LED Headlights
Discussion
SILICONEKID345HP said:
Ao without the driving lights the leds fitted in the head light are useless
Absolutely not true, the LED H4 bulb replacement units couldn't be further away from useless!Even without the driving lights any headlights are massively improved with a good set of these new generation LED H4s, just make sure you adjust them properly.
Add the driving lights and it's a game changing combination!
FiF said:
I'd certainly be interested in photos/ video of just the LP270 alone, being cheeky aligned as main beam units as well as your supplementary dip setup. They are on my radar to improve the main beam on my FL2, dip is fine, but need something with some decent throw for those long dark forest straights. Typical of modern vehicles the front end doesn't lend itself to fitting a set of classic pencil spots in a decent diameter. Don't really want to have to take the entire front bumper, grille and front panel off, which is what has to be done for anything of any size.
I may be wrong but, I've found the cheaper LEDs good for relatively short throw - say up to a hundred or so metres. There are more costly LEDs - Lazer for example are very popular among the rally chaps which are good - check out
https://youtu.be/EHSJZHOs5i0
I'd love to be able to afford these but I have some old PIAA spots which may cause some drag!
Edited by magpies on Sunday 28th February 19:34
magpies said:
I may be wrong but, I've found the cheaper LEDs good for relatively short throw - say up to a hundred or so metres.
There are more costly LEDs - Lazer for example are very popular among the rally chaps which are good - check out
https://youtu.be/EHSJZHOs5i0
That's what my impression is, LEDs give massive light output but not much throw, certain hand torches excepted which have a decent LED placement with a good deep reflector. But these arrays with multiple LED each in their own mini reflector aren't what I'm after.There are more costly LEDs - Lazer for example are very popular among the rally chaps which are good - check out
https://youtu.be/EHSJZHOs5i0
Judging from video is difficult, looking at that linked video, both my dip and main beam are better than that. Looking for something in between the two, those pencil beams have little or no flood Hut excellent range, but the LED looked as if the flood was excellent but just needed something to fill in the distance.
GC8 said:
You cannot have extra dipped beam lamps - this is why I asked about them. You can have extra driving lamps which are extinguished when dipped beam is selected, but not multiple dipped beam lamps.
This is true, you can use fog lights on dip but only in adverse weather conditions that warrant their use. So strictly speaking my driving lights are illegal as they are not linked to the main beam circuit but on an independent switch with a warning light mounted in a place I can get to quickly. The lights mounted low to the road so I've had no issues with people flashing me so far. To be honest I only ever planned to use them in dark rural roads and they certainly offer excellent performance in these conditions, however lately I've also taken to using them as daylight running lights, cars with the latest super bright LED daylight running lights are definitely way easier to see so after Volvo came up with the idea over 30 years ago we are all finally enjoying the safety benefits of being seen as well as seeing.
I'm finally happy with the lights on my Chimaera, rather than getting in my modern Toyota and thinking these headlights are so much better than on my TVR, I now get in the Toyota and think the modern car's headlights are total rubbish.
With the experience of people who have used LED headlight bulbs, especially CoG, I'm wondering what they think of this new bulb?
http://www.horizonleds.co.uk/exterior-leds/cree-le...
I've linked the H4 bulb but I'd actually be using an H7 in my BMW, one of my halogens has just died so seems a fitting time to spend probably too much on two bulbs. Probably won't do my mains though, purely down to cost.
http://www.horizonleds.co.uk/exterior-leds/cree-le...
I've linked the H4 bulb but I'd actually be using an H7 in my BMW, one of my halogens has just died so seems a fitting time to spend probably too much on two bulbs. Probably won't do my mains though, purely down to cost.
Pink_Floyd said:
GC8 said:
You cannot have extra dipped beam lamps........, but not multiple dipped beam lamps.
Why ?The new cars with LED lights like the mercs have 2 dip beam lamps each side of the car, I assume it is to get the correct beam pattern.
GC8 said:
You cannot have extra dipped beam lamps - this is why I asked about them. You can have extra driving lamps which are extinguished when dipped beam is selected, but not multiple dipped beam lamps.
Why not? I have four headlights, all work on dip and main. MoT man has never complained, or is a construction and use thing?tog said:
GC8 said:
You cannot have extra dipped beam lamps - this is why I asked about them. You can have extra driving lamps which are extinguished when dipped beam is selected, but not multiple dipped beam lamps.
Why not? I have four headlights, all work on dip and main. MoT man has never complained, or is a construction and use thing?Out of interest what is the vehicle which has 4 headlight units working on dip, which is what is being suggested.
FiF said:
Pink_Floyd said:
GC8 said:
You cannot have extra dipped beam lamps........, but not multiple dipped beam lamps.
Why ?The new cars with LED lights like the mercs have 2 dip beam lamps each side of the car, I assume it is to get the correct beam pattern.
tog said:
Why not? I have four headlights, all work on dip and main. MoT man has never complained, or is a construction and use thing?
magpies said:
the SEAT Leon has multiple leds on dip and then adds more for main beam
^^ALL THIS^^I really don't think the way I've got my driving lights wired is the worlds biggest crime, and my car passes the MoT every year without cats so I doubt I'll have any problems with these lights, it certainly helps my tester is an old school hot rodder.
The independent switch gives me choice and complete control of how I choose to use these PIAA LP270 driving lights.
I can use them:
1. On their own as daylight running lights
2. With dip - which is strictly speaking illegal because they're not fog lights
3. With dip & main beam
4. With main beam only - easily flicked off when I dip my lights
I've also found I could easily drive at night on sidelights with the PIAA LP270s used in place of my dips because unbelievably these little driving lights offer even more light than my already very effective LED H4s on dip.
Finally I can just drive using my headlights as normal and choose simply not to switch on the LP270's at all, so like I say I have complete control over how they're used.
Most importantly they are never used where they may cause issue to other road users, I have found they massively improve visibility on dark rural roads and used as daylight running lights greatly improve the visibility of my car during the day.
Therefore in every respect rather than being unsafe they actually greatly improve safety, from my experience the combination of a set of correctly adjusted new generation LED H4s in M3 faired headlights with the addition of PIAA LP270 driving lights delivers the ultimate solution to the shockingly bad performing headlights most Chimaeras (with their corroded reflectors) suffer.
I will try to put my car next to my mates Chimaera with his Mk1/2 headlights and corroded reflectors and take some photos as a comparison, I guarantee you the difference will literally be like night and day
This concludes my project to give my TVR proper headlights
I hope you've all enjoyed this post and found it helpful?
FiF said:
tog said:
GC8 said:
You cannot have extra dipped beam lamps - this is why I asked about them. You can have extra driving lamps which are extinguished when dipped beam is selected, but not multiple dipped beam lamps.
Why not? I have four headlights, all work on dip and main. MoT man has never complained, or is a construction and use thing?Out of interest what is the vehicle which has 4 headlight units working on dip, which is what is being suggested.
The Bristol's lights are fine as they are and I'm not considering putting LEDs in there. However where I am very keen to use LEDs is in the four 5¾" lamps on my Rover P6. This is not to improve light output, but to reduce current draw through the chocolate fusebox. The car is not on the road at the moment but I am watching this thread with interest so when it is back on the road later this year, hopefully, I'll be able to fit something suitable.
tog said:
My 1969 Bristol. One pair of 7" and one pair of 5¾" lamps, all work on main, all on dip. Originally the inner pair of 5¾" were main beam only, but a previous owner changed them about 20 years ago. They would have been sealed beam units originally, but are all halogen now. They are carefully aligned on a beam measuring device at my local garage and give excellent spread and do not appear to dazzle other traffic. I know the MoT man has never had any problem with them, but whether they comply with construction / use regulations or not I don't know.
.
Can't speak for MOT, but as the original setup that conformed with C&Use and also Lighting Regs, but now not legal. Nobody will pick you up on it, pretty sure of that..
Just as further info - my mate hasn't been able to play much recently as he's been somewhat busy and his dad fell and broke his neck (quite a scare but he's going to be fine) but he put his MX-5 through the MOT yesterday and had the Truck Lites properly aligned on a beam setter.
Apparently the beam pattern from them is absolutely fine according to his very friendly MOT man who seems happy to be used to play and tinker.
Hopefully he'll get out with it tomorrow night to have another go and see how they are - unfortunately he's not been able to do anything for the last few weeks since we took it out in the really crappy weather.
Phil
Apparently the beam pattern from them is absolutely fine according to his very friendly MOT man who seems happy to be used to play and tinker.
Hopefully he'll get out with it tomorrow night to have another go and see how they are - unfortunately he's not been able to do anything for the last few weeks since we took it out in the really crappy weather.
Phil
Right folks, here's my definitive summary on the subject of improving Chimaera headlights all in one post to save people the agony of reading through the whole topic. This honest summary is based on 15 months of real world testing and is intended to help the Chimaera community create a safer and more usable car when driven at night.
Firstly I want to cover the Truck-Lite units, I'm in no doubt they will give excellent performance, there are too many favourable reviews online for them to be anything other than a great upgrade for anyone with a car that uses the common 7" round headlights. The elephant in the Truck-Lite room is of course that they are only an option for those with a Mk3 headlight conversion, which in truth represents a tiny proportion of Chimaeras out there.
If you are one of the 98% of owners who have a Chimaera with the Mk1/2 headlights your first focus of attention should be to address the corrosion prone reflectors; forget the LED H4 debate for a minute it's resolving the reflector issue that'll deliver the single biggest improvement in headlight performance.
The truth is, measured back to back a brand new Mk1/2 headlight will perform just as well if not slightly better than a Mk1 Golf headlight used in the Mk3 conversion which as we know is also stuck behind a perspex cover. Actually the only real functional advantage offered by Mk3 headlights is they overcome the rapidly cording and hard to source Bosch reflector issue in a stroke.
My advise to anyone with Mk1/2 headlights is to first and foremost resolve their corroded reflectors, the best bet being to start with new ones but re-silvering is also an option, although the saving may not be great you at least you won't need to drill the rims on your re-silvered originals to ensure the sidelights sit correctly as you do with the new reflectors, which are actually Porsche units.
Weather go with new or re-silvered reflectors the one thing you absolutely must do is protect the reflector surface in some way before fitting, I recommend clear coating them with a good quality 2k lacquer. If applied properly this protective clear coating will literally extend the effective life of your new shiny reflectors by years, fail to protect your new or re-silvered reflectors in this way and you need to accept your reflectors will start to corrode in under a year and by year two (depending on use) will already be quite dull and so their performance will be greatly reduced.
With the reflector issue addressed and your investment protected with a decent clear coat then and only then can you start to look at what bulbs you are going to choose, with decent reflectors one of the latest incandescent bulbs such as Philips X-Treme Vision or Osram Nightbreakers will immediately give you very good headlights indeed, headlights that are already a massive step up from standard H4 bulbs in a set of dull & corroded reflectors.
If you then want to take things a step further try a set of these new generation of LED H4 bulb replacement units discussed here, just make sure you adjust the headlights so you're not dazzling oncoming traffic and you'll find you've moved on your night time visibility significantly yet again.
I followed all these very steps on my journey to achieve the very best possible Chimaera headlights, slowly but surely they got better and better and all this while I was still on the Mk1/2 set up, but I can't impress upon people enough the best thing any Chimaera can do to improve night time visibility is to get their corroded reflectors properly sorted first.
Mk3 conversion aside my final step was to fit a set of PIAA LP270's mostly with the objective of extending the dip after fitting my LED H4s, the result has been devastatingly good and while I freely admit I now have Mk3 headlights in my Chimaera I really don't think that the Mk1 Golf headlight unit used is any better than a perfect Mk1/2 setup with new reflectors.
What all this means is those with Mk1/2 headlights could easily just sort their reflectors, fit a set of the amazingly bright LED H4s, make a small adjustment, then fit a set of PIA LP270s..... and get exactly the same amazing results I'm enjoying . What I'm saying is the combination I've settled on could be easily replicated by any Chimaera owner, where as you can only begin to consider the 7" Truck-Lites if you have faired Mk3 headlights.
If you do have Mk3 headlights by all means try the Truck-Lites, I'm sure they will prove very good indeed, just prepare yourself for some fitting challenges & fabrication work which shouldn't in practice present too much of an issue.
Personally I doubt a set of Truck-Lites in a Mk3 conversion will offer any more light than a set of restored Mk1/2 headlights using LED H4s, the Truck-Lites in a Mk3 conversion may ultimately offer better control of the dip beams but when the Mk1/2 guy flicks on his LP270s that all becomes very irrelevant indeed.
For people who want to retain their Mk1/2 headlight look or those who don't want to go to the expense of fitting Mk3 headlights but also want to massively improve their night time visibility on their Chimaera I can highly recommend following my LED H4s & LP270 setup, whatever path you take you do need to accept it'll never be a cheap exercise but does stand as the one thing you can do yourself at home that will make your TVR much more usable and an even more practical classic than it is already.
After 15 months of intensive real world testing and 23 pages of waffle from me, thems the facts folks
Hope it helps?
Dave.
Firstly I want to cover the Truck-Lite units, I'm in no doubt they will give excellent performance, there are too many favourable reviews online for them to be anything other than a great upgrade for anyone with a car that uses the common 7" round headlights. The elephant in the Truck-Lite room is of course that they are only an option for those with a Mk3 headlight conversion, which in truth represents a tiny proportion of Chimaeras out there.
If you are one of the 98% of owners who have a Chimaera with the Mk1/2 headlights your first focus of attention should be to address the corrosion prone reflectors; forget the LED H4 debate for a minute it's resolving the reflector issue that'll deliver the single biggest improvement in headlight performance.
The truth is, measured back to back a brand new Mk1/2 headlight will perform just as well if not slightly better than a Mk1 Golf headlight used in the Mk3 conversion which as we know is also stuck behind a perspex cover. Actually the only real functional advantage offered by Mk3 headlights is they overcome the rapidly cording and hard to source Bosch reflector issue in a stroke.
My advise to anyone with Mk1/2 headlights is to first and foremost resolve their corroded reflectors, the best bet being to start with new ones but re-silvering is also an option, although the saving may not be great you at least you won't need to drill the rims on your re-silvered originals to ensure the sidelights sit correctly as you do with the new reflectors, which are actually Porsche units.
Weather go with new or re-silvered reflectors the one thing you absolutely must do is protect the reflector surface in some way before fitting, I recommend clear coating them with a good quality 2k lacquer. If applied properly this protective clear coating will literally extend the effective life of your new shiny reflectors by years, fail to protect your new or re-silvered reflectors in this way and you need to accept your reflectors will start to corrode in under a year and by year two (depending on use) will already be quite dull and so their performance will be greatly reduced.
With the reflector issue addressed and your investment protected with a decent clear coat then and only then can you start to look at what bulbs you are going to choose, with decent reflectors one of the latest incandescent bulbs such as Philips X-Treme Vision or Osram Nightbreakers will immediately give you very good headlights indeed, headlights that are already a massive step up from standard H4 bulbs in a set of dull & corroded reflectors.
If you then want to take things a step further try a set of these new generation of LED H4 bulb replacement units discussed here, just make sure you adjust the headlights so you're not dazzling oncoming traffic and you'll find you've moved on your night time visibility significantly yet again.
I followed all these very steps on my journey to achieve the very best possible Chimaera headlights, slowly but surely they got better and better and all this while I was still on the Mk1/2 set up, but I can't impress upon people enough the best thing any Chimaera can do to improve night time visibility is to get their corroded reflectors properly sorted first.
Mk3 conversion aside my final step was to fit a set of PIAA LP270's mostly with the objective of extending the dip after fitting my LED H4s, the result has been devastatingly good and while I freely admit I now have Mk3 headlights in my Chimaera I really don't think that the Mk1 Golf headlight unit used is any better than a perfect Mk1/2 setup with new reflectors.
What all this means is those with Mk1/2 headlights could easily just sort their reflectors, fit a set of the amazingly bright LED H4s, make a small adjustment, then fit a set of PIA LP270s..... and get exactly the same amazing results I'm enjoying . What I'm saying is the combination I've settled on could be easily replicated by any Chimaera owner, where as you can only begin to consider the 7" Truck-Lites if you have faired Mk3 headlights.
If you do have Mk3 headlights by all means try the Truck-Lites, I'm sure they will prove very good indeed, just prepare yourself for some fitting challenges & fabrication work which shouldn't in practice present too much of an issue.
Personally I doubt a set of Truck-Lites in a Mk3 conversion will offer any more light than a set of restored Mk1/2 headlights using LED H4s, the Truck-Lites in a Mk3 conversion may ultimately offer better control of the dip beams but when the Mk1/2 guy flicks on his LP270s that all becomes very irrelevant indeed.
For people who want to retain their Mk1/2 headlight look or those who don't want to go to the expense of fitting Mk3 headlights but also want to massively improve their night time visibility on their Chimaera I can highly recommend following my LED H4s & LP270 setup, whatever path you take you do need to accept it'll never be a cheap exercise but does stand as the one thing you can do yourself at home that will make your TVR much more usable and an even more practical classic than it is already.
After 15 months of intensive real world testing and 23 pages of waffle from me, thems the facts folks
Hope it helps?
Dave.
Just to restart the thread. A big issue of lighting with reflector style lights is the positioning and alignment of the light source. That was a big problem with led lamps. However today development is processing very quickly. Lamps that use the new Philips-Lumileds Luxeon Z ES chips are available, at a price. If you thought Trucklites were expensive... but here is a close up. Price will come down, currently H4's listed at $239, yes 239 usd.
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