Thanks for all of the great comments about car lighting. Really interesting! We have a Christmas treat for you on the 27th of December! John buys the cheapest Ferrari in Europe (perhaps the World)!! Wishing you all a great Christmas break! Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Mele Kalikimaka!...
Looking forward to watching this Edd because: My low mileage 1999 SAAB 93SE Auto Cabriolet (with full service history) has what appear to be two flickering candles for headlights, and an original 25 year old windscreen that just scatters the exponentially brighter headlights of oncoming cars into a blinding frosty glare that makes it impossible for me to see the road, and therefore dangerous to drive on dark roads at night! My consolations include the knowledge that it cost less than £1,000, and to buy an equivalent car today would cost around £50,000! Peace 🏴
Nice one. Very useful research. Remember to keep it to yourself if you do nod some random feral game on a dark and windy. It’s really only ‘legal’ to find game hit by someone else. Sill rules 👀🙄 Peace 🏴
It's not just you. They are legitimately getting brighter and now they are on trucks and taller vehicles that they weren't on before. So they are even more blinding because of the height. Combine that with LEDs that have a high concentration of light for a small amount of surface area, and your eyes don't stand a chance.
They are a lot brighter, and unnecessarily so. they ruin the night vison of oncoming drivers, which is a potential safety hazzard. There are also a lot of headlights aimed too high. when they light up the head lining of the car in front, they are blinding when you look in your mirrors
I'm sick of getting blinded at night with these bright lights approaching you it's almost like they are driving around with their main beam on all the time they should be banned it's not like we needed them before.
The worse are the adaptive 'matrix' style lights that are supposed to detect a car coming the other way and block out the portion of the beam facing that car only...They don't seem to work on dual carriageways (sensor blocked by the barrier or something?) so you will notice yourself getting full beam blinded by Audi's etc quite regularly now.
Now that all 'modern' vehicles seem to come as standard with brighter lights, including the 'daytime' driving lights, it begs the question as to why the designers have been allowed to position the front indicators so close to them, especially the ones that are in the same 'main' unit, as it can make it very difficult to actually see the indicator in use. Depending on the position of the indicators the driving and 'daytime' lights can sometimes easily overwhelm them to the point that they can hardly be seen.
10 годин тому
Wasn't that a particular issue on the newer Qashquis? At least the likes of VW and Audi got onto that early on and would dim the DRLs significantly the side using the indicator.
Completely agree with you! I was behind the new vauxhall astra the other day and I could only just make out it's indicator flashing! It was tiny, I reckon only about 2 inch by 1 inch and right up against the brake lights!
I never understood why LED bulbs for sale in the UK not required to say in big letters on the packet "If your car did not have LED bulbs as standard then it is an MOT fail and illegal to fit them." It would educate so many people and save many road users from being blinded at night. Good on you Edd for having a shout out on this one.
Is that an accurate statement though? I believe some LEDs are designed to be a drop in replacement while staying within specs of the old bulbs. Some LED also giving certificates that state as much, when installed in xyz model headlight, which can be homologated. Not sure if that's once per headlight/led combination, or each individual vehicle
LEDs really can't have the same filament shape for a general drop in. You could certify a retrofit for a specific vehicle but I would expect that to be very uncommon.
It's probably worth clarifying (as I've read conflicting statements elsewhere) - that only applies if you try and bodge an LED/HID bulb into a housing it was never designed for. If it's a "complete replacement headlamp unit" (taken from the updated 2023 MOT guidelines) which was purposefully designed for LED/HID bulbs then they're tested as such and you won't fail unless it's for another reason (i.e misalignment, colour mis-match). I had to look into this for a classic car as the bulbs are like double-A torches strapped to the front. I couldn't (legally) bodge in LED bulbs into the halogen housing but I can replace the headlamp unit for a period-looking but more modern LED powered set just fine.
Actually, brighter bulbs don't dazzle in a projector lens, but the headlight must be clean. That's why cars with factory fitted xenon have washer jets. In this particular retrofit the heat from the incadescent H7 bulb may burn the reflector after few years. There are LEDs from Philips and Osram with the same lumen output as incadescent H7, but around 17-20W instead of 55W. Thus the heat is much lower and the projector lens' reflector will be protected
Philips are my go to but not always available in local stores (when you haven't planned a job properly). OEM spec is always the answer and we did do a piece on Wheeler Dealers some time ago where we went through the differences. Quartz glass and super accurate hot spot being the main ones.
they also dazzle in projector headlights. exept you drive on airport surface exclusively. 99.9% people DON'T. and fuvkin potholes add salt to the injury. same for railway crossings and simply hills. led and xenon is f-ing garbage. nobody needed them 10 years ago and nobody needs them now. the brighter the spill in the nearfield is the tighter the iris draws the hole in your eyes. the result is: you can see LESS in the distance ! because the eyes adjusted for bright lights - not for darkness. hence more servere accidents over dazzeled drivers landing in the ditch or wrapping semselfs around trees in corners nobody could see.
Unfortunately Ed, there are lots of vehicles that have modifications that would fail an MOT or are illegal, but either the testing stations don't give a crap, or are dodgy themselves, and the police don't seem to do anything about it either!
Here in the states the big auto manufacturers are using some of the brightest LED headlamps right from the factory floor. If you're in a small car And one of the monstrous trucks or SUVs goes by, or worse pulls up behind. You are liable to go blind, it's like staring into the sun.
Twice in the last 10 years or so I've cautiously approached a car parked like that, due to being blinded by it, then had to suddenly swerve around someone dressed all in black standing in the middle of the road talking to the driver of the offending car. They were completely invisible until I passed the car's headlights. These people are all morons.
Hello Ed ref the hate for electric cars. Its not the concept of the electric car thats the problem. The problem is that they are been forced upon us by governments for the wrong reasons. I could go on, but all i will say is that if we all drove electric cars in the UK. It won't make a difference to alledged worldwide emissions.
Apart from dazzling other drivers, I've also seen it claimed that an incorrect beam pattern, due to the use of incorrect bulbs, can (in some circumstances) create such a pool of light in front of the vehicle, that the driver's pupils constrict and lead to poorer distance vision. Whatever, I'm sticking to legal ones.
With some spare time, I geeked out about the subject several years ago. To my surprise, I found out that the lamps’ reflector is specifically designed for a certain type of lightbulb. And I don’t mean just LED or incandescent, etc. It seems that the position of the light source (filament or other), either on the x,y, or z axis, the distance from the light emitter, and other inputs, dictate the designed shape of the reflector. So, if a lamp’s reflector was specifically designed for a horizontally mounted incandescent filament at 20 mm away, using a xenon bulb in the same lamp may reflect the light into completely unintended directions. The resulting lighting may be great for the driver, but of great nuisance to oncoming traffic. I believe I read that this sort of modification is illegal and at least some United States states.
@@GTAristeu The cutting line is not the issue. it's the excess glare. When cars are going over speed humps, or they are towing etc, the lights become blinding. WAY MORE so than incandescent lights. New vehicles are less of an issue with auto leveling headlights. It's still a massive problem, and I now refuse to drive at night. No glasses, and I am in my early 30's
Finally, that ending was what I had gotten used to, great camera work and the music timed to perfection on the accompanying vid! I was about to ask, without alienating the current camera man if that is still the same guy or girl as previously you had some gorgeous angles giving us the fly on the wall feeling under the most impossible circumstances. This ending reminds me of that, including the track to go with it, lovely and a great treat for my soul who jumps for joy as soon as artistry comes into play! Thanks to you all! Enjoyed it to bits and just as an FYI I truly don't mind the tea time bits you guys used to have, but I follow your decisions in that process and hope you are enjoying it just the same, indifferent of how it is shared with the outside world!
Historically i have always used Osram Nightbreaker Laser bulbs. Technically the brightest legal Halogens. But they do only typically last 12 months. And, something to be VERY aware off. They run much hotter and after a good few years will eventually destroy the reflectors. Then you need to get them re-silvered which costs nearly £200.
The 1970s 7in headlight bulbs had the light and integral reflectors. Not amasingly bright but at just over £2.00 for the entire thing quite affordable.
I'm about to fit a set of Osram Nightbreaker 'Smart' LED bulbs on my car (which are on the Osram's "Legal Okay" list for my car in my country), so I'm eager to find out how they'll perform. I've been spoiled a bit over the years by using xenon lamps in the past, so keeping the simple halogen light bulbs on my today's car is not an option.
@@968Mr Yep! The Nightbreakers are OK bulbs, but the difference in life to long-life Osram bulbs as originally fitted by most car manufacturers at the factory (Nightbreakers 150 hours, Long-Life 1500 hours -- a factor of 10 difference) is just crazy. 1500 hours works out to about 60,000 miles for most people, while 150 hours is only 6,000 miles. To be fair, Philips up front about this and the difference in life between standard (400 horus), long-life (1500 hours) and various other options (150-400 hours) is written on the package. Surprisingly long-life bulbs are not really *that* dim, else everyone would complain about their factory halogen bulbs (though some do). There's a big contrast to factory HIDs, factory LED, and factor laser headlights that are sometimes very, very bright though.
If councils used cats eye's and painted the sides of the roads it would help, but they seem to get rid of them when any resurfacing takes place on A roads
11 годин тому
Cat's eyes. One of the best, clearest road marking systems ever devised! The modern equivalents, even the actively lit ones are rubbish in comparison.
Those are epic!! My motorcycle lights are pathetic! Clearly we're not supposed to ride at night. I'll need to get spots but first I need to get crash bars to mount them. It's a mission to get proper lights on a motorcycle, older ones anyway. Newer bikes are pretty well sorted out but not all of us can afford new bikes or want one.
That is an interesting problem, I guess classic bikes might have a pretty standard bowl but 80's bikes must be a bit of a nightmare. Time for a bit of custom work perhaps? Maybe look at a modern bike with a 'classic look' you could rob parts from?...
I have put a Philips WhiteVision Ultra bulb in my 2001 Yamaha XJ900S. It's not perfect but it has improved a lot from the original. What i did do and would recommend is to point the bike at a door or a wall or something (like Edd did in the video using his garage door) and mark te beam height with tape, because after i had changed the bulb for the WhiteVision ultra bulb i had to adjust it slightly downwards. (and yes i checked but the WhiteVision set is legal for road use here in the Netherlands).
Hi Edd, it was nice to meet you at the bosch training centre, a pitty about the fire alarm going off and having to stand in the rain while they sorted it
Allmost all LED bulbs are illegal because they shine absolutely everywhere. At the same time, most cheap LEDs produce LESS light than traditional halogen lightbulbs, but when they shine too high, and basically all of them do, they blind all the oncoming traffic. This issue comes directly from the placement of the LED chips - most LED bulbs don't even try to mimic the placement of the source of light of a legal bulb. They don't install the diodes in exactly the same spot as the tungsten filament sits in the original halogen bulbs. Instead, they pack in as many LEDs as possible, which results in their random placement, meaning random light pattern. So... some of the rays get reflected in the headlamp and shine correctly an the road, but the majority of rays get scattered around, resulting in random reflections which then shine randomly everywhere. The absolute worst scenario is using LEDs in old-style reflector headlights, as the light shines really high, blinding even pedestrians. Mounting LEDs in projector headlights is more reasonable, as the beam is more controlled, but the light output is usually worse than when using halogen bulbs - some (a lot) light isn't projected on the road and gets trapped in the projector. Conclusion: If you want LEDs, you'll have to purchase a newer car or, in some cases, upgrade your headlamps to original LED ones. Did the latter to my Hyundai i30, needed a bit of computer programming, but it works, looks great and is legal.
I upgraded the sealed beams in my 1987 s10 blazer to LED. I used DOT approved replacement units and not cheap china ebay junk. Works just fine and is brighter without being blinding other drivers bright. The only issue you will have is the old bulbs produced heat that would melt snow and ice keeping it from sticking to the lens while driving. The newer generations of LED swaps have heating in them but my first gen don't. I'm lucky enough it doesn't ice up here much but I have had issues with it.
That was true in the early days of cheap H4 LEDs, but hasn't been true for several years. There are plenty of decently designed H4 LEDs with the cob placed where the filament used to be.
@@TheManFrayBentos They're still illegal. From the MOT test manual... "Existing halogen headlamp units on vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must 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 for light source and lamp not compatible."
@@cjmillsnun Depends on the country. Where I live, all LED retrofit kits are illegal because only halogen light sources are approved by the law. And there are specific requirements to be met as well. When it comes to moden LEDs with proper diode placement to mimic the old-school filament, their light output heavily depends on the type of headlight, so it's really questionable. Still, illegal in most European countries.
I fitted some LED bulbs to my Honda Civic 7 years ago ( dipped beam only ) and for the first 3 years they passed the MOT beam pattern no problem.. Then blanket ban on retrofit LED bulbs was brought in in UK, so they just get taken out for MOT and incandescent bulbs fitted. I paid £80 for the pair pf bulbs fitted with Philips Luxeon LED chips and the beam pattern is actually tighter than with filament bulbs fitted and a lot of the extra light actually goes onto nearside for illuminating verge / kerb / road signs and pedestrians.
I have serious sensitivity to light and I had to stop driving at night because of the new style of headlight and aftermarket stuff here in the US. The blue light absolutely blinds me.
Same here in the UK . They are far too bright and scatter the light in all directions . I hate driving at night now. The situation needs to change . It is so very dangerous .
"You can actually by illegal headlight bulbs in common stores." This is a big problem in the United States where most of the mom and pop autoparts stores can ran out by the corporates that specialize in third world parts.
Thanks for covering this topic. It really doesn't get enough attention. In the U.S. it's common to lift trucks and they never adjust the lights after the lift and the lights are always way brighter, especially if they have fog lamps, they will shine directly into your face. I wear sunglasses while driving at night now, that's how much of a problem bright headlights are, even on new vehicles.
never in my life have i been in the city and thought "wow i need these headlights to be 400% brighter to overpower all these streetlights already lighting up the road for me"
I guess that is the joy of city street lighting, perhaps their should be a city/country mode for headlights. Bound to make them more complicated and expensive though!
Actually, in my area, street lights that were fitted with LEDs to save on electricity, are weaker than the old regular bulbs. Way harder to see at night, even if you're just walking.
same here in Chile, all these selfish ignorant idiots are installing extremely bright bulbs, night driving has become so much more dangerous. Yellow tinted driving glasses help quite a bit.
Edd - What were your favorite cars from Wheeler Dealers? So happy to see you on UA-cam. Been watching old episodes on HBO Max and have been enjoying the show again. You were always the best part of the show!
You can change the wiring on T5 headlamps with H4 bulbs to H7 operation ,where the dipped beam remains on when main beam is selected as they do on Caravells. It involves adding an extra wire from a spare terminal on the light switch to the dipped beam wire after the dip/main switch
Dear Ed, Interesting discussion, thanks for this. You do not seem to read a great deal online about the impact headlight colour temperature, as well as power, has on other road users. One issue I have with LED light installations is how white the output is. Personally I've always preferred decently large light units with quartz halogen bulbs. The slightly yellow output would seem closer to what the human eye is accustomed to seeing in nature. Trust this finds you well and sending my best wishes to you and yours for 2025. Cheers, Brett
The most important things are the condition and quality of both the reflector and the lense. My car and bikes have great lighting using oe headlights and bulbs. I’ve used rubbing compound on a car with faded / oxidised polycarbonate lenses that helped a lot but the reflector was average, also tried upgrading with led bulbs, the best result was from new oe headlights
Thanks for this Edd! One thing though, i see you're using your garage door to check the beam hight. What i do when i change light units is to use some tape to mark the beam the old lights put up against the door. After changing the units i can simply set the beam to what it was originally using the tape marks. No room for mistakes and no need for someone behind the wheel and a minimum amount of fuel in the tank etc. Also no need to figure out of there's any indication on the headlight unit itself.
Thanks. Great tip, as long as your current lights are set up properly, with working height servos, or even if they are attached correctly with all the bracketry!! Not sure I would have got away with that on the old T5!!!
@@wanderer397 It gives you a benchmark. Best thing to do is obviously to drive to an MOT station after changing the units and ask them to check the lights.
@@destructionnl8165 We don't have MOT's in Australia, and I don't belive our "road worthy testers" have light meters to help adjust headlights correctly. Please correct me if I am wrong. Doing it the way Edd has, is perfectly adequate.
A total menace in India these 130w+ Chinese LED bulbs. Its more of a status symbol upgrade everyone wants, as the more expensive cars come with LED lamps from factory. I've had to wear polarised light tint sunglasses at night now, it helps reduce the glare about 20-25%
Well I was certainly impressed with that video on Headlights. Amazed and love the bright clarity of those bulbs. However, in my opinion @ 24:08, those low beams are still WAY too high and would definitely blind someone coming your way. On that country road most likely putting them into the hedgerow or ditch. 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
22:54 Also possible have to take into account that your suspension isn't shot and the van is sitting at the correct height so that when you are setting up the pattern you aren't setting them too low in the first place. A broken spring could make a huge difference potentially.
So what was the "surprising truth" that "nobody tells you"? Because the fact there's plenty of illegal bulbs available, which is the only thing I can come up with based on the video, is far from something "nobody tells you", I'd be willing to bet most people capable of replacing their bulbs know this (but many decide to simply ignore it). Not that it doesn't bear repeating, of course.
At the moment I own three old VWs from the late 80s till late 90s. All with glass headlight lenses and regular H4 halogen bulbs. Compared to previous cars with plastic lenses which tend to get foggy, the glass lenses make a massive difference in the clarity of the light. I feel like the halogen light itself is perfectly adequate for any situation, combined with good clear lenses. Main beam is plenty of light when there's no other traffic. Dipped beam is much nicer for the oncoming traffic. Less harsh light with a lower brightness. Also the colour is much nicer to the eyes. With white LED light I feel like I can't see beyond the dipped beam. The contrast between the bright white light and the darkness beyond becomes to large. With the more natural coloured light of the halogen bulbs, I can still kinda see beyond the light, look more into the distance.
It does but they are displayed in the store along with all the standard bulbs so if you don't read the small print you might buy the wrong bulbs and become a nocturnal menace!
Ed, unsure if you are aware, but white LED bulbs are generally blue ones with a yellow filter applied. If you understand light colouration, this will make sense. Equally so, incandescent lighting tends to be yellow coloured ( excluding Halogen of course), therefore the blue tinge applied to the bulb will result in a light colour ( temperature) that is closer to white light.
I fitted some LED bulbs to my Honda Civic 7 years ago ( dipped beam only ) and for the first 3 years they passed the MOT beam pattern no problem.. Then blanket ban on retrofit LED bulbs was brought in in UK, so they just get taken out for MOT and incandescent bulbs fitted. I paid £80 for the pair pf bulbs fitted with Philips Luxeon LED chips that are same size and exact same position in the reflector as a filament and the beam pattern is actually tighter than with filament bulbs fitted and a lot of the extra light actually goes onto nearside for illuminating verge / kerb / road signs and pedestrians. The good news is that those bulbs are still working ---- I would have burned through at least 4 sets of high output filament bulbs in the time the LED have been working as they rarely last 2 years
The MOT light test in the UK is a joke. Garages with 40 year old equipment checking LED lights. Everytime they touch my lights I have to spend 2 hours readjusting them so I can safely drive in the Peak district without killing myself or any other oncoming road users. 😂😂😂
Besides this latest trend to drive with our brights on in my area of the US, these new LEDs are overwhelming to oncoming drivers. I think it’s the higher output combined with the extra glare of the higher temperature light? I absolutely can’t see the road in front of me from these new cars. It’s worse than when the xenon/HIDs came out 25 years ago.
Lights today are waaaay too bright and i hate them from bottom of my heart. Vans and trucks are the most annoying and most bright because of the height.
Having to remove the entire bumper just to get to your headlights or anything else in the front of a vehicle is idiocy. I once told my nephews that they have cracked the hood of a car. They are no longer qualified to design them.
I agree, it is just terrible design to ignore easy servicing and repair on any vehicle! Worse still is the fact that it really wouldn't take much more thought or effort to implement a well considered solution. I think it partly comes from having such big teams designing cars independently of each other and only considering the ease of build on the production line and the reliance of the service centres to generate the profit so inventing special tools and processes (and huge bills) etc.
@@eddchinashows how much VW gave up careing given that on the T4 they’d gone to the effort to design the radiator on brackets that allowed it to easily be tilted forward to an engine service position just to make that easy. T5 design boss was obveously ex Audi so thought step 1 = remove front end was fine.
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@@gs188 A lot of people moan but just about ANY modern car will be designed in such a way that the bumper will need to ve removed to remove the lights. Partly due to how design has altered for safety regs and also ease of assembly in the factory. More recently I've clearcoated the lenses on a mk2 clio and a mk2 megane and wanted to removed them to do a more thorough job. Asides having to replace some of those funny lite plastic push in clips it was easy and quick on both cars. I honestly don't know why people make such a big fuss about it.
@@eddchina People often want a bigger engine in a smaller car (e.g., V8 in a Audi S4) which doesn't help! In some ways, you do need to make concessions to styling sometimes IMO, else everything would be a Toyota Corolla or Toyota Hilux with a rectangular engine bay, radiator that can be easily pulled straight out the top and so on (it seems like Toyota are scared of angering mechanics by making changes!).
I used to drive a Scammel Crusader, the radiator was on hinges so you raised the grill and unscrewed a hand wheel and slid the bar across and the radiator swung out at 90' for engine front end access.
At last Edd, a proper episode. No rehashed WD content. No more long content on a chassis! A well edited and shot video. Lots of different content with new personalities which is great. Oh and a topical and interesting main topic of LED. I love you and met you once but nearly unsubscribed a while ago, I hope you keep this level up and regular too. To me this episode screams ‘you’re back’ sir :) Now you just need a proper partner with similar values like Trade Classics 🎉
Anybody fitting an LED headlight bulb really has to be aware of their shortcomings and advantages. Too many times, they're fitted by people quite ignorant of the downsides and careless of the negative effects they can have. I've been using LED headlights for years and very careful to match them to the units of the car or bike, as some combinations just don't work well, with too much scatter or almost no cut-off on dip. To date, I've not had a vehicle fail a test because I'm careful with my installations, and I never get flashed on the road because, again, I'm careful to make sure it doesn't dazzle. It's really not rocket science, just a bit of thought.
10 годин тому
I think a good quality LED bulb used in a projector beam and a nice unblemished, clean lens will always be better.
Although retro fitting LED bulbs into older headlight units is still technically illegal, the actual lighting performance varies massively from bulb to bulb and unit to unit as the actual construction of LED bulbs isn't as consistent as standard halogen filament bulbs. I've tried several different LED bulbs, on some the beam scatter was terrible and useless verging on dangerous so a waste of money but I did eventually find some with a beam pattern to match the old halogens.
Thanks, Merry Christmas to you too. Still more to come, we have a treat for you on the 27th of December - John has bought the cheapest Ferrari in Europe (perhaps the world!) should be fun, could be a cartastrophy!
Interesting. In the early 80s, the tungsten bulbs on our motorbikes were less than useless. Luckily, you could get 100/120-watt bulbs from the BMW rally shop 😀 With the addition of a power diode you could use the high beam without cutting the low beam which gave 210 Watts. The new reflector to take the heat cost more than the bulbs but it was a lifesaver. The alternator also needed swapping out on a few bikes to handle the extra power. Illegal but no one I knew got done for it. (We also had air horns, better than a tiny beep). Those were the days, no potholes or speed cameras.
A couple of thoughts.... 1. the "Kick up" beam pattern is designed to illuminate pedestrians to the nearside , whilst not dazzling oncoming traffic. 2. The problem with LED bulbs is that headlamps that are designed to take standard TF bulbs, have a filament that occupies a closely defined space, in a very closely defined location. The shape of the reflector is designed to provide the correct beam pattern, IF the filament is in the correct place. Most LED bulbs are of COB design, where the actual emitter is much larger, is unable to provide 360 degree emission, and is positioned away from where the tungsten filament would normally be, leading to incorrect beam pattern... Avoid LED headlamp bulbs if the headlamp is designed for a TF bulbs. It will never be right.... However, if , as ED did here you are changing from a standard headlamp shell of the reflector type, to one of the projector type, designed to take an LED bulb, then totally ignore everything I have just said...
all the vehicles that dazzle me are typically less than five years old, so the dazzling issue doesn't come from people with older cars fitting illegal LED bulbs, rather from the somehow legal factory fitted units in modern vehicles
Here’s the dangerous thing about very bright headlights. The contrast ratio between the dark area outside of the headlights is perceptually darker with much brighter lit areas. These areas are much more defined with new lamps as well. With the brighter lights our iris closed down and the contrast ratio means especially in poorly lit or unlit road areas means if an animal child or object is in the unlit zone you will not see it until it moves into the lit zone and depending on your beam spread and contrast ratio and speed you are actually much more likely to hit that object. Seems counter intuitive but that’s how it works. Lights now are actually really badly designed. Bright is not necessarily best depending on bream design spread and distance.
Exactly, you need a bit of light scatter (if thats the right term). The trouble with all these super bright bulbs is that whatever remains of a persons night vision is destroyed in the light wars. Interestingly i was issued with a new Scania truck in April, it has LED headlights which are the best lights i've ever experienced, even illuminate the offside kerb which is a first and they don't have those awful sharp cut off beam you describe, yet they don't dazzle oncoming drivers because i've yet to have a warning flash.
No, it's the freaking brightness. I can see just fine without the light at night, out in the country, and these new lights are like staring at the freaking sun, burning the image into my retina, blinding me. I hate them, and I hate the people who use them, and the car companies for putting them in. The old ones weren't broke, no need to fix them, especially if making them worse than the old ones.
Blue lights are illegal on UK road vehicles unless they are emergency vehicles, this includes Blue effect bulbs. If you are unsure simply ask a friend if the light looks blue when holding a sheet of white paper just in front of your headlamp, if they say yes then you may want to change them. cheaper than a fine and points on your licence.
When converting headlights with H4 bulbs to headlights with double parabola, it is still necessary to make a modification to the electrical harness to avoid the situation that when the high beams are turned on, the low beams go out.
LED madness, its not just the headlights its brake lights as well. Most drivers seem to sit in a que with their foot on the brakes, blinding the driver behind. Even the LED traffic lights are too bright!
10 годин тому
That annoys me too! I always stick the handbrake on personally. It's worth noting that some modern cars have an auto hold function in traffic and will illuminate the brake lights automatically though!
We have a union spec brazier coming form Workers Against Abuse dot Com but I might get round to fitting some insulation and heating one day! We had a few Milwaukee battery heated jackets but Paul may have snaffled them!!
Most of the "200% brighter" ones really aren't when they are properly tested with the correct equipment. A lot of them aren't as bright as the standard bulbs. Halogen lights are extremely inefficient. I live in the US so we don't have the same laws. I replaced my wife's useless 6x4 sealed beam headlights with H4s using LED bulbs. The difference is that now she has the hard cutoff that is normal in European headlights, and a lot better light, but without blinding anyone. Also without consuming nearly as much current, so her wiring is safe. In the US most states limit headlights to 2000 lumens. In the UK in the 90s I tried some higher powered H4s and they just failed fast, like in hours. HIDs produce a huge amount of UV, which can damage the transparent polycarbonate lenses. Good bulbs should filter out the UV, but the ones Stelantis used in my Jeep are cheap and don't. So $3000 for new headlights. The Torque Test channel tests bulb brightness. LEDs have a nasty tendency to ramp down as they get hot.
Another issue with ECE lighting regulations is that they have not been updated for the LED taillamps. The regulations do not have the minimum reflector size as the US regulations do for both red brake and amber turn signal indicators: they must be at least four square inches per halogen bulb (that negates the sequential amber turn signal indicators). The ECE regulations only measure the minimum amount of illumination from the certain distance. The manufacturers are given the freedom to create the taillamps that are thin (that the brake lamps "overwhelm" the amber turn signal indicators during the day) or tiny with two or three LED bulbs for brake or for turn signal indicators. Stopping behind them during the night, they cast lot of glare that hurt our eyes. In the UK, the drivers were advised to use the handbrakes when idling during the traffic stop.
The bulbs that came standard in my Jazz (stop sniggering you lot) were bordering on downright dangerous the light was so poor, I changed mine for "Night breakers" & OMG what a difference, unlit `A` roads were a nightmare with the standard bulbs but with the `Breakers I can finally see where the road is going, I`d deffo recommend night breakers for anyone looking to upgrade their bulbs!
Back in 1998 (ish), I bought a Yamaha FJ1200 and the lights were appalling. Went into the local motorcycle dealer and bought a 130/90 bulb, thoroughly illegal, but slightly better. Also added a pair of 55w spots to help! Did you get venison, or badger 😁
4:56;To the casual observer (me), it looks like that motor is in backwards. How is he not going to have all his drive gears propelling the car backwards too.
Forklift trucks are funny things but as they are hydraulic drive it is a lot easier to change the direction of the drive to the wheels whether the whole lot is spinning backward or not! I'll volunteer my driving services for the first try, just in case!
11 годин тому
Well, the manufacturer made it like that so I'm pretty sure it's going to work 😂 And gears? Smaller forklifts in particular aren't like cars.
Do a voltage test at the bulb socket chances are there’s a couple of volt drop from the end point from the beginning point that means your bulbs are not getting full voltage and putting out the full amount of light that they are designed for. There are headlight relay kits availablethat redirect the energy through thicker wires with less resistance. It’s an easy and cheap upgrade.
If you're upgrading bulb wattage then maybe but OEM wiring is more than adequate for standard spec bulbs. If you're getting an appreciable voltage drop there's either damage to the wiring itself or corrosion/oxidation in any connectors or switches involved. If that's the case just find and fix the problem then there's no need to faff about with extra relays and wiring. Going from halogen to LED you'll be reducing wattage and current draw anyway.
@ it’s not uncommon for there to be an appreciable drop in voltage on older pre-can bus cars. It also reduces failure rates on switch switches as they are no longer the direct conduit for the full voltage. They only serve to activate the relays.
Even small voltage drops can be significant with halogen bulbs due to power is proportional to voltage squared, however it’s very unlikely to noticeable unless the manufacturer made the wires it implausibly thin. Going from 18awg to 12awg would net you around a 4.5% gain in light output, but our eyes perceive non-linearly so would appear less than that, probably imperceptible. That’s assuming a 6ft cable run, and one cable per headlight.
@@sorryociffer I got less than 0.3v drop compared to the voltage at the battery using the standard 55/60w halogen filament bulbs, which, at a nominal 13.8v is negligible. That's on a 27yr old vehicle which uses relays as standard. If you convert to LED's, voltage drop is even less of a problem as they draw far less current and have a much wider input voltage tolerance.
The main problem with aftermarket LED bulbs is that the size, shape and position of the LED source are not correct... This distorts the beam pattern and alters the proper cut-off beam shape.. Be prepared to pay a few bob for a decent LED bulb like Philips or Osram... Do not expect £10 a pair Ebay offerings to be anywhere near legal beam pattern.
In Australia many 4wd cars have LED light bars....these are dangerous as the light is so intense the oncoming driver is blinded AND..more importantly the driver of the car with the light bar does not see the headlights of oncoming vehicles because the LED is so bright, conseqoently does not switch them off as the vehicles pass....it's a problem on poor quality rural roads here in OZ.
@eddchina we have problem in Ireland with these headlight bulbs being too bright id love to upgrade my focus to led but to do it legally is hard trying to get a professional to help
Merry Christmas to you too. Thanks for watching. We have a Christmas treat for you on the 27th of December - John bought the cheapest Ferrari in Europe (perhaps the world)! Should be fun, might be a disaster!!
My life depends on seeing where I'm going(ride a motorcycle) Modern cars frequently (around here) have such intensity of light that I'm totally blinded & only here to recount such due to having lived here 60+ years & know the road ahead (almost intimately 😁) I only have a bike as my sole transport due to my previous bike being stolen resulted in insurance quotes more expensive than were I a newly qualified teenage driver with 6 points! for a car, plus holding a full licence for car/bike/HGV for over 20 years made little difference. I've resorted to simply remaining home during darkness as were I to be dazzled I die but this time of year(few days before bloody Xmas)the UK has limited daylight, so not only do I get shafted by (apparently) blind cars/trucks with 10k lumens of light approaching me, if I dare to flash them to alert them of how bright their lights are, only a few acknowledge & return to dip(which although bright still allows me to remain alive) lots don't as they're driving mum/dad/boyfriend/girlfriend car & know nothing about looking at their dashboard & doing something about the "driving lamp" "foglight" warning indicator legally required for MOT(yet 80% won't see an MOT for a few years)or the vehicle has had a very minor bump thats done little but snap a few of the plastic clips THAT KEPT THE LIGHT OUTPUT ON THE BLOODY GROUND! so now the headlight is pointing straight at opposing traffic. Thirty-five years ago, I drove an original Issigonis Mini which way low to the ground so bigger vehicles(everybody elses)lights shone in my face yet once I'd fitted 100W spotlights to it, rarely did I lose in the fight for vision against opposing traffic. On a bike, thats not so easy as A) bike alternators aren't able to supply sufficient amps to power high output extra lights(my present bike chucks a hissy if I turn on the ignition a few times but dont actually start it & ride anywhere, as I discovered when fixing an indicator recently as had to bump start it/not quite as easy as you'd expect due to icy roads) As riders, we must wear a helmet & I chose a "flip-front" which has a visor. Now winter riding is fraught with hassles, no wipers so in rain oncoming light explodes in miriad "stars" rendering the road invisible. Passing traffic throws a mixture of moisture/road grime over me so cursory wipes with a gloved finger results in a greasy film spreading across my visor which leads to gorgeous displays of colour but zero visibily of where I'm going, my only advantage being a bike means I can progress past hold-ups as long as I realise by the time I arrive at my destination I'm likely to have around 3-4 van drivers oblivious to my existence hanging out to the centre line so a little blast on the throttle has me several hundred yards ahead. Certain times of day, even rural towns get traffic hold-ups(especially as an accident inevitably has the ONLY road to where I'm going blocked)& having been the victim of 12-13 crashes where my only cause was BEING on that location when "MUPPET" ran in to me! Since I resumed riding, I try to limit my contact with locals by heading out for other areas(Northumberland has some fantastic roads)by the most direct route that also fortunately has little other traffic other than tractors at certain times of year. The present time of year means here in the UK, some roads are impassable due to the snow/ice covering them(tho we're assured this year will defo not be a white Xmas, that doesn't prevent the roads being impassable either side of Xmas)others are "closed" for maintenance thus turning any ride N/S/E of here being a true mission(M6 is at least an hours ride)My sanity is maintained due to having driven my working life so am able to find a way to escape the insanity of closing the ONLY route (several years ago,the main north/south route was closed by the police due an accident, resulting in a 120 mile diversion to get from 10 miles south to here. The accident involved a small van that had collided with the verge and fallen over. The occupants escaped without injury yet PC Jobworth had the road closed for HOURS! Joys of rural existence I suppose 🤣
Just a thought, why are the individual bulbs illegal, when the actual light comes from reflectors and it's just a matter of power of light put in to those reflectors.I am saying, car makers should make best possible chassis for the bulbs which keep evolving to be better all the time.
@ one thing I’ve noticed: lifts capacity used to be “250kg 4 people”, now if it’s a lift for 4 people it needs to be able to deal with 350 kg at least!
Thanks for all of the great comments about car lighting. Really interesting! We have a Christmas treat for you on the 27th of December! John buys the cheapest Ferrari in Europe (perhaps the World)!! Wishing you all a great Christmas break! Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Mele Kalikimaka!...
Can’t wait. That will be worth watching
@@eddchina everybody and his brother is finding the cheapest Ferrari in the world. Not fair! 😂🧐
Looking forward to watching this Edd because:
My low mileage 1999 SAAB 93SE Auto Cabriolet (with full service history) has what appear to be two flickering candles for headlights, and an original 25 year old windscreen that just scatters the exponentially brighter headlights of oncoming cars into a blinding frosty glare that makes it impossible for me to see the road, and therefore dangerous to drive on dark roads at night!
My consolations include the knowledge that it cost less than £1,000, and to buy an equivalent car today would cost around £50,000!
Peace 🏴
@@G58 turn off the flickering candles hazard switch and turn on switch the headlights .
Nice one. Very useful research.
Remember to keep it to yourself if you do nod some random feral game on a dark and windy. It’s really only ‘legal’ to find game hit by someone else. Sill rules 👀🙄
Peace 🏴
Am I getting old or are oncoming headlights at night brighter?
It's not just you. They are legitimately getting brighter and now they are on trucks and taller vehicles that they weren't on before. So they are even more blinding because of the height. Combine that with LEDs that have a high concentration of light for a small amount of surface area, and your eyes don't stand a chance.
Getting brighter
There needs to be regulation on led headlights, I've had spots burnt into my retina for minutes after an oncoming car has past.
They are a lot brighter, and unnecessarily so. they ruin the night vison of oncoming drivers, which is a potential safety hazzard. There are also a lot of headlights aimed too high. when they light up the head lining of the car in front, they are blinding when you look in your mirrors
Yep, all them LED ones, Mercs are the worst as they all have that crap blue tinge to them!
I'm sick of getting blinded at night with these bright lights approaching you it's almost like they are driving around with their main beam on all the time they should be banned it's not like we needed them before.
The worse are the adaptive 'matrix' style lights that are supposed to detect a car coming the other way and block out the portion of the beam facing that car only...They don't seem to work on dual carriageways (sensor blocked by the barrier or something?) so you will notice yourself getting full beam blinded by Audi's etc quite regularly now.
Now that all 'modern' vehicles seem to come as standard with brighter lights, including the 'daytime' driving lights, it begs the question as to why the designers have been allowed to position the front indicators so close to them, especially the ones that are in the same 'main' unit, as it can make it very difficult to actually see the indicator in use. Depending on the position of the indicators the driving and 'daytime' lights can sometimes easily overwhelm them to the point that they can hardly be seen.
Wasn't that a particular issue on the newer Qashquis?
At least the likes of VW and Audi got onto that early on and would dim the DRLs significantly the side using the indicator.
It's a lot cheaper and seems like no regulatory organisation cares about it.
How many vehicles do you see driving around at night with no lights on, because the running lights are so bright they don`t even notice...?
Completely agree with you! I was behind the new vauxhall astra the other day and I could only just make out it's indicator flashing! It was tiny, I reckon only about 2 inch by 1 inch and right up against the brake lights!
Actually regarding the front lights a lot of new cars dim the drl and dipped beam for this reason but yes some are still very hard to make out.
10:02 *Thank you for using the word 'plethora', it means a lot to me.*
"Tell me, do I have a _plethora_ ?"
😂😂😂😂
Jefe what is a plethora?
@@cronocide it comes from Spanish "plet hora". Plet means "a lot", hora means "a prostitute".
I never understood why LED bulbs for sale in the UK not required to say in big letters on the packet "If your car did not have LED bulbs as standard then it is an MOT fail and illegal to fit them." It would educate so many people and save many road users from being blinded at night. Good on you Edd for having a shout out on this one.
Is that an accurate statement though? I believe some LEDs are designed to be a drop in replacement while staying within specs of the old bulbs.
Some LED also giving certificates that state as much, when installed in xyz model headlight, which can be homologated.
Not sure if that's once per headlight/led combination, or each individual vehicle
My neighbour got them off Temu and was bragging how he changed all the bulbs to LED's for £2
LEDs really can't have the same filament shape for a general drop in. You could certify a retrofit for a specific vehicle but I would expect that to be very uncommon.
I’ve noticed the same thing here in Australia, as more and more people upgrade to LED, forever feeling blinded by oncoming cars
It's probably worth clarifying (as I've read conflicting statements elsewhere) - that only applies if you try and bodge an LED/HID bulb into a housing it was never designed for. If it's a "complete replacement headlamp unit" (taken from the updated 2023 MOT guidelines) which was purposefully designed for LED/HID bulbs then they're tested as such and you won't fail unless it's for another reason (i.e misalignment, colour mis-match).
I had to look into this for a classic car as the bulbs are like double-A torches strapped to the front. I couldn't (legally) bodge in LED bulbs into the halogen housing but I can replace the headlamp unit for a period-looking but more modern LED powered set just fine.
Edd and Crew I want to wish you amazing people merry christmas and a happy new year!
Thanks very much, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too. We do have a treat for you on the 27th - the cheapest Ferrari in Europe!
The already legal LED lights on modern cars are so bright anyway and blinding.
True, that does seem to be a problem that needs o be dealt with by legislation asap.
@eddchina suv cars are right in youre line of eye sight
@@eddchina The Teslas are the worst here in the United States.
@@eddchina I'm afraid nobody will be bothered to do that
@@jewllakeand in UK, I swear Tesla lights are worst ones for light scatter
Actually, brighter bulbs don't dazzle in a projector lens, but the headlight must be clean. That's why cars with factory fitted xenon have washer jets. In this particular retrofit the heat from the incadescent H7 bulb may burn the reflector after few years. There are LEDs from Philips and Osram with the same lumen output as incadescent H7, but around 17-20W instead of 55W. Thus the heat is much lower and the projector lens' reflector will be protected
Philips are my go to but not always available in local stores (when you haven't planned a job properly). OEM spec is always the answer and we did do a piece on Wheeler Dealers some time ago where we went through the differences. Quartz glass and super accurate hot spot being the main ones.
they also dazzle in projector headlights.
exept you drive on airport surface exclusively. 99.9% people DON'T. and fuvkin potholes add salt to the injury. same for railway crossings and simply hills.
led and xenon is f-ing garbage. nobody needed them 10 years ago and nobody needs them now.
the brighter the spill in the nearfield is the tighter the iris draws the hole in your eyes. the result is: you can see LESS in the distance !
because the eyes adjusted for bright lights - not for darkness. hence more servere accidents over dazzeled drivers landing in the ditch or wrapping semselfs around trees in corners nobody could see.
Unfortunately Ed, there are lots of vehicles that have modifications that would fail an MOT or are illegal, but either the testing stations don't give a crap, or are dodgy themselves, and the police don't seem to do anything about it either!
Here in the states the big auto manufacturers are using some of the brightest LED headlamps right from the factory floor. If you're in a small car And one of the monstrous trucks or SUVs goes by, or worse pulls up behind. You are liable to go blind, it's like staring into the sun.
Its worse when the car parks on the wrong side with headlights on and half on pavement
Twice in the last 10 years or so I've cautiously approached a car parked like that, due to being blinded by it, then had to suddenly swerve around someone dressed all in black standing in the middle of the road talking to the driver of the offending car. They were completely invisible until I passed the car's headlights. These people are all morons.
Hello Ed ref the hate for electric cars. Its not the concept of the electric car thats the problem. The problem is that they are been forced upon us by governments for the wrong reasons. I could go on, but all i will say is that if we all drove electric cars in the UK. It won't make a difference to alledged worldwide emissions.
What about air quality in cities and our tiny children’s lung health. Surely that’s a benefit we all want
Apart from dazzling other drivers, I've also seen it claimed that an incorrect beam pattern, due to the use of incorrect bulbs, can (in some circumstances) create such a pool of light in front of the vehicle, that the driver's pupils constrict and lead to poorer distance vision. Whatever, I'm sticking to legal ones.
With some spare time, I geeked out about the subject several years ago.
To my surprise, I found out that the lamps’ reflector is specifically designed for a certain type of lightbulb. And I don’t mean just LED or incandescent, etc. It seems that the position of the light source (filament or other), either on the x,y, or z axis, the distance from the light emitter, and other inputs, dictate the designed shape of the reflector.
So, if a lamp’s reflector was specifically designed for a horizontally mounted incandescent filament at 20 mm away, using a xenon bulb in the same lamp may reflect the light into completely unintended directions. The resulting lighting may be great for the driver, but of great nuisance to oncoming traffic.
I believe I read that this sort of modification is illegal and at least some United States states.
Illegal in Australia. Authorities don't care though. I actually hate driving at night now. What a shame.
There is a large industry that researches, develops and produces quality LEDs that create a spotlight with a perfect cutting line.
@@GTAristeu The cutting line is not the issue. it's the excess glare. When cars are going over speed humps, or they are towing etc, the lights become blinding. WAY MORE so than incandescent lights. New vehicles are less of an issue with auto leveling headlights. It's still a massive problem, and I now refuse to drive at night. No glasses, and I am in my early 30's
@ with halogen lamps can do it...😂
Funny you've done a rant on illegal lighting when many moons ago you installed an illegal HID conversion kit into a halogen headlight 😂
To be fair, at the time the HID conversion on the Lexus wasn't illegal but then the law was changed, caused a right old kerfuffle at Discovery towers!
I loathe driving at night now.
Finally, that ending was what I had gotten used to, great camera work and the music timed to perfection on the accompanying vid! I was about to ask, without alienating the current camera man if that is still the same guy or girl as previously you had some gorgeous angles giving us the fly on the wall feeling under the most impossible circumstances. This ending reminds me of that, including the track to go with it, lovely and a great treat for my soul who jumps for joy as soon as artistry comes into play! Thanks to you all! Enjoyed it to bits and just as an FYI I truly don't mind the tea time bits you guys used to have, but I follow your decisions in that process and hope you are enjoying it just the same, indifferent of how it is shared with the outside world!
LED side light bulbs are for off road use only aswell, you aren't allowed to fit any outward facing led bulbs that didnt come from factory
Most people don't care that these bulbs are illegal, and they don't care about having better lighting either, they just think it looks "cool"...
Well, I didn't know some bulbs are not E-marked. It explains a lot!
Es are good!
Historically i have always used Osram Nightbreaker Laser bulbs. Technically the brightest legal Halogens. But they do only typically last 12 months. And, something to be VERY aware off. They run much hotter and after a good few years will eventually destroy the reflectors. Then you need to get them re-silvered which costs nearly £200.
Three good reasons not to use them...!
The 1970s 7in headlight bulbs had the light and integral reflectors. Not amasingly bright but at just over £2.00 for the entire thing quite affordable.
I'm about to fit a set of Osram Nightbreaker 'Smart' LED bulbs on my car (which are on the Osram's "Legal Okay" list for my car in my country), so I'm eager to find out how they'll perform. I've been spoiled a bit over the years by using xenon lamps in the past, so keeping the simple halogen light bulbs on my today's car is not an option.
I’ve had candles brighter than 1970’s headlights… to call ‘not amazingly bright’ an understatement, would be itself, a massive understatement.
@@968Mr Yep! The Nightbreakers are OK bulbs, but the difference in life to long-life Osram bulbs as originally fitted by most car manufacturers at the factory (Nightbreakers 150 hours, Long-Life 1500 hours -- a factor of 10 difference) is just crazy. 1500 hours works out to about 60,000 miles for most people, while 150 hours is only 6,000 miles.
To be fair, Philips up front about this and the difference in life between standard (400 horus), long-life (1500 hours) and various other options (150-400 hours) is written on the package. Surprisingly long-life bulbs are not really *that* dim, else everyone would complain about their factory halogen bulbs (though some do). There's a big contrast to factory HIDs, factory LED, and factor laser headlights that are sometimes very, very bright though.
Video starts at 5:00
If councils used cats eye's and painted the sides of the roads it would help, but they seem to get rid of them when any resurfacing takes place on A roads
Cat's eyes. One of the best, clearest road marking systems ever devised! The modern equivalents, even the actively lit ones are rubbish in comparison.
They did paint the edges of a road they resurfaced around here about a year back. Good idea.
The worse lights are factory lights on new cars, especially EV's.
I think modern car lights are all much brighter but one would hope they are still legal, maybe we just need to re-look at the regulations?
Those are epic!! My motorcycle lights are pathetic! Clearly we're not supposed to ride at night. I'll need to get spots but first I need to get crash bars to mount them. It's a mission to get proper lights on a motorcycle, older ones anyway. Newer bikes are pretty well sorted out but not all of us can afford new bikes or want one.
That is an interesting problem, I guess classic bikes might have a pretty standard bowl but 80's bikes must be a bit of a nightmare. Time for a bit of custom work perhaps? Maybe look at a modern bike with a 'classic look' you could rob parts from?...
Try an LED bulb. Get a name-brand one, and there won't be any problem with the beam pattern.
I have put a Philips WhiteVision Ultra bulb in my 2001 Yamaha XJ900S. It's not perfect but it has improved a lot from the original. What i did do and would recommend is to point the bike at a door or a wall or something (like Edd did in the video using his garage door) and mark te beam height with tape, because after i had changed the bulb for the WhiteVision ultra bulb i had to adjust it slightly downwards.
(and yes i checked but the WhiteVision set is legal for road use here in the Netherlands).
Hi Edd, it was nice to meet you at the bosch training centre, a pitty about the fire alarm going off and having to stand in the rain while they sorted it
Great to meet you too. It was a bit damp that day! Hope you enjoyed the two episodes we filmed at Bosch in Denham?
Allmost all LED bulbs are illegal because they shine absolutely everywhere. At the same time, most cheap LEDs produce LESS light than traditional halogen lightbulbs, but when they shine too high, and basically all of them do, they blind all the oncoming traffic. This issue comes directly from the placement of the LED chips - most LED bulbs don't even try to mimic the placement of the source of light of a legal bulb. They don't install the diodes in exactly the same spot as the tungsten filament sits in the original halogen bulbs. Instead, they pack in as many LEDs as possible, which results in their random placement, meaning random light pattern. So... some of the rays get reflected in the headlamp and shine correctly an the road, but the majority of rays get scattered around, resulting in random reflections which then shine randomly everywhere.
The absolute worst scenario is using LEDs in old-style reflector headlights, as the light shines really high, blinding even pedestrians. Mounting LEDs in projector headlights is more reasonable, as the beam is more controlled, but the light output is usually worse than when using halogen bulbs - some (a lot) light isn't projected on the road and gets trapped in the projector.
Conclusion: If you want LEDs, you'll have to purchase a newer car or, in some cases, upgrade your headlamps to original LED ones. Did the latter to my Hyundai i30, needed a bit of computer programming, but it works, looks great and is legal.
I upgraded the sealed beams in my 1987 s10 blazer to LED. I used DOT approved replacement units and not cheap china ebay junk. Works just fine and is brighter without being blinding other drivers bright.
The only issue you will have is the old bulbs produced heat that would melt snow and ice keeping it from sticking to the lens while driving. The newer generations of LED swaps have heating in them but my first gen don't. I'm lucky enough it doesn't ice up here much but I have had issues with it.
That was true in the early days of cheap H4 LEDs, but hasn't been true for several years. There are plenty of decently designed H4 LEDs with the cob placed where the filament used to be.
@@TheManFrayBentos They're still illegal. From the MOT test manual... "Existing halogen headlamp units on vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must 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 for light source and lamp not compatible."
@@cjmillsnun Depends on the country. Where I live, all LED retrofit kits are illegal because only halogen light sources are approved by the law. And there are specific requirements to be met as well.
When it comes to moden LEDs with proper diode placement to mimic the old-school filament, their light output heavily depends on the type of headlight, so it's really questionable. Still, illegal in most European countries.
I fitted some LED bulbs to my Honda Civic 7 years ago ( dipped beam only ) and for the first 3 years they passed the MOT beam pattern no problem.. Then blanket ban on retrofit LED bulbs was brought in in UK, so they just get taken out for MOT and incandescent bulbs fitted. I paid £80 for the pair pf bulbs fitted with Philips Luxeon LED chips and the beam pattern is actually tighter than with filament bulbs fitted and a lot of the extra light actually goes onto nearside for illuminating verge / kerb / road signs and pedestrians.
I have serious sensitivity to light and I had to stop driving at night because of the new style of headlight and aftermarket stuff here in the US. The blue light absolutely blinds me.
LEDs are not great IMHO. I don't drive at night now either.
Same here in the UK . They are far too bright and scatter the light in all directions . I hate driving at night now. The situation needs to change . It is so very dangerous .
@ry491 It really is dangerous at times. Catch glare from the wrong angle and the yellow lines disappear.
A lot of LEDs being used here in the states are for off-road use and say so on the package. I hate when people do that! 😡
@oldschoolman1444 That is absolutely correct.
"You can actually by illegal headlight bulbs in common stores." This is a big problem in the United States where most of the mom and pop autoparts stores can ran out by the corporates that specialize in third world parts.
Thanks for covering this topic. It really doesn't get enough attention. In the U.S. it's common to lift trucks and they never adjust the lights after the lift and the lights are always way brighter, especially if they have fog lamps, they will shine directly into your face. I wear sunglasses while driving at night now, that's how much of a problem bright headlights are, even on new vehicles.
Why is John dressing like Baldrick? 1:49 😂
It's all part of his cunning plan!!
You’ll be getting a turnip for Christmas!
"So if I have FOUR beans how many do I have?"
"Three"
"What?"
"And that one..."
It's not hate for BEV's it hate for government mandate's like people making laws that couldn't identify a spark plug
I hate the headlights in new cars way too bright
They are definitely a problem.
never in my life have i been in the city and thought "wow i need these headlights to be 400% brighter to overpower all these streetlights already lighting up the road for me"
I guess that is the joy of city street lighting, perhaps their should be a city/country mode for headlights. Bound to make them more complicated and expensive though!
@@eddchina yeah, i think they figured that out sometime in the 1940's and called it "high or low beam"
Because not every place in the world has efficient and sufficient public lighting to avoid the need for a good LED kit for the car's headlights.
Actually, in my area, street lights that were fitted with LEDs to save on electricity, are weaker than the old regular bulbs. Way harder to see at night, even if you're just walking.
I have 18 miles of remote dirt road to get to the first stop sign and 38 miles to the first street light. I just put in LEDs and love them.
same here in Chile, all these selfish ignorant idiots are installing extremely bright bulbs, night driving has become so much more dangerous. Yellow tinted driving glasses help quite a bit.
5:23 Missed opportunity for a "fork handles" joke there.
Edd - What were your favorite cars from Wheeler Dealers? So happy to see you on UA-cam. Been watching old episodes on HBO Max and have been enjoying the show again. You were always the best part of the show!
Edd China great mechanic never forgot ❤
You can change the wiring on T5 headlamps with H4 bulbs to H7 operation ,where the dipped beam remains on when main beam is selected as they do on Caravells. It involves adding an extra wire from a spare terminal on the light switch to the dipped beam wire after the dip/main switch
Dear Ed,
Interesting discussion, thanks for this. You do not seem to read a great deal online about the impact headlight colour temperature, as well as power, has on other road users. One issue I have with LED light installations is how white the output is. Personally I've always preferred decently large light units with quartz halogen bulbs. The slightly yellow output would seem closer to what the human eye is accustomed to seeing in nature.
Trust this finds you well and sending my best wishes to you and yours for 2025.
Cheers,
Brett
The most important things are the condition and quality of both the reflector and the lense. My car and bikes have great lighting using oe headlights and bulbs. I’ve used rubbing compound on a car with faded / oxidised polycarbonate lenses that helped a lot but the reflector was average, also tried upgrading with led bulbs, the best result was from new oe headlights
how many candles? four perhaps.
nice!
Thanks for this Edd! One thing though, i see you're using your garage door to check the beam hight. What i do when i change light units is to use some tape to mark the beam the old lights put up against the door. After changing the units i can simply set the beam to what it was originally using the tape marks.
No room for mistakes and no need for someone behind the wheel and a minimum amount of fuel in the tank etc. Also no need to figure out of there's any indication on the headlight unit itself.
Thanks. Great tip, as long as your current lights are set up properly, with working height servos, or even if they are attached correctly with all the bracketry!! Not sure I would have got away with that on the old T5!!!
This is assuming the old headlights have been adjusted correctly. You should always do the job properly, just like Edd has.
@@wanderer397 It gives you a benchmark. Best thing to do is obviously to drive to an MOT station after changing the units and ask them to check the lights.
@@destructionnl8165 We don't have MOT's in Australia, and I don't belive our "road worthy testers" have light meters to help adjust headlights correctly. Please correct me if I am wrong. Doing it the way Edd has, is perfectly adequate.
A total menace in India these 130w+ Chinese LED bulbs.
Its more of a status symbol upgrade everyone wants, as the more expensive cars come with LED lamps from factory. I've had to wear polarised light tint sunglasses at night now, it helps reduce the glare about 20-25%
To all, who want to adjust their headlights correctly: straighten your wheels first
Well I was certainly impressed with that video on Headlights. Amazed and love the bright clarity of those bulbs. However, in my opinion @ 24:08, those low beams are still WAY too high and would definitely blind someone coming your way. On that country road most likely putting them into the hedgerow or ditch. 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
In the US supposedly no aftermarket led headlamps or led replacement lamps for halogen lamps are department of transportation approved.
22:54 Also possible have to take into account that your suspension isn't shot and the van is sitting at the correct height so that when you are setting up the pattern you aren't setting them too low in the first place. A broken spring could make a huge difference potentially.
So what was the "surprising truth" that "nobody tells you"? Because the fact there's plenty of illegal bulbs available, which is the only thing I can come up with based on the video, is far from something "nobody tells you", I'd be willing to bet most people capable of replacing their bulbs know this (but many decide to simply ignore it). Not that it doesn't bear repeating, of course.
At the moment I own three old VWs from the late 80s till late 90s. All with glass headlight lenses and regular H4 halogen bulbs. Compared to previous cars with plastic lenses which tend to get foggy, the glass lenses make a massive difference in the clarity of the light.
I feel like the halogen light itself is perfectly adequate for any situation, combined with good clear lenses. Main beam is plenty of light when there's no other traffic. Dipped beam is much nicer for the oncoming traffic. Less harsh light with a lower brightness.
Also the colour is much nicer to the eyes. With white LED light I feel like I can't see beyond the dipped beam. The contrast between the bright white light and the darkness beyond becomes to large. With the more natural coloured light of the halogen bulbs, I can still kinda see beyond the light, look more into the distance.
Says it right on the box " For Off-Road Use Only"
It does but they are displayed in the store along with all the standard bulbs so if you don't read the small print you might buy the wrong bulbs and become a nocturnal menace!
Ed, unsure if you are aware, but white LED bulbs are generally blue ones with a yellow filter applied. If you understand light colouration, this will make sense. Equally so, incandescent lighting tends to be yellow coloured ( excluding Halogen of course), therefore the blue tinge applied to the bulb will result in a light colour ( temperature) that is closer to white light.
It took Edd a long time to get to the headlight upgrade.
I propose we just have an arms race with increasingly bright headlamps until we get the Earth so hot it doesn't matter anymore.
How many jillion candle power do I need to outblind every other asshole on the road? That seems to be the sad trend today.
I fitted some LED bulbs to my Honda Civic 7 years ago ( dipped beam only ) and for the first 3 years they passed the MOT beam pattern no problem.. Then blanket ban on retrofit LED bulbs was brought in in UK, so they just get taken out for MOT and incandescent bulbs fitted. I paid £80 for the pair pf bulbs fitted with Philips Luxeon LED chips that are same size and exact same position in the reflector as a filament and the beam pattern is actually tighter than with filament bulbs fitted and a lot of the extra light actually goes onto nearside for illuminating verge / kerb / road signs and pedestrians. The good news is that those bulbs are still working ---- I would have burned through at least 4 sets of high output filament bulbs in the time the LED have been working as they rarely last 2 years
The MOT light test in the UK is a joke.
Garages with 40 year old equipment checking LED lights.
Everytime they touch my lights I have to spend 2 hours readjusting them so I can safely drive in the Peak district without killing myself or any other oncoming road users. 😂😂😂
Besides this latest trend to drive with our brights on in my area of the US, these new LEDs are overwhelming to oncoming drivers. I think it’s the higher output combined with the extra glare of the higher temperature light? I absolutely can’t see the road in front of me from these new cars. It’s worse than when the xenon/HIDs came out 25 years ago.
Great vid Edd, you do well making these for understanding what's legal and what's needed to do this work at home.
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. We have a treat for you on the 27th - cheapest Ferrari in Europe!
@@eddchina I will definitely be watching that!
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all of you! 🎄🎅🎉
Lights today are waaaay too bright and i hate them from bottom of my heart. Vans and trucks are the most annoying and most bright because of the height.
Having to remove the entire bumper just to get to your headlights or anything else in the front of a vehicle is idiocy. I once told my nephews that they have cracked the hood of a car. They are no longer qualified to design them.
I agree, it is just terrible design to ignore easy servicing and repair on any vehicle! Worse still is the fact that it really wouldn't take much more thought or effort to implement a well considered solution. I think it partly comes from having such big teams designing cars independently of each other and only considering the ease of build on the production line and the reliance of the service centres to generate the profit so inventing special tools and processes (and huge bills) etc.
@@eddchinashows how much VW gave up careing given that on the T4 they’d gone to the effort to design the radiator on brackets that allowed it to easily be tilted forward to an engine service position just to make that easy. T5 design boss was obveously ex Audi so thought step 1 = remove front end was fine.
@@gs188
A lot of people moan but just about ANY modern car will be designed in such a way that the bumper will need to ve removed to remove the lights. Partly due to how design has altered for safety regs and also ease of assembly in the factory.
More recently I've clearcoated the lenses on a mk2 clio and a mk2 megane and wanted to removed them to do a more thorough job. Asides having to replace some of those funny lite plastic push in clips it was easy and quick on both cars. I honestly don't know why people make such a big fuss about it.
@@eddchina People often want a bigger engine in a smaller car (e.g., V8 in a Audi S4) which doesn't help! In some ways, you do need to make concessions to styling sometimes IMO, else everything would be a Toyota Corolla or Toyota Hilux with a rectangular engine bay, radiator that can be easily pulled straight out the top and so on (it seems like Toyota are scared of angering mechanics by making changes!).
I used to drive a Scammel Crusader, the radiator was on hinges so you raised the grill and unscrewed a hand wheel and slid the bar across and the radiator swung out at 90' for engine front end access.
At last Edd, a proper episode. No rehashed WD content. No more long content on a chassis! A well edited and shot video. Lots of different content with new personalities which is great. Oh and a topical and interesting main topic of LED. I love you and met you once but nearly unsubscribed a while ago, I hope you keep this level up and regular too. To me this episode screams ‘you’re back’ sir :) Now you just need a proper partner with similar values like Trade Classics 🎉
Anybody fitting an LED headlight bulb really has to be aware of their shortcomings and advantages. Too many times, they're fitted by people quite ignorant of the downsides and careless of the negative effects they can have.
I've been using LED headlights for years and very careful to match them to the units of the car or bike, as some combinations just don't work well, with too much scatter or almost no cut-off on dip.
To date, I've not had a vehicle fail a test because I'm careful with my installations, and I never get flashed on the road because, again, I'm careful to make sure it doesn't dazzle.
It's really not rocket science, just a bit of thought.
I think a good quality LED bulb used in a projector beam and a nice unblemished, clean lens will always be better.
Although retro fitting LED bulbs into older headlight units is still technically illegal, the actual lighting performance varies massively from bulb to bulb and unit to unit as the actual construction of LED bulbs isn't as consistent as standard halogen filament bulbs. I've tried several different LED bulbs, on some the beam scatter was terrible and useless verging on dangerous so a waste of money but I did eventually find some with a beam pattern to match the old halogens.
A great subject to touch on! I'm loving all your content lately Edd. Merry Christmas to you!🎄😊
Thanks, Merry Christmas to you too. Still more to come, we have a treat for you on the 27th of December - John has bought the cheapest Ferrari in Europe (perhaps the world!) should be fun, could be a cartastrophy!
@eddchina awesome, can't wait! Sounds like it's going to be interesting to say the least😁
What is going on ..is there no heat in the shop
Polish the old lights then some seal resin or even PPF. They won't be too bad.
is seal resin like mink oil?
Thanks for filming Edd. 😁👍🏼
Interesting. In the early 80s, the tungsten bulbs on our motorbikes were less than useless. Luckily, you could get 100/120-watt bulbs from the BMW rally shop 😀 With the addition of a power diode you could use the high beam without cutting the low beam which gave 210 Watts. The new reflector to take the heat cost more than the bulbs but it was a lifesaver. The alternator also needed swapping out on a few bikes to handle the extra power. Illegal but no one I knew got done for it. (We also had air horns, better than a tiny beep). Those were the days, no potholes or speed cameras.
A couple of thoughts....
1. the "Kick up" beam pattern is designed to illuminate pedestrians to the nearside , whilst not dazzling oncoming traffic.
2. The problem with LED bulbs is that headlamps that are designed to take standard TF bulbs, have a filament that occupies a closely defined space, in a very closely defined location. The shape of the reflector is designed to provide the correct beam pattern, IF the filament is in the correct place.
Most LED bulbs are of COB design, where the actual emitter is much larger, is unable to provide 360 degree emission, and is positioned away from where the tungsten filament would normally be, leading to incorrect beam pattern...
Avoid LED headlamp bulbs if the headlamp is designed for a TF bulbs. It will never be right....
However, if , as ED did here you are changing from a standard headlamp shell of the reflector type, to one of the projector type, designed to take an LED bulb, then totally ignore everything I have just said...
all the vehicles that dazzle me are typically less than five years old, so the dazzling issue doesn't come from people with older cars fitting illegal LED bulbs, rather from the somehow legal factory fitted units in modern vehicles
Here’s the dangerous thing about very bright headlights. The contrast ratio between the dark area outside of the headlights is perceptually darker with much brighter lit areas. These areas are much more defined with new lamps as well. With the brighter lights our iris closed down and the contrast ratio means especially in poorly lit or unlit road areas means if an animal child or object is in the unlit zone you will not see it until it moves into the lit zone and depending on your beam spread and contrast ratio and speed you are actually much more likely to hit that object. Seems counter intuitive but that’s how it works. Lights now are actually really badly designed. Bright is not necessarily best depending on bream design spread and distance.
Exactly, you need a bit of light scatter (if thats the right term).
The trouble with all these super bright bulbs is that whatever remains of a persons night vision is destroyed in the light wars.
Interestingly i was issued with a new Scania truck in April, it has LED headlights which are the best lights i've ever experienced, even illuminate the offside kerb which is a first and they don't have those awful sharp cut off beam you describe, yet they don't dazzle oncoming drivers because i've yet to have a warning flash.
It's not so much extra bright light as maladjusted light like bulbs fitted upside down blinding every one
No, it's the freaking brightness. I can see just fine without the light at night, out in the country, and these new lights are like staring at the freaking sun, burning the image into my retina, blinding me. I hate them, and I hate the people who use them, and the car companies for putting them in. The old ones weren't broke, no need to fix them, especially if making them worse than the old ones.
19:13 oooooooh that’s very nice in the top right 😍😍😍😍😍😍
Don't know what you mean! Couldn't possibly comment until the 27th of December!! Enjoy!
@ Thanks Edd 😁 looking forward to the 27th. Merry Christmas
Blue lights are illegal on UK road vehicles unless they are emergency vehicles, this includes Blue effect bulbs. If you are unsure simply ask a friend if the light looks blue when holding a sheet of white paper just in front of your headlamp, if they say yes then you may want to change them. cheaper than a fine and points on your licence.
Thank You Edd (and Mates) :)
Ed, your videos are great as always, it's nice to watch
When converting headlights with H4 bulbs to headlights with double parabola, it is still necessary to make a modification to the electrical harness to avoid the situation that when the high beams are turned on, the low beams go out.
LED madness, its not just the headlights its brake lights as well. Most drivers seem to sit in a que with their foot on the brakes, blinding the driver behind. Even the LED traffic lights are too bright!
That annoys me too! I always stick the handbrake on personally.
It's worth noting that some modern cars have an auto hold function in traffic and will illuminate the brake lights automatically though!
Mines illuminate when I stop, it’s quite annoying as yes it does blind someone behind you
Quite agree, and yes some traffic lights are actually dangerous especially when in a truck because the light is right in your sight line.
Mate get the lads a couple of IR heater panels.
We have a union spec brazier coming form Workers Against Abuse dot Com but I might get round to fitting some insulation and heating one day! We had a few Milwaukee battery heated jackets but Paul may have snaffled them!!
What about blind ing the oncoming head lights .
Welcome back Sir... 😎
Thanks! 😃lots of episodes you may have missed so plenty of Christmas viewing!
@@eddchina I will watch them all in order, sir, and I follow you with excitement. Thank you for your labour. I'm glad you're here. 😎
@@eddchina I will watch them all in order, sir, and I follow you with excitement. Thank you for your labour. I'm glad you're here. 😎
Great video Edd. Tnx
Thanks you and thanks for watching.
I drive country roads at night, the worst is the artic tractor units that are lit up like a monstrous Blackpool illuminations ….blinding
Most of the "200% brighter" ones really aren't when they are properly tested with the correct equipment. A lot of them aren't as bright as the standard bulbs. Halogen lights are extremely inefficient. I live in the US so we don't have the same laws. I replaced my wife's useless 6x4 sealed beam headlights with H4s using LED bulbs. The difference is that now she has the hard cutoff that is normal in European headlights, and a lot better light, but without blinding anyone. Also without consuming nearly as much current, so her wiring is safe. In the US most states limit headlights to 2000 lumens. In the UK in the 90s I tried some higher powered H4s and they just failed fast, like in hours. HIDs produce a huge amount of UV, which can damage the transparent polycarbonate lenses. Good bulbs should filter out the UV, but the ones Stelantis used in my Jeep are cheap and don't. So $3000 for new headlights. The Torque Test channel tests bulb brightness. LEDs have a nasty tendency to ramp down as they get hot.
Thanks, really interesting information. You would think after 100 years of development we might have headlights sorted by now!!
Another issue with ECE lighting regulations is that they have not been updated for the LED taillamps. The regulations do not have the minimum reflector size as the US regulations do for both red brake and amber turn signal indicators: they must be at least four square inches per halogen bulb (that negates the sequential amber turn signal indicators). The ECE regulations only measure the minimum amount of illumination from the certain distance.
The manufacturers are given the freedom to create the taillamps that are thin (that the brake lamps "overwhelm" the amber turn signal indicators during the day) or tiny with two or three LED bulbs for brake or for turn signal indicators. Stopping behind them during the night, they cast lot of glare that hurt our eyes. In the UK, the drivers were advised to use the handbrakes when idling during the traffic stop.
True, on some cars you can't see the indicator light because is either to small or the headlight/taillamp is tooooooo bright
The bulbs that came standard in my Jazz (stop sniggering you lot) were bordering on downright dangerous the light was so poor, I changed mine for "Night breakers" & OMG what a difference, unlit `A` roads were a nightmare with the standard bulbs but with the `Breakers I can finally see where the road is going, I`d deffo recommend night breakers for anyone looking to upgrade their bulbs!
wait, what? 15:25 thats right hand side drive beam pattern, it should be un on the left for you.
ooh. neat trick. Did not know those can be switched
Back in 1998 (ish), I bought a Yamaha FJ1200 and the lights were appalling. Went into the local motorcycle dealer and bought a 130/90 bulb, thoroughly illegal, but slightly better. Also added a pair of 55w spots to help! Did you get venison, or badger 😁
Blinding (probably in a good way)!
4:56;To the casual observer (me), it looks like that motor is in backwards. How is he not going to have all his drive gears propelling the car backwards too.
Forklift trucks are funny things but as they are hydraulic drive it is a lot easier to change the direction of the drive to the wheels whether the whole lot is spinning backward or not! I'll volunteer my driving services for the first try, just in case!
Well, the manufacturer made it like that so I'm pretty sure it's going to work 😂
And gears? Smaller forklifts in particular aren't like cars.
Do a voltage test at the bulb socket chances are there’s a couple of volt drop from the end point from the beginning point that means your bulbs are not getting full voltage and putting out the full amount of light that they are designed for. There are headlight relay kits availablethat redirect the energy through thicker wires with less resistance. It’s an easy and cheap upgrade.
If you're upgrading bulb wattage then maybe but OEM wiring is more than adequate for standard spec bulbs. If you're getting an appreciable voltage drop there's either damage to the wiring itself or corrosion/oxidation in any connectors or switches involved. If that's the case just find and fix the problem then there's no need to faff about with extra relays and wiring. Going from halogen to LED you'll be reducing wattage and current draw anyway.
@ it’s not uncommon for there to be an appreciable drop in voltage on older pre-can bus cars. It also reduces failure rates on switch switches as they are no longer the direct conduit for the full voltage. They only serve to activate the relays.
Even small voltage drops can be significant with halogen bulbs due to power is proportional to voltage squared, however it’s very unlikely to noticeable unless the manufacturer made the wires it implausibly thin.
Going from 18awg to 12awg would net you around a 4.5% gain in light output, but our eyes perceive non-linearly so would appear less than that, probably imperceptible.
That’s assuming a 6ft cable run, and one cable per headlight.
@@sorryociffer I got less than 0.3v drop compared to the voltage at the battery using the standard 55/60w halogen filament bulbs, which, at a nominal 13.8v is negligible. That's on a 27yr old vehicle which uses relays as standard. If you convert to LED's, voltage drop is even less of a problem as they draw far less current and have a much wider input voltage tolerance.
Excellent tutorial there, Edd. Thanks for that. Lights are so important, specially this time of the year.
The main problem with aftermarket LED bulbs is that the size, shape and position of the LED source are not correct... This distorts the beam pattern and alters the proper cut-off beam shape.. Be prepared to pay a few bob for a decent LED bulb like Philips or Osram... Do not expect £10 a pair Ebay offerings to be anywhere near legal beam pattern.
In Australia many 4wd cars have LED light bars....these are dangerous as the light is so intense the oncoming driver is blinded AND..more importantly the driver of the car with the light bar does not see the headlights of oncoming vehicles because the LED is so bright, conseqoently does not switch them off as the vehicles pass....it's a problem on poor quality rural roads here in OZ.
Some great information Ed
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.
@eddchina we have problem in Ireland with these headlight bulbs being too bright id love to upgrade my focus to led but to do it legally is hard trying to get a professional to help
Love your videos, so much info .Merry Christmas and happy new year to all , Looking forward to next year's videos.
Merry Christmas to you too. Thanks for watching. We have a Christmas treat for you on the 27th of December - John bought the cheapest Ferrari in Europe (perhaps the world)! Should be fun, might be a disaster!!
My life depends on seeing where I'm going(ride a motorcycle) Modern cars frequently (around here) have such intensity of light that I'm totally blinded & only here to recount such due to having lived here 60+ years & know the road ahead (almost intimately 😁) I only have a bike as my sole transport due to my previous bike being stolen resulted in insurance quotes more expensive than were I a newly qualified teenage driver with 6 points! for a car, plus holding a full licence for car/bike/HGV for over 20 years made little difference. I've resorted to simply remaining home during darkness as were I to be dazzled I die but this time of year(few days before bloody Xmas)the UK has limited daylight, so not only do I get shafted by (apparently) blind cars/trucks with 10k lumens of light approaching me, if I dare to flash them to alert them of how bright their lights are, only a few acknowledge & return to dip(which although bright still allows me to remain alive) lots don't as they're driving mum/dad/boyfriend/girlfriend car & know nothing about looking at their dashboard & doing something about the "driving lamp" "foglight" warning indicator legally required for MOT(yet 80% won't see an MOT for a few years)or the vehicle has had a very minor bump thats done little but snap a few of the plastic clips THAT KEPT THE LIGHT OUTPUT ON THE BLOODY GROUND! so now the headlight is pointing straight at opposing traffic. Thirty-five years ago, I drove an original Issigonis Mini which way low to the ground so bigger vehicles(everybody elses)lights shone in my face yet once I'd fitted 100W spotlights to it, rarely did I lose in the fight for vision against opposing traffic. On a bike, thats not so easy as A) bike alternators aren't able to supply sufficient amps to power high output extra lights(my present bike chucks a hissy if I turn on the ignition a few times but dont actually start it & ride anywhere, as I discovered when fixing an indicator recently as had to bump start it/not quite as easy as you'd expect due to icy roads) As riders, we must wear a helmet & I chose a "flip-front" which has a visor. Now winter riding is fraught with hassles, no wipers so in rain oncoming light explodes in miriad "stars" rendering the road invisible. Passing traffic throws a mixture of moisture/road grime over me so cursory wipes with a gloved finger results in a greasy film spreading across my visor which leads to gorgeous displays of colour but zero visibily of where I'm going, my only advantage being a bike means I can progress past hold-ups as long as I realise by the time I arrive at my destination I'm likely to have around 3-4 van drivers oblivious to my existence hanging out to the centre line so a little blast on the throttle has me several hundred yards ahead. Certain times of day, even rural towns get traffic hold-ups(especially as an accident inevitably has the ONLY road to where I'm going blocked)& having been the victim of 12-13 crashes where my only cause was BEING on that location when "MUPPET" ran in to me! Since I resumed riding, I try to limit my contact with locals by heading out for other areas(Northumberland has some fantastic roads)by the most direct route that also fortunately has little other traffic other than tractors at certain times of year. The present time of year means here in the UK, some roads are impassable due to the snow/ice covering them(tho we're assured this year will defo not be a white Xmas, that doesn't prevent the roads being impassable either side of Xmas)others are "closed" for maintenance thus turning any ride N/S/E of here being a true mission(M6 is at least an hours ride)My sanity is maintained due to having driven my working life so am able to find a way to escape the insanity of closing the ONLY route (several years ago,the main north/south route was closed by the police due an accident, resulting in a 120 mile diversion to get from 10 miles south to here. The accident involved a small van that had collided with the verge and fallen over. The occupants escaped without injury yet PC Jobworth had the road closed for HOURS! Joys of rural existence I suppose 🤣
Just a thought, why are the individual bulbs illegal, when the actual light comes from reflectors and it's just a matter of power of light put in to those reflectors.I am saying, car makers should make best possible chassis for the bulbs which keep evolving to be better all the time.
75Kg -- THAT'S HILARIOUS 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Indeed!
Well I’m full size so need a lot of fuel to keep my skin taut!
@ one thing I’ve noticed: lifts capacity used to be “250kg 4 people”, now if it’s a lift for 4 people it needs to be able to deal with 350 kg at least!
that last episode on the Leaf battery was very interesting, don't let the EV haters get to you