Halogen Headlights

[Rob Glasgow]

Has anyone installed these “Lucas” 700 Halogen Headlights manufactured in India? They are advertised on eBay. What do you think of them?

 

[Guido36]

Halogen headlights have largely been superceded by the newer technology of LEDs which produce brighter light and much less heat while consuming less electricity. I am going to replace my offshore made Lucas TriBar 700 type headlights which have fogged internally with these….

LED Headlight Conversion Kit with 7" Headlight Lenses

Quantity of 1 = 1 pair of headlight buckets and 1 pair of LED bulbs. Direct Replacement for any stock 7” headlights (cars and trucks) Price includes (2) glass 7" headlamps and (2) 3G H4 LEDs bulbs. 12 volt DC negative ground wiring. 100W per pair output / 6000 Lumens !!!! 1.6 amp draw for LED...

www.classiccarperformance.com

 

[mezy]

LED bulbs are not quite there yet, I put a set of four LED conversion bulbs in My Jaguar XF.
I have to admit they are a much whiter light not yellowy like a halogen bulb, but they do not seem to carry as far,
basicly distance vision is less than Halogen. and vision is impared when a car comes the other way, it is difficult to see far enough, ok on roads you know, but if you have someone walking along the side of the road without a hi vis coat on its darn right scary.
Philips do these Halogen bulbs which are far brighter and whiter thanregular Halogen bulbs

Amazon.co.uk

Osram also do a similar bulb called Night Breaker 200.

I will be swapping my LED bulbs for these very soon,

 

[John Turney]

The six lights in my avatar are all halogen. I could get LEDs for the side lights and headlights, but they would be a different color temperature (more blue). LEDs that will fit in the SP700s would not be as bright, so they would be out-shown by the headlights, which is not the idea. It's best if all the lights are the same color temperature.

 

[GregW]

LED bulbs are not quite there yet, I put a set of four LED conversion bulbs in My Jaguar XF.
I have to admit they are a much whiter light not yellowy like a halogen bulb, but they do not seem to carry as far,

I think the problem you're having with LEDs is the projector housing in the Jag. If the diodes are not lined up in the focal plane, they won't illuminate correctly. I'm guessing here because the halogens you selected are designed for projectors.

 

[mezy]

I think the problem you're having with LEDs is the projector housing in the Jag. If the diodes are not lined up in the focal plane, they won't illuminate correctly. I'm guessing here because the halogens you selected are designed for projectors.

I just chose those as an example, of what was available for brighter whiter lights as opposed to standard halogen.
If you follow this link it shows comparisons of led vs halogen, very interesting read

Are LED Headlight Bulbs the Brightest? (we show you the best)

Most LED headlight bulbs are very dangerous! Not only are they not as bright as the original bulb, they scatter light everywhere and blind other traffic.

www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk

Last paragraph..

Conclusion​

After all of our testing (and being in the automotive lighting industry for nearly 20 years) we can confirm that LED bulbs are not the brightest bulb on the market. At least not yet anyway.


LED is a progressive technology and while they are still up to 300% brighter than standard halogen lights, HID Kits are by far much brighter than any other upgrade bulbs available. You can find more information about HID bulbs in our simple car bulb guide (HID).


The technology surrounding LED bulbs still has quite a ways to go to be the absolute best however if you consider the fact that LED headlights can last 5 years longer than any other bulb type and they still produce a clean, white and 300% brighter light – they are definitely a force to be reckoned with.

 

[GregW]

Considering in 2019, 86% of cars sold came with LED headlights, I would disagree with that article.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Considering in 2019, 86% of cars sold came with LED headlights, I would disagree with that article.

In 2022-23, it's probably closer to 98%.

I replaced my BJ8's incandescent headlights with LEDs. First pic is incandescent--AFAIK aftermarket--and the next two were with the LEDs (low beam then high). Note these were complete units, not just bulbs and I suspect the reflector bowls--likely parabolic--have something to do with the beam. The only thing I don't like is the glass fronts are flatter than the incandescents, and don't quite look right on a voluptuous Big Healey.

The OEM LEDs on my Mustang are outrageous; they turn everything below 6' high into bright blue daylight, out to a hundred yards or so (just the lows).

 

[Joe A]

One thing to consider is that one cannot simply take an LED lighting element and place it in a reflector housing that was designed for a halogen element and expect it to perform well.

A halogen element has a relatively fine point of light origin that is focused where it needs to be focused as a result of reflector design. In the case of LED lighting elements, they consist of arrays of up to many individual LEDs and there is no single point of light emanation. An LED lighting element needs a redesigned reflector.

The only way to get a superior result from an LED headlight is to buy the unit as an integrated design such as one would buy from Holley with their RetroBright or perhaps from LiteZupp.

Round Headlights

www.holley.com

LED Headlamps

litezupp.com

If you buy an integrated unit, it will be much brighter than a halogen unit; similar in brightness to an HID and an LED system will use less power.

Discussion here as to why an LED conversion may not work in a number of cases:

Why Most LED Headlight Upgrades Don't Really Work: An Expert Explains

I got a stern talking-to from an actual lighting expert about LED retrofits.

jalopnik.com

RetroBright versus halogen:

The BRAND-NEW Holley RetroBright Headlights | TRS Review

Holley and Morimoto have just released their RetroBright LED Headlights, designed with modern performance and classic fitment for your classic car.

blog.theretrofitsource.com

Another point of view here:

Halogen vs LED Headlights - What's Better?

When it comes to halogen vs LED headlights, LEDs tend to outclass halogen, especially among certain drivers. Find out how each type of headlamp stacks up.

www.autolist.com

Halogen; HID; LED

Your Guide to LED Headlights vs. HID

Which is better? Comparing LED and HID headlight technology.

www.caranddriver.com

 

[mezy]

Considering in 2019, 86% of cars sold came with LED headlights, I would disagree with that article.

Try fitting one in 50 year old car.
the discussion was about halogen/ LED replacements. In old British cars. They just not good enough yet.

 

[Rob Glasgow]

Good discussion here but I am looking to preserve the look of OEM headlights. That why I ask I’d anyone had tried these units from India. At least on the surface they appear to be marked Lucas. I know there are better modern versions of lights out there just as there are much more powerful and efficient engines to replace my old six cylinder. But that’s not what I’m shooting for. I ordered a set of these lights and will report back on my impressions. My goal is pretty meager. They need to look like something that came on the car when new, and they need to produce at least as much light as the original incandescent bulbs. Any improvement beyond that is a plus.

 

[mezy]

Good discussion here but I am looking to preserve the look of OEM headlights. That why I ask I’d anyone had tried these units from India. At least on the surface they appear to be marked Lucas. I know there are better modern versions of lights out there just as there are much more powerful and efficient engines to replace my old six cylinder. But that’s not what I’m shooting for. I ordered a set of these lights and will report back on my impressions. My goal is pretty meager. They need to look like something that came on the car when new, and they need to produce at least as much light as the original incandescent bulbs. Any improvement beyond that is a plus.

I can not vouch for the headlights but i have seen the copy smiths gauges which are produced in India and they are very close to the original.

 

[GregW]

Try fitting one in 50 year old car.
the discussion was about halogen/ LED replacements. In old British cars. They just not good enough yet.

What year is your XF? The second link you posted was for a A4 Audi.

The Holley RetroBrights Joe posted look promising because it seems the reflector is designed for an LED bulb.

 

[LarryK]

Have no idea, I only use HELLA lights.

 

[mezy]

What year is your XF? The second link you posted was for a A4 Audi.

The Holley RetroBrights Joe posted look promising because it seems the reflector is designed for an LED bulb.

Like i said in an earlier post, I just posted a link to show what was available as an alternative to standard halogen.

 

[Joe A]

My post above was not meant to talk anyone out of what it is that they wish to do.

My goal was to inform . . . that in fact, there are LED light packages available now that are ready for prime time in a classic car and most importantly, not all LED lighting elements are created equal. One has to have a paired reflector for effective and street-legal performance.

This video is what sold me on Holley RetroBrioghts:

My BJ8 is a positive ground vehicle with a newly installed positive ground Dynamator C42 style cased alternator and the vehicle is going to stay positive ground. In order for the RetroBrights to work in my environment, I purchased a pair of positive ground inverters from LiteZupp.

Where I mostly drive the car, we have deer in the heart of the village and on unlighted secondary roads and even visiting my own back yard. While I rarely take the Healey out at night, I was astounded by the effective visibility increase when I swapped out the sealed beams for the new LEDs.

This shot was taken the evening I installed them and before final adjustment. Vehicle is 25 feet back from the doors.

 

[LarryK]

I used the Hella lights because they aim precise and have a cut to the right for curb and signs. They are three times the distance of the old sealed beam. The the curb and sign cut is great for nighttime track and rallies.

 

[JoeCA]

Joe A. The Holly RetroBrights look interesting. Do you have a photo of them on your car? I'm wondering how flat the front of the headlight is.

Does anyone have experience with these: > Quicksilver Automotive - PL700 7 inch High quality repro headlight with high power LED bulbs and no pilot light Euro/USA <

 

[Guido36]

I have two problems with the Holley Retrobright headlights:

1). The lens pattern does not look like the original Lucas pattern.

2). They are emblazoned with ‘Holley’ on the lens.

The retrofit LED units I linked to in my original reply (#2) are complete units with reflectors, look similar to the original equipment headlights and are marked Lucas on the lens and hopefully will provide a noticeable improvement in lighting output and brightness along with the advantages of less heat and lower power consumption. Since I already run hyperbrite LED bulbs for my parking lights, turn signals and brake lights these Classic Performance supplied units therefore meet my specific criteria and may do the same for others wishing to retain an original appearance….

 

[John Turney]

Before July 1959, cars for the US were fitted with headlights at the dealer because US headlights had to be sealed beam, and US headlights dip right and UK headlights dip left. They were usually GE or Westinghouse. Even after that date, original headlight were always sealed beam during AH production.