LED Headlights., Does anyone here have any experience with these? Options

[mmichalik]

I just saw these on a Facebook post and they look kind of nice.
I've already purchased some LED marker and break lights from Spoke, and I'll finish off ordering the blinkers and reverse lights shortly but, I don't recall seeing any headlights on his page.
They appear to be pretty much plug-n-play so, I thought I would ask.

http://www.carmagic.us/led7.html

[mtc911]

I just saw these on a Facebook post and they look kind of nice.
I've already purchased some LED marker and break lights from Spoke, and I'll finish off ordering the blinkers and reverse lights shortly but, I don't recall seeing any headlights on his page.
They appear to be pretty much plug-n-play so, I thought I would ask.

http://www.carmagic.us/led7.html

i bought these and love them - https://vintagecarleds.com plus they are an okteenerfest sponsor (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[mmichalik]

i bought these and love them - https://vintagecarleds.com plus they are an okteenerfest sponsor (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Do you have to wire them up or do they just drop in?

[poorsche914]

Please give Vintage Car LEDs a look... these guys actually support the 914 community.

Shown here installing a set of LEDs on a 914 at Okteenerfest.


(IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

EDIT: looks like mtc911 had the same idea while I was searching for a photo :-)

[Cairo94507]

I like the Vintage Car LED lights as they look essentially like a Hella headlight. I went with the GE Nighthawk LED headlights, (they will never be confused with a stock look headlight but then again they are always down unless it is nighttime) and got a great deal on Amazon with a $100 off coupon per headlight if I recall. I have not been able to drive my car yet but the Justice League did install them and they worked with no issues. I can't wait to see what they look like at night. Regardless of which LED headlight you go with, I think going LED is a no-brainer as the increase in lighting is amazing. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[horizontally-opposed]

Please give Vintage Car LEDs a look... these guys actually support the 914 community.

Shown here installing a set of LEDs on a 914 at Okteenerfest.


(IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

EDIT: looks like mtc911 had the same idea while I was searching for a photo :-)

^ Thanks for the heads up. THIS is the way to go…finally an upgrade that looks right. We are lucky, since our headlights "hide", but it's nice to have this option.

[FlacaProductions]

I have these:
https://900designs-container.zoeysite.com/l...ight-bulb-set-1

with these:
https://900designs-container.zoeysite.com/g...headlight-globe

Love 'em.

[bbrock]

LED headlights have been my latest obsession. It started with trying to find more info on the Carmagic headlights. I've had no luck finding any useful info on the Carmagic lamps but at the price they are charging, I suspect they may be Chinese knockoffs. I did find a whole bunch of useful info on the Youtube channel by 'Headlight Revolution' No surprise, there is a lot of BS out there and not all LED lamps or bulbs are created equal. Take home message is that when retrofitting LED bulbs in housings, it is important that the LED diodes are precisely placed to match the location of the original incandescent bulb or the beam pattern gets screwed up. A lot of bulbs fail that requirement.

After WAY too much time watching and reading reviews and test results, I've decided to buy a pair of Hella Vision Plus H4 housings (DOT certified) and install GTR CSP Mini H4 LED bulbs in them. Those are about 2.5x brighter than halogen while maintaining the correct beam pattern and consuming only 16w so don't use a cooling fan. The complete package will also be about 2/3 the price of the mystery Carmagic lights. If I wanted the brightest bulb, I'd get GTR Ultra 2 bulbs, but they are 41.5w, and I don't want to have to run more wire for a relay.

Obviously, I don't have any actual experience with these, it's just what I've settled on after a lot of research. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[mepstein]

Like Michael, I went with the GE Nighthawk LED headlights. I think they are great. Installation took 10 minutes. They are plug and play and replace the original units. They don’t look stock. I don’t care. They aren’t cheap. Performance is excellent, especially on my very dark rural roads.

[mmichalik]

Thanks everyone! It gives me a lot to think about. I like the 914 Rubber and Vintage Classic because of their community support.
Leaning towards the 914Rubber at the moment. They've received a lot of orders from me so far and I'm not sure I want to break precedent now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Chris914n6]

The LED retrofit bulbs glare really bad (like high beams on but in low beam) and suck for the 914 driver in front of you. "Pointing them down" doesn't fix it.

There are good cheaper knockoffs of the LED lamp on Amazon.

I already had E-code housings so I went with HID H4 retrofits and they perform great.

[Olympic 914]

Another possibility are the Trucklites LEDs 27270C 7"

Advertised for Jeeps but bolt right into our cars (at least on mine it did )

on low beams only the top half lights up when you click to high beam the bottoms come on also.

I found them very bright.

Sorry I don't have any pictures of them installed right now..

[mepstein]

Another possibility are the Trucklites LEDs 27270C 7"

Advertised for Jeeps but bolt right into our cars (at least on mine it did )

on low beams only the top half lights up when you click to high beam the bottoms come on also.

I found them very bright.

Sorry I don't have any pictures of them installed right now..

I think the GE Nighthawk LED headlights are the same as the Trucklites.

[abes914]

Thanks everyone! It gives me a lot to think about. I like the 914 Rubber and Vintage Classic because of their community support.
Leaning towards the 914Rubber at the moment. They've received a lot of orders from me so far and I'm not sure I want to break precedent now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I have the 914rubber led bulbs and happy with it. I use to daily drive my car and had no issue with it.

914Rubber will have a black friday sale. Might as well wait and see if the LED bulbs will be part of that big sale?

[914sgofast2]

I too have a set of the LEDs bulbs from 914Rubber. I mounted them in a pair of replica Cibie Z-beam housings. Fit great and I like the low and high beam patterns. Much better than the stock sealed beams.

[preach]

My plan is to head to the local PnP and grab some lights off of an LED Jeep. They are from the factory so should have heated lenses and are DOT compliant.

I recently bought new globes for my Tacoma to replace the terrible yellow ones. I put LED bulbs in them and like the white light for sure. Misgivings though: 1. High beams kind of suck, more light but not as far as a regular bulb 2. Funky light pattern, I do not mind it but it is kind of blocky.

[bbrock]

At a minimum, I think it's important to make sure the housings are DOT or e-code certified. Those standards are intended to put the light where it should be and not in people's faces. E-code technically isn't legal in most states but whatever.

Not all LED retrofit bulbs are created equal. Bad ones will cause the glare that was mentioned. Good ones don't. Good ones create the same light pattern as the original halogen, just brighter.

[Chris914n6]

DOT stipulates that a certain percentage shine upwards to light up street signs and overhead directionals. DO NOT put bright bulbs in a DOT housing -- E-code H4 ONLY.

[falcor75]

If your car has to pass any kind of inspection where they test the light dispersion upwards the 914 Rubber led bulbs will likely be a failure point. I had to go and buy regular bulbs and come back with them for it to be ok. No amount of adjusting would fix it.

[bbrock]

DOT stipulates that a certain percentage shine upwards to light up street signs and overhead directionals. DO NOT put bright bulbs in a DOT housing -- E-code H4 ONLY.

This makes sense. I hadn't researched differences between DOT and E-code yet. Now that I have, it looks like E-code is also a better choice for rural drivers like me because it kicks more light off to the right to light the ditches where big, dark, furry things often jump out from. Looks like the main downside is that if you live in an area that requires inspections, and the inspector wants to find that DOT stamp on your headlight lens, you are out of luck. And then there is the legal liability...

I'm now thinking something like Truck-Lite/GE Nighthawk that are DOT certified as a unit might be the best bet. Too many variables mixing components.