LED headlights..

[PJ]

https://a.aliexpress.com/_BTF5c3 bit fidly as I was told but happy with the result. These led lights do give a very impressive light at a relatively low cost (if you can place them yourself) 

[Mark030358]

Any cutting of the lamp covers?

 

[PJ]

No cutting, these leds are short enough to fit. 

[snowrx]

4 hours ago, PJ said:

Both changed to led, see a before and after. Very impressive! 

Wow! Lit up the whole building to the left, very impressive.

[Jamesbooker2]

7 hours ago, PJ said:

No cutting, these leds are short enough to fit. 

Hi PJ, thanks for the feedback.

I'm going to give these a try, they look great!

Would you mind confirming the socket type and colour you bought from the ALI Express listing?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001586158873.html?

I assume you changed both the DIP and High Beam bulbs?

They take up to 40 days to be delivered so don't want to order the wrong ones!

James

[PJ]

Took around 20 days to get here in total. 

Yes, dip and high beam changed out both: Lights are 6000k and H9 and HB3. 

Good luck! 

 

[nordschleife666]

On 29/12/2020 at 02:49, Jamesbooker2 said:

I have to say yours do look good. The colour/brightness looks spot on. Would you mind posting the link to the exact bulbs you used please?

I assume you replace dip and main beam?

james 

Mine is the IPF 351HLB2, I bought it in Japan but you can find it in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/headlight-combined-351HLB2-Domestic-products/dp/B076RR5SKL

[Jamesbooker2]

4 hours ago, PJ said:

Took around 20 days to get here in total. 

Yes, dip and high beam changed out both: Lights are 6000k and H9 and HB3. 

Good luck! 

 

I just ordered them...came to a grand total of £41 delivered! It doesn't get much better value than that if they work as well as they did in your photos. I will do a before/after shot as well so everyone can see the results. Cheers PJ and Zam for your helpful comments!

[PJ]

7 hours ago, nordschleife666 said:

Mine is the IPF 351HLB2, I bought it in Japan but you can find it in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/headlight-combined-351HLB2-Domestic-products/dp/B076RR5SKL

Man, 200 just for one set?! Am I missing something?! 

Anyone knows the specs of current lights in Exige S for interior and license plate? Type of light and size in mm and such.

Wanna look for a great led replacement there also, white light but not too bright.. 

[Rick101]

Good upgrade.

[PJ]

Thanks, definitely worth while upgrade. Probably best bang for my buck in terms of all upgrades I have done whahahaha

[JCERB]

Wow, this is night and day difference and so much safer. I've gone for some too. Thanks a lot PJ very helpful to all on here. I can't believe Lotus still use this setup for cars over 100k, shocking to say the least.

[NANO]

On 12/01/2021 at 23:45, PJ said:

https://a.aliexpress.com/_BTF5c3 bit fidly as I was told but happy with the result. These led lights do give a very impressive light at a relatively low cost (if you can place them yourself) 

... so this is your ultimate fix and the best of all you've tried ?

cheers

[PJ]

I haven't tried anything else other than a lot research, but yes my ultimate fix 😏

[Jamesbooker1]

I had a go a fitting these this weekend. The dip bulb went in no problem. I simply cut a cross slit in the rubber cap and swapped it over. The main beam bulb however hit a major snag...there is NO connector on the cable powering the bulb, just a couple of spades that won’t fit the new bulb at all.

@PJdid you find this problem?

[PJ]

The install was done by my Lotus dealer so I truly have no idea how it sits.

Personally I would think to buy 2 connectors and replace the spades? 

[JCERB]

I have just installed the same as you. 

I noticed the same thing with the main beam, but just closed the spade terminals up a bit and pushed them on the connector end, like they were on the original bulb. They felt secure. I am not so sure about the heat these things generate, so I'm going to slide some heat sleeving (like the dipped beam wiring) over these wires, plus heat tape the power packs with reflective version because these just sit deep inside the headlight unit, and I don't want them touching the OE wires. Currently I have the dipped beam power pack and connector within the rubber boot, but again I'm not sure how this heat will stand up as the back and fan seems pretty hot to touch. I may wrap these too. 

[JCERB]

Also if the bulb seems loose on your main beam, add the other o-ring from your original bulb and sit over the existing one, that stops the wobble like mine original used to do! Also on the dipped beam, it may seem loose, but more than likey you'll need to nip up the plastic holder to the reflector. You can get to one side with a pozi drive (bit awkward) but solved mine!

On seconds thoughts I may remount these outside of the units like MAG did...

[MrD]

Just a piece of advice for the rubber cap @Jamesbooker1 It'd be a good idea to seal this somehow because you'll start having condensation in the headlight unit (humidity will find its way through)

[JCERB]

Yiannis, you have made a valid point there regarding humidity. In this instance I imagine some RTV 157 would seal this up satisfactorily.

I think the best way to do this is to drill 2x oversized holes in in close proximity in the light housing under the caps. The reason for 2x holes is that grommets can then be used with the right size hole for each cable that feeds the LED driver that should be mounted externally from the light unit. Obviously without dissecting the sealed cable ends (thus voiding warranty) you'll have to slot down to the holes to physically get the cables in, plus slice the grommets. Once in position this can again be sealed in with some 157. The grommets will protect the cables and keep as good seal as possible, especially with the help of some 157. I can't think of another way can you?

[MrD]

Haven't yet attempted it on the lotus but I fitted HIDs on my other car. How i attacked it was to buy a set or rubber dust caps like these bad boys so as to leave the oem intact,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2pcs-80mm-HID-LED-Headlight-Car-Dust-Cover-Waterproof-Dustproof-Sealing-Cap-/183687671300?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

Various sizes available so I'm guessing it'll be something out there for our cars as well. I cut a round hole and used a rubber wire grommet (not blank) to pass the cables through. When all was in place I sealed it with silicon. It's been like that for years now and no signs of condensation in the units:)

[JCERB]

That is a great idea indeed, so eliminates any damage to the original light units too. Thanks a lot for that! They will be the type of grommet I will use, and the slice can easily be sealed up to get the cable in. I will have a measure up at the weekend and post up the details, as I will be doing the same for both lights.

[JCERB]

Hi All. Not sure if others have completed their installs yet, but I found it all very tricky in the end to get right. I used 70mm and 85mm rubber caps from Ebay and lots of gluing of O-rings etc, making sure all watertight. Positioning is crucial with the drivers and sticking these using a 3m primer is a must, otherwise they will not stick. Also using a high temperature double sided foam tape, again from 3M is the way to go. Not yet driven car, but staggering difference in light output!

[hamks18psi]

Quote

On 13/01/2021 at 11:14, nordschleife666 said:

Mine is the IPF 351HLB2, I bought it in Japan but you can find it in Amazon https://www.amazon.com/headlight-combined-351HLB2-Domestic-products/dp/B076RR5SKL

 

@nordschleife666,many thanks for your info, that gave me the direction. I have ordered IPF F351HLB and aftermarket 85mm dust cap to sort out the dipped beam. They are bright and looks amazing. I would test them on road in April. The stock yellow halogen are not acceptable to my personsal standard at this price range of cars. The car has got all LED light except license plate, dipped beam(low beam) and main beam (high beam) which are halogen. 

I have ordered IPF halogen for H9/H11 main beam upgrade but they are loose, so I ended up going for  H8/H9/H11 LED with mini design and integrated driver/fan from UK Amazon, with some wiring adaptors I did, and now have upgraded them to suit my personal taste. 

The space is tight, so the cable with IPF need to hide/place in the top side gap in many attemtps before I can put the dust cap on properly.
I have ordered another set of dust cap with longer depth from Hong Kong/China, but they would ake ages, so I am happy on what I have done so far.

I would like to share my work here.

[nordschleife666]

@hamks18psigreat, the 85mm diameter cap fits ok?  What's the depth size of the cap I should get?