[1outof5]

maybe slightly more important in a houshold situation but an element of lighting is never mentioned in "car" lights; CRI ...

colour rendering index

it's not because one has 500 lumens from a bulb that it makes it any better than a 400 or 600 lumens or that it's 3000K or 4000K

CRI is the capacity of a light source to replicate the full colour spectrum, like the sun. If the light shows off all the colour of an object than one sees things better.

This why sometimes you feel like everything is slightly green or blue etc. this is a known practice when lighting meat at the butchers or fruits ... give them a tint that makes you believe ther are really good ...

CRI will be close to a 100 for a halogen bulb, could go down to 80 for a Fluorescent, as for LED they are getting better and the better ones are now close to 95.

 

[Megatonks]

Hi all,

MOT update as promised.

The lights were absolutely no problem at all. I take it to a dedicated MOT only place.

As you can see below, nothing about my lights at all. I even have a small LED 501 in as sidelights too which are definitely creeping towards a more 'blue' colour, but no problem!

Will need to check out that rust mentioned. If I can figure out what he means! I had my outersills done at Total mx5 repair a few months back so it's not that! Hopefully when I get the back up to sort the pads i'll be able to see what he means. It's probably just surface rust needing a rubdown and kurust/waxoyl

Generally, the lights are great. Still super bright, nice looking and a pleasure to use I've even gotten used to the slight whirring from the cooling fans.

I've done about 900 miles with them across all sorts of roads (smooth Vs pothole-filled!) and no problems at all Still recommended!

Advisories as follows -

Nearside Rear Brake pad(s) wearing thin (3.5.1g)

Offside Rear Brake pad(s) wearing thin inner (3.5.1g)
inner sills / floor starting to corrode

 

[The Bounty Bar Kid]

Been looking for these. Didn't realise they were so cheap.

 

[Megatonks]

Update. Still going strong. No issues at all. No blinding/flashing, and they're still working great.

 

[Ghostrider]

Anybody tried these in a mk1 yet?...

 

[jthspace]

I fitted these. More expensive but come with driver boxes in the lead. Got them from Amazon. Fitted to a Mk1. Absolutely no flicker when starting and full 360 degree light from the headlight, so no grey or unlit areas on the road. Very bright and light the road much better than the Philips 130 H4 bulbs. Here is a photo of one light done and one to be done. Also notice I have changed the indicator position and swapped it for a 75w equivalent Cree LED bulb so as to have a bright DRL.

 

[dabofoppo]

Do these (or other LED bulbs) have a high beam as well?
If not, how do they pass the MOT?

 

[Megatonks]

Do these (or other LED bulbs) have a high beam as well?
If not, how do they pass the MOT?

With mine the High and dipped beam are separate bulbs. It's the bulb type that implies whether it handles both beams or not, I believe. Don't quote me but if the bulb should have both dipped and main in one, then it should be able to - otherwise it's simply not that type of bulb?

My mk2.5 is hb3 and hb4 so separate.

Sorry I can't help any more!

 

[Megatonks]

PS. - Bulbs still going flawless and bright as ever. Most definitely got my money's worth even if they give up sometime this winter! Nightbreakers could have easily burnt out by now (in a small rattley car like ours).

Still 100% recommend.

 

[hoodedreeper]

I've just ordered a set of Night Hawk LED H4s for my Mk1. Reading this has put my mind to ease and hopefully have a good experience too

 

[caledoniacation]

I've installed a set of novsight LEDs to my mk1 at the weekend (new brand name for hoodreeper's bulbs). I'm actually confident to drive the car at night now.

 

[High Five]

I fitted these. More expensive but come with driver boxes in the lead. Got them from Amazon. Fitted to a Mk1. Absolutely no flicker when starting and full 360 degree light from the headlight, so no grey or unlit areas on the road. Very bright and light the road much better than the Philips 130 H4 bulbs. Here is a photo of one light done and one to be done. Also notice I have changed the indicator position and swapped it for a 75w equivalent Cree LED bulb so as to have a bright DRL.

How can fitting a 75w lamp in your sidelight unit, give an acceptable beam pattern for a lamp brighter than a 55w headlight might be?

I expect the unit is doing everything in the book, to be as annoying as possible. No dip shield, leveling, washing or handing. Everything is wrong, no matter what regulations you try and meet.

It's worth noting that most LED kits wipe out the radio. If you use one of the bluetooth receivers that re-transmit your tunes on the FM band, you may regret buying a kit from china. I use one, and know when led kit users go the other way, and there are quite a few. This can be fixed with a common mode choke or four. It's parts you just don't get in cut price units though. Just like the LED drivers for home use that are all over Ebay. Some of which have made their way into local signage. If you use the radio, or actually have a greater interest in it, then be careful what you buy.

Perhaps people fitting these can see if they get radio frequency interference from their chosen lights. So we can better see if they're suitable for use in cars. Or the UK generally.

 

[Bowser]

As I've been impressed with Cree torches I thought I'd give these a try, fitted hi/low h4 led bulbs. Mk2 btw. I like the clear white light, nice n bright too, but unfortunately only dipped works- no high beam at the lights or shown on the dash. They're meant to be plug and play. Can anyone offer some advice on getting the high beam to work.

.....and I've a fresh set of Osram night breakers (the usual favourites) waiting to fit once I've abandoned the leds.

 

[Megatonks]

These are still going strong for me guys - No issues at all! Still as bright, stable, and solid as ever.

On the other hand, the cheapy w5w sidelight shite LED bulbs don't seem to last long at all...but I think that's more the crappy 'bent over' conductive leg connection element to them, rather than the bulbs/diodes they use.

 

[Megatonks]

Annual update - these are still performing as perfectly as when I first bought them - massively recommended.

 

[Shadgrind]

So if you need to remove them for mot then they are illegal

So why annoy other road users buy using them
I just don't get it

I MOT'd my last Mk2 with LEDs, they passed no problem. They are legal and they have a directional bulb. They don't dazzle if set right and are likely to last longer than cheap halogens, you don't require headlamp washers as they are not HIDs!

My Mk4 has LEDs as standard! Unlike HIDs they can be used as full beam as they come on instantly (which is a legal requirement for main beam, as if you want to flash someone, you can't wait for the HID to warm up!).

If they are setup correctly and have a good cutoff ((look it up if unsure), they are really good, though due to the higher colour temperature, less yellow more white, they may appear to be brighter but you probably won't be able to see as far! Yellow light goes further, go figure!

As far as colour temp goes, don't go over 5000K as that will start to go into the blue spectrum. 9000 lumens probably OK too.

Personally as we have relatively low cars, some more than others , we suffer from dazzle but are less likely to dazzle others.

The worst are these people who insist on driving hulking great 4x4s to protect their burgeoning offspring. Even with correctly adjusted HIDs, they then proceed to drive along eviscerating our eyeballs! But hey they aren't having as much fun as us, are they??? :blink:

 

[jon]

I MOT'd my last Mk2 with LEDs, they passed no problem. They are legal and they have a directional bulb. They don't dazzle if set right and are likely to last longer than cheap halogens, you don't require headlamp washers as they are not HIDs!

Technically, they aren't legal - headlights are ECE marked/certified for use with filament bulbs. Changing to a different bulb type nullifies that certification, which makes them not suitable for use on the road. This is why the LED kits are always sold for 'off road use only' to cover the sellers:

https://www.powerbulbs.com/blog/2019/04/led-headlights-road-legal#targetText=Whilst%20they%20are%20not%20road,to%20help%20them%20work%20correctly.

That said, If they don't dazzle and the beam pattern is good, you will likely never have any issues, unless you get a really picky MOT tester, or you have an accident and a really picky insurance inspector, in which case you could end up with invalid insurance...

The only way to be totally legal is to replace the whole lamp unit with a certified one - easy on a MK1, not so easy on a later car..

 

[Megatonks]

Holy thread update batman

4.5 years later and these things are still flawless, and actually brighter and better than the xenons in my new car. Impressive as hell.