I too would like to see a picture the low beam only light pattern on a wall at night with the car parked on a level surface about 6' away. Very interesting to know if they have anything near the sharp and flat cutoff you find with legal LED and HID headlamp assemblies. The 6000K color temp alone tells me they're obnoxious to other drivers-too blue.

 

They look Great

 

Having a grumpy day there?

 

The difference between Eurocode lowbeams and the typical US lowbeam pattern is quite obvious when shining upon a wall from fairly close.

(And yes, I'm having a grumpy day, LOL)

 

Not a grumpy day. I drive a fair amount at night and detest being nearly blinded by illegal headlight conversions that seem to burn into your retinas.

 

To the OP(s), thanks very much for sharing your experience and taking the time to include helpful photos. Don't fret the FMVSS debate which raised thoughtful/researched points as we're all learning which includes friendly challenges, the same as if standing around your beauty in your garage, hopefully with a beer in hand toasting your satisfying feat and foray that I, at least am envious of. And, it appears easily reversible if you're into NCRS as applicable. I will probably step back to assess any glare risks (I lived FMVSS for 4+ years as Ford's accessories program manager), but wow, do their clear lenses make your C3's nose visually pop nicely! Meanwhile, if you happen to get any negative "feedback" from other night drivers could you kindly share your approach - will downward adjustments work... or, perhaps accentuate it because the center glare reflector now tips too low allowing the bulb to spray out over the top of the center reflector onto incoming eyes?
Again, can't overstate thanks for ushering us into a great topic. Several here have had awesome results with upgrading to LEDs for our interior lights and notice their performance on our latest vehicles so its of interest. But, since I'm half-blinded by someone or other half the time whenever I drive at night (especially with these short winter days) I have the same appreciation/respect for other drivers as you obviously do having first tried to research its SAE cert.

 

Thanks for your comments. Also, nothing wrong with healthy debate (I don't like being blinded by headlights, either!) I don't know everyone's local laws, but these lights are 100% legal here in Ohio. The rules are up to just a tad over 6000K, they must be in the stock position on the car, and aimed properly. Aiming 6 feet away from a wall means nothing here, as the dispersion is different.....no direct cutoff point. Yet, they do not blind oncoming traffic if aimed correctly. Downward adjustments do work, and it's possible to aim them too low to see in front of you. And they do do provide a lot more light than stock. The light is white, not yellowy like stock color temperature. Some people may prefer the soft white of the stock bulbs. All of the newer cars I notice have LED brighter white. Personal preference prevails here. Everyone who has the new LED conversion seems to love them, and the only ones who hate them are those who don't have them.

 

I converted one of my cars to HID lamps installed in fixtures that are designed for them. The improvement was incredible as they never worked well with halogen lamps.

I did a little research about laws in Ohio regarding automotive lighting and can't confirm what you said. Ohio laws only address the color of lamps used in the front and rear. Otherwise they defer to the federal DOT standards which means that if they are DOT approved they are legal. The DOT requirements are extremely technical. Both lamps and fixtures must be DOT approved; moreover even when DOT approved lamps are used they are only certified for use in specific DOT certified fixtures. As someone else said it seems that whoever made your LED headlamps just used a glass lens from a "normal" lamp and added LEDs. 99.99% that the assemblies are not DOT certified.

It's seeing poor conversions on the road a night that bothers me--not a technical approval. Granted I've only observed one car with factor LED headlamps shining against a wall at close distance but they, just like every factory HID assembly I've seen have an extremely sharp and flat upper cutoff that I believe is just one requirement when using high output light sources like HIDs and LEDs.

After cleaning connections and grounding points I was and still am surprised at how good the headlights (original lamps I'm fairly certain) in my '79 actually are. The improvement that came with this cleaning was drastic!

 

It's been a while since checking Ohio vehicle headlight laws, and forgot where I got all the info from, but you can read this at your leisure..http://codes.ohio.gov/oac/4501-15. You will only get a ticket here if your lights are the wrong color, too bright (any light, not just LED's), or in a non-stock location (think high mounted off-road types).
Also, lights such as these...https://www.octanelighting.com/5-34-...gen-led-2.html.... which claim to be SAE/DOT certified as stated on their website (and what the law defers to), would be open for big time law suits if the entire assembly (both bulb and fixture) were not actually approved. I'm sure a lawyer would have spotted that by now.(?)

Like you, I considered HID lamps, but defered to LED because of the lower operating wattage. Both make the stock halogens look like 2-cell flashlights.

 

Those who've installed the octane lighting LEDs did u leave the rubber bulb surround seal in place when installed or remove it completely?

 

Left the seal in place. Seals out moisture (and dust) from the bulb, and acts as a gasket seal against the bucket enclosure.

 

Great write up! Thanks for taking the time.
Looks like another mod coming for my 69!

Scott

 

bumping this thread back, it looks like the projector housing version would be far better in terms of light pattern than the reflector housing, they also seem to cost the same?
https://www.octanelighting.com/5-34-...-g5-led-1.html
anyone installed the projector version yet?

 

Read post #28 again. This was my experience, too. Clean grounds, clean contacts, and new halogen sealed beams, and you may be surprised by the improvement. The other thing you can do now, which will benefit you with whatever you do, is to add relays to make sure your headlights are getting full battery/alternator voltage.

Otherwise, I agree that H4 projectors will be much better, both for you, and for people you encounter on the highway. I haven't tried them yet, though.

 

If anyone is interested in LED lamp testing, I've watched a number of videos from Headlight Revolution over at YouTube. They do a thorough job of both testing and explaining their methodology. https://www.youtube.com/user/HeadlightRevolution
Also, I would agree with some of the posts above. Anything made in China should be considered suspect when it comes to any kind of safety markings; whether DOT or CE or UL ratings. Part of my job requires me to request these certs from Chinese mfg's we do business with and many cannot provide them, contrary to their advertising.

 

reporting back, those are FAKE projectors. they seem to have the projector lens in pictures but turns out it's just a little bit of domed glass with no housing around it

 

Thanks for the update! I won't waste my money on those.