LED Headlights

[earthian]

Hi,

I am thinking about an upgrade to my Chimaera.. a MB G class headlights or something similar. So basically LED and projector. What do you think? Would that be compatible? How would it look?

Some related links:
http://reviews.turbometal.com/7-round-led-headligh...
http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servle...
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php...
http://www.terrafirma4x4.com/products_php.php?cat=...
http://www.instyleparts.com/projector-headlights.h...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.jwspeaker.com/other/led-headlamps

So please share your thoughts. Currently I have MkIII headlights with standard reflector and lens

Regards

Edited by earthian on Saturday 15th December 15:00

Edited by earthian on Saturday 15th December 15:02

[JPW231]

Be interesting to see what you go for. I'm toying with the Mk3 lights like yours, possibly with HID, but do quite like the Lupo ones too. Think the first link looks interesting.

[nawarne]

A mate of mine got an H4 HID kit from these guys: www.hidcity.co.uk

The kit was easy to install - apparentley, and the car passed MOT about 2 months ago.

Light level is much improved and a definite safety benefit.
Nick

[Julesprivate]

Are you planning on moving stateside? I only looked at the first 40 or so links but they were all USA based so the beam pattern would be wrong.

The "pure" LED headlights are pretty poor, a buddy bought one for his motorbike but the actual throw of light was awful. Looked great from in front bur you couldn't actually see a lot when riding (so not ideal)...

[MPoxon]

[OleVix]

Yea keep leds away from tvrs! Its not a Passat....

[blitzracing]

Put in Ozram Nightbreakers halogens- no issues with very dubious issues with the legalities of HID, and poor beam focus for oncomming traffic (the Im alright jack approach).It also keeps the car looking origional, not Chav'ed up. You need to make sure you have a good 12-14 volts on the back of the bulb when its on, any less means you have poor wiring or switch contacts.

[earthian]

MPoxon said:

Would you mind sharing a reason for this picture? Do you think it would look ugly? Why? Which one? What would you suggest?

Thanks!

A

[earthian]

Julesprivate said:

Are you planning on moving stateside? I only looked at the first 40 or so links but they were all USA based so the beam pattern would be wrong.

The "pure" LED headlights are pretty poor, a buddy bought one for his motorbike but the actual throw of light was awful. Looked great from in front bur you couldn't actually see a lot when riding (so not ideal)...

No I am not planning to be near USA any time in this lifetime. These were just the only resources I found and I was wondering what others think about the idea. I am sure it would be possible to find similar stuff in Europe.

Regards

[chris1972]

LED light falls off a lot quicker than Halogen or Tungsten and the make-up/ pattern of the LCD's can make it difficult to shape and project in the the same way.

[earthian]

Hi again,

I believe I did not myself clear enough My idea is not to have a led lights like a Christmas tree there, but use an LED or two in a projector setup or alternatively a standard light/xenon HID in a projector. So the idea is the projector, not the light source. My most perfect example of what I was thinking is this:
- http://www.jwspeaker.com/other/led-headlamps
- http://www.sickhids.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=...
- maybe even http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?455...
- or http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.p...

Well.. i hope you get the idea. I am not into many tiny lights on a TVR or a Audi style thingy hanging there somewhere.. although a halo like round light as parking light does interest me

I read that LEDs are longer-life than standard lamps or even Xenon HIDs.. But I am not sure about that?

Regards

[Julesprivate]

earthian said:

I am sure it would be possible to find similar stuff in Europe.

Regards

That wouldn't help you either - they drive on the wrong side in mainland Europe too LOL (I'm ...just being pedantic).

I like the halo ones for sidelights too but I think I'll settle for a SMT/SMD LED bulb and replace the headlight bulb with a Xenon

[chris1972]

earthian said:

Hi again,

I believe I did not myself clear enough My idea is not to have a led lights like a Christmas tree there, but use an LED or two in a projector setup or alternatively a standard light/xenon HID in a projector. So the idea is the projector, not the light source. My most perfect example of what I was thinking is this:
- http://www.jwspeaker.com/other/led-headlamps
- http://www.sickhids.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=...
- maybe even http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?455...
- or http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.p...

Well.. i hope you get the idea. I am not into many tiny lights on a TVR or a Audi style thingy hanging there somewhere.. although a halo like round light as parking light does interest me

I read that LEDs are longer-life than standard lamps or even Xenon HIDs.. But I am not sure about that?

Regards

LED's have to be configured in a certain way. If they're to create enough power to light anything, then they create heat, which requires a good size heat sink. This has effects on the size and the way in which they may be configured, which normally means that they will protrude on a long square shaft. The parabolic shape of the reflector will not project the light in the same way for the LEDS mounted in this way and has been designed to work with more traditional forms of lighting, namely halogen or other filament based light sources.

Just my two cents, although I work with light and light shapers for a living... not car lights admittedly!

[MPoxon]

earthian said:

Would you mind sharing a reason for this picture? Do you think it would look ugly? Why? Which one? What would you suggest?

Thanks!

A

LOL fair play.

I personally am really not a fan of LED lights, I think they look too modern on what is a classic looking car. I cannot stand those Health and safety LED daylight running lights all new cars have now either.

I do agree the standard lights are poor and would benefit from an upgrade. I before my Griff I had an S2000 which had amazing lights, going from the S2k to the Griff was literally like night and day! My personal preference would be to clean up the original lenses and reflectors, run a separate feed to each lamp and install uprated bulbs.

In all seriousness though modifying / modernising our cars to our own tastes and requirements is all part of the ownership experience so good luck with the project

[earthian]

MPoxon said:

LOL fair play.

I personally am really not a fan of LED lights, I think they look too modern on what is a classic looking car. I cannot stand those Health and safety LED daylight running lights all new cars have now either.

I do agree the standard lights are poor and would benefit from an upgrade. I before my Griff I had an S2000 which had amazing lights, going from the S2k to the Griff was literally like night and day! My personal preference would be to clean up the original lenses and reflectors, run a separate feed to each lamp and install uprated bulbs.

In all seriousness though modifying / modernising our cars to our own tastes and requirements is all part of the ownership experience so good luck with the project

Good point! I like the looks of the car as it is, so modifying it too much is indeed not something I would prefer. I am just wondering how would it look with projector headlights or lupo headlights beneath the covers like Mk3 Chimaera or Griffith.

I wonder if we have anybody good in Photoshop here to try and provide some pictures? Or even somebody rich enough to try the upgrade and let us know the result

[KSV]

Hi All
Hope this helps, had the lupo conversion done last month,


Regards Colin

[Bassfiend]

KSV said:

Hi All
Hope this helps, had the lupo conversion done last month,


Regards Colin

Who did you get to do it?

Phil

[KSV]

Phil
I had them done at Salford Servicing near Milton Keynes.