LED aftermarket headlamp bulbs

[carolanddom]

Hi,

I'm considering options for improving the light from the dipped/main beam lights on my CLS W219 which is decidedly average. I am currently running with some generic halogen bulbs. I have considered HID however this has proven too difficult/expensive to implement properly (i.e. safely) so I am now considering either a better halogen type bulb or possibly a proven LED bulb of some kind. Does anyone have experience of fitting an LED dipped or main beam bulb successfully in the CLS (projector style dipped lamp)? There seem to be a number of viable options appearing on the market however a view from this forum would be of great value to me.

Happy New Year!


Dom

 

[brucemillar]

I am interested to hear about LED headlight bulb real life experience. I have a BMW E39 and the headlights (Hb4)are like candles, despite fitting Nighbreakers, 80w bulbs, etc.

The BMW forums are full of people complaining about the E39 headlights with people trying all sorts but no conclusive recommendations (that I can see) apart from convert to HID.

I have read that LEDS are very bright but cause issues to oncoming traffic due to poor scatter?

 

[flowrider]

There are very few viable aftermarket options unfortunately, it's either better bulbs like the Nightbreakers or a n expensive xenon conversion. Everything else is illegal.

 

[Yugguy]

Philips have developed an led h7 that looks to produce a proper beam pattern like a 'normal' bulb but it hasn't got E approval yet so would be illegal to fit.

 

[190]

Consider the filament in a standard incandescent lamp. While it's not exactly a point source of light, it is small and it's accurately positioned relative to the focal point of the reflector.

For an LED replacement to stand any chance at all of producing a decent beam pattern it has to mimic those characteristics which is near impossible and the reason why all LED replacement headlight bulbs are currently illegal. Legal aspects aside, the best ones will have a single very bright LED. Any bulb with multiple LED's will be hopeless and will scatter light all over the place.

 

[Chrishazle]

I've just fitted Nightbreaker Ultimate to the dips (replacing normal halogens) and Nightbreaker Laser to the mains 9replacing Nightbreaker+) of my S204, the dips are a lot better than the halogens, mains are good - but I've not driven much in the dark yet, I have a slight feeling that a minor re-alignment of the mains might be required.

About £14 for a pair of NBUltimates, £20 for the Lasers.

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

Can't beat nightbreakers but Phillips have just released a new one which is legal, although I can't find the name of it. It was mentioned here recently by ecp as they wanted reviews on it

 

[carolanddom]

There do seem to be quite a few varieties out there and some reporting to be Canbus friendly also. Some of the configurations look like they replicate a point source (Cree) and others are made using blocks of six leds (Philips). I do not want an illegal setup nor something which doesn't work properly! The YouTube video reviews appear to demonstrate a sharp cutoff in some cases with greater light intensity. I'll take a closer look at the nightbreakers and ask some of the LED suppliers a few questions.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

 

[carolanddom]

Well I asked Philips customer service about the H7 LED bulb and availability in the UK.I have heard back that it is planned to be released in September 2017.

I did ask about expectations on retail price however I have not heard back on this just yet.

I've attached a link to the Auto Express review on lightbulbs published in November 2016 which includes a reference to the Philips LED H7 bulb also

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/76760/best-car-headlight-bulbs-group-test

 

[bolide]

I am interested to hear about LED headlight bulb real life experience. I have a BMW E39 and the headlights (Hb4)are like candles, despite fitting Nighbreakers, 80w bulbs, etc.

By all accounts the answer with E39s is to fit Xenons. My E39 has projector headlights with Halogens and I'll be changing them

Broken adjusters and hazy lenses are E39 specialities so sort them as well

Funny to go from a W124 to an E39 and have dip-beams almost as bad!

Nick Froome

 

[190]

Be aware that any LED replacement lamp including the Philips one being mentioned will have a heat rejection problem to contend with. Of the currently available ones, some have cooling fans, some a rigid heat sinks or in some cases a flexible braided heat sink in an attempt to get around the space issue. You will need to ensure the heat sink can be physically accommodated on your particular car.

It seems odd that an incandescent lamp that produces more heat than light gets by without a heat sink, while an LED lamp that produces less heat, needs one. It's something to do with LED needing to run cooler for long life. The bottom line is even when after market LED lamps get approval they may not easily physically fit in every application.

 

[carolanddom]

Absolutely if the product is properly developed it should address the heat problems and give longevity and better light than incandescent bulbs. One to watch.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

 

[Bigdrew]

Hi I have heared some of these LEDS have a lot of problems
I have tried quite a lot of bulbs eventually I bought night breakers
which were better but just not bright enough so I decided to fit a hid kit
the best thing I ever did very bright at night lights up a good part of the
road it's that good I don't even need to use my main beam highly delighted
with it wasn't even a dear kit and have had no issues with it

 

[Philip1972]

Absolutely if the product is properly developed it should address the heat problems and give longevity and better light than incandescent bulbs. One to watch.

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Its a complicated set up for OEM and the manufactures spend ALOT of money on solving heat issues. As said above, heat sinks all over the pace and some lamps I know of have 2 cooling fans as well. The electronics inside these lamps are complex and make up circa 70% of the whole headlamp cost. Some bloke in his garage is going to struggle to do this properly.

I honestly cant see an aftermarket solution being very good on this respect.