Using LED projectors in a lotus S2

[William D8on]

Hello guys.

I am surprised there is not more on here about using Led Projectors for the dip beam
in the US you can get the ORE kit which is still a bit pricy.  I beleve he found a good unit that people can retrofit, and provided the extra brackets to adapt it. Link

I am trying some brighter bulbs for now, but do think there must be a reasonably proces solution to go LED with somthing reliable, and fassion our own brackets.
I can do CAD and many people will cut seel to a drawing for reasonable money.

Has this been discussed and rejected?

[DeanB]

Welcome to MLOC!

I don't think it has been discussed. I'm interested though as I have a 2003 s2 and the headlights are terrible.

[Geek]

Try the headlights on an Elise s1, they are dreadful, although don't really drive it at night.

[DeanB]

Badger upgraded his s1 headlights to LED I think. They are much brighter.

[William D8on]

The latter S2 has a full headlamp unit.
Are they any better than the eariler S2?
I beleve the clam is the same, and you can purchase the different "Buckets" for the required headlamp.

So maybe with a bit of wiring work they could be retrofitted?

[MG4Lotus]

Just be aware that retrofitting led headlights is illegal. Don't get caught with them. If they are OEM, fitted by the manufacturer, then that is legal. It will probably be a failure at MOT and invalidate your insurance.

You will probably be ok fitting brighter lights but I think it might be illegal to fit more powerful headlights. With all the stories in the news about dazzling headlights it wouldn't surprise me if there was some sort of clamp down.

[Oakman]

LED bulbs aren't recommended to be used in projector lamps.  Projectors are better suited to Xenon bulbs - all to do with the light pattern created - too much scatter with an LED in them. 

I have installed both types (against regs as mentioned above) in one of my vans that has a twin small round headlamp set up. Xenons in the dip projector lens and H7 Led bulbs in the main beam units.  The LEDS are genuine Philips Ultinon that are far better than all the 'alternative' cheaper LED bulbs - I tried them, no good at all.

Their H4 versions (having both dip and main beam chips) have tiny cowls on the dip LED chips that create a beam cut off alongside working with the standard headlamp lens patterns.  My other van has them, I can vouch for the fact they do as designed, however I turn the load level down lower than standard to not be too high on both vehicles.

I'm well aware that these could be failed at MOT, so far they haven't been.  

It's difficult I know and it doesn't make it right.   I do a lot of driving with my work at all hours, like many of us I surmise,  I found I couldn't 'see my own vehicles lights' after meeting oncoming more modern vehicles, in bad weather its even worse.  It feels like driving under the old Sodium streetlights - appalling.