Honda Accord Head Lights Halogen vs HID vs LED

[hughezee]

The HID's on the 7th - 8th Gen Accord are sublime but the lenses are designed for them, you have to be careful what you fit if you're upgrading so I just went for halogen night-breakers and they are good enough for what I need

[PTR200S]

Having listened to the commentary he is not saying which are best but all he has done is switch lamps (bulbs) . The unit/ lenses are the same for all the different lamp tests.

As you say, Stu, the hid units are specific to that lamp and I know led reflectors are different to halogen. . So really the tests are not useful, each lamp needs to be tested in the correct housing.

I know that my hid in the tourer out burn anything else i have seen. Even some of my mates with modern cars and led units say they are better than theirs . 

[Laird_Scooby]

I've done quite a bit of testing of LED bulbs Pete, you have to be careful to find the ones that mimic the shape of the filament on the halogen bulb using the LEDs or you just get an uncontrolled blob of light with no beam pattern.

Decent LED bulbs can really outperform most of the competition including Nightbreakers which are over-rated IMHO - yes, they're good but a lot of the "el-cheapo ebay xenon look halogen" bulbs come pretty close for a lot less dosh.

[PTR200S]

So ave found the "right" lamp to mimic the halogen as you say, my point was that the unit must be the right one which is the same view point as you but again if you buy the lamp blind from the internet how do you know it is the right one? This is possibly why there are so many crappy "adjusted" lights being used on our roads.

Talking of crappy lights why is it that bmw,audi,mercedes and the like have such shitty blinding lights headlights and tail/ indicators that blend into each other? 

[Laird_Scooby]

I have the same sort of LED bulbs in my Volvo with similarly good results. Here's the ones i used :

http://www.powerfuluk.com/h4-led-4000-lm-headlight-bulbs-range-rover-p38-white-pair.html

They list exactly the same ones for "general use" (i.e. NOT P38 specific) for £3 more and not only do the LEDs mimic the shape and light output of the halogen versions but are the correct distance from the mounting collar/plate. Also these have a bit of adjustment to enable the "perfect" beam pattern to be obtained, very little "light scatter" outside of the usual area and better still, little or no "bleaching" in areas where halogens would normally be weak.

Conversely these sort of LED bulbs with a large CREE chip for dip and another for main beam don't give good beam patterns :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/55W-Car-Auto-COB-LED-Headlight-Lamp-Conversion-Beam-Kit-H1-H4-H7-H11-9006-Bulbs-/282098711094?var=&hash=item41ae64ba36:m:mHHJXFzKnFvLE9bpZ0-2OrQ

Basically the closer you get to the original configuration of filaments with the LED version the better it's going to be in terms of beam pattern. Most halogen bulbs give 12-1500Lm so anything above that is going to be an improvement, however there is a limit of 1800Lm for road cars. The ones i linked to above are 4000Lm - total so 2000Lm for each "filament" which is only about 10% over the limit. That means in practice you're unlikely to be stopped but will have much better, brighter lights.

I've also had very good results with these :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/96W-12000LM-H4-Hi-Lo-Philips-LED-Headlight-Car-Conversion-Bulb-Beam-6000K-KIT-/152039032141?hash=item23663b854d:g:ApEAAOSwR5dXS-36

They didn't work very well in the Volvo but perfectly in my Coupé, the 12000Lm output seems a bit generous to me, they're about the same output as the ones in my Sterling which are the ones linked to above rated at 4000Lm - methinks Chinese Lumen are smaller than UK Lumen!

[PTR200S]

The Sealight looks interesting, not least of which the price!. I wouldn't part with £70 for a "pair of lamps" 

Sealight at £40 or make me an offer looks good !

[Laird_Scooby]

12 minutes ago, PTR200S said:

The Sealight looks interesting, not least of which the price!. I wouldn't part with £70 for a "pair of lamps" 

Sealight at £40 or make me an offer looks good !

A little clue - they had a promotion on and were selling them for £34.99 when i bought them - i reckon they'd accept that as the offer.

[PTR200S]

Hey,hey !  Bang on the money as it were.

Offered 30, came back with 36,,,,, offered 34.99......accepted,  all secured and paid for...

Thanks for the info, appreciated

[Laird_Scooby]

Excellent news!

[Brett]

Well it’s that time of year again for a service at Honda HQ.

This time Iv ordered a set of LED headlight lamps to replace my 5 year old HIDS.

Iv asked Stu to give me a hand wire fitting as well as the regular service.

The leds Iv ordered are Phillips ones with a lux level of 4000 so will be brighter that my HIDS.

 

[Laird_Scooby]

Which ones have you ordered Brett? A word to the wise - sometimes when the Lumen output is quoted, the "marketeers" quote for a pair to make it sound more impressive so 4000Lm could be for the pair.

In fact 2000Lm each would be about right and borderline illegal - without certain things all in place the limit is 1800Lm per bulb - 2000Lm is only 10% ish over so i doubt they'd even notice and would be hard to prove.

On the bright side (no pun intended) the Philips Lumileds LEDs are some of, if not the, best on the market.

[Brett]

The link is below Dave and they do look like the business.

I no the owner of Horizon so hopefully they will be what is said.

There are some cheap ones on the market and TBO are rubbish.

Iv got a light meter in work so will test for lux levels.

Also I got 30% off the original price  

 

http://www.horizonleds.co.uk/exterior-leds/cree-led-headlights/h1-led-headlights-headlamps/h1-philips-lumileds-luxeon-led-headlight-kit-v2

[Laird_Scooby]

They're the dogs danglies alright Brett!

Surprised they are 4000Lm per bulb, maybe your light meter will tell you. If not, many MoT beam setters have built in light meters designed to measure the actual light from the lamp so you may have to wait for MoT time to be sure but only if your tester is friendly and won't fail you for having too bright a bulb!

[Brett]

Hopefully there not to bright but I do no my MOT tester so fingers crossed.

Im thinking there going to be almost the same light output as my HIDS but without the start up flickering.

Also less heat and power consumption.

I think when I go up to see Stu I will test my HIDS against the new leds with the meter.

Iv been waiting for these to have a good discount on for a few months now and got them for £86 with discount.

[Laird_Scooby]

To give you a rough idea, a standard halogen 55W bulb is about 1200Lm, most HID 35W conversions are about 1600Lm and the 55W HIDs are about 1800-2000Lm so these LED bulbs on the face of it would be twice as bright.

How much of that extra brightness actually gets onto the road is another matter though and is entirely dependent on the headlamp design.

The comparison test sounds like a great idea - especially with photos and a write up! (HINT, HINT! )

[PTR200S]

Can i ask, was the HID a previous conversion then? 

Just wondering on the flickering and your need for "brighter" lights.

My Tourer has factory HID and they fantastic lights , better than any led conversion I have encountered (not factory led) and no flickering on start up either. For a car that is fourteen years old i am still impressed with them 

My concern with conversion to led is like Daves , brightness is not always the answer, a lot of it is to do with design of the lamp and reflector too.

It will be very interesting to see the results of your handiwork and your thoughts on the "real" world usage compared with the manufacturer claims for the led conversion. Will have a look at your link when i get back from work, intrigued !!!!

It might help me as I am toying with a conversion of the TVR lights which have got to be the worst headlights in the world 

 

[Laird_Scooby]

1 hour ago, PTR200S said:

I am toying with a conversion of the TVR lights which have got to be the worst headlights in the world 

Correct me if i'm wrong Pete but they are 7" round headlamps on your TVR? If so :

https://www.powerfuluk.com/vehicles/range-rover-full-size/classic/exterior-accessories/range-rover-classic-halogen-crystal-headlight-upgrade-pair-rhd.html

....... and........ :

https://www.powerfuluk.com/h4-led-4000-lm-headlight-bulbs-white-pair-6820.html

That should sort you out!

[Brett]

Pete in the 8th gen HIDS come as standard on the diesel type S but an optional extra on all others.

The hids installed are after market ones.

When I’m at Stues I will do a reading between the new and old.

Should be interesting as the LEDs should give a perfect light output as claimed.

[PTR200S]

That explains it then !

10 hours ago, Brett said:

The hids installed are after market ones.

Just had a look at the link, look impressive with the spec... although at 6500k they are right on the edge of the blue tinge effect ! 

Keep us updated, very interested in these.

13 hours ago, Laird_Scooby said:

Correct me if i'm wrong Pete but they are 7" round headlamps on your TVR? If so :

Yes they are BUT !! they have separate reflectors from the external glass .... by that I mean that the bulb / reflector are set back in the headlight "tube" from the physical external lense glass !

Weird setup really because it means the reflector corrodes away happily as it's exposed to the surrounding air, not sealed off. 

There are several solutions, one of which involves cutting the bodywork and putting a Lupo headlight in, I think the original setup came from a commercial vehicle too 

I just need a simple solution....brighter lights !!!

[Laird_Scooby]

7 minutes ago, PTR200S said:

I just need a simple solution....brighter lights !!!

Just use the bulbs i linked to then Pete!

13 hours ago, Laird_Scooby said:

....... and........ :

https://www.powerfuluk.com/h4-led-4000-lm-headlight-bulbs-white-pair-6820.html

That should sort you out!

As long as it's an H4 fitting they will help.

[PTR200S]

10 hours ago, Laird_Scooby said:

Just use the bulbs i linked to then Pete!

As long as it's an H4 fitting they will help.

I managed to get a minute to look these up, Dave, but I get "bad gateway" off the link, can you check to see if it is the correct one, please 

[Laird_Scooby]

Weird! The link was ok when i posted it Pete but now as you say is coming up bad gateway. When i posted it i had some difficulty getting to various items on their site and now it seems their entire site is down.

Give it a day or so and have another go, meanwhile i'll keep trying and if i get a response, i'll report back.

[Mazda Man]

They look  Brett, I’m going to try and pop over when you’re at Honda HQ, be great to see you and show off Lennie.

Call me thicko McThick but my simple brain is telling me that your current headlights (specifically the reflectors inside) were designed for standard bulbs.  If you fit these LED jobbies then won’t the light pattern be different?  Just asking.  

[Laird_Scooby]

On 4/17/2018 at 7:55 AM, PTR200S said:

I managed to get a minute to look these up, Dave, but I get "bad gateway" off the link, can you check to see if it is the correct one, please 

The link works now Pete - just so you know, they're the same as what i've been using for about 3 years now and wouldn't go back to halogens if you paid me!

[Laird_Scooby]

36 minutes ago, Lennie Legend said:

 If you fit these LED jobbies then won’t the light pattern be different?  Just asking.  

Good question Geoff and with a lot of LED bulbs you'd be exactly right. However because the Lumileds are tiny, they can be arranged into the same size and shape as the original filament in the halogen bulb the reflector and lens were designed for.

That means a brighter, crisper, whiter light without any of the problems associated with cheap LED conversion bulbs.

Now i've found LED H4 bulbs that use Lumileds, there's no way i'd go back to halogens. If you remember i tried quite a few and had many disappointments, most of which i documented with photos before we all got Photobuckay'd.