LED Headlight upgrade on a budget

[falcon_bandit]

I want to....

* Ditch the yellow for white
* Have better low beam visibility
* Have them last longer than 7 months
* ....and I want them at a reasonable price

Am I asking too much? What specs/brands/features am I looking for?

[LG17]

My son fitted the STEDI brand to my dual cab.
I have nothing but praise for them so far.

[Dr Smith]

I've often wondered if you fit LED's to a vehicle never originally fitted with them does the reflectors within the headlight make any difference?

@ Lg17, Just looked up your referral to Stedi and there's a page dedicated to SZII Territory
https://www.stedi.com.au/upgrades/fo...ls-sz-mk2/2015

[Franco Cozzo]

Don't think any of these retrofit kits meet ADRs

[falcon_bandit]

Neither do half the parts fitted to everyone's car here. Engine, exhaust, noise etc

Further to that, there are no Australian design rules to approve aftermarket led lights against. All the legislation says if replacing a bulb, then it must have a filament.

Any half decent led upgrade has a beam cutoff at least, such as stedi/Narva etc.

[EBSXR6]

Originally Posted by falcon_bandit

I want to....

* Ditch the yellow for white
* Have better low beam visibility
* Have them last longer than 7 months
* ....and I want them at a reasonable price

Am I asking too much? What specs/brands/features am I looking for?

There have some member posts in AFF of getting in trouble with the Police after fitting LED headlight bulbs.
As I understand the situation the car maybe issued with a defect notice.
I last one I recall was from a Territory owner who was going to go back to standard lights.

[falcon_bandit]

In that case I won't worry bout it. I might as well strip the tint off my windows tomorrow, and stick the factory exhaust back on. Oh and the intake amongst other things.

Death on wheels

[Metdevil]

Originally Posted by falcon_bandit

I want to....

* Ditch the yellow for white
* Have better low beam visibility
* Have them last longer than 7 months
* ....and I want them at a reasonable price

Am I asking too much? What specs/brands/features am I looking for?

Man, I feel that. I bought a Narva kit about a year ago, but couldn't be bothered to install it until only a few months ago when yet another bulb blew only weeks after getting a warrant.

I believe there are kits which are designed for Falcons now which are ready to install, but the generic kit I got didn't come with any adapters required for the install. They're only a few dollars from Aliexpress though, you've just got to take a few measurements to make sure you get the right ones.

I, unfortunately, did not get those measurements right and had to bend the tabs a little bit to get them to fit.
They're in now, have been in for a while now, and so far I think they're great. They were really easy to adjust for height and angle, so they're not blinding.

Only issue with the install is getting my hands in there. Ford do not want you changing these bulbs, apparently.
The dust boots also couldn't go back on because of the size of the heatsink, and then the canbus/ballast thing has to be tucked away too.

Overall though, I would totally recommend it and I might have to look into doing the other bulbs now too.

[Citroënbender]

I’d be fairly confident that any negative interactions with police over headlight globes, started off with the person attracting attention for something else.

That aside, I don’t think the better LED globes are that cheap. Stedi are definitely not budget items.

These guys gave me the hard sell recently when buying new headlights, including a self made demo vid. Unfortunately I didn’t need globes, else I might have given them a crack. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/125937697807

[EBSXR6]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

I’d be fairly confident that any negative interactions with police over headlight globes, started off with the person attracting attention for something else.

Link to the Territory thread.

https://www.fordforums.com.au/showth...09#post6879509

[Metdevil]

Originally Posted by EBSXR6

Link to the Territory thread.

https://www.fordforums.com.au/showth...09#post6879509

I think cops in NZ are just happy to see light being emitted from roughly the front of your car at all.
Non-standard/defected vehicle stickers for car modifications are pretty rare here, and usually reserved for those driving about with cracked windscreens.

[Adamz Ghia]

I bought Narva Gen II LED headlight replacement bulbs for our cars from Repco for $90 each a few weeks ago, they’ve been brilliant. Not sure on the longevity but the reviews I read on these and 1st Gen have been positive.

[falcon_bandit]

Originally Posted by Adamz Ghia

I bought Narva Gen II LED headlight replacement bulbs for our cars from Repco for $90 each a few weeks ago, they’ve been brilliant. Not sure on the longevity but the reviews I read on these and 1st Gen have been positive.

Were those the "surefit"?

Sale ended on those yesterday at Supercheap, was tempted, but ended up ordering stedi as they also had decent fogs & parkers to match

[Metdevil]

Originally Posted by falcon_bandit

Were those the "surefit"?

Sale ended on those yesterday at Supercheap, was tempted, but ended up ordering stedi as they also had decent fogs & parkers to match

Looks like the Stedi kits come with the adapters that you need anyway, so would probably save you some headache there.

[cs123]

I fitted some JW Speaker H4 LED replacements to my BA.

Since that time I have had a number of cars from the oncoming direction flashing their lights at me.

I found the high beam too bright. Lots of reflected light from street signs, especially in road works. I found the white light too strong in rain with same problem of reflected light.

Bought some Tungsram H4 bulbs and replaced them back to standard 55/65

[Toiler]

Originally Posted by Metdevil

Looks like the Stedi kits come with the adapters that you need anyway, so would probably save you some headache there.

Be aware that the Stedi "adapters" will not orient the globes correctly in projector headlights (Territory SZII) despite being claimed to suit the car. Massive black spots in front of the car and glare above the low beam cutoff line to oncoming drivers. You will need to remove the location screws on the globe holder that fixes the rotation options to 90 degree steps and free rotate the globes to get the best / safest non glaring beam pattern then rely on the copper cooling braids to hold the globe in that position. Not optimal but works.

[LG17]

I paid $100 for mine.
They came with everything necessary to fit them.
There's no black spots and the orientation is perfect.
Maybe it depends on who fits them and takes the time to get it right.

[falcon_bandit]

*** Ford Forums wish you luck in finding a more suitable platform to suit your posting style.

[Citroënbender]

I hope you find your way through it all.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

I’d be fairly confident that any negative interactions with police over headlight globes, started off with the person attracting attention for something else.

That aside, I don’t think the better LED globes are that cheap. Stedi are definitely not budget items.

These guys gave me the hard sell recently when buying new headlights, including a self made demo vid. Unfortunately I didn’t need globes, else I might have given them a crack. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/125937697807

I looked at the Stedi globes for my ranger as I knew they were good; however, I purchased a set from 4wd supacentre and found them to be excellent for half the price of Stedi.

[DK30RB]

In my area, every clapped out hilux/ranger/patrol/(insert any other older 4wd) have these LED bulbs installed. All blind oncoming drivers. You can pick them from far. Its dangerous. The headlight reflector isn't designed for it.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by DK30RB

In my area, every clapped out hilux/ranger/patrol/(insert any other older 4wd) have these LED bulbs installed. All blind oncoming drivers. You can pick them from far. Its dangerous. The headlight reflector isn't designed for it.

and we have a WINNER!



You get this wrong (see LED or HID retrofit) and you end up with light in someone elses eyes.

The filament has to sit in a certain point within the reflector (focal point), and also its designed for a globe with a filament rather than an LED which projects light in a different way to a filament globe.

I have astigmatism, this is what normal headlights look like to me at night, before people start playing funny buggers with LED/HID retrofits:



If you play funny buggers with retofits and I'm getting glare in my eyes from your shit headlights, then I'm pretty much driving blind coming towards you, so I wish you luck

[Citroënbender]

On the whole, I’m more vexed by peoples’ driving behaviour than their dipped headlight beams.