Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Upgrading headlight bulbs

At my last MoT the tester informed me that the loophole that had allowed HID lights on cars where they were not OEM had now been firmly shut , and my headlights were no longer legal.

As a result I have had to revert to "standard" halogen bulbs inside the current Cibié reflectors.

Driving home last night after a service I realised just how poor the lights are now, especially when compared to the all-illuminating HIDs that we have become accustomed to.

So how to get more output without transgressing the rules. It appears that there are 2 routes open:-

1 Fit more "powerful" bulbs of the "Nightbreaker" type , these seem to be readily available at around £25 to £40 for a pair

2 Fit LED bulbs from a reputable supplier like Better Car Lighting , not cheap at £130, but having been a passenger in my son's Seat Leon and my daughter's VW T-Cross , both of which have OEM LED headlights I am very impressed with the light output and the beam control, and I would be prepared to do this IF the benefits are as good.

Has anybody fitted these new generation LED bulbs to their car ? Was the upgrade worthwhile?

Any advice welcomed

I've used these before, and they are good, but don't last very long compared to 'normal' bulbs.

Never had an issue with the Nightbreakers, even in the rally cars!

Arwyn

Osram have given their standard H4 bulbs a 250/400 hour B3 rating (B3 the length of time that 97% of bulbs last - the two numbers are for each filament). For the Nightbreakers, they give it a 80/200h B3 rating, so half the lifespan, possibly less.

They do come out top in most of the reviews for bulbs though, so you have to weight up the benefit against the lesser lifespan.

+1 for Osram Nightbreakers.

I was going to convert to LED but the Niightbreakers are more than adequate IF the lights are adjusted correctly.

Part of my night vision problem was that the beam was set too low. Adjusted slightly up and a world of difference.

I carry my old H4s in the car as spares just in case the Osrams pack up early on me.

Aftermarket LEDs will fall foul of the same regs that ousted HIDs I'm afraid. The widely available "+200%" Nightbreaker type halogens are the best and most illuminating legal option, but the most effective is to add an additional pair of drving lights, tied in to main beam via a relay. Modern vhicles have broadly ditched the driving/fog/spot aftermarket option in favour of multi-unit, aerodynamic built-in clusters, but for the classic look and feel, the old solutions are still the best in my view. These will be 100% legal and can also be LED, as they are set for main-beam only. Plenty of options around, but avoid cheap things off eBay that have little beam control and are just bright floodlights in most cases which don't penetrate far enough down the road.

That is what I thought but Gil at Better Car Lighting (who does of course have a vested interest!) sent me this
Quote
The new regs did however, remove the clouds of doubt over upgrades to LED with the same stupulations as halogen, in that they must pass the beamsetter test for dipped beam. I had been holding back on a large scale project for a long time, but after taking legal advice, went ahead with the final devolopment and launch of my LED headlight upgrade ranges. I launched them in December of 2018 and all of my trade customers and most of my retail customers now choose those.
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Although I do like the idea of additional spot lamps to give longer penetration, I also like the "clean" look of only the headlights at the front. BUT I am really trying to improve the dipped beam performance as living in the SE that is what I use probably 90% the time. I would I agree that you have to buy a quality product and not a cheap Chinese copy.

That's really interesting and it opens the way for some properly sorted replacements, as long as they are done corectly. Phillips' range of professionally designed H4, H7 etc LED bulbs are excellent, but they do cost £130-140 as a result. Thanks for sharing.

The crux is how long will they last at that price. If, like me, you're driving on full lights for at least two hours a day in the darker months, at 80hrs, the Osram are lasting a month and half at best. If the LED's are going to last for 400hrs+ then they start to make economic sense.

Andy, Yes & yes, Also fitted to the classic Mini with great results, both cars passed the dip beam test on an MOT rig, with a little adjustment UP surprisingly