Another Option for LED headlights ?

LarryC said:
What's all that about needing a flow of air for cooling? Does that mean that are unhappy with lots of sitting still, as in stop lights? How much stationary use is too much? etc etc I was a little surprised at that comment, so I need more info.
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Hi-power LED lamps get really, really hot. Hence, most have sizeable heat sinks, which need space to shed the heat. Looks like these use a small enough heat sink to fit without mod.
 
In my opinion there is nothing worst then a old yellow sealed beam head light the leds in that black car look great ,have similar on mind ,I find they look good , just because we have old cars doesn’t mean the lights have to look like crap !!
 
Converting H4 (or any other) headlight units to LED by swapping the bulbs isn't an ideal solution. As has been mentioned in this and previous threads on the subject, the headlight is a total system and all of its components need to be designed to work together (lens, reflector, housing, bulb shield, bulb mount area, bulb location, heat management, etc). At least in order for them to work properly. A bulb swap (as in some of the ones shown earlier in this thread) will shine light on the road, but the beam ("pattern") will not be ideal. Can you use them? Sure. Are they great? Not likely. The units shown in the first post, and in the linked post from the SEMA show, have been designed as LED headlights from the beginning, not just a bulb swap. So they will work better, but at this time it is a costly option.

The heat issue is an important part of the design. The LED diodes do not get all that hot, but the drivers (circuit that makes the diodes work) does. Generally the more lumens output the bulb has the higher the heat generated by the driver. It is a common practice to "over drive" the bulbs for headlight applications due to the limitations of LEDs (at least at this time, they will develop better eventually). So to make a LED generate enough 'light' to function as a headlight, and fit into a headlight unit, they will develop substantial heat. That is why many LED headlight units will not fit in the X, the heat sinks are much too large. And those that do fit may not live very long due to the heat.

LED headlight technology is just beginning to develop for the aftermarket applications. That is why the new units (fully designed as LED) are so costly. In time all that will improve.
 
actually looking at this it seems the pattern is indeed flat…hmmmm

retrobright_low_beam_comparisons.png
 
NEG said:
actually looking at this it seems the pattern is indeed flat…hmmmm

retrobright_low_beam_comparisons.png
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Interesting, isn't it required to block light at the left.... away from oncoming traffic? That would be the difference for a UK car, where it needs to block light towards the right.

I'm not sure if there are newer regulations and lighting patterns that allow a broad beam like that.
 
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Tom Ginefra said:
Is it "that" dramatic that you can't adjust for it?
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Actually on low beam it is very dramatic. As you look at your H4s you will note a strong cutoff to the left where on coming drivers are going to be while to the right the beam goes very high. If you stop in front of a wall you can see this on the wall

Now imagine you are driving on the opposite side of the road and that cutoff angle and broad beam is now facing the oncoming drivers. In England you would be pulled over in very short order. Certainly wouldn’t pass MOT.
 
What happens when you install them upside down? Is. It just a left/right thing or up and down as well?
 
dllubin said:
What happens when you install them upside down? Is. It just a left/right thing or up and down as well?
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That would work provided you had enough downforce on the car to allow you to drive it on the ceiling of a tunnel...upside down. :p
 
Holley is buying out beaucoup de companies. Looks like they want to be "global." So maybe somebody should have a word with them.
 
Tom Ginefra said:
Is it "that" dramatic that you can't adjust for it?
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Very dramatic. The beam cut off goes the other way.

When I got my 348, which is a left hand drive car but spent 18 years in the UK, I had to pull the headlights and switch them to LHD. Luckily, with the 348 you can actually convert the headlight--you just unscrew the assembly, twist it and rescrew it in. This changes the reflector inside to point for right hand traffic vs left hand traffic.
Before
BAA1BD6E-AADA-4FA3-8902-A7361364BAB9.jpeg



After
C96793EA-C474-4000-8513-FFC47530A521.jpeg
 
I was reading an article earlier this year that said til now LED used for cars were designed for other purposes and fitted into car applications. Early this year was the first release of LEDs designed by the emitter manufacture specially for automotive applications. This is suppose to provide a jump forward in head light LED applications.
 
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