Looking for input on LED driving lamps - Subaru Enthusiasts Car Club of the Sierras

WRXlerate · 2013-02-02, 10:13 AM

Does anyone have any experience with LED lamps? Was looking for a decent set, no ebay crap unless they are of good quality (and in which case they are not crap). I was thinking either PIAA or KC...but don't want to dump the $$$ if they are not worth it.
They are going on my Elise and will be used to supplement the low beams which is why they will be the driving beam pattern in an attempt to avoid blinding oncoming drivers. The oem headlights are not the best and need more. Its too easy to outdrive the headlights at night.
Thanks!

Dean · 2013-02-02, 02:20 PM

Have you considered Higher wattage lamps (with wiring if necessary) for the stock lights? What bulbs are they?

Most driving pattern are really high beams (no cut off/mask) and you will piss off other drivers.

WRXlerate · 2013-02-02, 03:45 PM

The stock headlamps are H1 that the PO replaced with a cheap HID system. I haven't wanted to do the trial and error on different halogen bulbs (ie PIAAs or the like). Been looking at a retrofit real HID setup but space is limited so I'm not sure that would work either.
The issue arose when one of the driving lamps fell from when I first fired up the car with it all torn apart. Trying to source another OE lamp is not something I want to undertake as I've waited for 8 mos for some interior parts that still have not arrived. Additionally the OE lights that are on it were designed to only be used with the high beams on and they also blind oncoming drivers.
I was hoping for something that could be used to supplement the low beams without a lot of extra work, like rewiring the headlights for more watts or a retro hid setup.
I'm not a big fan of the HIDs in regular halogen housings as they too blind others, I get pissed when I get blinded by them!

rory_a · 2013-02-08, 10:58 AM

Woah woah woah..

I think we need to see pics of the car to see what we're working with.

WRXlerate · 2013-02-09, 02:17 PM

haha, ok, here you go Rory...
this is the before pic, you don't want to know what it looks like right now, its barely recognizable as a car. Front and rear clams are still off so the only body parts in place are the doors and lower rockers

Don't worry, you'll get to see it in action this spring. My goal is to have it out to the first auto x and first RFR track day!

Related to the thread that was started...after a lot of searching, I did find some others that put the aftermarket HIDs in the stock housings, they worked fine. The housings are projectors so they still have a sharp cutoff line to prevent any blinding of oncoming driviers after being adjusted properly.
I also picked up PIAA led driving lights which can be used to supplement on dark mountain roads.

Brandong · 2013-02-22, 05:19 PM

Check out xtralights.com. I just ordered a xenon hid kit from them and its awesome!

WRXlerate · 2013-02-23, 09:30 AM

Thanks for the input Brandon. The DDM kits seem to be well known and trusted with the online bmw community and are starting to carry over to the lotus guys. I've seen some pics of the DDM kits on loti and they look nice. They are now offering a 55w kit too and they also have a lifetime warranty. And just for your reference, they are only $45. Can't beat that with the warranty they offer even if they are made in china instead of Japan

Cheers.

sperry · 2013-02-23, 04:38 PM

I had a DDM kit in my SVX, and I have one in my Outback. 55w for both kits. Never had a problem with either car. Not bad for like $50.

Just make sure you're putting them in a car that's already got projector lamps.... retrofitting HIDs into reflectors sucks for light output, and sucks more for oncoming drivers.

WRXlerate · 2013-02-23, 11:11 PM

Yeah, I did some research before buying the kit because being blinded by people that put them in reflectors really irks me. It has projectors with a very nice cutoff so it shouldn't be an issue. I couldn't find any secondary lights that wouldn't blind though, so the PIAAs I bought will be reserved for dark mtn roads less traveled.

rory_a · 2013-02-26, 07:53 PM

Piaa seems to be a solid go-to for any sort of lighting. If I were to take the miata down a true Motorsport route I'd probably mount a set of piaa low/hi/turn lights behind lexan in the stock light holes. Good enough to get by at least.

Nice pickup on the Elise, looks like it has a few aero bits on it already... I'd love to find a stock Elise diffuser for cheap, they fit a cut miata bumper so perfectly.

WRXlerate · 2013-02-26, 08:12 PM

Thanks!
The OE rear diffusers don't go for cheap. I was looking for one for my last Elise I had and never did find what I thought was a decent deal on one.
You could keep an eye out on lotustalk.com. I got a good price for the stock seats on a mazda forum, seems they fit well in the miatas and guys were too lazy to look on the lotus forum. Listed there and sold them in a week.

rory_a · 2013-02-26, 08:24 PM

Yeah many love the Elise seats and they're super narrow and sit low. Rails just became available too, so demand just went way up. I would eventually like to pick up some Recaro SPG Profis, Cobras, or something along those lines. I'd like to have as much support as possible.

The diffusers come up so rarely that I'm sure they pull a pretty penny. Repop glass ones from Chaser are a couple hundred, but I think I may try to build my own using Elise specs and shape. We'll see, need to drive the damn thing first.

WRXlerate · 2013-02-26, 08:39 PM

Lol, yeah me too.
She's still sitting in the garage waiting for parts that have been on order since July. No fun

Not to mention the trans is out of the STi getting rebuilt so I have nothing fun to drive, puttin' around in a 124hp civic...woohoo!
I personally didn't like the seats, they were narrow and had nice bolsters but there was no lumbar support whatsoever nor much padding. Between the seats and the stiff ride, by the time I got to Sacto I was ready to go insane.

rory_a · 2013-02-26, 08:47 PM

Lol reminds me of the stock STi...

What seats are you going with?

WRXlerate · 2013-02-26, 09:00 PM

Went with Tecnocraft T3 kevlar front, carbon on the rear. Added the padding. They are amazingly comfy even without the pad, I would imagine it is because they were formed on an actual torso, or so they claim.
And they weigh in at about ~6lbs, us lotus folk are weight weenies, lol!

rory_a · 2013-02-26, 09:59 PM

WRXlerate · 2013-02-27, 08:52 PM

Yeah, I think I over did it on the seats just a bit. Hahaha. I wanted something that was going to be comfy and supportive. With the car being so small it was difficult to find a sparco or the like that would fit properly. So with that I decided to go for application specific. And I love the look of the kevlar, wish I could have had door panels to match!!

WRXlerate · 2013-03-01, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon

Check out xtralights.com. I just ordered a xenon hid kit from them and its awesome!

I just received some lights from this place and they are crap. I picked up some conversion housings for my old Tacoma, they looked nice in the pic but far from it in real life. They advertised projectors, I thought that would be great to keep from blinding oncoming traffic. The projectors don't even have a cutoff shield in them

They will take them back but with loss of shipping both ways ($30) and a 20% restocking fee. They were $50, guess I'm out that.
Maybe just stick to their xenon kits...

Brandong · 2013-03-05, 11:33 PM

Yeah i just bought their aftermarket headlights with an upgraded xenon hid kit and it's really quite nice. You can check out the pics in the random topics thread. I also bought some led brake and turn signal honey comb looking style bulbs and they fit and work great. The H1 style bulbs i bought for my high beams are the PIAA northern stars. I had the Sylvania silverstars in before those to test them and they were no different than the H1 bulbs that came with the aftermarket headlights it was disappointing. But the PIAA s i am impressed with but they are close to double the price.

Brandong · 2013-03-05, 11:37 PM

Also fyi i would check the diameter measurement on the led bulb in comparison to your bulb housing before ordering any bulbs because i made the mistake of not and had to order a different set or decide to dremel out the housing......i just chose to reorder rather than chance messing up the locking of the bulb base into the headlight/taillights.

Brandong · 2013-03-05, 11:42 PM

Also the first set of led style bulbs i ordered that didn't fit the housing diameter did look nice in the picture then when i got them looking closer they looked like my 8 year old neph glued them together with Elmers glue haha! But the second set the honeycomb style were much better assembled.

2013-02-02, 10:13 AM	#1
WRXlerate EJ22 Real Name: John B. Join Date: May 2005 Location: Behind a brick wall. Posts: 471 Car: 02 Soccermom Wagon Class: "sleeper" Destroying V8 Egos 4 cylinders at a time	Looking for input on LED driving lamps Does anyone have any experience with LED lamps? Was looking for a decent set, no ebay crap unless they are of good quality (and in which case they are not crap). I was thinking either PIAA or KC...but don't want to dump the $$$ if they are not worth it. They are going on my Elise and will be used to supplement the low beams which is why they will be the driving beam pattern in an attempt to avoid blinding oncoming drivers. The oem headlights are not the best and need more. Its too easy to outdrive the headlights at night. Thanks! __________________ Stuff sold by the gram is always more exciting than stuff sold by the pound. JC

2013-02-02, 02:20 PM	#2
Dean Señor Cheap Bastarde Real Name: Dean Join Date: May 2003 Location: $99 Tire Store Posts: 9,294 Car: $.04 STI Class: Fast,Cheap & Reliable=STI Deal, did somebody say Deal? Oh, Dean, yeah that's me.	Have you considered Higher wattage lamps (with wiring if necessary) for the stock lights? What bulbs are they? Most driving pattern are really high beams (no cut off/mask) and you will piss off other drivers. __________________ I am a Commodore PET --- Now get off my lawn you kids...

2013-02-02, 03:45 PM	#3
WRXlerate EJ22 Real Name: John B. Join Date: May 2005 Location: Behind a brick wall. Posts: 471 Car: 02 Soccermom Wagon Class: "sleeper" Destroying V8 Egos 4 cylinders at a time	The stock headlamps are H1 that the PO replaced with a cheap HID system. I haven't wanted to do the trial and error on different halogen bulbs (ie PIAAs or the like). Been looking at a retrofit real HID setup but space is limited so I'm not sure that would work either. The issue arose when one of the driving lamps fell from when I first fired up the car with it all torn apart. Trying to source another OE lamp is not something I want to undertake as I've waited for 8 mos for some interior parts that still have not arrived. Additionally the OE lights that are on it were designed to only be used with the high beams on and they also blind oncoming drivers. I was hoping for something that could be used to supplement the low beams without a lot of extra work, like rewiring the headlights for more watts or a retro hid setup. I'm not a big fan of the HIDs in regular halogen housings as they too blind others, I get pissed when I get blinded by them! __________________ Stuff sold by the gram is always more exciting than stuff sold by the pound. JC

2013-02-09, 02:17 PM	#5
WRXlerate EJ22 Real Name: John B. Join Date: May 2005 Location: Behind a brick wall. Posts: 471 Car: 02 Soccermom Wagon Class: "sleeper" Destroying V8 Egos 4 cylinders at a time	haha, ok, here you go Rory... this is the before pic, you don't want to know what it looks like right now, its barely recognizable as a car. Front and rear clams are still off so the only body parts in place are the doors and lower rockers Don't worry, you'll get to see it in action this spring. My goal is to have it out to the first auto x and first RFR track day! Related to the thread that was started...after a lot of searching, I did find some others that put the aftermarket HIDs in the stock housings, they worked fine. The housings are projectors so they still have a sharp cutoff line to prevent any blinding of oncoming driviers after being adjusted properly. I also picked up PIAA led driving lights which can be used to supplement on dark mountain roads. Attached Images __________________ Stuff sold by the gram is always more exciting than stuff sold by the pound. JC

2013-02-22, 05:19 PM	#6
Brandong EJ22 Real Name: Brandon Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Reno Posts: 166 Car: 2007 Sleeper......thats not really a sleeper.......	Check out xtralights.com. I just ordered a xenon hid kit from them and its awesome! __________________ BDG12

2013-02-08, 10:58 AM	#4
rory_a EJ251 Real Name: Rory Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 607 Car: Miata, shit. Class: Out Classed NOW WITH 100% LESS STI!	Woah woah woah.. I think we need to see pics of the car to see what we're working with.

2013-02-23, 09:30 AM	#7
WRXlerate EJ22 Real Name: John B. Join Date: May 2005 Location: Behind a brick wall. Posts: 471 Car: 02 Soccermom Wagon Class: "sleeper" Destroying V8 Egos 4 cylinders at a time	Thanks for the input Brandon. The DDM kits seem to be well known and trusted with the online bmw community and are starting to carry over to the lotus guys. I've seen some pics of the DDM kits on loti and they look nice. They are now offering a 55w kit too and they also have a lifetime warranty. And just for your reference, they are only $45. Can't beat that with the warranty they offer even if they are made in china instead of Japan Cheers. __________________ Stuff sold by the gram is always more exciting than stuff sold by the pound. JC

2013-02-23, 04:38 PM	#8
sperry The Doink Real Name: Scott Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 20,335 Car: '09 OBXT, '02 WRX, '96 Miata Class: PDX/TT-6 The way out is through	I had a DDM kit in my SVX, and I have one in my Outback. 55w for both kits. Never had a problem with either car. Not bad for like $50. Just make sure you're putting them in a car that's already got projector lamps.... retrofitting HIDs into reflectors sucks for light output, and sucks more for oncoming drivers. __________________ Is you is, or is you ain't, my con-stit-u-ints?

2013-02-23, 11:11 PM	#9
WRXlerate EJ22 Real Name: John B. Join Date: May 2005 Location: Behind a brick wall. Posts: 471 Car: 02 Soccermom Wagon Class: "sleeper" Destroying V8 Egos 4 cylinders at a time	Yeah, I did some research before buying the kit because being blinded by people that put them in reflectors really irks me. It has projectors with a very nice cutoff so it shouldn't be an issue. I couldn't find any secondary lights that wouldn't blind though, so the PIAAs I bought will be reserved for dark mtn roads less traveled. __________________ Stuff sold by the gram is always more exciting than stuff sold by the pound. JC

2013-02-26, 07:53 PM	#10
rory_a EJ251 Real Name: Rory Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 607 Car: Miata, shit. Class: Out Classed NOW WITH 100% LESS STI!	Piaa seems to be a solid go-to for any sort of lighting. If I were to take the miata down a true Motorsport route I'd probably mount a set of piaa low/hi/turn lights behind lexan in the stock light holes. Good enough to get by at least. Nice pickup on the Elise, looks like it has a few aero bits on it already... I'd love to find a stock Elise diffuser for cheap, they fit a cut miata bumper so perfectly.

2013-02-26, 08:12 PM	#11
WRXlerate EJ22 Real Name: John B. Join Date: May 2005 Location: Behind a brick wall. Posts: 471 Car: 02 Soccermom Wagon Class: "sleeper" Destroying V8 Egos 4 cylinders at a time	Thanks! The OE rear diffusers don't go for cheap. I was looking for one for my last Elise I had and never did find what I thought was a decent deal on one. You could keep an eye out on lotustalk.com. I got a good price for the stock seats on a mazda forum, seems they fit well in the miatas and guys were too lazy to look on the lotus forum. Listed there and sold them in a week. __________________ Stuff sold by the gram is always more exciting than stuff sold by the pound. JC

2013-02-26, 08:24 PM	#12
rory_a EJ251 Real Name: Rory Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 607 Car: Miata, shit. Class: Out Classed NOW WITH 100% LESS STI!	Yeah many love the Elise seats and they're super narrow and sit low. Rails just became available too, so demand just went way up. I would eventually like to pick up some Recaro SPG Profis, Cobras, or something along those lines. I'd like to have as much support as possible. The diffusers come up so rarely that I'm sure they pull a pretty penny. Repop glass ones from Chaser are a couple hundred, but I think I may try to build my own using Elise specs and shape. We'll see, need to drive the damn thing first.

2013-02-26, 08:39 PM	#13
WRXlerate EJ22 Real Name: John B. Join Date: May 2005 Location: Behind a brick wall. Posts: 471 Car: 02 Soccermom Wagon Class: "sleeper" Destroying V8 Egos 4 cylinders at a time	Lol, yeah me too. She's still sitting in the garage waiting for parts that have been on order since July. No fun Not to mention the trans is out of the STi getting rebuilt so I have nothing fun to drive, puttin' around in a 124hp civic...woohoo! I personally didn't like the seats, they were narrow and had nice bolsters but there was no lumbar support whatsoever nor much padding. Between the seats and the stiff ride, by the time I got to Sacto I was ready to go insane. __________________ Stuff sold by the gram is always more exciting than stuff sold by the pound. JC

2013-02-26, 08:47 PM	#14
rory_a EJ251 Real Name: Rory Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 607 Car: Miata, shit. Class: Out Classed NOW WITH 100% LESS STI!	Lol reminds me of the stock STi... What seats are you going with?

2013-02-26, 09:00 PM	#15
WRXlerate EJ22 Real Name: John B. Join Date: May 2005 Location: Behind a brick wall. Posts: 471 Car: 02 Soccermom Wagon Class: "sleeper" Destroying V8 Egos 4 cylinders at a time	Went with Tecnocraft T3 kevlar front, carbon on the rear. Added the padding. They are amazingly comfy even without the pad, I would imagine it is because they were formed on an actual torso, or so they claim. And they weigh in at about ~6lbs, us lotus folk are weight weenies, lol! __________________ Stuff sold by the gram is always more exciting than stuff sold by the pound. JC

2013-02-26, 09:59 PM	#16
rory_a EJ251 Real Name: Rory Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 607 Car: Miata, shit. Class: Out Classed NOW WITH 100% LESS STI!

2013-02-27, 08:52 PM	#17
WRXlerate EJ22 Real Name: John B. Join Date: May 2005 Location: Behind a brick wall. Posts: 471 Car: 02 Soccermom Wagon Class: "sleeper" Destroying V8 Egos 4 cylinders at a time	Yeah, I think I over did it on the seats just a bit. Hahaha. I wanted something that was going to be comfy and supportive. With the car being so small it was difficult to find a sparco or the like that would fit properly. So with that I decided to go for application specific. And I love the look of the kevlar, wish I could have had door panels to match!! __________________ Stuff sold by the gram is always more exciting than stuff sold by the pound. JC

2013-03-05, 11:33 PM	#19
Brandong EJ22 Real Name: Brandon Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Reno Posts: 166 Car: 2007 Sleeper......thats not really a sleeper.......	Yeah i just bought their aftermarket headlights with an upgraded xenon hid kit and it's really quite nice. You can check out the pics in the random topics thread. I also bought some led brake and turn signal honey comb looking style bulbs and they fit and work great. The H1 style bulbs i bought for my high beams are the PIAA northern stars. I had the Sylvania silverstars in before those to test them and they were no different than the H1 bulbs that came with the aftermarket headlights it was disappointing. But the PIAA s i am impressed with but they are close to double the price. __________________ BDG12

2013-03-05, 11:37 PM	#20
Brandong EJ22 Real Name: Brandon Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Reno Posts: 166 Car: 2007 Sleeper......thats not really a sleeper.......	Also fyi i would check the diameter measurement on the led bulb in comparison to your bulb housing before ordering any bulbs because i made the mistake of not and had to order a different set or decide to dremel out the housing......i just chose to reorder rather than chance messing up the locking of the bulb base into the headlight/taillights. __________________ BDG12

2013-03-05, 11:42 PM	#21
Brandong EJ22 Real Name: Brandon Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Reno Posts: 166 Car: 2007 Sleeper......thats not really a sleeper.......	Also the first set of led style bulbs i ordered that didn't fit the housing diameter did look nice in the picture then when i got them looking closer they looked like my 8 year old neph glued them together with Elmers glue haha! But the second set the honeycomb style were much better assembled. __________________ BDG12

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