Headlight bulb upgrade

squarehead94

squarehead94

squarehead94

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25 Nov 2011
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1,355
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Cumbria, United Kingdom
Hi all. First Post in a long time but anyways.
I do deliveries in an 03 plate fiesta 1.4 tdci. A lot of the journeys I take are on poorly lit or completely unlit roads so I'm thinking of upgrading from the halogens I have just now.

When I was younger I always used to slap some HIDs onto corsas etc mainly for scene points but being a bit older I'm more focused on practicality and now LEDs seem to be the big thing.

I have heard some positive reviews (including one in a fiesta) on some beamtech H4 LEDs that are currently around £24 from amazon. Does anyone recommend any particular brand over another? Because they aren't MOT passable no major player seems to sell these (phillips, osram etc) now I have heard of Nightbreakers by Osram and a few different ones from Phillips that are road legal but they aren't as high powered as the imports.

In real world use, what would I be best going for? Its not for aesthetic purposes its purely for better view in night driving and preferably better view over a longer distance.

Budget I would say is around £40 maximum for something good. Suggestions please? Or should I just go back to HIDs?
 
i tried LEDs in my Focus (many types from expensive ones to cheap ones), they spread rather than focus for road, so useless , as they blind other road users

MOT failure now are HID kits

not really a lot you can do, i got Philips Extreme Vision bulbs in mine, not a patch on HIDs :(
 
Illigal but it will pass as long as the beam pattern is ok. No one checks for E marks in the UK especially not on bulbs.

But you need to keep LEDs cool and they will overheat in most halogen lamps, so wont last very long.

LED for sidelights etc are ok as they dont get hot (usually just W5W bulbs). I use them as they are much brighter than halogen.
 
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Personally I'd go for something like Halfords Advance +100%
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/b...s100-percent-brighter-single-pack-719470.html

You can get brighter bulbs, but there is always a trade off - in most cases it's bulb life - Nightbreakers and the like seem to have fairly short lifespans, whereas the "mid range" bulbs as above tend to last a decent amount of time (so ideal if you do a lot of night driving), and still put out a decent amount more than standard OEM bulbs
 
my question isn't on the legalities of them, I know they won't pass MOT standards. but like millions of other drivers, I would replace them for the MOT or replace if ever pulled (something that never happened to me in the years I ran HID kits) Its more are HID/LED lights better in real world night driving. I know some LED bulbs come with pre attached fans etc to aid cooling etc. Whereas I have heard Phillips (theres that many different models I can't name a particular) are great but not a patch in terms of brightness to a HID or even an LED bulb. I'd like to see some of the Phillips (or halfords, they do get surprisingly good reviews) side by side with a HID on road to see the difference.
 
squarehead94 said:
my question isn't on the legalities of them, I know they won't pass MOT standards. but like millions of other drivers, I would replace them for the MOT or replace if ever pulled (something that never happened to me in the years I ran HID kits) Its more are HID/LED lights better in real world night driving. I know some LED bulbs come with pre attached fans etc to aid cooling etc. Whereas I have heard Phillips (theres that many different models I can't name a particular) are great but not a patch in terms of brightness to a HID or even an LED bulb. I'd like to see some of the Phillips (or halfords, they do get surprisingly good reviews) side by side with a HID on road to see the difference.
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there are plenty of videos that show of a comparison in real world usage too
 
Are the headlights very fogged up? If they are, I found it made a difference on my old civic with clear ones instead of foggy ones. There's lots of guides on youtube if they are fogged on how to bring them back.
 
squarehead94 said:
my question isn't on the legalities of them, I know they won't pass MOT standards. but like millions of other drivers, I would replace them for the MOT or replace if ever pulled (something that never happened to me in the years I ran HID kits) Its more are HID/LED lights better in real world night driving.
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Have you considered that maybe there's a reason they aren't legal and won't pass MOT standards? They might be "better" for you when you're driving, but I bet it won't be for the oncoming drivers you're dazzling.
Nothing like having your retinas seared off by some **** with poorly adjusted 14 billion lumen aftermarket headlights when you're driving down a twisty country road. :rolleyes:
 
I went from an older Fiesta with halogens to a newer Fiesta with factory LED bulbs in projectors and they are quite a bit better, I often do a lot of driving at night (unlit A,B,Motorways). But you're still limited by the range of dipped vs full beam.
 
Haggisman said:
Have you considered that maybe there's a reason they aren't legal and won't pass MOT standards? They might be "better" for you when you're driving, but I bet it won't be for the oncoming drivers you're dazzling.
Nothing like having your retinas seared off by some **** with poorly adjusted 14 billion lumen aftermarket headlights when you're driving down a twisty country road. :rolleyes:
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As long as they pass the beam pattern test then surely they wouldn't dazzle other road users?
 
Armageus said:
Personally I'd go for something like Halfords Advance +100%
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/b...s100-percent-brighter-single-pack-719470.html
Click to expand...

exactly that, as discussed multiple times

these expensive aftermarket kits, are illegal for obvious reasons.
Any technical development of those, to ever have them CE compliant must have declined too, with proliferation of fully sealed led units,
like the decline of aftermarket stereos.
Philips didn't see the markety to justify driving compliancy in their led's.
 
tom_e said:
As long as they pass the beam pattern test then surely they wouldn't dazzle other road users?
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And therein lies the problem. Most users don't know how to fit them, or how to properly align them. So they just stick a set on the car and sod every other driver on the road that gets blinded by them.
 
Haggisman said:
He's already said he's not interested in the legality and knows they wont pass the MOT...
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A lot of people (incorrectly) assuming that I wouldnt either A set them up correctly myself or B have them adjusted by a pro? some positive reviews in regards to beam patterns etc from various LED kits, HIDs etc
 
squarehead94 said:
A lot of people (incorrectly) assuming that I wouldnt either A set them up correctly myself or B have them adjusted by a pro? some positive reviews in regards to beam patterns etc from various LED kits, HIDs etc
Click to expand...

Sounds like you have already made your mind up regardless of legality or anyone else's advice
 
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