LED headlamps

[tvrmark]

Has anyone upgrades their headlights for LEDs, what did you use where they any good?

[magpies]

one or two have

are you thinking 'projector' style to replace the complete reflector unit - see DamianS3 for example

or

Just changing the lamp - best to read the 'Chimpongas' thread

[phillpot]

For the modest amount of night driving I do I found some new headlamp units fitted with good bulbs quite adequate.

H4 bulb review/test ..... clicky

Also worth checking the condition of all the wiring, connectors, earths etc. The best lamps in the World will be rubbish if not getting a decent 12 volt
supply.



........ and there's always Penelope's favourite, the Extra relays option.

Edited by phillpot on Wednesday 5th September 20:40

[tvrmark]

I don't do much night driving although I will be tomorrow morning. But when I do I would like something a bit better then a yellow glow. They were supposedly upgraded by Tower View (who remembers them) but did not make much difference. A new modern bulb might be good enough. There are conversion around for original Mini's to LEDs just wondered if it was worth doing.

[phillpot]

tvrmark said:

They were supposedly upgraded by Tower View (who remembers them) but did not make much difference.

Bulb technology has moved on a bit since then!

[v8s4me]

tvrmark said:

I don't do much night driving although ......

Then why bother?

Badly adjusted intensely bright headlights are a nightmare for drivers coming in the opposite direction. IMHO fitting LED search-light bulbs to old halogen reflectors is the worst thing you can do. The LED splatters light all over the place and the reflector and the prisms in the glass just don't direct it properly.

Fit new H4 halogen units and if you still can't see far enough ahead, YOU'RE GOING TOO FAST FOR THE CONDITIONS

[AutoAndy]

i did a bit of research on this a while ago and my conclusions were;

- Sometimes just cleaning the connectors will make a big difference
- Higher powered / LED / Xenon HID, etc is possible but needs the desire to be happy with playing with, paying for, and doing mods to the circuitry

In the end, I wanted slightly better but without the hassle (or great expense), so went for Xenon gas replacement bulbs which are just std bulbs with a different gas....see link:
https://www.powerbulbs.com/blog/2016/10/xenon-hid-...

The light is whiter and "might be" slightly brighter, but certainly feels better...the only way you can tell in day time is that there is a slight blue hue to the lights (photo)



Good luck

[Elfit]

I fitted relays.
Made a huge positive difference
The problem wasn't the bulbs just the amount of current getting through.

Cheers
Tim

[Penelope Stopit]

These bulbs made a huge difference, the car that I fitted them to wasn't a TVR but what does that matter, the person driving the car at night could see very little when running standard halogens, since fitting the philips bulbs the driver now sees much more and over a longer distance

As someone has already mentioned above, relays with uprated wiring if needed may also help, if you fit the relays close to the lights the standard wiring will very likely be ok

[phillpot]

Penelope Stopit said:

since fitting the philips bulbs the driver now sees much more and over a longer distance

"Thanks Penny, love my new lights"

Edited by phillpot on Thursday 6th September 21:19

[greymrj]

Another vote for the Philips bulbs, big difference. But I would add one point. The earthing system for the headlights, certainly on the S1, is not good. There is not enough earth return capacity, and even that is over too long a route back into the harness, to carry all the front lights load. There is more wire capacity leading TO the lights than there is leading FROM the lights. That puts a lot of strain on the earth connections and any corrosion is likely to have a disproportionate effect. I have added a slightly higher duty earth to each of the headlights and a new additional earthing point by modifying one of the swirl pot mounting bolts. Front lighting is certainly more consistent.

[DamianS3]

Sorry a bit late to the party..



I didn't like the idea of hid or led bulbs in the standard lamps so went for purpose built.

Honestly the best lights I've ever had makes the white on road signs "glow" and as a bonus the halo / drl doubles up as indicator helping the smooth look i wanted.

Not everyone likes the look but i love em and they really perform. My car is a pretty much a daily driver.

Mine lanps are £100 eBay items but if you're feeling flush trucklight and others do premium items.

I bought a second set should one break but have had them on a couple of years now with no problems.

Thanks

Damian S3

[Barkychoc]

A few options here

Edited by Barkychoc on Tuesday 11th September 13:39