LED headlamps
Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2024 9:00 am
For ever good product out there that I've been able to find, there's 100:1 ratio crap ones. LED's, are absolutely in this category. I've tried literally 100's of them trying to find the elusive good ones. Dashboards bulb, to sidelights, brakelights, headlamps and spotlamps, I've tried them all. Most of them have been hilarious comical from the H1 LED's that were physically too large to actually fit spring to mind, or dashboard LED's that have a lifespan than can measured in seconds.
LED headlamps are an area that trigger many people. Whilst a nice crisp white light is desirable, poorly aligned headlamps or stupid SUV's that have the headlamps physically higher mean getting dazzled is a real risk. Now add into the mix that a even a poorly fitted halogen bulb will throw off a beam pattern and lead to dazzling and we could be running into a minefield here.
Beam pattern? Well, in the UK, the beam pattern looks like this:
The dip beam pattern, at a distance of about 3m, should drop to 5-8 cm below the headlamp centre and slightly left to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic. There's a kick up to the left that illuminates the kerbside of things. For Europeans, this is reserved. You can flatten the kick up (for example, when driving abroad) using tape or beamBenders. That pattern is formed by bouncing the light off the headlamp reflector and through the lens on the headlamp glass itself. Its a delicate science that relies on the light coming from the right place, which is why bulbs have very precise dimensions to ensure the light source is always in the same place (something that some Chinese manufacturers think is optional - More light must be better right?)
So, I finally bit the bullet and bought some non-Chinese bulbs to test. These ones in fact.
First things first, they're not cheap. A generic pair of halogens H4's can be had for about £7. I normally run Osram night breakers, which are around £15 a pair (and a VERY good bulb). These Philips LED's come in around £50.
So, next up, power. LED's have another benefit - they draw less current whilst producing more light. How much more? Well, a H4 bulb pulls around 4.2 amps, the LED around 1.8. Just to put that into some perspective, the LED headlamp is now drawing about the same current as a brake light bulb.
So, science stuff now. Whilst you can align headlamps using nothing more than a flat wall, some of us have a headlamp alignment tool (yeah.... I know!).
So, I installed a single bulb so that I could compare side to side. I'm comparing not only the beam pattern, but the light colour and Lux output. For the latter, focus less on the number, more on the comparison! You'll have to forgive the images, but taking photo's through glass isn't the greatest! Also, don't panic that the beam pattern appears to be LHD - it's being bounced off a mirror!
So, the Halogen bulb.
And then the LED
That, is quite a bonkers difference. It's a much brighter light, with excellent beam pattern and double the light output.
But what about in the real world?
Well, I left a single bulb in - fear not, I drove back in daylight - and waited for night to fall, before sneaking off and finding somewhere I could test.
Again, taking photo's of light doesn't really come out well. However, the output was noticeably better. Very white, very crisp. From a pure aesthetics point of view, as I run LED DRL's, the front end now looks normal, as the light colour of the headlamp matches the DRL!
Would I recommend? Well, I'd beg anyone who's fitting any kind of uprated lamp to get the alignment checked before and AFTER fitting. Your lack of light could simply be that your headlamps are misaligned, dirty or need replacing. Then, there's the cost. Headlamps last a while, and at 3-7 times the price, they'll need to last an awful long time before I break even.
Finally, there's the MOT dilemma, which states vehicles presented with converted halogen headlamp units first used on or after 1 April 1986 will be failed. However, it also states that "If a complete headlamp unit has been replaced with a unit that was manufactured with HID or LED light sources, it must not be failed for ‘Light source and lamp not compatible’ but it must meet all other requirements detailed in section 4 of this manual specific to the type fitted at the time of test." I'll be chatting to a few testers to see how they interpret this, because I could argue that it is a replacement unit, not bulb. They're not permitted to disassemble, so have to take a customers word for it; and because the pattern and alignment is correct, it would be a pass.
LED headlamps are an area that trigger many people. Whilst a nice crisp white light is desirable, poorly aligned headlamps or stupid SUV's that have the headlamps physically higher mean getting dazzled is a real risk. Now add into the mix that a even a poorly fitted halogen bulb will throw off a beam pattern and lead to dazzling and we could be running into a minefield here.
Beam pattern? Well, in the UK, the beam pattern looks like this:
The dip beam pattern, at a distance of about 3m, should drop to 5-8 cm below the headlamp centre and slightly left to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic. There's a kick up to the left that illuminates the kerbside of things. For Europeans, this is reserved. You can flatten the kick up (for example, when driving abroad) using tape or beamBenders. That pattern is formed by bouncing the light off the headlamp reflector and through the lens on the headlamp glass itself. Its a delicate science that relies on the light coming from the right place, which is why bulbs have very precise dimensions to ensure the light source is always in the same place (something that some Chinese manufacturers think is optional - More light must be better right?)
So, I finally bit the bullet and bought some non-Chinese bulbs to test. These ones in fact.
First things first, they're not cheap. A generic pair of halogens H4's can be had for about £7. I normally run Osram night breakers, which are around £15 a pair (and a VERY good bulb). These Philips LED's come in around £50.
So, next up, power. LED's have another benefit - they draw less current whilst producing more light. How much more? Well, a H4 bulb pulls around 4.2 amps, the LED around 1.8. Just to put that into some perspective, the LED headlamp is now drawing about the same current as a brake light bulb.
So, science stuff now. Whilst you can align headlamps using nothing more than a flat wall, some of us have a headlamp alignment tool (yeah.... I know!).
So, I installed a single bulb so that I could compare side to side. I'm comparing not only the beam pattern, but the light colour and Lux output. For the latter, focus less on the number, more on the comparison! You'll have to forgive the images, but taking photo's through glass isn't the greatest! Also, don't panic that the beam pattern appears to be LHD - it's being bounced off a mirror!
So, the Halogen bulb.
And then the LED
That, is quite a bonkers difference. It's a much brighter light, with excellent beam pattern and double the light output.
But what about in the real world?
Well, I left a single bulb in - fear not, I drove back in daylight - and waited for night to fall, before sneaking off and finding somewhere I could test.
Again, taking photo's of light doesn't really come out well. However, the output was noticeably better. Very white, very crisp. From a pure aesthetics point of view, as I run LED DRL's, the front end now looks normal, as the light colour of the headlamp matches the DRL!
Would I recommend? Well, I'd beg anyone who's fitting any kind of uprated lamp to get the alignment checked before and AFTER fitting. Your lack of light could simply be that your headlamps are misaligned, dirty or need replacing. Then, there's the cost. Headlamps last a while, and at 3-7 times the price, they'll need to last an awful long time before I break even.
Finally, there's the MOT dilemma, which states vehicles presented with converted halogen headlamp units first used on or after 1 April 1986 will be failed. However, it also states that "If a complete headlamp unit has been replaced with a unit that was manufactured with HID or LED light sources, it must not be failed for ‘Light source and lamp not compatible’ but it must meet all other requirements detailed in section 4 of this manual specific to the type fitted at the time of test." I'll be chatting to a few testers to see how they interpret this, because I could argue that it is a replacement unit, not bulb. They're not permitted to disassemble, so have to take a customers word for it; and because the pattern and alignment is correct, it would be a pass.