31 replies to this topic

[roblightbody]

I did have the Classic Car LED bulbs in my 1996 Mini, they were excellent but back to Osram Nightbreakers now.

Did you swap back because you didn't like it being illegal or because a tester actually pulled you up about it?

[Tornado99]

I"d think any inspection would easily spot an LED bulb in the lamp as they do look quite different through the glass lens when turned off.

[Aria Aradhea]

I really do think perhaps in 1 or 2 years we can have a classic looking (as in patterned glass reflector type) headlamp with LEDs built into them. The problem with current LED bulbs is that their beam pattern are incorrect and cannot be adjusted satisfactorily to perform in a reflector type headlamp. But a classic car market is a huge one, and I'm sure we'll have classic looking LED headlamps soon. I don't think it's too difficult to do; put the LED chip facing backwards into the reflector bowl and reflect the lights to the glass. It's the tweaking to get the perfect pattern that's costly and difficult.

[Compdoc]

These might be worth a look. "Each bulb has 16 chips and has been specifically designed to mimic the dimensions of a standard H4 Halogen bulb".
 

https://www.classicc...onversion-9-32v

 

[PoolGuy]

These might be worth a look. "Each bulb has 16 chips and has been specifically designed to mimic the dimensions of a standard H4 Halogen bulb".
 

https://www.classicc...onversion-9-32v

Those are the bright white version of the ones that a few of us have mentioned and used. They're very good.

Edited by PoolGuy, 22 November 2021 - 01:57 PM.

[Pops_Guild]

I did have the Classic Car LED bulbs in my 1996 Mini, they were excellent but back to Osram Nightbreakers now.

Did you swap back because you didn't like it being illegal or because a tester actually pulled you up about it?

Because I didn’t want it to be illegal. Past experiences has demonstrated to me that illegal stuff can be bad news 🙂.

The light beam on the Classic Car LED bulbs is very good and they were fitted on the Mini when it passed it’s MOT the year previous, the tester did spot they were LED that time and commented they were the best he’s seen on a classic car. This year the tester noted that I had removed them and said he was relieved…he didn’t want to have to fail it for something like that. So, I did the right thing for me.

Im fine with the Nightbreakers. All my other bulbs are LED though and to be honest the difference/ improvement is better for them.

[surfblue]

Simple job to swap them over for mot and then put them back in?

[nicklouse]

Simple job to swap them over for mot and then put them back in?

Bit it is still an offense that you could get done for.

[Bobbins]

Simple job to swap them over for mot and then put them back in?

Bit it is still an offense that you could get done for.

Is this definitely the case? There's been a lot of reference (correctly) to LED bulbs in the wrong lens now being an MOT failure, but are they actually illegal on the road, which very different? There's plenty of other aspects where a vehicle could fail an MOT but would not be illegal to drive, assuming it already has a current test certificate.

[PoolGuy]

The road vehicle light regs require that lights be E marked, there is no E mark for led bulbs, so by default, they’re not legal. You’d be unlikely to be fined if you got stopped, but you’d probably get a vehicle rectification notice. Pre April ‘86 cars are exempt.

[Quinlan minor]

I'm touched by the faith expressed in the diligence of our "bobbies".

 

They couldn't be bothered to turn up when mine, and about twelve other cars, had a knife, or similar sharp object, dragged along the side of them, in a major town centre one afternoon.

 

They also continue to drive around in marked Police cars, at night, with only the "parking lights" on despite legislation making "dipped headlights" compulsory.

 

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

 

[ThermalEvent]

If you look at the MOT rules they only mention conversion of halogen to LED or HID "headlamp bulb" is a failure.

This technically means everything except your headlight bulbs can be LED if you so wanted.

One thing I've noticed when driving at night is the majority of cars now have bright white/LED bulbs. The yellowish halogen bulbs are getting few and far between - this also applies to older cars so I can only assume the majority of people are now replacing halogen for LEDs.

[Aly-g]

what about these ?...7" FLAT Classic Car Halogen Headlight Headlamps Pair + H4 LED Bulbs | eBay

 

Allan

[no66]

Just a bit about lights and out vision. Not finger waving, just information about more is less and how we wrongly perceive light and driving vision.

While I have a Cyclops LED bulbon my XR600 motorbike, it took a bit of time to get the cutoff right so not to blind others. The original Halogen light was just not good enough. The single led is only a bit better. 

However, a LOT of bright lights (leds are not good. Yes they make us feel that there is more light, but beyond the lit up area it becomes very dark /black. The problem with more bright light close to the front of the car, the smaller our pupils are and the area further down the road becomes black. With a conventional light your see farther down the road as your pupils are more open and you can see farther. This is why fog lamps should not be used at night went there is no fog. Your eye are pulled down close to the front of the car and you pupils close up. You might actually hit something the moment you see it. 

A set of decent headlights with osrams wired in with direct power/relays will in most cases be better than some china leds thrown in a halogen reflector, and probably also better than expensive complete led setups.  

It becomes catch 22 as we get older, we see a lot less in the dark than when we were younger. So we through in the the bright Led bulbs and yes, we see more..... close to the car, but in fact seeing shorter down the road. 

[roblightbody]

what about these ?...7" FLAT Classic Car Halogen Headlight Headlamps Pair + H4 LED Bulbs | eBay

 

Allan

 

Thanks, it looks hopeful initially, but its just a kit.  Headlight units designed for Halogen H4s, with LED bulbs fitted instead. Thats the combination that isn't legal in the UK (for my car anyway), and *should* fail an MOT, and could also invalidate your insurance too if something happens...