New headlamp bulb tests

Daniel:

I work for a company that makes Integrated Circuits. Full Custom as well as
Standard Products. We've been talking lately about coming out with an LED
driver chip for controlling LED intensity with PWM as a new Standard
Product. This chip would be aimed at the automotive industry as a primary
target. I'm not sure what the secondary and tertiary markets would be. At
any rate, I'm having a difficult time finding any companies that manufacture
a significant volume of LED lighting products. At least products that would
require controlling the intensity or other parameters (such as flashing).
Typical application would be tail / brake / turn signal lights.Would you
have any contacts? Thanks.

 

I'm surprised that Lucas has received the best rating despite its
notorious reputation of shitty electrical components in the Seventies
and possibly Eighties.

A joke: Why do the English drink warm beers? Because their refrigerator
is Lucas!

Oliver

 

Not surprising though becuase the bulb is Osram-made. Lucas probably does
better with packaging and branding than with manufacturing ;-)

 

I wouldn't bet on it. Best take the bulb out of the box before it
(the box) falls apart or something.

 

Right. And I have first hand experience of the performance of
composite US headlamps, what with running 9004 crapola myself. But
those with the generic buckets have relatively inexpensive access to
excellent composite E code headlamps, and that was what I was really
harking at. Maybe the statement lacked clarity. I certainly wouldn't
hold up my stock 9004 "lights'" "performance" as a good example,
even vis-à-vis sealed beams, although they are just about saved by
the reasonably sized reflector/lens (some also make the same
comments wrt the DoT junk on U.S. spec VW Jettas). I've seen other
Mazdas with the same 9004 crap with an even smaller reflector/lens
area and it's hard to imagine how bad that must be.

Right, and that last point of standardization and upgradability is
key. Those who have generic sockets can get e.g. Cibié or Bosch Euro
lights, but still run $15 sealed beams. I can count on just about
one hand the number of cars I've seen running the E code units. I
have an excuse for sticking with the DoT junk; they don't. :}

Right, and I was in no way attempting to counter that statement.

 

Coïncidence, isn't it? Anyway, the Hella headlamp is called the
"Vision Minus", as we already know. :}

Sneaky eh? I don't think it carried malevolent intentions though;
the corporate types just lack a little originality.

 

Yeah, but read the body text of the test: As it points out, Lucas doesn't
make their own bulbs any more than Hella does. In a month or a year, the
bulb in that Lucas box will more than likely be a completely different one
than was tested.

If Lucas made guns, wars wouldn't start.

DS

 

Hello,

Ricardo wrote:

[snip]

If you come to Boulder, Colorado, you'd bound to run out of fingers many
times over when counting the numbers of American vehicles with ECE
headlamp capsules, namely the trucks and SUVs such as Wranglers,
Cherokees, Tacomas, etc.

I've seen lot of late 1980s and early 1990s Audi 100s with Audi 200 ECE
headlamps and Audi V8s with ECE equivalent here in Boulder. Some of them
even have side turn signal repeaters fitted, too (The US-bound 100s and
A6s didn't come with side turn signal repeaters until current-generation
A6 appeared a few years ago).

Same with Mercedes-Benz (W116, W123, W124, W126)...

Oliver

 

What's your website address?

 

Top posting is a lousy excuse for you not to bother editing your post.
Stop it!

 

The rectangular four headlamp form factor, such as used in (most?)
1981-1985 Volvos sold in the US. Urban use, 99% of the time on low
beam when headlamps are turned on.

 

Ahh yes, 4x4s, trucks and SUVs for some reason are much more likely
to be fitted with good lighting, and I have seen the odd one with
Euro lights, including a Toyota Land Cruiser (iirc) with Carello
lamps. I was taking a good peek at those! *smirk* But even then,
most just stick with the DoT main lamps (sealed or otherwise) and
mount auxiliary driving lights mid bumper, Hella being the most
popular brand. My car has Hella 550s, which I got 'cos they're a
relatively inexpensive if not earthshattering high beam upgrade.
She's also equipped with a Hella rear fog lamp, essential in the
"winter".

 

lighting.mbz.org unless something's dramatically changed of late.

 

Lol - I was too polite to say the very same. :}

 

But mommy, mommy, blue bulbz look "kewl"! :}

 

I'd start with whoever's making those round LED lights for buses,
trailers, etc. - I think they're made by whoever owns Signal-Stat these
days, but I may be mistaken.

nate

 

165mm x 100mm.

Can't really call any of the available sealed beams in this format
particularly good on low beam...it's a small reflector, and corners and
edges aren't useful reflecting surfaces. If you held a knife to my head
and ordered me to pick one, I'd probably say to get the Wagner H4656BL
"BriteLite" unit, which has a wider beam pattern than the standard unit
and is a more honest effort than the GE or Sylvania "high performance"
sealed beams in this format. Can get by pretty well with sealed beam high
beams in this format if you don't rely too heavily on high beams. Or, you
can install sealed beams that were kinda sorta not meant for headlamp
service in the high beam buckets (H7935-1, spotlight unit, completely
clear lens. 50W, 175,000 candela, 6.5° wide by 3.5° high conical beam.
Works well *if* the high beam mode of your high/low headlamps is up to the
task of providing sufficient width and fill to work with the very tight
pencil beam of the H7935s...the clear lens also looks evil).

If it were my car (and it was, until I put the '77-'80 quad-round buckets
in my '85 245 Turbo so I could run these:
http://lighting.mbz.org/products/csr.html , then later sold the car), I'd
toss a set of Stanley 165mm x 100mm H4 units in the high/low buckets. One
of the best available in this size format (Cibie kinda dropped the ball on
their effort in this format, and Valeo wasn't smart enough to keep the
Marchal and axe the Cibie unit, so they did the opposite; Hella's is kinda
weak, Bosch's is rather good), and they're cheap until I'm out of 'em,
then they're sadly NLA.

Another place to pick up a considerable amount of headlamp performance in
an '80s Volvo is to beef up the headlamp wiring. See
http://lighting.mbz.org/tech/relays/relays.html . This'll improve things
regardless of what headlamps you run, even K-mart sealed beams.

Of course, the best option is to do both the wiring and the better lamps.

Remember, the socket will fit on an H4 just like it fit on your H4656
high/low beam small rectangular sealed beam, but the polarity is NOT the
same and it won't work right! Adaptation is required.

DS
To write to me, remove the headlamp from my return address

 

Well, c'mon! Walk into a Canadian Tire and go down the lighting aisle.
You'll see Bosch 7" and 200mm x 142mm H4 conversion lamps, but they're in
a rather plain box. Walk another five feet, and you'll see the CoolBlue
and SilverStar sealed beams in eye-catching, brightly-festooned,
heavily-hyped packaging. Walk another three feet, and you'll see the rice
lights with similar hype. Most people just don't *know*, and that goes
double for most parts store dweebs.

DS

 

That Audi V8 ECE lamp is *EXPENSIVE*. It's about a $450 or $500 chunk of
glass and metal.

But the V8 had them right from the start.

DS

 

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