Caterham high intensity LED headlights option - Worth it?
Discussion
There are many alternative LED options out there, from the cheap £50 e bay versions to the slightly more expensive, legal e-marked versions at £120 a pair to the Caterham OE ones
compared to the halogen ones putting in LED lights was probably the single best mod that I have done to my car, it easily added 10mph to my speed at night and its so much safer (i used e-marked £120 lights) however I can not see how Caterham can justify the cost of the ones they fit, i cant imagine they are 4x better as the LEDs are already 10x better than the halogens.
compared to the halogen ones putting in LED lights was probably the single best mod that I have done to my car, it easily added 10mph to my speed at night and its so much safer (i used e-marked £120 lights) however I can not see how Caterham can justify the cost of the ones they fit, i cant imagine they are 4x better as the LEDs are already 10x better than the halogens.
Tiddy7 said:
There are many alternative LED options out there, from the cheap £50 e bay versions to the slightly more expensive, legal e-marked versions at £120 a pair to the Caterham OE ones
compared to the halogen ones putting in LED lights was probably the single best mod that I have done to my car, it easily added 10mph to my speed at night and its so much safer (i used e-marked £120 lights) however I can not see how Caterham can justify the cost of the ones they fit, i cant imagine they are 4x better as the LEDs are already 10x better than the halogens.
Was fitting the e-marked £120 set an easy modification, require much work?compared to the halogen ones putting in LED lights was probably the single best mod that I have done to my car, it easily added 10mph to my speed at night and its so much safer (i used e-marked £120 lights) however I can not see how Caterham can justify the cost of the ones they fit, i cant imagine they are 4x better as the LEDs are already 10x better than the halogens.
Tiddy7 said:
There are many alternative LED options out there, from the cheap £50 e bay versions to the slightly more expensive, legal e-marked versions at £120 a pair to the Caterham OE ones
compared to the halogen ones putting in LED lights was probably the single best mod that I have done to my car, it easily added 10mph to my speed at night and its so much safer (i used e-marked £120 lights) however I can not see how Caterham can justify the cost of the ones they fit, i cant imagine they are 4x better as the LEDs are already 10x better than the halogens.
Are the e-marked £120 versions supplied with any conformity paperwork or are they just e marked/labelled on the units themselves?compared to the halogen ones putting in LED lights was probably the single best mod that I have done to my car, it easily added 10mph to my speed at night and its so much safer (i used e-marked £120 lights) however I can not see how Caterham can justify the cost of the ones they fit, i cant imagine they are 4x better as the LEDs are already 10x better than the halogens.
I bought the ones from originalcaferacer.com, currently advertised at £129 a pair but you can get 10% discount. They are e- marked, I did not get any conformity paperwork’, but I believe others have. They are a direct replacement for the halogen lamp lenses you remove the three bent steel clips ( preferably without firing them across the garage never to be found again……) put the new lenses in and replace the clips (you can buy new clips from eBay…just saying) then plug directly into the existing halogen bulb connector.
They are a flat dip, but the mot guy was very happy with them , so no issues
They are a flat dip, but the mot guy was very happy with them , so no issues
Tiddy7 said:
I bought the ones from originalcaferacer.com, currently advertised at £129 a pair but you can get 10% discount. They are e- marked, I did not get any conformity paperwork’, but I believe others have. They are a direct replacement for the halogen lamp lenses you remove the three bent steel clips ( preferably without firing them across the garage never to be found again……) put the new lenses in and replace the clips (you can buy new clips from eBay…just saying) then plug directly into the existing halogen bulb connector.
They are a flat dip, but the mot guy was very happy with them , so no issues
Sounds like an easy mod and far cheaper than the £800 Caterham LED option, are these as good?They are a flat dip, but the mot guy was very happy with them , so no issues
Seen some reports saying Caterham LEDs are way better than halogen and some post saying they are hardly any better.
I can’t comment on the Caterham ones as I have never seen them and I know there can be significant differences in light pattern, making some led lights quite poor, all I can say is the ones I have fitted were revolutionary in the light levels, and I like the light patterns.
As I said in my original post they could easily add 10 mph to safe night driving and the do not appear to dazzle
As I said in my original post they could easily add 10 mph to safe night driving and the do not appear to dazzle
Tiddy7 said:
I bought the ones from originalcaferacer.com, currently advertised at £129 a pair but you can get 10% discount. They are e- marked, I did not get any conformity paperwork’, but I believe others have. They are a direct replacement for the halogen lamp lenses you remove the three bent steel clips ( preferably without firing them across the garage never to be found again……) put the new lenses in and replace the clips (you can buy new clips from eBay…just saying) then plug directly into the existing halogen bulb connector.
They are a flat dip, but the mot guy was very happy with them , so no issues
They seem a bargain and at least half the price of similar ones elsewhere. I've just ordered a pair. They are a flat dip, but the mot guy was very happy with them , so no issues
Gibbo205 said:
It a configurator option when speccing a new build, so the £800 gets you the pair.
Alternative - take the standard headlamp configuration and replace the “innards” with the Just Add Lightness” LED upgrade units (which are meant to be identical to Caterhams) and save yourself it seems nearly £100I have a pair of the £120 ones from Andy Hobbs on the Facebook group.
They're the ones with a DRL in the middle of the light, but can also act as an indicator if you do the wiring (I haven't done that yet, but plan to).
I've been super impressed. The standard lights were awful, these are super bright, have a very uniform pattern and look far more modern. They're e-marked, and had the correct connectors for the original light, so just plug and play.
I haven't been through the MOT with them yet ( coming up in a month or so), but others who have haven't had any issues.
I also upgraded the rear lights with clear lenses and the Just Add Lightness LED units - again, massive difference. A bit more work with the wiring, but well worth it.
They're the ones with a DRL in the middle of the light, but can also act as an indicator if you do the wiring (I haven't done that yet, but plan to).
I've been super impressed. The standard lights were awful, these are super bright, have a very uniform pattern and look far more modern. They're e-marked, and had the correct connectors for the original light, so just plug and play.
I haven't been through the MOT with them yet ( coming up in a month or so), but others who have haven't had any issues.
I also upgraded the rear lights with clear lenses and the Just Add Lightness LED units - again, massive difference. A bit more work with the wiring, but well worth it.
agatebox said:
Gibbo205 said:
It a configurator option when speccing a new build, so the £800 gets you the pair.
Alternative - take the standard headlamp configuration and replace the “innards” with the Just Add Lightness” LED upgrade units (which are meant to be identical to Caterhams) and save yourself it seems nearly £100framerateuk said:
I have a pair of the £120 ones from Andy Hobbs on the Facebook group.
They're the ones with a DRL in the middle of the light, but can also act as an indicator if you do the wiring (I haven't done that yet, but plan to).
I've been super impressed. The standard lights were awful, these are super bright, have a very uniform pattern and look far more modern. They're e-marked, and had the correct connectors for the original light, so just plug and play.
I haven't been through the MOT with them yet ( coming up in a month or so), but others who have haven't had any issues.
I also upgraded the rear lights with clear lenses and the Just Add Lightness LED units - again, massive difference. A bit more work with the wiring, but well worth it.
How do these fit? Just into the standard caterham headlight bowls?They're the ones with a DRL in the middle of the light, but can also act as an indicator if you do the wiring (I haven't done that yet, but plan to).
I've been super impressed. The standard lights were awful, these are super bright, have a very uniform pattern and look far more modern. They're e-marked, and had the correct connectors for the original light, so just plug and play.
I haven't been through the MOT with them yet ( coming up in a month or so), but others who have haven't had any issues.
I also upgraded the rear lights with clear lenses and the Just Add Lightness LED units - again, massive difference. A bit more work with the wiring, but well worth it.
Hammersia said:
Ironically you will be adding weight by upgrading to LED, good couple of kilos.
There's definitely not kilos in it. There's very little in the front lights since the new ones are polycarbonate and the old ones had glass.The circuit boards in the rear ones weigh a little bit more, but it's a few grammes.
BertBert said:
How do these fit? Just into the standard caterham headlight bowls?
Yeah you just unscrew the bowls and remove the entire light unit. The clips holding the lens in need to be bent a little as the plastic housing on the LEDs is a bit thicker than the glass on the old ones, but once that's done it's just plug and play.https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOCUvDm8v-qsz...
Edited by framerateuk on Tuesday 7th February 10:13
As above, there’s a choice of options; from: eBay at £50 the pair, through Andy Hobbs’ option or Caferacer units for ~£150, then JAL and ultimately Caterham stuff at big bucks.
I went cheapo. The lights are e-marked (who knows whether legitimately!), work well and have gone through two MoT tests successfully.
I went cheapo. The lights are e-marked (who knows whether legitimately!), work well and have gone through two MoT tests successfully.
I declined the LED upgrade option when it became apparent that all Caterham's now come as standard with the single set of LED rear lights on the wheel arches. It was the lack of rear visibility of braking that worried me about the normal lights. Plus I didn't want the reversing lights in the rear panel by the number plate.
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