the conclusion that for these LED bulbs to work perfectly and without some small compromises you really need to fit dedicated LED headlights that have projector lenses in them, these LED bulbs do work well in reflector bowls buy it's not really their natural home.

Of course the option of fitting dedicated LED projector headlight units is only an option for those of us using the traditionally sizes 7" headlight units because the ones on the market are made for Jeeps & Land Rovers that both use 7" headlights, And that means it's only an option for those of us with Mk3 faired headlights.

Everyone else is stuck with the oddball sized Bosch units TVR chose with their highly corrosion prone and very expensive reflectors. I chose the Mk3 faired headlights partly to solve this issue once and for all and partly because I think the car looks much better that way.

The Mk3 headlight conversion is an expensive modification but one that ticks a lot of boxes.

[PJ57]

What a great thread, a credit to you for such a detailed review, and clearly the way forwards from the stock dim lighting.

I currently have a type R setup (as below), which after the re-spray will be converted to just the Cerb style twins with the indicators returning to the stock locations.



The dipped beam is pretty good with these, but the mains are awful. Seem to light everything apart from the road.
I have had the alignment checked, and all ok.

Do you think LED's would work well with these?

Thanks

[ChimpOnGas]

PJ57 said:

What a great thread, a credit to you for such a detailed review, and clearly the way forwards from the stock dim lighting.

I currently have a type R setup (as below), which after the re-spray will be converted to just the Cerb style twins with the indicators returning to the stock locations.



The dipped beam is pretty good with these, but the mains are awful. Seem to light everything apart from the road.
I have had the alignment checked, and all ok.

Do you think LED's would work well with these?

Thanks

The should work really well, bit I'd still be tempted to see if I could hunt down dedicated LED projectors of the right size.

[PJ57]

ChimpOnGas said:

The should work really well, bit I'd still be tempted to see if I could hunt down dedicated LED projectors of the right size.

Cool, thanks.
Will have a look and see what's out there.

[Incognegro]

Hi guys across from the Cerbera camp. I may have to get involved in this as my HIDs are awesome but all other bulbs in and out are now LED so I may switch to this, just need to find them in H7 (also means I'll be able to do hi beam as LED is instant on and the HIDs fail MOT for the Hi blast as they need to warm up).

[GC8]

Main beam isn't part of the MOT test.