Projector head lights, any good?

[Quicksilver]

The reflectors on my lights are shot so need replacing, looking at options for replacement/upgrade? I like crystals but too expensive!
What do you think?

[foammanmark]

I have crystals on my Nautic R, and like them a lot. However, I've been looking at photos of black projectors on different coloured R's, and I have a set on my black C70 T5. Think I'm swapping them round this weekend, as I do like the look of the black projectors particularly.

[LeeT5]

The reflectors on my lights are shot so need replacing, looking at options for replacement/upgrade? I like crystals but too expensive!
What do you think?

I know what you mean! When I had my P1 the lights were crap so I upgraded to these....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/S70-1996-2000-GLASS-Projector-Headlight-Headlamp-CORNER-BLACK-for-VOLVO-RHD/131873687077?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.M BE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3D52ce8c ebff2d486a92acfedf3af472f8%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D6 %26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D271271090958&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

As you can see they come with front indicators :)

When fitted to your car they will look like this....(here's mine)...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/LeeT5/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS003.jpg (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/LeeT5/media/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS003.jpg.html)

Side lights...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/LeeT5/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS015.jpg (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/LeeT5/media/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS015.jpg.html)
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/LeeT5/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS012.jpg (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/LeeT5/media/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS012.jpg.html)

Beam pattern is razor sharp!!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/LeeT5/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS005.jpg (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/LeeT5/media/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS005.jpg.html)
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/LeeT5/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS011.jpg (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/LeeT5/media/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS011.jpg.html)

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/LeeT5/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS006.jpg (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/LeeT5/media/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS006.jpg.html)

These were fitted with 6000k HIDs, though if I were you I'd fitted LED with ballasts as they are instant and have more lumens output = more light on the road.

If you ask me, £361 for the above set is an absolute bargain.

These LED bulbs would go in nicely (if H7?) https://www.aurorabulbs.com/products/philips-lumileds-g7-led-4000-lumens-headlight-conversion-kit

[foammanmark]

Oh, my former car too...........awesome, and still kicking myself for selling her.

[LeeT5]

Oh, my former car too...........awesome, and still kicking myself for selling her.

Then you already know the answer to your question.

[foammanmark]

Then you already know the answer to your question.

Wonder if she's still in Manchester with Abdul?

[Quicksilver]

I've always liked the look of them it was the performance over standard that concerned me?

[foammanmark]

I've always liked the look of them it was the performance over standard that concerned me?

I have LED side light bulbs and standard dipped beam bulbs in my black projectors on my C70 T5, but I have an HID kit to fit. Lee's/my former car is on HID's.I

[abdul]

Wonder if she's still in Manchester with Abdul?

Yes she's still with me

[abdul]

It was a credit to its former owners

[abdul]

I know what you mean! When I had my P1 the lights were crap so I upgraded to these....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/S70-1996-2000-GLASS-Projector-Headlight-Headlamp-CORNER-BLACK-for-VOLVO-RHD/131873687077?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.M BE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3D52ce8c ebff2d486a92acfedf3af472f8%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D6 %26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D271271090958&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

As you can see they come with front indicators :)

When fitted to your car they will look like this....(here's mine)...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/LeeT5/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS003.jpg (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/LeeT5/media/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS003.jpg.html)

Side lights...

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/LeeT5/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS015.jpg (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/LeeT5/media/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS015.jpg.html)
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/LeeT5/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS012.jpg (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/LeeT5/media/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS012.jpg.html)

Beam pattern is razor sharp!!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/LeeT5/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS005.jpg (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/LeeT5/media/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS005.jpg.html)
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/LeeT5/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS011.jpg (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/LeeT5/media/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS011.jpg.html)

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/LeeT5/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS006.jpg (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/LeeT5/media/HIDS%20and%20Projectors/ABMprojectors6000kHIDS006.jpg.html)

These were fitted with 6000k HIDs, though if I were you I'd fitted LED with ballasts as they are instant and have more lumens output = more light on the road.

If you ask me, £361 for the above set is an absolute bargain.

These LED bulbs would go in nicely (if H7?) https://www.aurorabulbs.com/products/philips-lumileds-g7-led-4000-lumens-headlight-conversion-kit

Thinking off geting the leds

[abdul]

Would it be a straight swap

[abdul]

Would they fit in the crystal headlights

[foammanmark]

Yes she's still with me

That's good to know. How many miles is she on now joi?

[abdul]

That's good to know. How many miles is she on now joi?
158k

[LeeT5]

Would it be a straight swap

Yes. You'd obviously need to remove the HID ballasts too. Plug and play!


Would they fit in the crystal headlights

Yes.

[foammanmark]

158k

Think she was ITRO of 136k when I had her. My R is about to roll over 191k and I'm looking forward to 200k as I've never done that in a car before.

[Orca2]

T5 number one is on 216 k , still drives like a new car . And goes like a shell , I cross everything I have that it won't explode lol.

[abdul]

Which other led bulbs will fit the interior

[Quicksilver]

On topic, do these projector lights have the electronic hight adjustment?

[foammanmark]

Just had a look at mine and they appear to have some sort of manual adjustment from what I can see.

[Spawned66]

On topic, do these projector lights have the electronic hight adjustment?

I have these on my C70. To answer your question though, you need to take the motors off your old headlights and fit them in the projectors. Very easy to do.

[Quicksilver]

Straw poll, given the choice projectors or crystals?

[LeeT5]

Straw poll, given the choice projectors or crystals?

Projectors all day long!!

[Gold 'N' Brown]

Anyone here used the ones available for the early Ph2s? I like the idea of upgrading to projectors but really don't like the cheap looking LED DRLs on them (whic is also a really stupid bit of design as the DRLs are partly obscured by the headlight wipers).

[LeeT5]

Anyone here used the ones available for the early Ph2s? I like the idea of upgrading to projectors but really don't like the cheap looking LED DRLs on them (whic is also a really stupid bit of design as the DRLs are partly obscured by the headlight wipers).

I don’t think they were drl’s mate, just side lights.

[foammanmark]

31820 My babies...........V70 R with crystals, and C70 T5 with black projectors........

[Gold 'N' Brown]

I don’t think they were drl’s mate, just side lights.

Same thing in my book, if they are set up to come on permanently with the ign on (as are mine).

[foammanmark]

Personally, if you can get hold of a set of crystals, then I'd go for them all day long.

[foammanmark]

Personally, if you can get hold of a set of crystals, then I'd go for them all day long.

They brighten up the car and make her a lot more youthful IMO.

[abdul]

I think there was a pair off crystal on ebayb

[Quicksilver]

I think there was a pair off crystal on ebayb
There is for £300 is that a good price? Good S/H standard lights are around £110 a pair.

[abdul]

Make him a offer he can only say no

[Quicksilver]

Make him a offer he can only say no
Worth a try

[Quicksilver]

My offer excepted, full set of crystals plus indicators winging their way to me:)

Bit of an extravgance with what else she needs but they just don't up that often.

Next to get the Comets restored.

[abdul]

Well done

[Quicksilver]

Well done

Thanks, still not cheap but cheaper! probably same as buying new standard lights?

Now got to decide, stay silver with the wheels or a light gray to match the new style centers? Cars Mystic Silver.

[rise94]

I also have headlights from ABM.These headlights, with the original bulbs illuminate less well than the original ones or the crystal model.
To solve the problem I had originally mounted a xenon kit in 8000K. When one of the 2 ballast died I replaced the xenon kit with an LED kit with technology CREE bought in asia and I have for 2 years. It is not complicated I have found nothing better for the price and I am really satiated! There is no time to heat up the ignition as on a xenon kit. So I bought 2 kits for headlights and full headlights.

http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/911.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4528)
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/1111.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4539)
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/1211.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4530)
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/1311.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4531)
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/1510.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4532)

Original BULBS
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/1711.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4533)

KIT LED CREE
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/1810.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4534)
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/116.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4541)

Left side kit led CREE vs right side original

http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/1312.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4556)
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/1212.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4557)
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/1113.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4558)
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/811.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4559)
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/912.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4560)

[Quicksilver]

Well fitting my crystals today and I'll see what their like with the standard bilbs and go from there but I like the look of LED's but what's the lights output and beam patern like with them?

[Gold 'N' Brown]

I like the look of LED's but what's the lights output and beam patern like with them?

Ref LED conversions, you really need to do a lot of research in to them. I've just been through that.....uncertainty.... myself (swapping Halogen H7s to H7 LEDs for the dipped beam in reflector headlights on my Ph2 V70). THe biggest issue to my eyes is that quality is massively variable - different LED types/brands, different LED layouts, different shapes, and different (often Chinese) manufacturers. Even if you go by good reviews there's no guarantee unless someone has used a particular LED in the same headlight unit as you.

I was initially going to just get a set from eBay setting myself a max budget of £20 on the basis that they would be a gamble and so £20 was all I was happy to lose on the chance. And of course I was fished in by the charms of going for the highest lumen ratings going :slap: But then I started doing more research. I found some excellent videos on Youtube, one in particular where an American supplier of aftermarket lighting kits did bench tests on ~10 popular brands. Pretty much none of them met their claimed lumen output. Most were brighter on low beam than a good halogen bulb, but some were actually worse (and much worse!). None were brighter on high beam than the halogen (this was an H4 bulb by the way). More important was the beam pattern and this was massively variable between the bulbs on test. This got me thinking, I didn't want or need an ultra bright bulb, but what I really was concerned about was beam pattern (particularly to avoid MOT issues and dazzling other drivers).

The outright winner was a bulb called the Gen3 by GTR Lighting in America. Not the brightest, though still very bright, but excellent beam pattern, and well constructed. More research showed the bulb getting praise after praise everywhere. Problem is, you can only buy the in the US and they are like $200! BY chance, during my eBay trawls I found a near identical version (is it a chinese copy, or did both brands in fact come off the same production line? Who knows?). £40 off eBay, and I can't see a single difference in the design/construction between the two aside from branding stickers. They are branded Sealight.

I can't give any feedback on performance yet aside from confirming they work and the light output is clean white as you would expect. I need to remove my headlights to fit them and check alignment/beam pattern. It's not strictly necessary as you can install them with the headlights in situ, but I want to make a clean job of it and need to install some resistors as well, plus there's some other bits I need to do with the lights out so it's a good excuse.

Sorry for the long reply :blahblah:

[Gold 'N' Brown]

http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/1212.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4557)
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/1113.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4558)
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/811.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4559)
http://i38.servimg.com/u/f38/13/70/90/10/912.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/view/13709010/4560)

It's not always possible to make a judgement based upon photos, particularly those taken facing the lights rather than facing down the road in the direction of the light. But in your photos the actual light output on the ground looks brighter and projected further from the halogen. The lights themselves look brighter on the LED side, but this could be purely down to the light being scattered in all directions rather than focused. On a LHD drive vehicle I'd expect the LH light (i.e the right side in your photos, the halogen) to be aimed lower and therefore not project as far down the road as the RH (the LED in your photos), but to me it looks like the halogen is projecting further.

[LeeT5]

Ref LED conversions, you really need to do a lot of research in to them. I've just been through that.....uncertainty.... myself (swapping Halogen H7s to H7 LEDs for the dipped beam in reflector headlights on my Ph2 V70). THe biggest issue to my eyes is that quality is massively variable - different LED types/brands, different LED layouts, different shapes, and different (often Chinese) manufacturers. Even if you go by good reviews there's no guarantee unless someone has used a particular LED in the same headlight unit as you.

I was initially going to just get a set from eBay setting myself a max budget of £20 on the basis that they would be a gamble and so £20 was all I was happy to lose on the chance. And of course I was fished in by the charms of going for the highest lumen ratings going :slap: But then I started doing more research. I found some excellent videos on Youtube, one in particular where an American supplier of aftermarket lighting kits did bench tests on ~10 popular brands. Pretty much none of them met their claimed lumen output. Most were brighter on low beam than a good halogen bulb, but some were actually worse (and much worse!). None were brighter on high beam than the halogen (this was an H4 bulb by the way). More important was the beam pattern and this was massively variable between the bulbs on test. This got me thinking, I didn't want or need an ultra bright bulb, but what I really was concerned about was beam pattern (particularly to avoid MOT issues and dazzling other drivers).

The outright winner was a bulb called the Gen3 by GTR Lighting in America. Not the brightest, though still very bright, but excellent beam pattern, and well constructed. More research showed the bulb getting praise after praise everywhere. Problem is, you can only buy the in the US and they are like $200! BY chance, during my eBay trawls I found a near identical version (is it a chinese copy, or did both brands in fact come off the same production line? Who knows?). £40 off eBay, and I can't see a single difference in the design/construction between the two aside from branding stickers. They are branded Sealight.

I can't give any feedback on performance yet aside from confirming they work and the light output is clean white as you would expect. I need to remove my headlights to fit them and check alignment/beam pattern. It's not strictly necessary as you can install them with the headlights in situ, but I want to make a clean job of it and need to install some resistors as well, plus there's some other bits I need to do with the lights out so it's a good excuse.

Sorry for the long reply :blahblah:

Your right in many respects but if your going to spend £20 on what is supposed to be a quality, performance light unit, then what did you expect?

The problem with most cheap chinese units is they solder cheap SMD LED's, which, being surface mounted, don't last 5 minutes if not cooled correctly. There in lies your problem.
To have proper, effective cooling and quailty LED's - your going to pay more than £20, no matter where you buy them from.

The best LED's on the market are CREE. CREE LED's are manufactured by CREE in the USA. So if you want quality, longevity, great light output with actual true lumens and the correct colour temperature, then you gotta spend a lot more than £20......probably closer to £120.

Best to just avoid anything from China (where LED's are concerned) and don't pay over the odds for multicoloured housings. Be mindful that some heatsinks require fans to cool them. Using cheap fans will result in the heatsink not being cooled and the chip overheating and subsequent failure of the LED. Also, be mindful of the burn time of the LED. Most will last between 20,000 and 50,000 hours.

I've been running CREE LED's on my R fogs as DRL's for nearly a year now with no issues. I also run CREE LED's in my 'high beam' H7. They are insanely bright and well worth the money. The colour temp between fogs and high beam is identical too at 6000k.
Light output is crisp, clean white and light up the road 'simply lovely'!

Bottom line is this....buy cheap, buy twice! If the bulbs cost less than £50 for the kit, then it's probably not worth it and I'd be wary of the spurious claims of high lumens and likely incorrect colour temperature.

[Gold 'N' Brown]

Your right in many respects but if your going to spend £20 on what is supposed to be a quality, performance light unit, then what did you expect?


With all due respect Lee, that's kind of your default answer to everything. As I've said before, if you want to spend out hand over fist for the very best parts then that's your prerogative, and how nice it must be to have that disposable income. I do agree that more often than not "buy cheap buy twice" rings true, but I certainly DON'T subscribe to the ideology that the most expensive parts are the best or superior by default. In the bench test I mentioned in my previous post, they had a broad range of bulbs from cheap to top of the range bloody expensive, and it certainly was not the case there that the more expensive bulbs were superior to the cheaper ones in all cases (tested on the same headlight unit in the same conditions using a light meter to measure true output and taking beam pattern in to consideration as well). They even had a genuine Philips bulb (many brands claim to be using Philips LEDs) and the beam pattern was one of the better ones but light output was at the lower end, though still brighter than halogen.

Personally there's not a chance in hell I would sink over £100 in to a set of LED bulbs knowing they are a lottery unless I've seen them working on the same headlights and have faith in them. The £40 I've spent is palatable to me, and I'm treating it as measured risk based on them being near as damnit identical to the GTR Lighting Gen3s I mentioned. They could still be total guff though.