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My 928 had sealed beam "candles", and driving in the dark was a challenge... I have looked at various LEDs for the 7" US head lights, and even if both pricing and light strength looked good, the design was off. I wanted something that looked original, but with modern illumination. I came over www.vintagecarsleds.com here in Texas, and the other day I got over there and got a set of LED lights with the correct look. The installation is an easy DIY job and takes about 15 minutes total. Plug and play. They fit right in and plug into the original harness. Cost is $200 with a lifetime warranty.
The old sealed beams have around 800 lumens light intensity, H4 have around 1000 lumens. These LEDs have 5000 lumens, they literally turn night into day. I chose the 6000 Kelvin color, that is bright white, but for a more authentic vintage look they also have a 3500 Kelvin color that is more yellowish, but with the same intensity.
I don't have any before or after pictures, but the difference is well worth $200! No affiliation.
Nice I may be in the market. The website URL doesn’t have the “s” in “cars.” There are many options without the ability to really know what each option does. How did you pick?
That’s a very significant increase. Are you going to be blinding everyone else on the road with 5000 lumens? Do they have a high/low beam? How hot do they run? I like the look and would like a luminance increase over factory but these sound like
spotlights. I am not criticizing. Just curious.
That’s a very significant increase. Are you going to be blinding everyone else on the road with 5000 lumens? Do they have a high/low beam? How hot do they run? I like the look and would like a luminance increase over factory but these sound like
spotlights. I am not criticizing. Just curious.
Correction, it's www.vintagecarleds.com...
They have HI and LO beam, just like the originals, and the lenses have the correct optics for not blinding oncoming cars.
Just an fyi it looks like these lights are just 7" H4 sealed beam replacements with led drop in bulbs. A pair of Hella H4 housings can be had for ~$70 on Amazon and a decent pair of H4 led bulbs for ~$30-40.
The Hellas have decent shielding inside that keeps there from being excessive glare as well.
Not saying the op's option is bad, just that you can get just as good for around $100 instead of $200.
So if I have an 80S with Euro H4s, can I just pop in LED bulbs? I had the impression that the reflectors were made for incandescent filament geometry. Has LED technology caught up to be equivalent? (Likie computers, it seems the longer you wait to upgrade, the better the performance for less $...)
Leds and filaments are different in size of course. The difference in size as well as placement all comes into effect here. So really it depends on the combination of the optics and the led. I suspect them doing the trial and error for you is what you pay for with the op's site.
The cutoff is really good on these for LED! There seems to be a distinct hotspot below the knee - that might be good or not depending where it aligns on the road (looks like it may be a bit too far right for best effect).
They appear to be on sale for $24 at the moment. I don't necessarily believe their claimed output is accurate, but they've been plenty bright. Honestly I was impressed with how reasonable the beam pattern and overall distribution of light is with these (and minimal glare) that I haven't felt a need to get anything fancier, and that's me coming from retrofitting different HID projectors into my Durango and swapping projectors out in my Charger to get better light from them. If I could fuss about anything I do wish the hotspot was a bit shorter (hugging the cutoff) so that there wasn't quite so much light in the foreground, but it honestly isn't bad.
These are the led "bulbs" I used in my Hella lights: https://www.amazon.com/HIKARI-Conver...dp/B0943P5ZL8/ They appear to be on sale for $24 at the moment. I don't necessarily believe their claimed output is accurate, but they've been plenty bright. Honestly I was impressed with how reasonable the beam pattern and overall distribution of light is with these (and minimal glare) that I haven't felt a need to get anything fancier, and that's me coming from retrofitting different HID projectors into my Durango and swapping projectors out in my Charger to get better light from them. If I could fuss about anything I do wish the hotspot was a bit shorter (hugging the cutoff) so that there wasn't quite so much light in the foreground, but it honestly isn't bad.
That's a pretty low cost entry point!
Sanity check: Their 'Check to see if it fits you vehicle' comes back as does not fit, but I assume that is for the 1980 US sealed beam option?
Is this what fit yours?
Hikari H4/9003 LED Bulbs,12,000LM, High Lumens Dual Beam LED Conversion Kit,30W Thunder LED,CANBUS Ready,HB2 Halogen Upgrade Replacement,6000K
Thanks again!
I did get a chuckle out of their CanBus feature: "These bulbs have CANBUS built-in and can work perfectly for 95% of vehicles." Not sure if I have that on my 1980, LOL
Last edited by CFM928; 02-20-2023 at 01:55 PM.
Reason: Added Sanity Check Question
Sanity check: Their 'Check to see if it fits you vehicle' comes back as does not fit, but I assume that is for the 1980 US sealed beam option?
Is this what fit yours?
Hikari H4/9003 LED Bulbs,12,000LM, High Lumens Dual Beam LED Conversion Kit,30W Thunder LED,CANBUS Ready,HB2 Halogen Upgrade Replacement,6000K
Thanks again!
I did get a chuckle out of their CanBus feature: "These bulbs have CANBUS built-in and can work perfectly for 95% of vehicles." Not sure if I have that on my 1980, LOL
H4 are the ones I ordered. They fit the hella housings. Factory bulbs for the US cars probably come back as a sealed beam hence the compatability thing saying no.
I think the biggest problem is the cap behind the bulb. I ordered the parts from Ed Scherer here.
If moisture destroy the reflectors we have especially on the 8 " ones a huge monetary loss.
Anyone try the Holley Retro Bright headlights? I have them in my DeLorean and they are by far the best option available today for OE look, light output, correct beam pattern. They're incredible.
02-17-2023, 09:19 PM
New LED Head Lights for 928
