What is the definitive word on H4 compatible LED bulbs
 

Your car has high quality round H4 headlights: Hella, Cibie, Koito, etc and you’ve done the relays, beefy wires direct to battery, and high-wattage bulbs.

Are there any LED bulbs that have just as well defined a beam pattern as the H4 halogens and are lots brighter - enough to make the switch compelling?

If so, please dish on the exact brand and model?

My aging eyes seem to need more and more illumination!

I'll be interested in what everyone has to say. I installed LED headlights on my '72 a few years ago. I bought the kit at a local auto parts store, name brand and everything, and have been hugely disappointed. It included everything from the ballast to the bulbs to the reflectors and lenses. They are certainly bright, but they have way too much scatter and no cutoff. The high beams are not really usably brighter nor further reaching than the low beams, just even more scattered. I would love to find a set that is as focused as a set of proper H4's.

On kind of an unexpected side note, I learned while driving into Klamath Falls last year in a near blizzard that these things, since they don't get hot, they don't melt snow. My "sugar scoops" filled up with snow and ice, rendering my headlights somewhat useless. I would have never even thought of that, until it happened.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714453804.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714453804.jpg

I'd suggest you have an ophthalmologist check your eyes...cataracts maybe?

I’ll ask next eye appointment. I get an eye exam yearly and I would think my eye doc is looking for that among other things. She’s an optometrist, not an opthamologist, but they still check for cataracts, don’t they?

Ballasts? Those would be HIDs. They are bright, but really suck in reflector lights. A friend's customer who lives down the street from me wanted to upgrade his lights and he already had the Bosch H4s. I told him to try some LEDs, but make sure they have the same focal point as the H4 bulbs. He found a set he liked and one night I was heading home and saw him with his lights on. Boy were they bright!

I've installed H7 LEDs in other cars and they made a helluva difference!

I run Hikari brand in all my cars. Huge difference for my aging eyes too. The oncoming LEDs really kill my night vision. There's a bit of a cut off and I never get flashes from other drivers. Bought them off Amazon and if and when they burn out, I am more then happy to buy new ones.

I have never been able to (legally/reasonably) outdrive my H1 or H4 headlights with relays and good mirrors.
Plus, nothing else passes inspection around here.
Plus, LEDs and their ilk look anachronistic on an old 911.

I'm in the same boat and forget how bad my headlights are until the odd fall evening drive home. Everything seems to be $1,000 or more.
What about replacing the fog lights?

Again: Relays, new reflectors, new bulbs and you're set.

I think fog lights are pretty useless. I have one car (W124) where the fog lights help a little in urban driving, on all the rest the fogs do nothing.

My current focus is the Bugeye Sprite, whose headlights are like the "night light" in a little kid's bedroom. I can tell the headlights are on . . . if I walk to the front of the car . . . now, that car isn't going to get much night use, but I'd still like to have good illumination.

You have a fiberglass front end.
Make sure you have a good ground to the headlight buckets.

I'm sorry, I misspoke. I've always thought they were "ballasts", but apparently they are called "drivers". It's a little black box that must be wired in between the stock headlight plug and the LED bulb (it's made to just plug and play). I double back taped them to the headlight bucket, behind the reflector.

I will check!

Two choices and I am a nut about lights, any lights from lighting in the yard to my flash lights. You want old school looks or do you want to see where you are going? I am try many of them, spend a small fortune with different set ups.

Higgins, sounds like you have HIDs with a driver / ballast or whatever they are called. The HID lights have an automatic cover that covers the upper portion of the lights to keep them from blinding on coming drivers and that's the cut off most people see from their car. Flips our of the way for high beams. On my Cayman, I have tried Hella, Phillips, and everything else and found them to be slightly better but not all that much. I found a set of plug and play 35 watts LEDs. I am so happy with them. Not sure how long they will last but its been on my Cayman for 6 months now and I driver with it on during the day. The light difference is day and night. Let me know if you like a link to them. Yeah, yeah, yeah, cheap Chinese junk, but I like to know if someone else make a better one and I am happy to spend my money for better product. For now, those are the best I found and now I can see when I am hauling ass at night. Yep, still drive fast. Oh, no need to change ballast, just a bulb.

Try HIR bulbs from Phillips. LOts of fake stuff out there but they run brighter and throw farther and wider. Good bulbs for those why want to stay in the 90s or even older but the tab must be cut with a nail clipper to get it to fit in a certain applications. Had them in my 80 Land Cruiser and it made a huge difference but it aint no LED that's for sure.

If it is for the old 911, then forget this idea. I have been pulling my hair out of my head trying to fit a 3" round off road light from Baja Design or other high end light companies that fit in the fog socket on the Cayman. Nothing fits and the Cayman is a strange size, like to maintain the stock look. Now I got these LED retrofits, no need for it anymore. For your daily drivers or none air cool cars, that may be something to look into?

Hard to get a clear photo through the headlight lens, but I think this shows what I have well enough to be able to recognize what it is.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714505512.jpg

Definitely an LED. And it does have a separate "driver", which I mounted behind the reflector in the headlight bucket.

So, yes, these are very, very bright. Just not focused well enough.

How was the 911 in snow, Jeff?

It does great in the snow. I've got a Guard gear type (Torsen) limited slip, and my street tires are Yokohama Avid Ascend GT's, a four season tire (I have two other sets of wheels with other kinds of tires on them).

Mt Hood a few years ago. It occurs to me those are LED tail lights as well. I modified a set of 911R tail lights. All four light up as running lights, the outer two double as blinkers, and the inner two as brake lights. I've since added a third brake light up top in the rear window, an LED as well.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714507561.jpg

It occurs to me that I'm running LED tail lights in all of my motorcycles as well. "Plug and play", with no "driver" required. I wonder why my headlight kit uses them. It's at least ten years old, so maybe technology has advanced since then.

I see, those are just plain LED lights most still come with a driver. Try Hakari lights. I am very happy with their product. No need to get their 200,000candle power ones. Just cheap ads and all mfgs are in a lumens war. Easy Amazon product. Bought these for my 930 but haven't had time to install and they may not fit due to cooling fan sticking out of the back of the lights.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714516696.jpg

Buckets themselves are not grounded. Headlight wiring is the ground path.

Thanks, I'll take a look at those.

Are they just bulbs, or do they come with the reflectors as well? If they don't come with the reflectors, are they the same focal length as normal H4 bulbs, so they work with standard H4 reflectors?

I think the crux of my problem is not in the bulbs, but in the reflectors. The bulbs are very, very bright. I think the focal length is different than standard H4 bulbs, so they wouldn't do any better in H4 reflectors. If the Hakaris are "H4 compatible", they might be what I'm looking for.

Just the bulbs. I did find the hot spot a bit more concentrated but the beam spread is actually better then the Hologen H4s due to its additional brightness.

These are the HID LED replacements on my 09 Cayman S I written about earler. Just took these on my way home from getting grocery to my mother.

The photo shows the difference between low and high beam on my way up the hill on a pretty dark road. Notice the sharp cut off so no blinding of on coming drivers. The other pic is in a normal residential neighborhood along with street lights. Still, plenty bright compared to the HIDs which was top end of lighting tech in the late 2000s.

The Hakari I have on my 4 runner and Duramax is a simple reflector for a standard halogen bulb. They were too dim for me. I will try and get you a pic tomorrow with the truck. It is actually a bit brighter with a longer throw compared to the cayman. I think sitting position on a taller vehicle have something to do with that. If they fit in your light tub on the long hood, I suggest giving it a go. Amazon is so good about taking returns. the issue is the cooling fan sticking way out. I will open my light bucket this weekend on my 72 car and see if they fit. 930 is buried deep inside my shop behind a bunch of equip. Report back soon



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714541236.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714541236.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714541236.jpg

https://www.amazon.com/CO-LIGHT-Anti-glare-Headlight-Projector/dp/B0CN72DSBT/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=35DABCF9BSFT3&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ 9.QzNYSp2l1cjlYJKoy1BE0TfIs-T34nW4_DDyg6JFnCrxA3n1oUooa5l6FvIwPF1nByfEpavOsM6h mI8pQRKdpq8tDv5abpop5lKDeEcZadLyCmeMkrcQNn7Kc8kcY_ k00RKUiPAajWtvj48GkQE6rpJ0QylDMTF9PLPEZ-iDX3ilknyooEu_3C4Fp8kqnZoJOlKjB3hUJgfUbjknHbHaW5Q0 8yo-Qjcw6SXJZn128Fj83DBqyAlsjxQSB9EwNg2Ef4qNsf4pdBSvlx ekBIoV89WzM5FKwaGZVc1w2N00mQA.4av2YygS5sTx

If you can fit these in your car, I know, I know, reflector looks like hell in an long hood, I suggest you get these in there. It no longer need the original reflector. Its plug and play. No cutting anything but the shield need to be removed, we do not have that so no concern there. I have these in my kid's 98 4 runner. There's a bit of blue tint from the light but it goes unnoticed within a few minutes of driving. The difference between the original halogen and these cheap Chinese light is huge. Its been on there for about a year and we are still very happy with them. Most of the light goes inside the lens. It looks big in the photo but its not that big at all. I am sold on some of these Chinese LEDs. Since no one is really designing them or willing to spend money on after market bulbs, they put out some pretty good stuff I must say. Some are really bad too so I try them. so fat so good.

I like the cutoff you are getting. Mine are just as bright, but they would be lighting all the way to the peak of the roof on the house. My high beams just get brighter, but don't project any farther. That's what I really want in a high beam - range, not spread.

I'll look into some of your suggestions. Thanks.

Oh, and as far as aesthetics, or "correctness", or "originality" in my longhood, I've long since crossed that bridge. I want modern functionality. Here is what I have right now - decidedly "incorrect".

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714578768.jpg

I agree with you, safety is so much more important and we drive our cars. My 72 is hacked up too for the weight saving:rolleyes:. 2680 Lbs, baby with a hot rod motor in there.

I think you are better off with an after market LED. They are just far superior then any bulb replacement. Those old 911 lens scatter light all over so no matter the bulb or how bright, it will not throw light down the road.

look, those beam pics look great. I’m going to look into fitting those bulbs to my cars. Thank you for posting!

The bulb with its own reflector - I assume the reflector fits inside the headlight behind the glass lens? Feels like a dumb question. If so, I sure wouldn’t care about any effect on the “look”.

Also, with those LED bulbs, no need for or gain from heavy gauge wires and relays, correct? My 911 has the relay setup, my E28 and other cars do not, and it’d be to not have to add them.

John, depending on the type. Most LEDs draw little power but if you have HID, the ballasts always draw the same amount of power just like the day it left the factory.

Yes, the lens lives inside the light housing ( no ballast needed on those). Only the part of the cooling fan is outside. They are somewhat bulky so fitment sometimes is a problem. I just shave some of the plastic off. If its factory HID, from the mid 90s to late 2000, I have something for you. Those are ones shown in the pic. I have them on my wife's Sienna van. She is so happy with them. Driving home from a volleyball game with the kids over the 14 is no joke, super dark up there.

Ones in the pics are 35 Watts

Hard tp beat euro H4 w/ 90/100 and relays

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714600235.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714600281.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714600281.jpg

I have completely forgotten to get you pic of the Hikari bulbs, Jeff.

Here they are, both low and highs on my way up the hill at a couple locations. They are on my 4 runner. Stock bulbs were old fashion halogen bulbs. These made a huge difference and notice the cut off, not too sharp but it is there and no flashes from on coming drivers.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714968114.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714968114.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714968114.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1714968114.jpg

Both the tree and house are about 200-250'

I have some bulbs from this company for my F350 and their customer service has been great.

I did a search for ‘72 911 and these were the least fast and furious looking.

I wonder how they work?

https://www.headlightrevolution.com/Sealed-Beam-Holley-RetroBright-LED-Headlights-7-Round?quantity=1

Hopefully it is ok posting that link.