LED headlight upgrades - any reccommendations?

[T5R92011]

To be honest, you don't really need LED/HID bulbs.

What you DO need are well designed optics (or ones that aren't flaking and cloudy).

We recently bought a 2012 C30 with halogen headlamps, and I remember thinking beforehand that I'll need to sort a headlamp upgrade out as they'd probably be rubbish.

However, when we switched the headlamps on, to my suprise they were very good. It only has regular halogen bulbs in as well, no "50% brighter" bulbs etc. I put this down to that C30 having an "Auto" option on the headlamp switch, meaning the DRLs are now LEDS in the foglamp housing, rather than having the main dipped beams on constantly like earlier P1 Cars, so our C30's headlamps are the best they can be.

I compare them to my 2008 S40 T5 (also with facelift headlamps) and the output isn't as good. Still better than pre facelift S40s, but not as good as the C30 mentioned above.

And when I say the C30's headlamps were very good, I'm comparing them to the Factory active Bi-xenons in my S60, as well as the full LEDs in a V40 that I test drove, and also the full LED's a Renault Captur (which were very bright).

I also had a 1998 Ford Cougar with Halogen Projectors that were WAY better than my 2005 S40s, but then they didn't have any kind of DRL system, so the headlamps weren't as worn.

[phutyle]

Originally Posted by SwissXC90

Add to the above the fact that if a new headlamp bulb emits light above a certain intensity - regardless of what type of bulb it is - then headlamp washers are required by law in many countries. This impacts primarily HID and LED headlamps. And thus if you retrofit the LEDs to the headlamps, you will need to retrofit headlamp washers.
But forget it as the headlamp is non-compliant as it now has an LED in it.

In the EU, that "certain intensity" before washers are required is 2000 lumens (ECE regulation 48 (rev 12, section 6.2.9): http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/t...5/R048r12e.pdf)

For reference, the Philips X-tremeUltinon H7s I have are 1350 lumens. So, notwithstanding other (il)legalities, washers are not required.

[andy_d]

lizzard
yups we are chalk/cheese on drl's cant see either of us changing there

i detest the nanny BS the EU + other politicians force on us , always have always will
the eu and its BS , sooner the uk is out and bins the eu-crap the better,, i expect pigs will learn to fly before that happens tho,,,,,

---
interesting that newer versions with the "DRL's" being a sep bulb And light unit to the headlight perform better, makes you wonder if the DRL bollox is affecting what could be a decent headlight,, shame i cant test it as mine is 14 years old Before i got it and OFF'd the damm things, any damage/degradation they cause has already been done,
and no :P i dont feel like paying for brand new headlight units to test the idea with drl-Off already done

[phutyle]

Originally Posted by andy_d

i detest the nanny BS the EU + other politicians force on us , always have always will

Unless you live in some kind of libertarian utopia like, eh, Somalia, you're always going to have some kind of government imposing standards and regulations. My personal take is that most of the time they're there for the greater good, but I'm happy to agree to differ on that. However, I doubt you're going to see any less of it once you're out of the EU.

[LizardOfBodom]

Originally Posted by andy_d

...
interesting that newer versions with the "DRL's" being a sep bulb And light unit to the headlight perform better, makes you wonder if the DRL bollox is affecting what could be a decent headlight,, shame i cant test it as mine is 14 years old Before i got it and OFF'd the damm things, any damage/degradation they cause has already been done,
...

ye, to be clear, I am only supporting the "independent source of light" DRL version, I always DISliked the PWM-controlled "always on" version of Volvo's DRLs. Good idea, bad execution. And yes, you are right - all those years of unnecessary heat generation and bad design makes irreversible damages to projectors. Some are more lucky (my 2 sets were perfect) some are less.

T5R90210 is right about cr*ppy design aswell, I have driven a lot of cars with old projector hedalamps and with much better light output. Again - partially due to "compromise" by Volvo, so lets put standard H7 bulb in headlamp, lower PWM and let the users pray at night. I can bet, if they designed thise projectors from scratch having performance in mind, not economy/power saving/longetivity, none of us would be complaining.
Hell, my prev gen S40 2003 with H7 reflector headlamps had 2x better light output and pattern that stock P1 model.... where is the logic? :/

[Yobbo]

Originally Posted by LizardOfBodom

In what universe? Those are as legal as H7 HID burner or my D2S projector retrofitted in Halogen lamp. I agree with everything you say but technically none of that is legal from the MOT/NCT/MrPoliceman perspective. And before its said "it passed MOT" or "I was stopped and nothing happened" , yes - Its highly possible it wasnt noticed (good application) or was simply ignored but no matter what you do, you are fitting a part that is NOT intended in the original car design, therefore NOT legal.
...I acknowledge that fact, just choose to ignore it

EDIT - forgert to comment on flaking chrome - our lamps are badly made and partially die to always-on design, partially due to materials - its common those flake more or less so maybe in your case it was like this before? I do believe HIDs generate more heat though, and defo in the parts where Halogen bulb would not (i.e. behind the reflector) so its also possible those are "baking" from the behind, like a frying pan. I hope it wont degrade any more in your case as then your light output decrease drastically :/

Excuse my ignorance then!
Last time I looked (a while back now), there was a seemingly grey area regarding retrofitted LEDs or perhaps people were stating that because the MOT legislation at the time did not explicitly state something along the lines of 'retrofitted LEDs' that they were kosher.

Nevertheless that of course all changed on the 20th May... So fair enough!

I'm keeping an eye out for a secondhand set of headlamps anyway as the adjusters on one side are completely sh*gged i.e. one of allen key adjusters has snapped at the base.

[LizardOfBodom]

Originally Posted by Yobbo

...

I'm keeping an eye out for a secondhand set of headlamps anyway as the adjusters on one side are completely sh*gged i.e. one of allen key adjusters has snapped at the base.

I have seen a interesting "patch&fix" way involving some extra 3d-printed parts and set of small screws (US forum) being sold for few quid, and also a few DYI jobs with screws and screwdriver that worked, but all in all if you want to experiment with lamps - best is to have separate set, true.

[andy_d]

if you have an unbroken one, and a 3d printer it Shouldnt be too hard to print a replacment or 4

If that is the adjuster isnt near a heat source, 3d printed bits + hot = melty fun

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by phutyle

In the EU, that "certain intensity" before washers are required is 2000 lumens (ECE regulation 48 (rev 12, section 6.2.9): http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/t...5/R048r12e.pdf)

For reference, the Philips X-tremeUltinon H7s I have are 1350 lumens. So, notwithstanding other (il)legalities, washers are not required.

That document reveals a lot - also about the requirement for instrument lighting to dim to remind us to put headlights on.... Has been discussed on the XC60 forum previously.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Clan

MOT rules changed in May , illegal to use them now … they now check for these fitted in standard reflectors ...

Just to be clear on this - it is now an MOT failure to fit a type of light source to a headlamp which is different from that which it was designed for - regardless of whether you have reflector headlamps (V70, XC90) or Projector (C30,S40,V50).

That means any LED or HID into a halogen fitting regardless of how well it works is now a reason of fail. The new MOT testers manual has guidelines on how to identify the lamp type (e.g. look for ballasts and behavior on startup) and what markings to look for on the front lens to ascertain what lamp should be fitted. This applies now and to cars of all ages, there is no threshold for vehicles used after.... etc.

In the new MOT Inspection manual section 4.1.4.c "Compliance with requirements" it lists "Light source and Lamp not compatible" as a Major defect.