"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
11/27/2015 at 20:14 • Filed to: teh future, miata, leds are cool, leds
13
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"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
11/27/2015 at 20:14 • Filed to: teh future, miata, leds are cool, leds | 13
| 31 |
I drive at night. A lot. I go to work when it’s dark, and then I come home when it’s dark. Aside from being soul-crushingly depressing, it’s also dark. And deer mating season. And ice-on-the-road season. To that end I decided I needed to see a bit better than the $15 sylvania sealed-beams on the Miata would allow. As luck would have it just as the thought popped into my head a clubroadster.com member posted something interesting for sale: A set of Bosch H4 sealed-beam adaptors with a set of Sylvania Silverstar Ultras and, here’s the kicker, some H4 LED bulbs. The owner was upgrading to projectors, which I would do but I didn’t like the non-stock look. Here’s the LED assembly next to a stock sealed beam.
Can’t tell which is which, can you?
Here it is from the back. You can see the small computer fan used to dissipate the heat from the LEDs. These make a very interesting noise that you can hear from outside the car when they’re running.
Let’s have some comparisons...
Sealed beams, then LEDs.
LED and sealed beam. I really like the wider beam. Very good for seeing deer and other stuff off to the side of the road.
Sealed beam and then LED
And a shot from above and below the cutoff to show how little glare there is. I’m very impressed, and flipping the brights on is an instant flash of light which is very noticeable and eye-catching.
And a random shot from behind the wheel just for the hell of it
bob and john
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/27/2015 at 20:21 |
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I’m going to make you spend money.
look up revlimiter for some SWEET gauge faces.
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> bob and john
11/27/2015 at 20:29 |
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NOPE
NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE
TRYING TO AVOID
STOP FOUL TEMPTRESS.
They’re super expensive but there are like five designs there that I want. All at once.
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bob and john
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/27/2015 at 20:32 |
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also, check out the retro window/hazard switchs. I WANT. AND I DONT EVEN OWN A MIATA
415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
> bob and john
11/27/2015 at 20:35 |
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Thats cray cray
64C10
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/27/2015 at 20:40 |
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The only way I could tell was by the heat sinks on the LED’s, that’s awesome!
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> bob and john
11/27/2015 at 20:44 |
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I’m so tempted to drop $100 on some HVAC control panel goodness, since mine is aged and yellowed and flaking off.
Sam
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/27/2015 at 20:45 |
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I need those in my E34. It's dark and rainy right now and I can't see shit.
Seat Safety Switch
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/27/2015 at 20:47 |
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This is a nice cheap alternative to the Peterson sealed-beam LED replacements. I wanted E-codes anyway, hmm...
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> Sam
11/27/2015 at 20:48 |
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It’s dark and rainy and I want to go drive to nowhere just to admire how much I can see
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> Seat Safety Switch
11/27/2015 at 20:48 |
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I heard really good things about e-codes, for what that’s worth.
gin-san - shitpost specialist
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/27/2015 at 20:50 |
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What’s wrong with five speedometers, other than the fact that you can’t plead ignorance if a cop pulls you over and asks, “Do you know how fast you were going?”
XJDano
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/27/2015 at 20:51 |
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I wonder how much H4 LED bulbs are. I already did a sealed beam conversion.
Composites, sealed beam, then cut up composites for better aero. Halfway through.
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> XJDano
11/27/2015 at 20:56 |
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http://www.amazon.com/Power-3000LM-6…
I believe these are what I have.
Also your sealed beam conversion looks AWESOME.
Aleksey
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/27/2015 at 21:14 |
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Reflectors are not designed to project light, instead they blind oncoming traffic and are a hazard on the road in the rainy nights...
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XJDano
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/27/2015 at 21:15 |
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That’s the composite ones on the left, the sealed beams are on the right. But since earlier cars had front turn signals in the bumper I decided to chop up the composite ones and keep sealed beams.
Actually the car was in a wreck befor I bought it and I could never aim them right. With the sealed beams it has the housing that aims them not the knobs on the back of the composite set up where the cheap knock offs I bought didn’t work really well either. I tapped a deer and this damage happened, so back then I bought whole new composite lights for both sides. That was around Feb ‘07.
RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/27/2015 at 21:40 |
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Hmm....I’ve thought about doing an LED headlight conversion on my Accent...the high-beams are OK, but I still find the low beams a bit dim for Canadian driving in semi-rural areas...(i.e. lots of deer).
I see they seem to stick out through your dirt/water caps on the back of your reflectors...(am I wrong?). If that is the case, I’d be worried about moisture and dirt damaging the little fans that cool the lights. Furthermore, another question is, if one of those fans dies (and the bulb didn’t miraculously die along with it from overheating), how hard would the fan be to replace?
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/27/2015 at 21:48 |
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The fan looks to be a somewhat standard computer fan size and is held on with four wood screws, so probably just unscrew it, snip the wires, then solder and heatshrink on another one. Hell, it might even have a standard laptop fan connector in there.
Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch
> bob and john
11/27/2015 at 21:52 |
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This has made me want an NA more than anything before, which is dumb fantastic.
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/27/2015 at 21:56 |
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Is it open to the elements for all intents and purposes? (aside from being under the hood)
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/27/2015 at 22:00 |
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Yup. But, I mean, so are the electric radiator cooling fans, and in a much more exposed position.
CAR_IS_MI
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/27/2015 at 23:22 |
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I have these on my wrangler. best upgrade ever considering the oem’s barely put out any light.
Andrew P. Collins
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/28/2015 at 00:29 |
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We tried the LED headlight bulb-only swap with much less impressive results.
I figured that a housing designed for LEDs would make a world of difference. Looks like you’ve pretty much confirmed the theory.
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/28/2015 at 07:20 |
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True, but I think they would be weather-treated/designed...if these are indeed just small computer fans, they aren’t intended for any moisture at all and might die quickly.
Looking forward to hearing how yours work, they aren’t that expensive, so I still might convert down the road if I can find bulbs with the same type as mine! :)
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> Andrew P. Collins
11/28/2015 at 08:00 |
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This housing was actually designed for any H4 bulb, I just think that the design of the Miata lenses (round) means there are less variables in the geometry that are thrown out of whack by using something not incandescent.
deekster_caddy
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/28/2015 at 09:24 |
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I’ve been thinking about these for my old Buick. Looks like I’d need to buy something like Hella’s 5-3/4 conversions for about $100 and then some LED bulbs for about $100 each. SuperbrightLEDs has H4 bulbs with a copper web heat dissipator on the back that don’t have a fan. I don’t like the idea of something that gets so hot it needs a fan.
The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/28/2015 at 11:08 |
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Aftermarket on left.
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123
11/28/2015 at 12:59 |
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A winrar is you
boxrocket
> 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
11/28/2015 at 16:23 |
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Dammit.
If I didn’t like my avatar so much (and had a personal ideology against changing it too much), I’d change it to the Doge speedo.
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415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
> boxrocket
11/28/2015 at 17:04 |
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“Concern” is hilarious
gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
> Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/28/2015 at 22:08 |
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I understand these draw less on the system, do you know if that’s a problem, or are there any other things to consider?
My 914 was converted to H4 bulbs, which are better than the stock sealed beams but still suck compared to newer headlights.
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Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
> gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
11/28/2015 at 23:33 |
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I’ve noticed no operational difference with these bulbs.