LED headlights

travelmonster

Hey guys...

To put in a LED white light as headlight in the car ? Would it just fit in where the standard bulb goes ? Or would it need a new led type socket ?

Joe_Horner

To do it legally would require a complete new headlight unit type approved for LED lamps and fitted in accordance with the type approval.

wgl2014

To answer your question the ones sold as headlight bulbs will fit the existing fitting (there are different types depending on car).

They are however (as Joe rightly says) not legal and are also, from what I have seen, rubbish. They appear extremely bright to look at so dazzle other drivers but the projection and useful light output for you to see by is poor.
If you want to upgrade your existing lights consider some Osram Night breaker bulbs.

Gloomendoom

Cheap ones can also create unwelcome RF interference.

I believe that Philips make some that comply with legislation.

Philips X-treme Ultinon LED Headlight H4

Edit: No they don't... "Not for use on public roads"

Chrishazle

Loads of discussion about this on car forums. Basically, if your car was not originally fitted with LED headlights then the reflector design is totally incorrect for an LED light source, and you would be breaking the law by fitting them.

As stated above, try replacing your ordinary bulbs with Osram Nightbreaker Ultimate (as I have done on both my cars), they're much better and completely legal.

pogofish

Osram night breakers produce a good bright, coldish light that is akin to an LED - except that they are considerably brighter and fully legal.

If you hunt around, you can also find lightly blued BMW/AUDI side lamps that produce a clean white that are also road legal that can be swapped-in without any extra wiring/modification.

I looked into LEDs earlier this year (there is v.useful info on past threads here) and apart from swapping over some ancillary lamps, this seemed the way of least potential hassle, although going by the number of cars I see here with overtly blue/dim/flickery, cheap LEDs, the police don't seem to be particularly bothered about enforcing this one for now.

interstellaflyer

What is this obsession with wanting to blind oncoming motorists? I drive country lanes all the time and manage perfectly well with the lighting fitted standard to the car, the only time I have a problem is when some idiot boy racer in a Corsa or similar with extra bright headlights blinds me. In my boy racer days which goes back to a time when most cars didn't have halogen headlights, I managed perfectly well to negotiate those same country lanes mentioned above.

System

interstellaflyer wrote: »

What is this obsession with wanting to blind oncoming motorists? I drive country lanes all the time and manage perfectly well with the lighting fitted standard to the car, the only time I have a problem is when some idiot boy racer in a Corsa or similar with extra bright headlights blinds me. In my boy racer days which goes back to a time when most cars didn't have halogen headlights, I managed perfectly well to negotiate those same country lanes mentioned above.

If your headlamps are aimed correctly and you're using legal bulbs they won't. I have Osram 130% in my Mondeo. The headlights are aimed correctly and the beam pattern is a good one which is actually BETTER than the pattern with the genuine Ford ones with a clearly defined horizontal line going out to the right. The guy in the Corsa either isn't using legal bulbs so the beam pattern is all over the shop or their headlights aren't aimed right.

Gloomendoom

Has anybody got any experience, good or bad, of PIAA Hyper Arros bulbs?

LadyDee

I have had to stop driving after dark because these lights are so dazzling. Some people are so selfish, they have no regard for others. Not so long ago, I saw a small car with 3 sets of bright headlights - madness!

Gloomendoom

LadyDee wrote: »

I have had to stop driving after dark because these lights are so dazzling. Some people are so selfish, they have no regard for others. Not so long ago, I saw a small car with 3 sets of bright headlights - madness!

Was it this one?