Holley (Morimoto) Retrobright LED

[famoroso]

This looks promising for sugar scoop folks as well as H4 style retrofit assemblies (like John Audette's). Anyone try them yet? $180 each...

https://www.holley.com/brands/holley_retrobright/products/exterior/lighting/headlight/round_headlights/







From holley.com...

OVERVIEW
We all love the look of classic sealed beam headlights, but the dim halogen light output makes nighttime driving a potentially risky endeavor for you and your beloved classic. Holley's new RetroBright LED Headlights offer a number of advantages over traditional sealed beam headlights such as plug and play compatibility, better visibility, and 6 times longer life. Not only that, but because they are LED they take up less space, create far less heat, and use less power than other headlights. Our low-profile housing design fits most shallow headlight buckets found on classic cars without the hassle of cutting or drilling. Holley worked closely with Morimoto, a leader in lighting design, to develop our line-up of lighting solutions that boast a classic look with modern lighting technology. A special PWM LED driver resides inside of the headlight to keep the LEDs running at their peak intensity, even during prolonged periods of use. The 7" Round LED produces 32,000 Candela for low beam, and 53,000 Candela for high beam, which is nearly three times more light output than your original headlights.

RetroBright has offerings to fit most classic and modern vehicles that utilize the popular 5.75" round, 7" round, 4"x6" rectangular, and 5"x7" rectangular headlight housings. They're available in 3000 Kelvin and 5700 Kelvin color temperatures depending on whether you're looking for that classic lighting hue or want an even brighter, more modern look. And if your vehicle feels more at home across the pond, we also offer headlights with yellow lenses for that European flair.

Features:
Plug & Play - Plugs into factory headlight harness for easy installation
Classic Styling - Retro styled headlight for period correct appearance
Superior - Over 2x the light output of halogens to keep you and your classic safe
Low Draw/Extended Life - Less current draw and 6x the life of halogen sealed beams
Compliant - No-glare beam pattern meets or exceeds SAE and DOT Requirements
Serviceable - Replaceable LED cartridges for easy serviceability
Proper Fitment - Engineered to fit most shallow light buckets found on classic vehicles
Stronger - UV Treated Polycarbonate Lens won't shatter and is 10x stronger than glass or standard plastic
Compatible - Sealed Beam Trade Numbers: 4000, 4040, H4001, H5001, H5006
Color Choice - Available in "Classic White" (3000K bulb) for a warm classic hue, "Modern White" (5700K bulb) for a cleaner modern look, or a Yellow Lens (utilizes 5700K bulb inside)

[Mike Andrew]

This setup would certainly make driving at night a whole lot more enjoyable for a lot of us. My halogens are barely acceptable for much beyond around town.

There must be a guinea pig somewhere here who can try and report on these lights. Function, installation, compatibility with housings, etc.

[964TargaC2]

$180 is for the 5 inch, the 7 inch are $199

[famoroso]

Ran across this...

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/holley-retrobright-led-headlight-test-review/

[7783911]

Interesting review...so does one go 5700 or 3000? Opinions?

[manbridge 74]

I know nothing about these but we had all lights replaced where I work with LED about three years back. At first it was awesome and bright, you couldn’t really look up at them without wanting to close your eyes. Now they have dimmed considerably, almost back to before levels.

So a long way to say it, but I’d go 5700.

[Gretz]

Interesting. These are obviously much less expensive than some of the other LED replacements for our cars. I’d like to see a comparison of the performance. Obviously the more expensive ones generally look more contemporary, but I wonder if there are actually performance advantages as well.

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by 7783911

Interesting review...so does one go 5700 or 3000? Opinions?

I'd go 3,000. 5,700 looks too "tuner." It's the wrong look on these cars and defeats the retro purpose.

Another, similar, example is instrument LEDs. I've tried both classic (warm) white and bright (stark) white. It was no contest. The classic warm white was 100% the way to go. The bright white was just too harsh.

[tk32]

LED is all the rage... nice application in a universal 5" and 7" housing. Although, one can purchase a pair of 7" Hella e-code H4 for around $90 per PAIR, install a JWest headlight relay and more powerful bulbs if desired, aren't you ahead of the game at that point? And it will still look just like that sugar scoop did when it left the factory

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by tk32

LED is all the rage... nice application in a universal 5" and 7" housing. Although, one can purchase a pair of 7" Hella e-code H4 for around $90 per PAIR, install a JWest headlight relay and more powerful bulbs if desired, aren't you ahead of the game at that point? And it will still look just like that sugar scoop did when it left the factory

911 H4s, with JWest relays and standard wattage bulbs are precisely what I run on my cars.

However, I run LEDs everywhere else* and there's no question that they're a vastly superior alternative for use as brake lights / running lights / turn signals. So, I appreciate the benefit of brighter light, lower current draw AND longer service life for our cars. LED headlights aren't for me or my use case, but I understand the appeal. If I had a sugar scoop 911 I'd try these Holley versions no questions asked.

These Holleys still draw 25W / 30W though, so I'd still run a headlight relay with them. Our 28 - 58 year old electrical systems need all the help they can get.

*Spokeworks LED brake lights / running lights / turn signals. Philips festoon LED bulbs for interior lights and Carmagic.us Vintage White instrument bulbs. In my opinion, Spokeworks LED brake lights and running lights are MUST have safety features on these cars.

[7783911]

I too run LEDs (spokeworks of course) everywhere but headlights and use relays where possible. I have sugar scoop hybrids but can revert back to sealed beams easily...sounds to me like a good alternative..and I would go 5K

[tk32]

A car I had once came with LED license plate lights, they flickered so I LEDeleted them, get it? ... I have sort of avoided running, marker, and turn signals since then. Is a relay required to avoid this in all circuits for our cars or just more contemporary cars and what is the deal with flickering and "fast blinker" syndrome with LEDs?

I should do some research ..

[famoroso]

Real world feedback coming around 7:30p this evening...

1986 911 M491 Targa FL to UT "Top Gear Challenge"

[famoroso]

Initial review after 1,250+ miles driving in variable conditions, including HEAVY rain, everyone open to Sugarscoop style H4 upgrades should opt for these. They're the bomb fo'sho'!!

[Otter74]

Curious to know people's thoughts on yellow lenses. I long thought of them as basically an old French thing. My E12 has Euro H4s with yellow high beams on it, which is what made me wonder.

[dg567]

Can these be put inside of an H4 housing like the jeep replacements everyone does?

[Rsnellie]

Originally Posted by manbridge 74

I know nothing about these but we had all lights replaced where I work with LED about three years back. At first it was awesome and bright, you couldn’t really look up at them without wanting to close your eyes. Now they have dimmed considerably, almost back to before levels.

So a long way to say it, but I’d go 5700.

Kelvin (temperature) rating 3,000 vs 5,700 is often confused for lumen rating (brightness). Lumens and or watts is more of a direct comparison of brightness.

Given the same lumens the 3,000k bulbs actually have better penetrating power (not to be confused with brightness). The lower the kelvin the warmer the color. So 2k will look more yellow compared to 5k with more blue appearance. That is because the higher temperature/kelvin has more color spectrum which translate into a “cooler” look often confused with brightness.

Simple science is people tend to perceive white with a blue tint as brighter. Ever wonder why laundry detergent is blue? If you tint your white cloth with blue you have a misconception that the cloths are cleaner and brighter when in fact they are not. Then you buy more of that detergent! Lots of research went into deciding the color of detergent. Same concept.

If you want originality and a better penetrating light go lower kelvin 3,000 all things equal. Think of how fog lights are yellow and why. If you want a perception of brightness or like a more modern look go higher kelvin 5,700.

Given the same lumen ratings of the two, they will be exactly the same brightness.

Not saying this is absolutely fact, but I did have a career in lighting and color calibration years ago. Wanted to give some of the benefits of going with a period correct look.

[Jonny H]

^ What he said, the whole 'blue is brighter therefore better' is actually making driving more dangerous! The blue spectrum causes more glare which is why everyone is blinded by oncoming traffic these days. (I don't know if it is true today but for may years white LEDs were actually blue with a filter)

I have run yellow lenses in my SC for almost 10 years and do a lot of night driving. There is zero glare off any reflective road signs, cat's eyes etc. They are not 'dim' and I can see perfectly well down the road. It's just the new cars coming the other way that are the problem!

[thetorch]

Would love to see some representative photos of what yellow lenses vs 3K, with the same lumens, really look like from a car at night on the same road. Maybe photos are difficult to show the correct eye perception, maybe it's possible.

Would be very cool (and informative) to see.

[AndrewCologne]

Originally Posted by jonny h

^ what he said, the whole 'blue is brighter therefore better' is actually making driving more dangerous! The blue spectrum causes more glare which is why everyone is blinded by oncoming traffic these days. (i don't know if it is true today but for may years white leds were actually blue with a filter)

i have run yellow lenses in my sc for almost 10 years and do a lot of night driving. There is zero glare off any reflective road signs, cat's eyes etc. They are not 'dim' and i can see perfectly well down the road. It's just the new cars coming the other way that are the problem!

+++++++1