anyone tried the LED replacement bulbs?

For all those wiring gremlins we love, this is the place to discuss them.

Moderator: Board Moderators

Post Reply
mkelite
Senior Poster
Posts: 520
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 18:51
Model: Elite S2.2
Colour: Lotus Yellow
Year: 1982

anyone tried the LED replacement bulbs?

Post by mkelite »

hi guys. has anyone tried those replacement LED bulbs; especially to make the rear Rover SD1 lamp clusters look brighter? or the 'new' type blue 'xeon' headlamp bulbs either on an Excel, Elite etc. regards DC.

STELL
Senior Poster
Posts: 227
Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2005 20:03
Model: SE All options :-)
Colour: Black
Year: 1988

Re: anyone tried the LED replacement bulbs?

Post by STELL »

I've put those in instead of the lights , when car is in reverse.
They look brighter, but don't light up as well as regular (Old typ) bulbs, when i back up.
It's a little "xenon look" if that's what you are after, but whithout that xenon funktion

User avatar
amarshall
Moderator
Posts: 8296
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2005 18:09
Model: SE
Colour: Monaco White
Year: 1990
Location: Darlington
Contact:

Re: anyone tried the LED replacement bulbs?

Post by amarshall »

Three things to be careful about with LED bulbs

- they may not be type approved for road use (which might lead to problems with police and/or MOT)
- a lot of them are not designed to work in reflector lamps so they don't illuminate the lenses properly (i.e. you get a little round patch of light instead of the whole lamp illuminating)
- insurance company may not be impressed if anything happens and the LEDs can be blamed for it because of my second point in particular.
https://www.lotusexcel.co.uk/
SORN - just say NO!

mkelite
Senior Poster
Posts: 520
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 18:51
Model: Elite S2.2
Colour: Lotus Yellow
Year: 1982

Re: anyone tried the LED replacement bulbs?

Post by mkelite »

thanks guys that is what i was thinking about too. sounded too easy a way to get brighter lighting on the cars. other family members had the Rover SD1's in the past and they always thought the lamps were dull even then from new! as for the 'blue' xeon nonsense bulbs - i was asking if it made any difference in real terms. thanks fellas. regards DC.

User avatar
amarshall
Moderator
Posts: 8296
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2005 18:09
Model: SE
Colour: Monaco White
Year: 1990
Location: Darlington
Contact:

Re: anyone tried the LED replacement bulbs?

Post by amarshall »

For headlamps - check the reflectors first - replacing rusty ones with something shinier & properly aligned makes a HUGE difference, then get some decent legal superbright H4 bulbs (Osram, Philips or Halfords are all recommended).
https://www.lotusexcel.co.uk/
SORN - just say NO!

mkelite
Senior Poster
Posts: 520
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 18:51
Model: Elite S2.2
Colour: Lotus Yellow
Year: 1982

Re: anyone tried the LED replacement bulbs?

Post by mkelite »

thanks again. my headlamps r fine with the H4s. just wanted to see if there was any discreet way of brightening up the lights without being obvious really. older cars now seem distinctly dim when compared to all these LED etc moderns eh? best regards. DC.

User avatar
Lotus-e-Clan
Senior Poster
Posts: 4574
Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 13:25
Model: Excel SE - EWP/Waterless!
Colour: Not Blue or Green
Year: 1989
Location: Swaledale

Re: anyone tried the LED replacement bulbs?

Post by Lotus-e-Clan »

:idea: I wonder what the Excel would look like if you replaced the entire waitline rubbing strip with a very long LED strip. :lol:

:idea: You could have a white section at the front, red section at the back and amber all the way down both sides.

:idea: Better still, program sections of LEDs to substitute for turn indicators...for example, you could have the whole of one side flashing amber :P

Photoshop anyone? :mrgreen:

Sorry..getting carried away :roll:
Peter K

User avatar
Ozzy_UK
Senior Poster
Posts: 1431
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 11:12
Year: 0
Location: Guildford, Surrey
Contact:

Re: anyone tried the LED replacement bulbs?

Post by Ozzy_UK »

Certain types of LED lights are better, and will produce a full half sphere of light from the base of the connector...

as long as you buy these they should be brighter than standard bulbs. problem is they are often expensive.

Image

Image

those sorts from UltraLEDs.co.uk will do you fine :)

Oz.
Oran Maliphant
---------------------------------------
Mercedes B250e “Tesla” 2015
MGF 1.8i Steptronic CVT 2001
Honda Civic Type R EP3 2004
Volvo V70 T5 2002
Lotus Excel 4.0l V8 1987 #2470

mkelite
Senior Poster
Posts: 520
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 18:51
Model: Elite S2.2
Colour: Lotus Yellow
Year: 1982

Re: anyone tried the LED replacement bulbs?

Post by mkelite »

LED rubbing strip along the side of the car? going a tad far methinks! nah, im a bit of a nut for being original so thats why i was just looking for alternatives to brighten the lighting situation without making it too obvious. i was then gonna try the same on the S2.2 Elite when shes back on the road. you cant have too much lighting on the roads today.........

looked at that LED website. their rather none commitall on suggesting car use so it may be worth searching thru.

thanks again fellas. regards DC.

Post Reply