Phillips Ultinon LED Headlight Lamps

[C350Carl]

How long before we get blinded by the chavs in their Corsa’s and Fiesta’s using these new lamps? Despite the fact they clearly state not road legal!

https://www.powerbulbs.com/product/philips-x-treme-ultinon-led-headlamp-h7

 

[LostKiwi]

Quite a while hopefully as long as the price stays that high!

 

[C350Carl]

Probably means they will go for the cheaper copies on eGay which promise an even sh!tter experience for us all!

 

[LostKiwi]

Probably means they will go for the cheaper copies on eGay which promise an even sh!tter experience for us all!

You may well have a point!

 

[Craiglxviii]

Datasheet gives them 1350lm maximum. That's low, I'd have expected around 1900-2000. NB Unlimited give out 1500- 1650 and they're the obvious competitors.

 

[C350Carl]

Datasheet gives them 1350lm maximum. That's low, I'd have expected around 1900-2000. NB Unlimited give out 1500- 1650 and they're the obvious competitors.

That’s H4 Craig which gives 1000lm Dip and 1350lm High.

The H7 gives 1760lm.

 

[Craiglxviii]

That's more like what I was expecting, ta.

 

[turbopete]

surely LED just replaces the filament in the bulb and, whilst its brighter and usually they last longer, I'm struggling to see why they might be an issue if they were used on the road. surely they cant be as bad as the 'hid conversions' in halogen headlights? at least these appear to be an LED direct replacement for the halogen bulb, or am I missing something?

 

[Frosty149]

I wear me sunglasses 24/7!
The only dazzle near me is that what I give the ladies

 

[Craiglxviii]

surely LED just replaces the filament in the bulb and, whilst its brighter and usually they last longer, I'm struggling to see why they might be an issue if they were used on the road. surely they cant be as bad as the 'hid conversions' in halogen headlights? at least these appear to be an LED direct replacement for the halogen bulb, or am I missing something?

The issue is that by definition an H7 must be a halogen light source. It cannot be anything but (although I'm working on trying to change this...) and so anything sold as H7 that isn't halogen cannot be e-marked and is thus contravening both the car's homologation and construction & build regs, so is therefore illegal.

Bit like arguing varying shades of breaking the law...

 

[Frosty149]

Excuse my ignorance, but, doesn't the lens control the 'spread' of the light from the bulb? I get that some bulbs can be just too much but, if the beam is focused to the appropriate part of the road (not oncoming vehicles) then why is this such an issue?

Forgive earlier flippancy btw!

 

[LostKiwi]

surely LED just replaces the filament in the bulb and, whilst its brighter and usually they last longer, I'm struggling to see why they might be an issue if they were used on the road. surely they cant be as bad as the 'hid conversions' in halogen headlights? at least these appear to be an LED direct replacement for the halogen bulb, or am I missing something?

On a halogen filament light the filament is a specific length and projects light from nearly 360 degrees around the bulb and is perfectly centred in the glass envelope.
An LED has to be mounted on a circuit board which pushes the light emitting surface off axis, an LED only projects light over at best 180 degrees (requiring 2 LEDs) but in reality is probably only projecting over 150 degrees at best. All of this puts the light source out of the focus of the reflector (which is designed for a filament light source).

 

[Frosty149]

I just love it when LK gets all science like...
Cheers LK

 

[Frosty149]

Go on then LK explain the Doppler effect in layman terms?
Only kidding

Taxi!

 

[LostKiwi]

Go on then LK explain the Doppler effect in layman terms?
Only kidding

Taxi!

Can if you want.... (covered it in school 41 years ago...!)

 

[Frosty149]

So that is you in the pic by your posts!

 

[Frosty149]

Taxi, Taxi! Oh ffs!

 

[Craiglxviii]

On a halogen filament light the filament is a specific length and projects light from nearly 360 degrees around the bulb and is perfectly centred in the glass envelope.
An LED has to be mounted on a circuit board which pushes the light emitting surface off axis, an LED only projects light over at best 180 degrees (requiring 2 LEDs) but in reality is probably only projecting over 150 degrees at best. All of this puts the light source out of the focus of the reflector (which is designed for a filament light source).

Not just that, the LED will only put 100% of its luminous flux energy into a 90 degree cone, with the remainder receiving 50% or less. So any beam pattern would see bright and dark spots, not homogenous like a halogen filament lamp.

 

[Craiglxviii]

So that is you in the pic by your posts!

Nonsense! Alastair isn't blue..!

 

[Frosty149]

I d

Nonsense! Alastair isn't blue..!

I dunno, his online history.....