The Lotus Grand Tourers

Hi all,
Santa gave me a donation to spend on my pride and joy, and I've been thinking about some LED headlights for some time.....

I see in Issue 4/2020 of CL News there was a write up about PNM's projector type LED lamps which look well made. I've also seen some feedback from others here on the forum regarding other lamps on fleabay/Amazon

I'd be very grateful to hear anyone's pros and cons about the possible types available. Thanks!

I have been very pleased with the replacement led bulbs available from https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/

They can be specified in warm white which gives a good impression of a classic filament bulb. Alternatively you can specify bright white instead.

Cheers, Richard

Hi Martin

I am extremely pleased with the type I have. They are 7in 'Jeep' Hi/Lo LED units. Similar to below link. You need a half bowl mount to go with them.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7inch-LED-He ... 2863850289

They fit on a standard crystal mount used generically on Landrovers, Jeeps or anything with a 7 in diameter. One screw to replace out. I carry the previous crystals as spare bulbs in case they fail or I get collared.

Took me 20 minutes to install , should take you about 3 weeks.

Well done Santa - I got a new hair brush that I dont need.

You may have seen these before

Thanks Guys,
I'll do some more surfing the interweb then.

We have used the clear lensed lamps (With the reflector pattern at the back) and LED bulbs. Seem very good.

Bill Phantasm did a lot of research on LED headlamps - have a look at his post viewtopic.php?f=27&t=9605&p=71982&hilit ... hts#p71982

Thanks for the suggestion(s). I did read Phantasm's thread, very interesting too. I'm going to replace my reflector bowls and see how much improvement there is with that, plus some upgraded halogen bulbs (which I have already).

I'm a little tempted to investigate the HID bulbs, but I'm afraid that they may blind on-coming traffic.

Has anyone had any experience with HID's ?

Sirclip wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 01, 2021 17:41

I'm a little tempted to investigate the HID bulbs, but I'm afraid that they may blind on-coming traffic.

Cant be much different from my LEDs in intensity.
I may have an old set you can tinker with if you want?
Also if you want to try the Crystal conversion, again you can borrow my spares. You'll only need the half bowl

Thanks Stu,
That's very kind, but I have a some new wipac reflectors and mounting bowls on order from Paddock Spares.

Did you try HID's then?

Sirclip wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 01, 2021 20:39

Thanks Stu,
That's very kind, but I have a some new wipac reflectors and mounting bowls on order from Paddock Spares.

Did you try HID's then?

No, they are left overs from one of my son's cars.

Find a friendly MOT inspector if you fit LED or HID headlamps.
The following is from the MOT inspection manual regulations from 1st February.

"Existing halogen headlamp units should not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp."

Web link https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspect ... -equipment

alanmoss wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 13, 2021 19:47

Find a friendly MOT inspector if you fit LED or HID headlamps.
The following is from the MOT inspection manual regulations from 1st February.

"Existing halogen headlamp units should not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp."

Web link https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspect ... -equipment

Hi Alan, not shooting the messenger as I have replaced mine,
How do we interpret "converted" here? To me that implies modification of an original unit. I have not converted the existing headlamp unit but carried out Full replacement of matched pairs .
My MOT examiner is tops!
Stu

Ambiguity and the complex English usage is ace

Thanks Alan, that is important. I wonder if this was one of the items in the January update?

Cheers, Richard

It will be down to the examiner. I just shared the link.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08 ... NA74&psc=1

SO having the first night drive for a while I have decided my headlights are terrible and having looked up this thread I found what seems to be the same lights that have been discussed from on ebay , but on on Amazon they seem to be the correct ones and also the ones PNM offer, but half the cost. SO are these light s the same and are folks still happy with them?

cheers

Pete