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Headlamp "upgrade" to Angel Eye units

Although the LED's are almost as bright as the HID's and the beam spread is better, the cut off at the top of the beam is still not very sharp, maybe it's my reflectors that are dirty after many immersions in not very clean water. :oops:
 
You could be right there Chas because the cuttoff was one of the things I first noticed about the LED's.
 
I presumed (maybe incorrectly) that this was due to the "older" technology of the OEM units.

The new Angel Eye units have certainly cured that for me, but it doesn't necessarily mean that a good beam pattern can't be achieved with the OEM units.

I had "bullet hole" damage to one of the glasses, which meant that total replacement was a viable option. I don't think I would have felt the same way, if I hadn't got a damaged glass mentioned in all the RCA (MOT) test advisories.
 
grantw said:
I just found these on ebay ... looks like I can get them delivered to relatives in australia and pick them up in May when I return for a visit :)

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/391036095848?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&fromMakeTrack=true

I think they are identical to your's Clive?
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Looks like they are Grant, can't see any differences anyway.

Be sure to be clear you want RHD units mind, but if ordering for delivery in OZ they should get it right...

Youll get a great beam spread, but I'd recommend LED 'bulbs' over HIDs, just to avoid the pesky warm-up time for HIDs.

I've wrestled with loads of relays and condensers to get mine working how I want, none of that would have been necessary with LEDs and loads on here say how good the LEDs are.
 
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Hi, sorry to be obtuse but are they priced as a pair? If they are, seems to be great value.
I have fitted the "Osram" blue 60-55 w blue halogen bulbs in my Bruiser, certainly better than they were but still like candles compared with newer type headlights( on newer cars) , local garage set up the beams on the MOT apparatus, ( no charge) and to be fair all our cars which are older, seem to have dim headlights in comparison to the new type. Is it a big deal to fit the HID lights people are mentioning?
best regards, Bill Westley
 
mettisse said:
Hi, sorry to be obtuse but are they priced as a pair? If they are, seems to be great value.
I have fitted the "Osram" blue 60-55 w blue halogen bulbs in my Bruiser, certainly better than they were but still like candles compared with newer type headlights( on newer cars) , local garage set up the beams on the MOT apparatus, ( no charge) and to be fair all our cars which are older, seem to have dim headlights in comparison to the new type. Is it a big deal to fit the HID lights people are mentioning?
best regards, Bill Westley
Click to expand...

Hi Bill, I can only offer advice based on my experience, so here goes.

First, mine were priced as a pair and they were cheap to buy (paid a fortune for shipping, but that's another story :lol:).

AFAIK, my 1995 truck was standard when I got it in 2006 - lights sort of OK but not brilliant. I noted that on dipped beam, 2 of the 4 headlamps were used, then when switched to main I had dipped and main on together (4 lamps). I take it this is the standard 80 set-up.

Later I found the standard bulbs to be too dim for comfort, so what to do?

At that time LEDs were not even considered for anything much more than replacement side lights, so the only real alternative was HIDs. I invested in a pair for the dipped beam and they were brilliant, that is to say, bright! Beyond comprehension actually, but the downside was twofold.

(i) warm-up time - between 15 seconds and some have reported 20 seconds, presumably depending on brand, colour (yes there's a choice) and output;
(ii) beam scatter - dreadful on mine, I didn't have a very good projection on the standard bulbs, but with the HIDs being so much brighter, the scatter was much more noticeable, all over the place in fact, and dangerous IMO, especially for oncoming traffic.

That was what attracted me to the Angel Eye projectors.

Got my hands on a pair (with eternal thanks to Shayne acting as my procurement specialist:thumbup:) and wow, what a difference. Bright light and a clean cut-off beam line, just about at the level of the rear screen of the car in front. Perfect. Yet, there was still a downside...

Warm-up time again. With the dipped beam, there's no problem, jump in the truck switch on the lights, seat belt on, ready to go. The problem is how the main beams are wired. The dipped and mains are separate on the Angel Eyes. No problem you think, it just means that you wire the mains up to run off the dipped live. Not so easy, I'm no electrician, so I can't explain too well, but I'll try.w

The first thing is when driving on dipped, all is well. Then you continue out of town and switch on the mains, the dipped go out and you're left with cold mains taking up to 20 seconds to illuminate because the mains don't have projector lenses. You're in the darh for that time, not nice at all, in fact unusable.

OK, so we'll wire the mains in such a way as they continue to power the dipped beams, that way, while the mains are warming up, the dipped keep you illuminated. All is well, except to actually get it to work, you will need individual relays on each HID (and you have 4 remember) then you may find all sorts of strange things happening, flashing lights in differing and random fashion, very odd. I couldn't find an explanation for that at all, even with an 'expert' advising me.

To shorten the story, we introduced some capacitors and I don't know what, and I'm very pleased with the set-up, works really well.

The other and overriding downside of HIDs is they're generally illegal. I can't comment more on that, I'm not sure whether the law knows what's legal or not, but it's a potential problem depending on where you live and use them.

My personal advice would be to use the Angel Eyes with LED 'bulbs'. I'm told they are almost as bright as HIDs, they are more legal (whatever that means) and you don't have any issues with warm-up time, they are instant on/off.

That's it mate, oh and one last thing, the Angel Eye units wrap around to include the side light. For me that's a good thing, they're really neat, but there's a but. I have a gap between the surround of the unit and the body aperture for the side light. It's not big, maybe 5mm max, but it's there. I could close it with some black plastic trim, but I haven't and I don't see it anymore, but it's there. Just to let you know, and it will probably vary truck to truck.

Hope this helps.
 
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Always interested on how specific products perform.

There appears to be a million suppliers these days, to choose from. Suck it and see can be the only way, unless following a recommendation. :thumbup:

LED seems to be the better way to go, until HIDs lose the warm-up time issue.
 
Thank you Clive, I appreciate your reply, sounds like if and when I replace it'll be the angel eyes as they seem the best and legal option. And I thinks they look great. Thanks again for everyone's contribution which helps folk like me, Best regards, Bill Westley
 
mettisse said:
Thank you Clive, I appreciate your reply, sounds like if and when I replace it'll be the angel eyes as they seem the best and legal option. And I thinks they look great. Thanks again for everyone's contribution which helps folk like me, Best regards, Bill Westley
Click to expand...

Well Bill, there's another catch.

These Angel Eye units are made in China and aimed at the US Market, yet produced in RHD versions errrrm I suppose so that they can sell more and make more money. Sadly, I'm not sure that they are adequately kite-marked, or accredited or whatever they need for legal use on the UK road network.

If you insist on being legal, then you should check, if not, just take a chance like the rest of us :lol:
 
Alexandertheallright said:
Excellent work SHAYNE !!!! :icon-biggrin: keep us posted on the fitting Clive !!!
Click to expand...

Sorry Alex, you've missed it, all done and shipshape for me back in January 2015.

It was GrantW who resurrected this thread a couple of days ago, sparking a bit more interest in these lights.

Have a read from the beginning of the thread...:thumbup: Cheers!
 
Don't mean to hijack here, but after being told that there is a substantial voltage drop at the standard bulbs, I checked and it is so. Less than 10v at the terminals. So a good fix is to install a relay and power the lamps direct off battery power. Has anyone done this, did it make a difference, and is there a wiring diagram?

Cheers
 
Steveindar said:
Don't mean to hijack here, but after being told that there is a substantial voltage drop at the standard bulbs, I checked and it is so. Less than 10v at the terminals. So a good fix is to install a relay and power the lamps direct off battery power. Has anyone done this, did it make a difference, and is there a wiring diagram?

Cheers
Click to expand...

No hijack at all, this was the intention of the thread!

Thats how mine are wired now Steve, but only since the HID install.

It would be interesting to know if it would make a significant difference to the performance of the OEM light units.
 
lc 120 said:
Be interested to hear what result you get from them...
Click to expand...

x2, sick to death of my crap lights now, am i missing something about the projector version? what is it?

Ahh, read back, i get it now..
 
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The thing is that LEDs take far less current so there will be far less voltage drop and they are regulated anyway so it won't make much difference. With the option of wiring in relays to get poor incandescent lamps at their brightest or investing in LEDs for the standard lenses, there's no contest for me. The LEDs are an immediate fix barring a bit of beam checking and adjustment. No wiring, no extra fuses, no relays, just plug and play.
 
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