What is the definitive word on H4 compatible LED bulbs

[jyl]

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!

[Jeff Higgins]

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.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by jyl

My aging eyes seem to need more and more illumination!

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

[jyl]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

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?

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

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.

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!

[look 171]

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.

[GeorgeK]

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.

[911 Rod]

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?

[GeorgeK]

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

[jyl]

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.

[latunabernie]

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

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by WPOZZZ

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'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.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by latunabernie

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

I will check!

[look 171]

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.

[look 171]

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.

[look 171]

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?

[Jeff Higgins]

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.



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.

[jyl]

How was the 911 in snow, Jeff?

[Jeff Higgins]

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.



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.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

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.



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.

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.