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UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns
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apensity
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 9:10 pm    Post subject: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

So it looks like some of the LED lights are now being built with built-in patterns, so people aren't driving around blinding others. Here's an example of some I think I'll be trying: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018SYK6GW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Anyone try any others that seem to work? Also, looking at these, they say with or without "decoders". I'm guessing that is for computerized cars to not throw a fault code. So I would get non-decoders. But will I have to install any other type of converter that you know of?
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 5:24 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

Here is a better choice ...
http://www.vintagecarleds.com/

They also have replacement LED "bulbs" if you already have an H4 set-up. That is actually the route I went since I already had Hella H4 headlights on my Thing.

Either way, it's a simple swap and nothing else is needed.

LEDs only cause problems with their low wattage output with modern cars that may not sense the LEDs because of the low wattage, thereby causing an error code when there is no error or causing an error. Elsewhere, turn signals can hyperflash with LED replacements. That is when you need a resistor installed so the onboard computer senses it for most lights and to eliminate hyperflash with turn signals. Hyperflash can be a concern regardless of vintage of car.

Some (expensive) LEDs are available with built-in resistors so nothing has to be spliced into the electrical system. I am considering that with my Thing. The LED replacement has an 18-watt resistor built in, but my standard bulb for turn signals are 23-watt. 18-watt is much higher than most LEDs but less than most add-on resistors. I don't want anything spliced into my electrical system, so I'm trying to figure out if 18 watts are enough.

At any rate, this is superfluous to your headlight desires. The guys at the above link were helpful and quick, and I love my LED headlights.
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vintagecarleds
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 8:49 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

Let me know if you have any questions.

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PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 9:50 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

vintagecarleds wrote:
Let me know if you have any questions.

[email protected]

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Yeah, I emailed you guys last night because I wanted to be talked into your setup instead of this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018SYK6GW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It seems the JDM kit is brighter, and has the aiming built in as well. So trying to see what difference there is between the JDM and the VintageCarLed kit.
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vintagecarleds
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 10:04 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

apensity wrote:
vintagecarleds wrote:
Let me know if you have any questions.

[email protected]



Yeah, I emailed you guys last night because I wanted to be talked into your setup instead of this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018SYK6GW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It seems the JDM kit is brighter, and has the aiming built in as well. So trying to see what difference there is between the JDM and the VintageCarLed kit.


Well, I don't really talk anyone to buy our products, that's up to you.

That JDM kit appears to come from the exact same factory as our VC4000 bulbs. - So they are the same.

Aiming built in? What?

You aim the headlights with the two adjusting screws in your headlight bucket.

However, they sell just the bulbs, and I do not know how good their quality control/customer service is.

We offer assistance over the phone for troubleshooting (many VW's over the years have jacked up wiring)

We check each kit before shipping by hand to make sure both bulbs match in color output (so you don't end up with one with a slight blue tint, and the other with a white color etc..)

Also, we have a lifetime warranty, JDM's is 1 year.

Lastly, If you go the JDM route, you will need to get your own H4 lenses.

Oh. Check our feedback:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=630636

-Thomas
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apensity
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 10:52 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

vintagecarleds wrote:


That JDM kit appears to come from the exact same factory as our VC4000 bulbs. - So they are the same.

Aiming built in? What?

You aim the headlights with the two adjusting screws in your headlight bucket.

-Thomas


"Aiming" meaning directing the light to a pattern, rather than just using an LED light with a regular reflector and having the light dissipate everywhere and blinding people. Sorry, I know how to aim the lights, but this is what I meant.

You've got my business because of the warranty and the clean look, and ease of installation. Ordering now, thank you for the help.
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 8:19 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

Keep in mind none of the LED kits on the market are street legal, if that matters to you, and from all of the kits i have used or seen(even the vintagecarleds branded ones, sorry) nothing beats quality H4 bulbs and housings for throw and quality of illumination.


Still better than HID POS kits.
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 9:52 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

Lingwendil wrote:
Keep in mind none of the LED kits on the market are street legal, if that matters to you, and from all of the kits i have used or seen(even the vintagecarleds branded ones, sorry) nothing beats quality H4 bulbs and housings for throw and quality of illumination.


Still better than HID POS kits.


Have you tried out our VC4000 bulbs?

We have the LED's laid out in the same location inside the H4 lens as regular H4 bulb filaments.

Since the focal point is the same the beam is pretty darn spot-on.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 10:36 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

Lingwendil wrote:
Keep in mind none of the LED kits on the market are street legal, if that matters to you, and from all of the kits i have used or seen(even the vintagecarleds branded ones, sorry) nothing beats quality H4 bulbs and housings for throw and quality of illumination.

Not true.

I put Hella H4 headlights into my '71 Super Beetle. Nice improvement.

More recently, I did the same thing with my '74 Thing. Same results.

However, I developed a devotion to LEDs in general -- from flashlights to in-home replacements to the tail lights on my '09 Eos. I got the replacement LED "bulbs" for my Hella H4 headlights. The improvement was more than again as much -- not even close.
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 10:42 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

oasis wrote:
Lingwendil wrote:
Keep in mind none of the LED kits on the market are street legal, if that matters to you, and from all of the kits i have used or seen(even the vintagecarleds branded ones, sorry) nothing beats quality H4 bulbs and housings for throw and quality of illumination.

Not true.

I put Hella H4 headlights into my '71 Super Beetle. Nice improvement.

More recently, I did the same thing with my '74 Thing. Same results.

However, I developed a devotion to LEDs in general -- from flashlights to in-home replacements to the tail lights on my '09 Eos. I got the replacement LED "bulbs" for my Hella H4 headlights. The improvement was more than again as much -- not even close.


Oh you may want to do this!


Link

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 11:51 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

I've got full LEDs inside and out, combination of CREE, COBB, and the various SMD types. Would not go back. Worked with Thomas on a lot of it
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 20, 2016 3:10 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

vintagecarleds wrote:
oasis wrote:
Lingwendil wrote:
Keep in mind none of the LED kits on the market are street legal, if that matters to you, and from all of the kits i have used or seen(even the vintagecarleds branded ones, sorry) nothing beats quality H4 bulbs and housings for throw and quality of illumination.

Not true.

I put Hella H4 headlights into my '71 Super Beetle. Nice improvement.

More recently, I did the same thing with my '74 Thing. Same results.

However, I developed a devotion to LEDs in general -- from flashlights to in-home replacements to the tail lights on my '09 Eos. I got the replacement LED "bulbs" for my Hella H4 headlights. The improvement was more than again as much -- not even close.


Oh you may want to do this!


Link


I've installed those. I like the more instantaneous response. During the day, the brightness is about the same BUT the bright spot of the filament on the incandescent bulb actually tended to catch my eye a bit more than the uniformly lit LED. Specially when viewed from where a car following would observe than from the road level perspective used in the video. Still, I've decided to run with the LEDs. The faster response will be helpful in the bumper to bumper traffic.
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 20, 2016 6:08 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

I'm a huge fan of LEDs in general, and one of my other hobbies is designing and building arrays of them for use in aquarium lighting, specifically reef aquariums that have specialised and demanding requirements in quality and spectrum of light. Try reflowing individual emitters onto large two-dozen chip arrays that only measure a few inches square, it's pretty fun!

vintagecarleds wrote:
oasis wrote:
Lingwendil wrote:
Keep in mind none of the LED kits on the market are street legal, if that matters to you, and from all of the kits i have used or seen(even the vintagecarleds branded ones, sorry) nothing beats quality H4 bulbs and housings for throw and quality of illumination.

Not true.

I put Hella H4 headlights into my '71 Super Beetle. Nice improvement.

More recently, I did the same thing with my '74 Thing. Same results.

However, I developed a devotion to LEDs in general -- from flashlights to in-home replacements to the tail lights on my '09 Eos. I got the replacement LED "bulbs" for my Hella H4 headlights. The improvement was more than again as much -- not even close.


Oh you may want to do this!


Link


I had a set of the ZEVO bulbs in the snowflake taillights I had on my 61 Baja, and they worked very well at night, but seemed washed out during the day, not enough to worry about though. I don't mind them as turn signals or marker lights, but headlights have not impressed me yet. Since my current daily driver is a 73 super with the hazy original OEM elephant-foot taillights (that run separate brake and turn bulbs) I haven't tried them out yet, I want to swap in new lenses first, and might change housings to the VW of Mexico style that use 1157 bulbs so I have less bulbs to buy and worry about.

oasis wrote:
Lingwendil wrote:
Keep in mind none of the LED kits on the market are street legal, if that matters to you, and from all of the kits i have used or seen(even the vintagecarleds branded ones, sorry) nothing beats quality H4 bulbs and housings for throw and quality of illumination.

Not true.

I put Hella H4 headlights into my '71 Super Beetle. Nice improvement.

More recently, I did the same thing with my '74 Thing. Same results.

However, I developed a devotion to LEDs in general -- from flashlights to in-home replacements to the tail lights on my '09 Eos. I got the replacement LED "bulbs" for my Hella H4 headlights. The improvement was more than again as much -- not even close.


I speak from experience too, and the majority of my driving is at night or after dark. I've even been in a few cars that were downright scary to drive from poor field of vision, the term "groping in the dark" comes to mind. I have spent a good bit of money on trying out a few different styles and while they are nice they have fallen just short of the utility i get from my Hella E-codes with Philips Xtravision bulbs. This is not to say that they are horrible, just that in my experience the traditional style bulbs have given enough of an edge to warrant keeping them. Anybody that has used a set of real Cibie Z-beams (I had a set on my 61, I felt like a plane landing on the freeway they worked so well) will tell you they are hard to beat!

vintagecarleds wrote:
Lingwendil wrote:
Keep in mind none of the LED kits on the market are street legal, if that matters to you, and from all of the kits i have used or seen(even the vintagecarleds branded ones, sorry) nothing beats quality H4 bulbs and housings for throw and quality of illumination.


Still better than HID POS kits.


Have you tried out our VC4000 bulbs?

We have the LED's laid out in the same location inside the H4 lens as regular H4 bulb filaments.

Since the focal point is the same the beam is pretty darn spot-on.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


The last set i tried from you guys were the VC2800. they are well made, and pretty nice quality of light, but sold them on after a couple weeks of driving with them, a buddy now runs them on his 240Z after swapping out his HID rigs.

Tell you what- I'll give the 4000's a try if you send me a set to try out, I'll do a nice review and everything, as long as you don't mind honesty (and no, I wont be rude or snarky)

PM me if you want to try and convert me, either way I'll show 'em off to the whole club Cool
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 20, 2016 6:14 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

If you want even faster response from your brake lights, wire in a switch at the brake pedal. This way the lights come on the moment the pedal is depressed instead of having to wait for fluid pressure to actuate the original switches. The original circuit is slower than time difference between incandescent & LED bulbs & very light braking doesn't always cause the lights to burn.
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 9:57 pm    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

OK, I have to send out props to VintageCarLED. Thomas said his kits were the best, and argued with me that I wouldn't be disappointed.... so true!
I ordered the VC4000 Ultimate and installed them quite easily (too easy in fact, i was overthinking them, and I texted Thomas and he got right back to me while I was installing them and put me at ease).
Here is the kit I bought: https://vintagecarleds.com/shop/7-inch/vc4000-ultimate-kit/
BEST KIT EVER!

I had a small fire after I installed them from a shorting headlight switch, so I haven't been able to use them until tonight. All I can say is WOW!

They were already aligned due to them being a direct swap with my normal lights. They lit up the area SO much better though, and nice clear light, not yellow or blue. When I got out on a side road, I hit the brights and POW! Daylight! Nice, crystal clear light, that illuminated not only in fron of me, but both sides of the road as well as WAY out in front of me, highlighting signs and tree branches and small eyes of cats. Amazing.

So all of this talk about LED lights, these are by far the best kit I have seen and they out perform my new 2016 Ford Edge and my 2001 Dodge Ram. I was driving in traffic too, and nobody flashed me and I saw the beam was perfectly beneath their vision.

So kudos to Thomas at VintageCarLED, you talked me into it and I'm glad you did!
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 5:48 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

apensity wrote:

So kudos to Thomas at VintageCarLED, you talked me into it and I'm glad you did!


Thanks man!

If you have time, our feedback thread is here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=630636&highlight=vintagecarleds
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 2:18 pm    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

Lingwendil wrote:
Keep in mind none of the LED kits on the market are street legal, if that matters to you


Anybody know a guy who knows a guy that actually got a warning/citation from an officer in California? My son is the primary driver, and I want him to have a clear view, but don't want to set him up for run-ins with the police.
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2016 7:47 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

unclewede wrote:
Lingwendil wrote:
Keep in mind none of the LED kits on the market are street legal, if that matters to you


Anybody know a guy who knows a guy that actually got a warning/citation from an officer in California? My son is the primary driver, and I want him to have a clear view, but don't want to set him up for run-ins with the police.


FYI, I have yet to get a phone call or an email from anyone in the US regarding our headlights and getting a warning/citation with them.
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2016 8:27 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

I don't see how anyone would get pulled over with these. I've been running them about 2 weeks and nobody has flashed me. I can see where the beam hits. Unless someone is doing something reallybdumb to get pulled over and the officer wants to find everything possible to cite the person for, I think you'll be safe with these.
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2016 8:29 am    Post subject: Re: UGH! LED Headlights revisited - new built-in patterns Reply with quote

apensity wrote:
I don't see how anyone would get pulled over with these. I've been running them about 2 weeks and nobody has flashed me. I can see where the beam hits. Unless someone is doing something reallybdumb to get pulled over and the officer wants to find everything possible to cite the person for, I think you'll be safe with these.


Yep! You will never blind anyone on low beam as long as your headlights are aimed correctly.
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