I bought a gang of four Hella 2000 lights just because they were there, and they were cheap. I haven't run driving lamps on my cars for 30 years, or more. Are there decent LED substitutes for the Hella H3 bulbs? I haven't even taken these things apart yet to see if they are 55w or 100w currently. I just remember that the alternator on my 1978 Datsun didn't really like powering four lights, especially with two of them having the 100w draw.
I can't help you with LED, but I converted Hella 500's to HID back in the days. It put out an insane amount of light, but I would only light them up on backroads with no other cars in sight...
https://youtube.com/c/HeadlightRevolution
These guys test all kinds of LED, HID, etc bulbs.
In reply to sergio :
Geez.......I could get lost in there for quite some time........
These guys do mostly trucks, but something there might fit. I upgraded everything in the front of my 17 F-150, and now I'm "that guy" with the bright lights. I'm no kid anymore, and sometimes I get out of work at 2 am for a 100 mile commute. Nice to be able to see.
I did all of my lights on my tacoma. I am sure you can find a bulb and get it in there.
I looked into this for some Black Magics and 2000s, they're H3 halogen bulbs, but the vast majority of the direct replacement H3 LEDs are DRL bulbs. They don't put out anywhere near the light of the 55w halogen in the Hellas. There are a few high output H3s available, but they've got a heatsink on them that won't fit in the Hella housing.
In reply to Lee :
That's the kind of info I need. Thanks.
I have had bad luck with LED retrofits for long distance lighting too, unless they were specifically designed to be LEDs. The "hot spot" of the bulb isn't usually in the right place, so you end up with unfocused light that is wasted in directions where it isn't useful. HID retrofits have worked much better for me, especially for longer-distance lighting. YMMV and I know it can work sometimes, but that's been my experience.
gearheadE30 said:I have had bad luck with LED retrofits for long distance lighting too, unless they were specifically designed to be LEDs. The "hot spot" of the bulb isn't usually in the right place, so you end up with unfocused light that is wasted in directions where it isn't useful. HID retrofits have worked much better for me, especially for longer-distance lighting. YMMV and I know it can work sometimes, but that's been my experience.
From what I understand it's not that the hotspot is in the wrong spot, it's that LEDs don't typically have that hotspot. Their light output is uniform and without that hotspot you don't get the same "throw" of light.
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