LED H4 headlight bulbs yay or nay

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Muddy viking

Muddy viking

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Location
Kent
Hi all,
Looking to replace my h4 headlight bulbs on my discovery 2, when I came across these l.e.d bulbs.. are they good or bad?
Its just a question, so no handbags at dawn please lol :D:p

I've attached a link so you can all see.. if people are running l.e.d's, it would be great to hear the feedback.

CENMOLL H4 Led Headlight Bulbs, 90W 18000LM 500% Brightness 360 Degree Adjustable Beam Angle H4 Headlight Bulbs Hi/Lo Beam Canbus Error Free 6500K Cool White Mini All-in-one Wireless Design, Pack of 2 https://amzn.eu/d/g0sNHN8
 
Hi

hope u don’t mind me adding but I think if ur existing headlight bulbs are halogen it will fail it’s mot when adapting to LED’s

Know others will be able to confirm this and of course stand corrected if I’m wrong
 
My advice is to forget about those, these kind of bulbs need dedicated cluster to suit them cos the beam is different and good ventilation is needed as they get very hot, much hotter than halogens hence those coolers on them, that's beside MOT issues. Get Philips racing vision GT200 and you'll be pleased enough IMO... at least i was
 
Muddy viking said:
Hi all,
Looking to replace my h4 headlight bulbs on my discovery 2, when I came across these l.e.d bulbs.. are they good or bad?
Its just a question, so no handbags at dawn please lol :D:p

I've attached a link so you can all see.. if people are running l.e.d's, it would be great to hear the feedback.

CENMOLL H4 Led Headlight Bulbs, 90W 18000LM 500% Brightness 360 Degree Adjustable Beam Angle H4 Headlight Bulbs Hi/Lo Beam Canbus Error Free 6500K Cool White Mini All-in-one Wireless Design, Pack of 2 https://amzn.eu/d/g0sNHN8
Click to expand...
There is more to this than just yes or no.

Fitment can cause issues, depends on the bulbs and how much room you have. Some bulbs are bulk and hard to get the clip over, some have an extra control box, some have fans, etc. There is also often a splash guard or cover on the headlight and sometimes not a lot of space. I've not fitted them to a D2, so you will have to have a look and try and see what works or doesn't.

High kelvin temps (the K rating) is not generally a good thing. Horrid harsh white to blue light, which can cause eye strain and tends to bleach out greens and browns and makes everything look a bit grey. Sadly most LED bulbs are stupid high Kelvin ratings. Ideally 4000-5000k would be best.

More importantly is the beam profile. You will need to check this, so it is trail and error. You want a good clean cut off and no glare. So you'll have to fit and test. And ultimately not be a ****er if they do glare, as it'll be horrid for oncoming traffic. If they are no good, send them back as unfit for purpose.

You can get warm white LEDs, but not many places sell them. These will look more like halogens in colour. https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/co...-excellent-beam-pattern?variant=8239029715039

As for the legalities, technically any LED bulb should be a no as a rule. However, if they have a good cutoff and don't glare I don't see it as being a real issue. At the end of the day running 80/100 watt halogens is also illegal. But plenty of people used to do this before LEDs.

The other option would be to look for some HIDs. Still a bit trial and error as many HID bulbs are rubbish with horrid colour and kelvin ratings (even if sold as being correct). For HID look for 4300-5500k.
 
discool said:
Now with a bit time to look at the whole specification it does say 90W/Pair so I take that as 45W per side, if so its 3.75 amp per headlamp. Unless on main beam the whole element illuminates ie, main & dip together.
Click to expand...
that makes much more sense, but for LED thats still a lot of power!! I know lumens/candels etc arent linear, but LED is usually 20-25% of the power of an equivalent filament bulb
 
Muddy viking said:
CENMOLL H4 Led Headlight Bulbs, 90W 18000LM 500% Brightness 360 Degree Adjustable Beam Angle H4 Headlight Bulbs Hi/Lo Beam Canbus Error Free 6500K Cool White Mini All-in-one Wireless Design, Pack of 2
Click to expand...

Complete rubbish. That's the seller just massively exaggerating the numbers.
There's no way a 45W LED will fit in an H4 bulb body, and if it would, it simply wouldn't be able to dissipate the heat generated.

It'll also be the incorrect beam, which will not impress oncoming drivers, and will fail the MOT.
 
Nodge68 said:
Complete rubbish. That's the seller just massively exaggerating the numbers.
There's no way a 90W LED will fit in an H4 bulb body, and if it would, it simply wouldn't be able to dissipate the heat generated.

It'll also be the incorrect beam, which will not impress oncoming drivers, and will fail the MOT.
Click to expand...
90W for the pair, apparently. but still a lot
 
I can't see those producing a tightly controlled beam pattern, as the emitter is too large for the reflector. The reflectors in headlamps are designed to focus and project light from a tiny point the size of a filament. If the LED emitter is larger than the original filament, then the light will be produced will be outside the focal ability of the reflector, so won't be controlled correctly.

The most accurate LED replacements use tiny emitters, but these will also technically fail the MOT.
 
Welp, there is always this option:
early-candle-lights_1900_02.jpg
 
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