LED Headlight coming soon, maybe..

[turbodieseli4i6]

I found this while I was on the ADVrider site.
LED Headlight "Bulb" replacement Modules

LED Headlight "Bulb" replacement Modules - Page 6 - ADVrider

Mods, if this is against the rules, forgive me and remove the thread.
I have been hoping for a LED headlamp that works. Maybe this will fill the bill!

 

[netizen]

If they come out with one and you get one please post a review... I'd be really interested to hear what you think of it.

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

Will do. I'll put a couple on my Suzuki Eiger also.

 

[jesse096]

Same here, if they are brighter than my HID and cost about the same, I'd consider switching...

-Jesse

 

[Fuzzy]

There are some H4 LED bulbs out there. Here is a review on a Miata forum. Cree LED H4 headlight bulbs (2000lm) - MX-5 Miata Forum

 

[SergeantChuck]

I'll be watching this thread although I don't have an issue with the current setup but more light is always good.

 

[StratTuner]

I would also like to replace all the bulbs on the NC with LED. As I understand, they're longer lasting, brighter, and their on/off speed is faster.

Is this the right place to ask why Honda (and any other manufacturer) still uses incandescent?
Is it all about cost?

 

[Big Thump]

I subscribed to this thread! I would like to try the LED light when it comes out, so please keep us posted.

 

[anglachel]

I would also like to replace all the bulbs on the NC with LED. As I understand, they're longer lasting, brighter, and their on/off speed is faster.

Is this the right place to ask why Honda (and any other manufacturer) still uses incandescent?
Is it all about cost?

LEDs are great, but not without their challenges.

High power LEDs have heating issues, there are workarounds, like pulse modulation (turning it on an off 100s of times per second) but that causes it's own issues (flickering effect, particular when there is more than one led involved) and heatsinks, but those add significant weight and cost.. (some high cost LEDs lights have temperature e sensors in them that change the modulation of the led to maintain optimal temperature at the expense of brightness to increase longevity of the LED)

LEDs also put out 90% of their light within a 2 degree spread... something that our headlights aren't designed for... but a reflector can be put into the bulb to deal with this, and some companies even point the LED backwards in their light to hit a reflector and give a more even spread of light...

LEDs don't give off as much heat in the form of IR, which can be problematic too (city of st. paul switched to led stop lights, then had to higher crews to pull the snow out of the stop lights in winter because it wasn't melting any more.)

LEDs also struggled for a while to get white light (instead of slightly blueish light).

and then they cost significantly more (pay back over the life of the bulb is not a guarantee at this point, and honda doesn't need to worry about the life of the bulb, since you'll be the one replacing it)



Overall right now LEDs are best suited for replacement of fairly direction low wattage applications, many cars are using them for tail lights, and some times turn signals (two applications where honda could have used them on our bikes fairly easily).


the lower power usage is a mute point on motor vehicles because it won't impact MPG significantly (wind resistance is a much larger factor).

LEDs are great but the high power ones are just getting to the point where they are ready for prime time. In a few more years I think we'll see more LEDs in automotive uses, mostly for the longevity of the lights instead of them being brighter (too many laws to contend with there) or lower power usage (not enough benefit there) or maybe for styling purposes (led's don't need as large of a space for heat transfer, because of the heat sinks... especially if they can put the heatsink in some airflow)

 

[maxwellian]

I think a big driver of led turn signals on cars may be the cost savings from not having to add user accessible hatches for bulb changes.

 

[Cagedodger]

Thanks for this thread. I didn't realize that they had gotten this far with LED headlights yet (haven't kept up in a while). This is exciting!

I think a big driver of led turn signals on cars may be the cost savings from not having to add user accessible hatches for bulb changes.

I'd be concerned if they removed access hatches. Things still break or fail. That nifty LED light might be rated for 25000 hours, but it could fail after 30 hours too. It's not likely but electronics fail every now and again. How much could they save by eliminating an access panel?

 

[SergeantChuck]

Thanks for this thread. I didn't realize that they had gotten this far with LED headlights yet (haven't kept up in a while). This is exciting!


I'd be concerned if they removed access hatches. Things still break or fail. That nifty LED light might be rated for 25000 hours, but it could fail after 30 hours too. It's not likely but electronics fail every now and again. How much could they save by eliminating an access panel?

We used LED lighting in the cabs of Caterpillar motorgraders. The do go bad. Early hour failures we call it. Not often though. I can only think a two in a years time and we build quite a few machines.

 

[bamamate]

We used LED lighting in the cabs of Caterpillar motorgraders. The do go bad. Early hour failures we call it. Not often though. I can only think a two in a years time and we build quite a few machines.

Back when I worked failure analysis for a computer manufacturer we called them ELfs (early life failures). Most components followed the same trend. Small spike early on in the first month or 2 then very little until ~2 years where it quickly ramped up and then leveled out at year 3-4 and then started ramping down.

 

[Spaceteach]

Harley Davidson has listed LED headlights in their accessory catalog for the last couple of years. I considered getting one back when I had the Road King, but the price was a bit of a turn off. IIRC they were selling them for around $350.

Bob

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

I have a weapon light that died after maybe 3 hrs. of use, and lot of LED accessories that have had failures. The diode itself may last 50k hours but the other electronics may only last 20. That's where quality is separated from cheap. I hope this one does what I'm looking for.

 

[anglachel]

I'd be concerned if they removed access hatches. Things still break or fail. That nifty LED light might be rated for 25000 hours, but it could fail after 30 hours too. It's not likely but electronics fail every now and again. How much could they save by eliminating an access panel?

I would guess they'd leave the same amount of access to it as they would an ECU or any other electronic portion of the car... just enough that you can pay someone to replace it for a hour or two labor.

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

If they come out with one and you get one please post a review... I'd be really interested to hear what you think of it.

Well, I have had the LED headlight lamp in my bike for a few weeks now and I am very pleased with it so far.
The light is very white compared to the stock lamp and on rainy/damp roads seems dim compared to the bright setting.
I haven't had anyone flash their lights at me so far and even road behind my friends knowing they would tell me if they blinded them on the road.
The lamps on high is better than stock although I have been using my M60's in addition. I will take some pics as soon as I can, but no comparison of the stock lamp.

My PC crashed and I don't have any of my older pics anymore. Seek Advrider for other reviews. My install isn't pretty on this mod but works very well.
There is another NC700X install on ADV however.
I will be getting three more of these for my other bikes/ATVs though.
For me, this was a great $60.00 investment.

 

[L.B.S.]

The light is very white compared to the stock lamp and on rainy/damp roads seems dim compared to the bright setting.

Thanks for the update and notes so far, on the gizmo! I have been watching these with much interest. It's great to have a brother in arms doing some real world NCX evaluations for us.

Do you mean the LED on low seems dim compared to the LED on high, or the LED on low seems dim compared to the low of the regular H4 halogen?

I am so impressed with my DDM Tuning HID in my CBR (and on my BMW), that I would really love this LED to be at least vaguely better than the stock halogen, or at worst, equal. Especially since the DDM cost something like $29.00 and has lasted nearly 7 years on my Honda without a hiccup, and anything that survived my F800's brutal vibrations and lived, is amazing in my book, lol


I have held off on the HID install with the NCX so far because of the somewhat oddball H4 electromechanical high/low contraption, versus the simple H7's of the other two bikes. I bought the H4 kit long ago as it was dirt cheap, but am hesitating to put it in.


* yes, I know about light scatter from HID in a halogen housing, people.

 

[Bodysnatcher]

Well, I have had the LED headlight lamp in my bike for a few weeks now and I am very pleased with it so far.
...
There is another NC700X install on ADV however.
I will be getting three more of these for my other bikes/ATVs though.
For me, this was a great $60.00 investment.

Did you have to mod the retaining clip like the guy on ADV? Comment there implies they've redesigned the fan housing to be more compatible. Is that what you got?

Still slogging through ADV to see if there's any likely issues running my modulator with these - I'm thinking excessive cycles killing the fan or other components perhaps? All I've seen so far is one guy saying that "they work". Might have to contact vendor to see what they think about it. Of course they offer 18 month warranty which is good, but won't want to have to replace the bulb on a constant basis!

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

Thanks for the update and notes so far, on the gizmo! I have been watching these with much interest. It's great to have a brother in arms doing some real world NCX evaluations for us.

Do you mean the LED on low seems dim compared to the LED on high, or the LED on low seems dim compared to the low of the regular H4 halogen?

I am so impressed with my DDM Tuning HID in my CBR (and on my BMW), that I would really love this LED to be at least vaguely better than the stock halogen, or at worst, equal. Especially since the DDM cost something like $29.00 and has lasted nearly 7 years on my Honda without a hiccup, and anything that survived my F800's brutal vibrations and lived, is amazing in my book, lol


I have held off on the HID install with the NCX so far because of the somewhat oddball H4 electromechanical high/low contraption, versus the simple H7's of the other two bikes. I bought the H4 kit long ago as it was dirt cheap, but am hesitating to put it in.


* yes, I know about light scatter from HID in a halogen housing, people.

Yes, compared to the high on the LED. I think it is a good improvement over the standard lamp, but I still use my M-60's with the high beam. With the LED and the M-60's there is so much light that when I dim them, my eyes don't adjust fast enough. I will try just running the LED's for a while.
I haven't had the opportunity to do much night riding lately.

Did you have to mod the retaining clip like the guy on ADV? Comment there implies they've redesigned the fan housing to be more compatible. Is that what you got?

Still slogging through ADV to see if there's any likely issues running my modulator with these - I'm thinking excessive cycles killing the fan or other components perhaps? All I've seen so far is one guy saying that "they work". Might have to contact vendor to see what they think about it. Of course they offer 18 month warranty which is good, but won't want to have to replace the bulb on a constant basis!

I removed the retaining clip and used a spring in its place. I wanted the ability to put the OEM back in without removing the plastics again. Its not a clean install, but it will do until I can come up with something different.