I just changed my standard dip beam headlight bulbs for LED (due to the standard lights being poor).

Initial impressions are that they appear to be a big improvement (hasn't got dark yet to try on the road but will do tonight) with a much whiter light (6000k) and appear to be far brighter than standard H1 bulbs.

The bulbs I chose were these

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The whole thing will fit under the plastic cover so no need for alterations to the car.

Fitting them was initially problematic with the limited space to work in but after I realised that the small plastic mounting collar comes off the bulb it became easier.

After struggling for about an hour on the drivers side lamp I gave up and removed the wheel to gain more access and then the job literally took 30 seconds (apart from taking off and putting back on the wheels.

If you are going to change the dip beam bulbs, take off the wheel, it makes a fiddly job simple.

I'll report back on how the bulbs perform once it gets dark here.

 

Thanks for the info!

There seems to be some debate between Passive cooling bulbs with ribbons and active cooling with fans.

Before I swap in any new bulb, I'd like to find someone who re-metalizes the parabolic reflectors.

 

Well been out now that it is dark here and there is a big improvement over the standard bulbs. Far less glare from street signs and much more range on the lights themselves.

At least now I will be able to stop checking if my lights are on when there is someone coming towards me.

 

Tberry, does dip mean the brighter bulb ? I would sure like to improve the bulb for normal driving, what we call low beam.
Thanks john

 

Yes, dip means low beam in the UK

 

Woo hoo!!! I'm glad I asked, now I really want to try these. Ive been nothing but frustrated about the ineffective low beams on my 1998. Thank you for posting this.

John

 

Amazon UK link provides says no deliveries to US :-(

 

The same bulbs are on Amazon Prime for $43 with free shipping.

 

Any pics at night? I'd be really interested in putting a version of these on my fog lights. Will the 6000k match the oem hid's?

 

Hi,
Looked for these on Amazon, couldn't find them. What did you use to search ?

 

H1 Headlight Bulb LED


there is also this version which is fanless and uses ribbons to dissipate the heat:


Fan less H1 LED's


I may try these to see if they work.

 

Ungn and others, can you help me understand the comments about fans ? LEDs are usually cooler than incandescent, I must be missing something .

Are these dangerously hot ? Just want to be prepared for what I'm getting into. Thanks as always, John

 

LED's generally operate at less than 4 volts and a very small amount of amps. When the cars light controller sees a small amount of amps, it thinks the bulb is burned out and can throw a code, etc.

To step the voltage down and use more amps, resistance is used. This resistance adds the heat that needs to be dissipated.

Even with the power lost to added resistance, the bulbs are still more efficient than std bulbs. Ideally, the resistance wouldn't be needed. But even without added resistance, LED Headlight bulbs have a lot o power going through a tiny chip and get hot and need to remove that heat.

Incandescents are in a vacuum. If they weren't, everything around them would instantly catch fire. LED are not that hot, but are still pretty hot.

 

Do you have any pictures of the beam pattern? I'd be interested to see how clean the cut-off is and how much scatter there is. I'm yet to see any viable replacement for a halogen bulb, in the standard housing, that doesn't cause scatter and change the beam pattern.

 

I'll try and get some picks tonight

 

Got a few pictures. They are crap but might serve their purpose.

Been driving in the dark with them for a few days now and can only say that they are a big improvement over the old halogen bulbs. The best part is that they don't appear to be causing any issue to oncoming cars as I haven't been flashed at once.

 

They look good.... I definitely have to consider getting a set for my ride.

 

I purchased the exact bulbs from Amazon and put them in. All was good until I tried to put the cover back on. It doesn't even come close to fitting, I'd say it needs about another 1.0" of clearance, certainly at least 0.75". How did you get the covers back on?

On the upside, the wiring was plug and play and the lights work great and look superb - just need that cover to fit ...

 

Are you sure they are fully in the plastic collars ? The covers fitted over mine (just) or maybe the lights have a slightly different design for the US.

 

I removed the mount from the bulb (as you suggested - thanks for that, made things loads easier) and had everything properly clipped into place, so I don't think the bulb could have been in the socket any farther than I had it. The image of the bulb from the UK site appears identical to mine so I'm not sure where the problem is unless the back cover is a different design on the UK cars? There is some room between the bulb cover and the fender liner panel, so I guess the next step is to head to the hardware store. I'm thinking something in the shape of a small plastic bowler hat, a hole saw and some silicone might do the trick...