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I've taken the plunge to H4 LED

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I've taken the plunge to H4 LED Empty I've taken the plunge to H4 LED

Post  mtbeerwah Wed 08 Nov 2017, 11:12 am

Well......never thought I'd try them,  but I didn't take the leap lightly. 
I have just blown another H4 Halogen bulb,  and went to Ashdown Ingram, to source another option of bulb.
I've been running Philips 130%, which are probably the best of the bad bunch,  when it comes to standard wattage bulbs. They're not great,  but better than normal. 
I was trying to find an 85/80w to replace, which I sourced years ago,  and they were fantastic, but blow easy,  due to the higher wattage. Ashdown had some OEX 75/70w bulbs,  which I was about to purchase,  and another sales dude stepped in and said,  "why not Led"......I gave my view..... and he said,  I'll show you one in action. 
Before he did,  I studied the unit carefully, engineering wise, location of diodes, and how it represents an Halogen filament.
He had two brands....one being Philips 6500k, the other being J W Speaker 4000k-only new to the market in this Kelvin.
Both were of the exact design in engineering, and placement of the diodes.
Philips up first. ...I was actually suprised at how well they have got "IT"....a nice even spread of light, that does represent a halogen bulb. The big thing I hated was the 6500k colour......still blue in my opinion, not going there !!!!
Next up to the plate J W....I instantly fell in love with the 4000k colour, the exact colour I was looking for.  
Now. ...these things aren't cheap !!! and he said if you don't like them,  bring them back for a refund. Can't complain there.
Philips from them were, $230 a pair
J W Speaker were $180 a pair
The other better thing with J W was,  they both come with a ballast unit to make them work,  and J W's was just smaller than a box of matches, while Philips was 4 times bigger, a pain in the arse really.
The big test last night on the Gen1....I can't say they're too muc better on low beam than the 130% bulbs, only marginal, but the high beam is definitely brighter, and both patterns are close to normal, which I was happy with.
I think I will keep them as they shouldn't.... repeat shouldn't, blow on me. They do come with a 3 yr warranty, so that's a good thing. 
Both of these LED brands, cant match a higher watt halogen bulb....no way !!!!!! but obviously they won't blow like a Halogen, and less strain on the electrics.

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Post  madmax Wed 08 Nov 2017, 11:47 am

mtbeerwah wrote:
The big thing I hated was the 6500k colour......still blue in my opinion, not going there !!!!

Good move, it was the colour temperature that attracted unwanted attention from the boys in blue with my HIDs.

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Post  Chook Wed 08 Nov 2017, 12:34 pm

Glad they are working well for you.......


but there are currently no LED direct replacement globes that comply with ADRs
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Post  Chook Wed 08 Nov 2017, 12:40 pm

madmax wrote:
mtbeerwah wrote:
The big thing I hated was the 6500k colour......still blue in my opinion, not going there !!!!

Good move, it was the colour temperature that attracted unwanted attention from the boys in blue with my HIDs.
HIDs are permitted on Motorcycles without the restrictions other vehicles have (self leveling and self cleaning), still waiting for complying LED globes
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Post  mtbeerwah Wed 08 Nov 2017, 3:21 pm

They're not ADR.....but I don't care.  I have aimed the light down a bit,  incase it pisses people off. 
The whiter color, is very neutral, infact, I almost see it as true white. (My opinion).
 I don't see the enforcement picking on me.
People who put these things in,  don't adjust their lights,  and having a beaming blue light,  (6500k in my opinion), draws attention, along with buying an LED, that hasn't been dedigned properly, and spraying light,  not directing the light,  are only asking for trouble.

Like I said, I looked long and hard,  at how they were designed, and how it can truely, duplicate a purpose designed Halogen bulb, so it is properly tuned to the parabolic of a reflector light.

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"Like an unmuddied lake, as clear as an azure sky of deepest summer"
96 Gen 1. Gone but not forgotten (5yrs RIP)
97 Gen 1. Restoring  (2yrs)
99 Gen 1. Impressed with.  (New)
03 Gen 2. Love hate relationship.  (15yrs)
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Post  madmax Wed 08 Nov 2017, 5:09 pm

Chook wrote:
madmax wrote:
mtbeerwah wrote:
The big thing I hated was the 6500k colour......still blue in my opinion, not going there !!!!

Good move, it was the colour temperature that attracted unwanted attention from the boys in blue with my HIDs.
HIDs are permitted on Motorcycles without the restrictions other vehicles have (self leveling and self cleaning), still waiting for complying LED globes

I know they are, problem is, coppers don't. I still got delayed, breathalysed and licence checked. It's not worth the headache to argue with them.
Hence the HIDs will be coming out before I travel across 3 states with numerous cops that haven't got a clue.

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Post  madmax Wed 08 Nov 2017, 5:12 pm

mtbeerwah wrote:They're not ADR.....but I don't care.  I have aimed the light down a bit,  incase it pisses people off. 
The whiter color, is very neutral, infact, I almost see it as true white. (My opinion).
 I don't see the enforcement picking on me.
People who put these things in,  don't adjust their lights,  and having a beaming blue light,  (6500k in my opinion), draws attention, along with buying an LED, that hasn't been dedigned properly, and spraying light,  not directing the light,  are only asking for trouble.

Like I said, I looked long and hard,  at how they were designed, and how it can truely, duplicate a purpose designed Halogen bulb, so it is properly tuned to the parabolic of a reflector light.
After I was pulled over I reduced the colour temp to 4300k. Haven't had an issue since. They still are much whiter than halogen.

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Post  mtbeerwah Wed 08 Nov 2017, 5:54 pm

madmax wrote:After I was pulled over I reduced the colour temp to 4300k. Haven't had an issue since. They still are much whiter than halogen.
4300-4500, is a real nice colour.
My gen2 hid's are 4500, and my hella spot lights on my car are the same. 
These 4000k LED's, almost look identical to 4300k hid's.

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"Like an unmuddied lake, as clear as an azure sky of deepest summer"
96 Gen 1. Gone but not forgotten (5yrs RIP)
97 Gen 1. Restoring  (2yrs)
99 Gen 1. Impressed with.  (New)
03 Gen 2. Love hate relationship.  (15yrs)
07 DRZ 400e. Lot of fun with no power. 25 km/L  (4yrs)
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Post  mtbeerwah Wed 08 Nov 2017, 8:19 pm

Just a quick update.......I thought I'd try them in my car. ...
They don't work !!!!!
Major holes in the pattern on the road,  meaning blind spots, at critical areas of site.
They seem to suit the 21 yr old lens of my bike,  but don't suit the 16 yr old pattern of my car. 
So......buyer be warned...."they" ,meaning all the manufacturers, haven't perfected LED's yet,  which I half expected, but was mislead, by them working on my bike. 
Bottom line. ..I wouldn't recommend them !!!!

_________________
"Like an unmuddied lake, as clear as an azure sky of deepest summer"
96 Gen 1. Gone but not forgotten (5yrs RIP)
97 Gen 1. Restoring  (2yrs)
99 Gen 1. Impressed with.  (New)
03 Gen 2. Love hate relationship.  (15yrs)
07 DRZ 400e. Lot of fun with no power. 25 km/L  (4yrs)
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Post  madmax Wed 08 Nov 2017, 11:20 pm

mtbeerwah wrote:Just a quick update.......I thought I'd try them in my car. ...
They don't work !!!!!
Major holes in the pattern on the road,  meaning blind spots, at critical areas of site.
They seem to suit the 21 yr old lens of my bike,  but don't suit the 16 yr old pattern of my car. 
So......buyer be warned...."they" ,meaning all the manufacturers, haven't perfected LED's yet,  which I half expected, but was mislead, by them working on my bike. 
Bottom line. ..I wouldn't recommend them !!!!
I've read a few guys have put leds into Ford Rangers and needed to rotate the led the right way to get a good spread. The other thing is you need canbus suitable leds or the electrics go nuts.

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Post  mtbeerwah Thu 09 Nov 2017, 7:43 am

madmax wrote:I've read a few guys have put leds into Ford Rangers and needed to rotate the led the right way to get a good spread. The other thing is you need canbus suitable leds or the electrics go nuts.

Well that's the problem with LED's....they don't throw a sphere of light,  like a Filament does, only 2 dimensional, so the ray of light can't hit every facet of the reflective parabolic, leading to blind spots on the road. 

My car doesn't need the Canbus...too old. New/newer cars will/would need it. Doesn't have modern computers, and electronics to worry about interference.

I do have a possible theory,  why it works in one light,  and not the other. ...
There's two types of reflective style lights that gets used,  
Old school,  which has your typical polished reflector, then relying on the glass lens to defuse the light, which has the faceting on the glass. 
The other type,  is the free formed reflector, that has the faceting in the reflector it self, then with a clear smooth lens
My bike is of the old school,  and my car is of the newer school,  so this may dictate considerably, how the light is diffused, and thrown back on the road.

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"Like an unmuddied lake, as clear as an azure sky of deepest summer"
96 Gen 1. Gone but not forgotten (5yrs RIP)
97 Gen 1. Restoring  (2yrs)
99 Gen 1. Impressed with.  (New)
03 Gen 2. Love hate relationship.  (15yrs)
07 DRZ 400e. Lot of fun with no power. 25 km/L  (4yrs)
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Post  GDUB Thu 09 Nov 2017, 1:50 pm

To clarify a point made.  Its not the LED's that are "canbus suitable" its that there needs to be a canbus canceller divice plugged in between the head light loom plug and the globe.  this has more to do with the electronic system in the car being able to see the electrical load so the dash doesn't light up like a Christmas tree with warning lights.

LED in H4 headlights - this will be about the most inconsistent type of globe to test LED in because its a really agricultural design the at the globe uses the reflector.  H7 is better but the projector type headlights are where LED works best.  those are H11, H9, HB3, HB4 etc.  that might have a lot to do with why they were good in your bike but ordinary in your car.

LED replacement globes aren't ADR and most likely never will be but you don't get the issues with oncoming traffic like HID's do because the light beam is so much softer on the eye.  I have used both and would never ever use an aftermarket HID kit again.  the light bounces off everything and makes road signs in the distance look like time square.  LED doesn't do that.

the last point on buying LED globes.  Stick to this rule.  If they have cooling fans on the back they are shit.  full stop!  the JW Speaker units the original poster refers to have a heatsink on the back for cooling rather than a fan which is what the good units have.

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Post  mtbeerwah Thu 09 Nov 2017, 4:26 pm

The LED is in my Gen 1.."Reflector" ,not "Projector" which as stated,  is of old school design.
 Refraction via the LENS, not the Parabolic !!
This is essentially a two step light throw:
1st: Reflector of light on to the Lens 
2nd: Refraction of light, from the Lens.

My car is one step:
 Reflector, and Refraction via the Parabolic, as per all newer vehicles these days.

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"Like an unmuddied lake, as clear as an azure sky of deepest summer"
96 Gen 1. Gone but not forgotten (5yrs RIP)
97 Gen 1. Restoring  (2yrs)
99 Gen 1. Impressed with.  (New)
03 Gen 2. Love hate relationship.  (15yrs)
07 DRZ 400e. Lot of fun with no power. 25 km/L  (4yrs)
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