[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by atam1980

LED bulbs are one of those verticals where there are very few brands actually doing the r&d and developing the products themselves.

Noted in my original post as well: You can find the exact same product sold under at least five different names, including Weisslicht, so shop for the best price.

Most of what you see on Amazon are just white-labeled Alibaba products.

Alibaba doesn't make products, any more than Amazon does. Where Alibaba differs is that you can get product direct from the manufacturer in China, rather than dealing with a US importer that sources their products from China and re-badges them. In many cases they'll use Alibaba as their source. We can do the same, but only if we can meet the minimum quantity.

[atam1980]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Alibaba doesn't make products, any more than Amazon does. Where Alibaba differs is that you can get product direct from the manufacturer in China, rather than dealing with a US importer that sources their products from China and re-badges them. In many cases they'll use Alibaba as their source. We can do the same, but only if we can meet the minimum quantity.

Right. I was referring to Alibaba as a platform, not as a manufacturer.

[pompous]

Does anybody know if the light coding options in the Carly app is the coding that will make these work w/o throwing any codes?

[scostu]

Originally Posted by pompous

Does anybody know if the light coding options in the Carly app is the coding that will make these work w/o throwing any codes?

Check this too ...............

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1385799

[i2023u]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Update: The LED headlight business is in a state of constant flux, with suppliers comng and going all the time. The original Broviews I bought seem to have gone by the wayside, but the same lamps can still be found under other names. This is one:
https://www.amazon.com/Rigidhorse-80...B727K9NZQ&th=1

You can see it's the same lamp.

Thank you for the link. I ordered them for hi/low.
Can you provide the link for fog lamps you used too ? Rigidhorse doesn't seem to have the right size and there are many leds in the site but
I want to make sure which one works.

Thanks,

[Billfitz]

Suppliers keep changing, but what you're looking for is the same lamp with H8/9/11 base for the fogs. With a bit of searching I found this one, which is available in H7 as well:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4E9KC2...sp_detail?th=1

I've seen them on eBay and Ali Express too, at better prices, but they come from China, so shipping will take longer.

[i2023u]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Suppliers keep changing, but what you're looking for is the same lamp with H8/9/11 base for the fogs. With a bit of searching I found this one, which is available in H7 as well:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4E9KC2...sp_detail?th=1

I've seen them on eBay and Ali Express too, at better prices, but they come from China, so shipping will take longer.

Thank you ! Yesterday I got my hi/lo LEDs I want to try. Billfitz, how long did you use LEDs so far ? I saw in other forum saying that LEDs did not last because of the heat dissipation problem.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by i2023u

Billfitz, how long did you use LEDs so far?

Since the day before the date this thread started.

[floydarogers]

I'd be a bit more careful comparing lumens than some people are here.

The USDOT regulates headlights, and limits the amount of lumens that headlights emit. The limits are different for high/low, the measurement methods are weird, etc.

For instance, my E46 Xenon headlights (non-adaptive, with auxillary Halogen high beam) is better and emit more lumens than the E9x/F3x adaptive Xenon, which uses the Xenon beam for both low and high. The Halogen in the E46 added more lumens that resulted in reaching the limit for high beam operation (which is higher than low beam alone), giving a magnificent result.

Low beam operation (of Xenon) in a single beam essentially/effectively limits the high beam output. (LED can easily add lumens, however.) Since low beam lumens is limited (especially wrt high beam), you should compare low-beam vs. low-beam and high-beam vs. high beam.

[Billfitz]

The current USDOT regs date to 2007, so they're obsolete. They even still talk about sealed beam bulbs. Most LEDs aren't DOT approved because the approval process takes not months but years. As a manufacturer by the time your LED gets tested you've probably moved on to the next product generation. As for finding the DOT regs with respect to lumens, good luck. You'll sooner find Waldo. Most of what you can decipher from the DOT regs relate to beam patterns and minimum candlepower measured at 100 feet.

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

The current USDOT regs date to 2007, so they're obsolete. They even still talk about sealed beam bulbs. Most LEDs aren't DOT approved because the approval process takes not months but years. As a manufacturer by the time your LED gets tested you've probably moved on to the next product generation. As for finding the DOT regs with respect to lumens, good luck. You'll sooner find Waldo. Most of what you can decipher from the DOT regs relate to beam patterns and minimum candlepower measured at 100 feet.

Yeah, the last update was for HID. Amazingly enough, US DOT/NHTSA allows (actually requires) more "glare" or up-lighting from our headlights than is allowed in Europe (and presumably the rest of the world). The reasoning is that unlighted overhead signboards need illumination!

If you want to find some stuff, start at https://www.danielsternlighting.com/ - it will at least get you to the correct area at NHTSA (Daniel has commented vociferously over the years, although he is "retired" now.) Be forewarned: Daniel doesn't abide hosers and opinions, only facts.

[Billfitz]

What it boils down to is that where H7 LEDs are concerned you're on your own to figure out what works. I researched them for over a year before investing in them, and my research paid off, because the ones I chose work very well. The first thing I took off the table was any that used fan cooling, as that looked to be a common source of failure. Next was the element placement, which had to closely resemble the filament of an H7 halogen. Once you take just those two steps you eliminate perhaps 90% of what's out there from consideration.

[kabrichx]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

From my original post:
I did measure the light output with a meter. The headlights are about twice that of the stock halogens, the fog lights three times the halogens, and the color is pure white. No yellow, no blue. The beam pattern is the same.

What meter and what were the testing procedure you used?

Also, how did you determine the lights are “pure white. No yellow, no blue”?

[kabrichx]

The silence is deafening (and telling)...

Originally Posted by Billfitz

From my original post:
I did measure the light output with a meter. The headlights are about twice that of the stock halogens, the fog lights three times the halogens, and the color is pure white. No yellow, no blue. The beam pattern is the same.

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...1&postcount=41

[El Primo Pablo]

Originally Posted by AJ2206

They're not plug and play. No LED is. You have to code out the cold and warm checks, whether you have canbus harnesses and/or resistors or not. The cold and warm checks will cause the LEDs to periodically blink. You don't see it with halogens, but with LEDs you do. But don't fear coding. I did, and put off learning how to code for a year until I had the LEDs and found out that coding isn't optional. But coding isn't difficult, it just looks that way, so go for it. And you can code other nice stuff, like getting rid of that stupid warning message every time you start the car.

Hey Bill, great work. Will appreciate any info/links/steps to code out the LED hi-Los for cold/warm checks.

I thought if you have an HID or LED Bulb, you just have to ensure to get an error free or Canbus Unit for whatever application you get as that takes care of the error message. You dont NEED to code it out from what I thought

[El Primo Pablo]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

What it boils down to is that where H7 LEDs are concerned you're on your own to figure out what works. I researched them for over a year before investing in them, and my research paid off, because the ones I chose work very well. The first thing I took off the table was any that used fan cooling, as that looked to be a common source of failure. Next was the element placement, which had to closely resemble the filament of an H7 halogen. Once you take just those two steps you eliminate perhaps 90% of what's out there from consideration.

Are you planning on upgrading your headlights too? I saw a good thread on here about Angel Eye lights with projectors

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by El Primo Pablo

I thought if you have an HID or LED Bulb, you just have to ensure to get an error free or Canbus Unit for whatever application you get as that takes care of the error message. You dont NEED to code it out from what I thought

Are you planning on upgrading your headlights too?

Please read the first post. For one thing it contains this:
You have to code out the cold and warm checks, whether you have canbus harnesses and/or resistors or not. The cold and warm checks will cause the LEDs to periodically blink. You don't see it with halogens, but with LEDs you do.

It also describes how I did the fogs, low beams and high beams.

[Billfitz]

Update: I looked today at the Amazon listing for the headlight bulbs I bought, and they're back again, the price is $59. While there I saw these, which are exactly the same, for $31, so you've got to shop around.
https://www.amazon.com/Headlight-Rig...AE7GR8YTNHAR58

[Basswacker]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Update: I looked today at the Amazon listing for the headlight bulbs I bought, and they're back again, the price is $59. While there I saw these, which are exactly the same, for $31, so you've got to shop around.
https://www.amazon.com/Headlight-Rig...AE7GR8YTNHAR58

Are you still happy with these 6 months after install?

[Billfitz]

Very. They could have a better pattern, but they're no worse in that respect than halogens, and I'm not inclined to drop major coin on new lamps with projector lenses. I might if I drove a lot at night, but I don't.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

While there I saw these, which are exactly the same, for $31, so you've got to shop around.
https://www.amazon.com/Headlight-Rig...AE7GR8YTNHAR58

Two days later and those are gone, all that's left are some that are used, but based on experience the same lamps will show up again, if not under this name then under another.

I saw some that look the same but don't come with the canbus ballasts. Those are what prevent error codes from showing up, so make sure what you get includes them.

[vooonoo]

it's been a couple months, do the led headlights have a better light output than the old halogens?