Man of Honour
- Joined
- 21 Nov 2004
- Posts
- 46,331
I find auto beams worse than leds on their own. They are so slow to react I’m dazzled in every case. Crazy this hasn’t been regulated and it’s too late now.
Is it time to ban LED Headlights
- Thread starter Glanza
- Start date
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Every case? How can you be so sure, you've no idea which cars are and are not fitted with them and which ones correctly functioned so you didn't notice they had them.
If a driver approaches you in, say, a 2015 5 series how do you know if they've been slow to manually switch off full beam or if the car had automatic high beam fitted and was in use?
You must know, obviously, as you seem certain it's 100% of the time.
If a driver approaches you in, say, a 2015 5 series how do you know if they've been slow to manually switch off full beam or if the car had automatic high beam fitted and was in use?
You must know, obviously, as you seem certain it's 100% of the time.
Soldato
- Joined
- 23 May 2006
- Posts
- 7,914
mine has auto beams and it seems to work to me. never been flashed incorrectly by another driver (tho 1 evening in a different car and I forgot they were not auto and got flashed)
also when I follow cars I can see the car drawing a line of shadow around the cars around me. I must admit I was skeptical when I 1st used the system but I find it pretty impressive
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agree bmw (were ? V) the worst from earlier thread .. given up flashing people unless it particularly egregious,
cresting a hill/taking bend is always a give away too - where humans do it pre-emptively.
quite an interesting document comparing bmw/audi/merc/lexus matrix lights from 2014 models, (only just becoming legal in USA)
showing additional reasons why bmw might be blinding/flashed vs audi (I'm partisan)
characteristics I had not considered, excerpt beneath
- lux(light intensity, NOT total lumens) seen by incoming cars, ability not to dazzle a bicycle, light adaption times
(they're their highlights)
excerpt
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 21 Nov 2004
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Yes, this is the big clue. The worst I find is on the winding bit of my journey, generally as I am entering a corner where you can tell the oncoming car takes a moment to detect your own and in that briefest of time the damage is already done. To me it’s usually obvious whether it’s a car that does it automatically or not based on this reaction.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 22 Oct 2002
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- 28,318
- Location
- Boston, Lincolnshire
I have recently bought my daughter a new car and it has standard fit H4 type bulbs which are absolute rubbish.
I have noticed Halfords and Phillips offer LED bulb replacements so I guess they are road legal. Anyone have any experience of these? They are over double the price of decent 200% bulbs however.
I have noticed Halfords and Phillips offer LED bulb replacements so I guess they are road legal. Anyone have any experience of these? They are over double the price of decent 200% bulbs however.
They shouldn't pass an MOT iirc. That's why they give the caveat of "it's up to you to check you local regulations".
Saying that I've had good quality led drop in bulbs fitted in my bikes in the past and it was never noticed come MOT time and I never had people flashing me for them.
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I don't think they are actually road legal, but if the beam pattern is correct, it will be hard to fail it without taking the bulb out to check (which won't happen in an MOT).
Thought it's unlikely to have a good beam pattern and keeping them cool might be a problem.
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They throw a disclaimer in:
Halfords Advanced LEDr H4 472 Headlight Twin Pack | Halfords UK
Shop the latest at Halfords UK
www.halfords.com
They also don't offer a fitting service for these particular bulbs, for obvious reasons
Caporegime
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- 22 Oct 2002
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- 28,318
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- Boston, Lincolnshire
That's that then will not bother. Eurocarparts has Philips RacingVision GT200's for £21 so will just pop in and grab a pair of them.
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Have to say I'm surprised how well they work dipping correctly in the Qashqai - and never had them slow to react in terms of dimming - what I do unfortunately find is that sometimes they are slow to switch the main beam back on when I manually press the switch which is an atrocious design flaw and occasionally get a false positive.
Can't really go wrong with the Racing and Xtreme Vision - I put them in anything which was designed for halogens personally.
You sure about that?
Soldato
- Joined
- 27 Mar 2013
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- 9,354
Biggest failure of modern cars imo. Should have backlight turned off unless lights are on. Would solve 99% off idiots without lights.
Another BBC article now it's getting darker.
Complaints about headlight glare increase
The RAC now receives more complaints about the problem than potholes.
www.bbc.co.uk
I don't believe more people complain about it than potholes. Bright headlights can be an irritation every now and again, potholes have cost me actual money (and my bright headlights mean I might be able to dodge them better 
)
)If only the government released detailed statistics on road traffic accidents in the UK and if only they provided a really comprehensive breakdown by cause and contributing factor. It would be even better if headlight glare was featured as a category so we could really see whether there had been an increase in accidents caused by headlight glare.
Oh, they do release exactly this! I'm sure all of those complaining about this issue have looked at this data.
Oh, they do release exactly this! I'm sure all of those complaining about this issue have looked at this data.
Seeing this a lot more than I used to :/
Soldato
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- 27 Mar 2013
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I do wonder if the ones who have no issues are the ones in suvs 
.
.