The quality difference between name brands and knockoffs in automotive lighting is astounding. That's why I keep asking what components people are using in their retrofits.

It's not just the cutoff that's important, it's how light is distributed throughout the lit area as well. Most are built to look good shining against a garage door, not down an unlit road in town.

I am liking this thread! Was seriously looking at your #3 option just this week. Units are bl@@dy expensive down here, so I am happy I didn't bite the bullet! Trying to get a hold of a set of #4 as we speak!

There's a lot of talk about "Building" these headlights, if the LED unit you get is an H4 replacement doesn't it just replace the entire H4 light assembly? So if I already have H4's in the car would I just replace them with one of these units or is there more to it than that?

The H4 replacements are just the bulb unit, like #2 in the original post. You could install these in your current H4's (bosch euro or hella/sugarscoop).
The problem which I've seen with most of these is that the LEDs on the "bulb" are not in the same location as the filament in a normal H4 bulb, so you generally lose the beam pattern.

If you pull the trigger on the #4's from eBay, please update us.

I was talking about the other ones which look like an H4 bucket and have the bulb installed, like the JWSpeaker or Nolden units

Superbrightleds has a 7" multi-row that fits, plug and play, in sugar scoops. In chrome and smoked.
$125 each....

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/high-beam-and-low-beam-headlight-bulb/led-work-light-7-inch-round-40w/2512/

Those put out light that is an order of magnitude worse for driving than a set of stock H4s.

I am no engineer, but from the pics those look like they have almost no cutoff on low beam. That is probably why there is no mention of DOT approval and why they are described as "Ideal for off-road equipment lighting".

Ok ... The GE nighthawk 7" has one reviewer with an older aircooled 911. He loves them.
Amazon has them with Prime for about $270 each.

The new stuff is fascinating especially when new technology is vastly superior. But I am just not seeing it. Think I will keep my relayed H4s with 110/80s. If I need more power on high beam I will add a couple of drivers like on my old car.

But keep reviewing the stuff because you just never know who will hit a home run.

Before I do, just a quick question:

If you look at the picture of your regular H4's you'll see the beams are slanted to the left as per the green lines below. This is to prevent blinding oncoming traffic in a LHD situation. For us here is SA the beams have to be slanted to the right (red lines), as we drive on the other side of the road from you guys.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448960025.jpg

I see that the LED lights (#4) also show a slight slant to the left as per the green lines below.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1448960165.jpg

Can they be adjusted at all? If not I might not be able to use them...

I guess you could contact the OP or the eBay seller. My guess sadly is no.

I've mentioned before that my relayed H4s with Hella 80/70W bulbs give me better overall visibility and pattern than the HID in my older Audi A4.

There's an aspect of subjectivity and we all tend to like our solutions the best but factoring in the expense, complexity and appearance I'm more than satisfied with the direction I went.

Posting this thread here in case you are not following it on the Parts for Sale forum. Don't get confused if you see posters referencing installing "speakers". That is just the name of one of the lighting manufacturers being discussed. FWIW, I am with the OP on this thread and leaning towards #4 for my '77 hot rod project. Seems like best bang for the buck for us Pelicans in the USA.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-used-parts-sale-wanted/882820-new-offering-led-headlights-65-89-911s-5.html

Here are some pictures to see the difference of the LED's compared to the H4 Hella 55/60, not against to garage door.

Here are the H4

http://airboxer.com/images/H4_01.jpg

Here are the LED's

http://airboxer.com/images/LED_01.jpg

It's really a big difference. Also what I like is that the LED put more light to the side, so when you turn in to a side road, you can actually see where you are going.

Cheers
Engelbert

The #4 LED head lights are now DOT certified.

http://airboxer.com/carmagic/images/LED_DOT.jpg

Happy New year
Engelbert

Engelbert

can you provide the source of the the #4 LED Headlights..I am also looking to upgrade...

what additional wiring is required (i have a 77 911)

thanks and happy new year

I am using the GE Nighthawk LED headlights on my 914. They are complete replacement headlights. The improvement in nighttime visibility is night and day (sorry for the pun). Much more light and less current then stock.

I think Jaudette offers the RHD pattern, but ask him.