Led headlights

[Dss_9_7]

I have a ford focus Titanium nav reg mv67 hcz.

I want to change my headlights completely, I currently have standard headlight assembly with bulbs. I would like to change to LED or Bi- Xenon. My headlights just aren't bright enough I have tried brighter bulbs that are supposed to be 150% brighter, I might as well have torches strapped to my car.

 

I have looked on eBay for hesdlight assembly for bi xenon, I wanted to know if just a conversion kit is a better idea? I read that conversion kits can be illegal though. I was looking at LED conversion kits but read that both HID and LED conversion kits are illegal.

[shiwarrior]

possibly the same, but on mk 2.5 you can get xenon headlights, just swap them over, but it will fail the MOT because i wont have the headlight washers and the automatic leveling for them, so classed as illegal i guess

 

[F0CUE]

Get a set of the h7 LED Bulbs with the fan. You need an extra mount but they are easily swapped back b4 MOT. Make sure they are 2 sided and when in they are positioned left to right to avoid glare. They are very powerful have made a great difference and don't get flashed at due to the orientation and also the way the headlights are separated. The pic doesn't do justice but shows how strong they are.

[mastachaz]

xenons wont work only way its custom bulbs 😛

[shiwarrior]

16 hours ago, F0CUE said:

Get a set of the h7 led bulbs with the fan. You need an extra mount but they are easily swapped back b4 MOT. Make sure they are 2 sided and when in they are positioned left to right to avoid glare. They are very powerful have made a great difference and don't get flashed at due to the orientation and also the way the headlights are separated. The pic doesn't do justice but shows how strong they are.

 

Why wont they pass the MOT ?

 

Why are you driving around with an illegal mod ? does the insurance company know ?

 

(i am not having a dig, im just curious)

 

 

[shiwarrior]

On 10/10/2019 at 11:04 PM, F0CUE said:

Get a set of the h7 led bulbs with the fan. You need an extra mount but they are easily swapped back b4 MOT. Make sure they are 2 sided and when in they are positioned left to right to avoid glare. They are very powerful have made a great difference and don't get flashed at due to the orientation and also the way the headlights are separated. The pic doesn't do justice but shows how strong they are.

 

,Been doing some digging (from another forum) 

are these basically what you have ?

https://autobeam.co.uk/collections/focus-mk2-0-st-2005-2008/products/h7-led-performance?variant=29792850542636

 

easy to fit ?

im guessing, they are worth the upgrade ?

 

[nicam49]

I notice that autobeam didn't actually answer the one question asking if they're road legal in the UK 🤔... just an answer from 'anonymous' saying that they are. 

[Dee_82]

unless the laws have changes in recent years, I had HIDs in my Mk 2 focus. they were proper projector jobs, actually cost me a fortune to do properly and totally not worth it but it was fun. well, the permaseal was anything but fine but you get my point

anyhow, in terms of legalities, your screwed if your pulled over BUT in terms of MOT, youll be fine. 

the wording is key, if you have HIDs you MIGHT have auto levellers and washers, if equipped, they must work.

That leaves plenty of room to wriggle. I eventually installed the washers but never got around to the levellers, it never once became a problem, in multiple garages.

 

[kajeeves]

The main thing is that you can't have an LED or HID bulb in an a halogen lens, it has to be the projector type. 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/4-lamps-reflectors-and-electrical-equipment#section-4-1-4

The MOT rules are here. Unfortunately they're often quite vague. 

[F0CUE]

6 hours ago, shiwarrior said:

 

,Been doing some digging (from another forum) 

are these basically what you have ?

https://autobeam.co.uk/collections/focus-mk2-0-st-2005-2008/products/h7-led-performance?variant=29792850542636

 

easy to fit ?

im guessing, they are worth the upgrade ?

 

No mines are from China on eBay search h7 led they have cooling fans and very simple to fit the end goes into the loom but you need an extra holder like what peeps use for the hid to hold them in the hole. As long as you install them with the beam side to side there is no glare otherwise the light hits the top of the reflector and will emit glare. I have drove past hundreds of police and never had any problem or anyone flashing at me. They are simple to swap over for MOT and yes a big difference like night and day. 

 

[shiwarrior]

20 hours ago, kajeeves said:

The main thing is that you can't have an LED or HID bulb in an a halogen lens, it has to be the projector type. 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/4-lamps-reflectors-and-electrical-equipment#section-4-1-4

The MOT rules are here. Unfortunately they're often quite vague. 

 

all it says is :

Existing halogen headlamp units should not be converted to be used with HID bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp.

 

im putting LED bulbs in, NOT HID , so ok ?

 

 

[shiwarrior]

19 hours ago, F0CUE said:

No mines are from China on eBay search h7 led they have cooling fans and very simple to fit the end goes into the loom but you need an extra holder like what peeps use for the hid to hold them in the hole. As long as you install them with the beam side to side there is no glare otherwise the light hits the top of the reflector and will emit glare. I have drove past hundreds of police and never had any problem or anyone flashing at me. They are simple to swap over for MOT and yes a big difference like night and day. 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nighteye-72W-9000LM-H7-LED-Canbus-error-free-Car-Headlight-KIT-6500K-Bulbs-White/153595605481?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

 

i ordered these last night, apparently ok

 

[F0CUE]

56 minutes ago, shiwarrior said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nighteye-72W-9000LM-H7-LED-Canbus-error-free-Car-Headlight-KIT-6500K-Bulbs-White/153595605481?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

 

i ordered these last night, apparently ok

 

Should be good m8 you will notice the difference.

[shiwarrior]

just hope they are ok (regardless of MOT) 

as long as they are better than my night vision ones and dont dazzle other drivers , im happy 🙂

[shiwarrior]

anyone bought caps to accommodate the LED lights? which ones do i need?

 

[F0CUE]

1 hour ago, shiwarrior said:

anyone bought caps to accommodate the LED lights? which ones do i need?

 

If you mean the caps at the back the bulbs should fit without any problems no modification needed.

[shiwarrior]

cool, thanks

well see, if i need to order ill just measure the caps i got and order some 🙂

 

[nicam49]

At least the led H7s Halfords sell are clearly marked 'off road use only' 

 

[Micro]

On 10/10/2019 at 11:04 PM, F0CUE said:

Get a set of the h7 led bulbs with the fan. You need an extra mount but they are easily swapped back b4 MOT. Make sure they are 2 sided and when in they are positioned left to right to avoid glare. They are very powerful have made a great difference and don't get flashed at due to the orientation and also the way the headlights are separated. The pic doesn't do justice but shows how strong they are.

 

Aftermarket LED's and HIDS in incorrect housings are the bane of my life driving at night. That, and people that drive around with fogs on all the time. At least if a slightly incorrectly aligned halogen bulb is staring you in the face it's not that much of a big deal. An incorrectly aligned led bulb is blinding.

Colour temperature also plays a part here - white (blueish) tinted light causes more glare than the yellowish light emitted by a standard bulb, at lower power.

Personally I wouldn't retrofit anything of this nature to my car, and must stress that if anyone else fits it to theirs, to consider the other drivers on the road.

[F0CUE]

7 hours ago, Micro said:

 

Aftermarket LED's and HIDS in incorrect housings are the bane of my life driving at night. That, and people that drive around with fogs on all the time. At least if a slightly incorrectly aligned halogen bulb is staring you in the face it's not that much of a big deal. An incorrectly aligned led bulb is blinding.

Colour temperature also plays a part here - white (blueish) tinted light causes more glare than the yellowish light emitted by a standard bulb, at lower power.

Personally I wouldn't retrofit anything of this nature to my car, and must stress that if anyone else fits it to theirs, to consider the other drivers on the road.

Everyone will have different opinions. I had a hell of a time with vision on motorways/country roads with plain halogen bulbs the light throw in these headlights is terrible and aftermarket halogen bulbs with brighter light did not last at all and kept blowing. Since installing these they have outlasted any bulbs, I can see the road properly and they are properly aligned so they are not blinding road users.

[nicam49]

Of course everyone has an opinion, but the law is the law for a reason. The same dipped  lights you're using at speed on unlit roads are also used in built up areas too, don't forget. Too much dazzling blinding white light is bad for pedestrians and other motorists alike. 1600k is FAR too intense. 

[Jonro2009]

Of course everyone has an opinion, but the law is the law for a reason. The same dipped  lights you're using at speed on unlit roads are also used in built up areas too, don't forget. Too much dazzling blinding white light is bad for pedestrians and other motorists alike. 1600k is FAR too intense. 

1600K is almost yellow, OEM is about 4300K and 'most' people upgrading for better vision opt for 5-6000K. People going for the chavvy blue look go for 8000K.

LED\HID fitted aftermarket in a projector lens are not a problem 90% of the time, fitted in a reflector housing they are horrendous 90% of the time. Even with the 'directional chip' I can't see them being much safer in a reflector.

There is not an LED\HID aftermarket kit that has the appropriate 'E' marking on them to make them road legal (to my knowledge)

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[TomsFocus]

I seem to be getting dazzled more by cyclists than anyone else at the moment!    And that's the ones without the fit-inducing strobes!

Must admit, I'm struggling with unlit dual carriageway's recently though, eye sight has been tested as fine so not sure what I can do about it...I've had to resort to full beam a few times which doesn't seem to help me much but does end up getting flashes if I fail to drop them quickly enough.  It's always going to be a compromise between how much we can see against how much oncoming cars can see and I don't know what the answer is.  

[Eric Bloodaxe]

50 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Must admit, I'm struggling with unlit dual carriageway's recently though, eye sight has been tested as fine so not sure what I can do about it..

I was chatting about this problem with my optometrist when I had my regular check up earlier in the year. He laid the blame squarely on modern headlamps and commented that it was probably the most frequent concern expressed by his customers of all ages who drive. 

[F0CUE]

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

I seem to be getting dazzled more by cyclists than anyone else at the moment!    And that's the ones without the fit-inducing strobes!

Must admit, I'm struggling with unlit dual carriageway's recently though, eye sight has been tested as fine so not sure what I can do about it...I've had to resort to full beam a few times which doesn't seem to help me much but does end up getting flashes if I fail to drop them quickly enough.  It's always going to be a compromise between how much we can see against how much oncoming cars can see and I don't know what the answer is.

 

That's exactly why I made the change it's terrible and very dangerous to see where you are going.