Jump to content

LED headlights


proporsche

Recommended Posts

My understanding is that there are beam scatter and heat issues (due to the heatsink, if it fits, being in the headlight bowl) when using these with the 911's H4 lights...but if anyone has any actual experience of using them I would be most interested to hear.

My desire to upgrade my lights has fallen somewhat since I got the ClassicRetrofit replacement fusepanel which has integral relays; this changed the output (with upgraded H4s) from, "crap," to "almost adequate - can I be bothered spending money to make them better?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, EJH911 said:

 this changed the output (with upgraded H4s) from, "crap," to "almost adequate - can I be bothered spending money to make them better?"

And with new reflectors your headlights would be "good enough".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Dr Rock said:

And with new reflectors your headlights would be "good enough".

Truth be told, they probably are now; with the fuse board and upgraded H4s, they're probably better than they were when new (even with 29 year old reflectors).  The first drive after the new fuse board was down the M11 at night (freezing with the roof down) I decided they were good enough that I wasn't going to bother looking at making them better any more.

Even if beam-scatter can be negated with LED bulbs, I agree that looking at reflectors is vital before the source is made brighter.

Edited by EJH911
Link to comment
Share on other sites

i use them in my 964 .. have done for over 12 months now.  Beam pattern is spot on , MOT no problem either ( I'm running LHD headlights with beam deflectors + the LED bulbs )

 

Onlyt problem I've had is after 10 months, one of the bulbs stated popping the fuse for its circuit, so I've replaced it with a new unit & all is fine again.

In terms of light , they are a huge improvement over stock

 

For the sake of £55 approx theyre' worth having a go with

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you have a photo of the beam cutoff on a wall / garage door at all?  Is there an easy way to test for beam-scatter?

I ask as I read the article below a while ago and, even with flatbeam headlights, there was a wide variety of effective light / beam patterns observed:

http://betterautomotivelighting.com/2017/05/03/15-brands-led-headlight-bulb-shoot-ones-best/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

no photos ( lost all my relevant photos in the recent photobucket balls up ) , but cut off looks pretty sharp when i pull up in front of garage doors ( but bear in mind I have beam deflectors in place on the lenses which might help ) . Never once been flashed by an on coming car either , unlike my modern.

Most of my night driving is unlit country b-roads / un classifieds etc in North Yorkshire .. all I care about is wether i can see , especially when another car is coming towards me . To this end , the LED bulbs are spot on .  For the low outlay, I'd say try them & see what you think

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 10 months later...

Just resurrecting an old thread as I think one of my headlight bulbs is on its way out.

Has anyone fitted the Woodpecker LEDs or something similar ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All LED bulbs used in lamp units designed for filament bulbs are illegal throughout Europe.  

They will never be legal by definition since the rules mandate a bulb must of the same type as the lamp unit it was designed for. 

As an aside, I do a lot of night driving and have recently put on yellow lenses (which are legal btw) I find they significantly reduce glare from road signs and other reflectors and make night driving much more enjoyable.   I don’t find my lights dim at all with standard bulbs, new reflectors and our fuse panel.

Sometimes the pursuit of bigger, better, brighter is plain stupid.  The biggest issue by far with night driving is modern cars over bright lights!!!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Jonny Hart said:

yellow lenses (which are legal btw) I find they significantly reduce glare from road signs and other reflectors and make night driving much more enjoyable.   I don’t find my lights dim at all with standard bulbs, new reflectors and our fuse panel.

Amen 

Sometimes the pursuit of bigger, better, brighter is plain stupid.  The biggest issue by far with night driving is modern cars over bright lights!!!

Amen +1

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Jonny Hart said:

All LED bulbs used in lamp units designed for filament bulbs are illegal throughout Europe.  

They will never be legal by definition since the rules mandate a bulb must of the same type as the lamp unit it was designed for. 

As an aside, I do a lot of night driving and have recently put on yellow lenses (which are legal btw) I find they significantly reduce glare from road signs and other reflectors and make night driving much more enjoyable.   I don’t find my lights dim at all with standard bulbs, new reflectors and our fuse panel.

Sometimes the pursuit of bigger, better, brighter is plain stupid.  The biggest issue by far with night driving is modern cars over bright lights!!!

 

 

I just run mine at 9 volts, does the same thing

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Jonny Hart said:

 biggest issue by far with night driving is modern cars over bright lights!!!

Absolutely! And while on the subject, people who haven't got the basic consideration to adjust their lights down. And what's with the ridiculous function where the left or right fog/driving light comes on with the indicator?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, proporsche said:

There is nothing illegal about LED headlight here in Czech and Germany..

Sorry pro, not true.  Whole headlamp assemblies yes because the are tested as a complete assembly, bulbs NO.  You wont find a single LED bulb on the market with the E mark.

From Autobulbs direct website (https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/blog/led-bulbs/😞

'An E mark is a certification that the bulb conforms to European regulations to allow it to be used in the application it is designed for. Unfortunately one of the criteria for an emark is that the bulb has to be the same type as the one it is replacing. E.G. filament for filament, led for led etc. As this is not the case here (led for filament) it cannot technically achieve an E mark. However the light output and colour of light is by far sufficient so will pass and MOT. This is really just a technicality.'

I wonder about the insurance side of things.  If you had an accident and the other driver said your lights were dazzling them,  your insurance could be invalid unless you had declared the non E-rated bulbs.  Just because you have an MOT doesn't mean your car is legal.

More info here:

https://blog.motoringassist.com/news/fit-led-lighting-car-legally/

P.s. As far as I recall, the UK has always been in Europe.  Yes even before joining the EEC in 1973!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, Beaky said:

Think I'll go back to candles......................:ninja:

Haha.  Yeah sorry but there is nothing inherently wrong with the headlamps in a 911.  It's the switch and the reflectors - that is all.  

One of our German customers is a lighting engineer and he decided to test out the difference from adding relays using a light meter.  We had nothing to do with this btw, he just sent us the results:

http://www.classicretrofit.com/blog/posts/2017/november/german-porsche-enthusiast-sees-the-light-with-classic-retrofit/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...