Britcyclerider
Well-Known Member
Upgraded wiring harness with relays and a direct (fused) battery feed would be my chosen route. You can make this fairly easily, or just buy one.
dag019
Well-Known Member
And if upgrading the wiring does not give the desired level of brightness can still upgrade the units afterwards knowing the wiring is in perfect order.
Evan farmer
Active Member
I put halfords 150% brighter bulbs theyre brilliant now
meego
Well-Known Member
Not for drivers in the opposite lane its not
Evan farmer
Active Member
Not for drivers in the opposite lane its not
Theyre not that good theyre still halogens so dont blind peopleNot for drivers in the opposite lane its not
300bhp/ton
Well-Known Member
Are you happy with the price? LED lights can be expensive.
Check out reviews on YouTube to see what they look like. Some are not great and still expensive.
Make sure you get RHD ones. Cheap ones might be for left hand drive.
You could opt for some LED bulbs as a cheaper option. Just do your research first and make sure the beam profile is good on them after install.
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/50238
FlyingPete
Well-Known Member
As above, check that you actually have 13-14 volts at the headlight when they're switched on and the engine is running. Upgrade wiring if necessary to achieve this.
Depending on the age of the vehicle, you may even still have sealed beam headlamps- these are pretty terrible by modern standards and changing to some basic halogen units with a proper beam pattern will make a big difference.
LED bulb replacements can give a poor beam pattern and point right at oncoming drivers- anything without the correct pattern will fail the MOT, as will left-hand drive units.
Blue-tinted bulbs appear brighter in that they dazzle more, but are actually worse overall than plain white bulbs with clear glass. Yellow is still permitted and gives a slightly better light to see by despite the slight reduction in absolute light intensity as it filters out the glaring blue part of white light.
Depending on the age of the vehicle, you may even still have sealed beam headlamps- these are pretty terrible by modern standards and changing to some basic halogen units with a proper beam pattern will make a big difference.
LED bulb replacements can give a poor beam pattern and point right at oncoming drivers- anything without the correct pattern will fail the MOT, as will left-hand drive units.
Blue-tinted bulbs appear brighter in that they dazzle more, but are actually worse overall than plain white bulbs with clear glass. Yellow is still permitted and gives a slightly better light to see by despite the slight reduction in absolute light intensity as it filters out the glaring blue part of white light.
flat
Well-Known Member
Check your wiring, check what voltage your getting at the headlights and also check your headlight earths as all those can give poor performance. The standard headlights should be good enough to drive with to be honest, so make sure you check for any underlying problems before changing the headlights as you may find you just shift the problem (wiring, switch etc)
Changing the type of light source from a halogen filament bulb to a LED or HID light source apart from the poor light pattern is illegal as the lights are not approved for anything but halogen filament type bulb.
If you want to go LED or HID you will have to get an approved complete headlight unit. Fitting a HID bulb in place of a filament bulb is now a MOT failure.
If buying an updated filament bulb look for the B3 and Tc figures which will give you an idea about service life. Updated bulbs in general have a shorter service then standard bulbs.
Brendan
If you want to go LED or HID you will have to get an approved complete headlight unit. Fitting a HID bulb in place of a filament bulb is now a MOT failure.
If buying an updated filament bulb look for the B3 and Tc figures which will give you an idea about service life. Updated bulbs in general have a shorter service then standard bulbs.
Brendan
I didn't know that, thanks for posting!
300bhp/ton
Well-Known Member
The beam pattern you can check yourself. As for the strict legalities. Well fitting higher wattage bulbs is just as illegal. Or running at 72mph on a motorway.
For the most part, if you let common sense contribute. You will most likely be fine.
FlyingPete
Well-Known Member
I personally found the britpart halogen headlamps on my 90 to be fine. On dipped beam, all brighter lights will do is make the same lit area brighter- they won't let you see any further due to the specific pattern and make your vision out of that path worse. Sealed beams are obsolete and a bit rubbish anyway so if you have those, a halogen conversion kit may be the most cost-effective option- particularly if you can find some second-hand ones.
I added a single spotlamp on the driver's side to help with long range on main beam, and a matching fog lamp on the other side. But first thing to do is to check the wiring.
I added a single spotlamp on the driver's side to help with long range on main beam, and a matching fog lamp on the other side. But first thing to do is to check the wiring.
FlyingPete
Well-Known Member
Easy enough to add another pair of lamps inboard of the originals. But generally a single fog lamp is better than a pair as it's less easily mistaken for brake lights.
It can also look quite good to add duplicate tail and indicator lamps in the rear part of the roof.
I added some DRLs in the form of stop/tail bulbs behind the side light lenses- bright filament as DRL, dim filament as the side light. More effective than dipped headlights during the day and the dash lights are off when they're active- so unlikely to leave them on at night.
bongo1
Active Member
Can anyone help me with how to wire spots in when using a boomslang kit for the headlights . I also have a plug n play off ebay for spots can this be plugged into the vehicle O/S redundant plug that's left over when using a boomslang , But ebay spot kit has no switch ?? , So if its best to wire from scratch back to question one how . Thanks gerry
I've just switched to these and they make a lot of difference to night driving on country lanes but I'd say in real terms they only seem about 50% brighter than standard halogen.
