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Each of the photos are slightly different.. all were done in haste using simple PowerPoint functions.

I definitely have my preferences and tastes but also interested in hearing your thoughts, comparisons and contrasts.. keeping in mind that this car is strictly a toy and not intended to impersonate the original classic car.

-=A=-

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  • Current chrome
  • LED headlights
  • Black Chrome
  • Black Chrome + LED headlights
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For what it's worth, I couldn't see anything with the OE headlights. They were too dim and going LED was one of the better purchases I have made.

EMPI makes a super-cheap H4 kit, which comes with bulbs, but I put Siverstars in and now I can actually see where I'm going. LED is fantastic, but H4 is worlds better than a sealed beam. I think I was less than $50 into mine, but now it looks like $70 is the freight to get to this setup.

It may be the best money I spent on the car along the way.

I think I have the EMPI H4 lights, that's what Greg sent me. I put in some LED H4 bulbs, and honestly I can't remember where I got them, maybe Amazon. They are pretty bright, almost as good as the Xenon lights that were in my Audi. The bulbs I got have a flexible braided metal heat sink on the back that I splayed out behind the bulb, so no fans.

The current draw is very low. Every single bulb on the entire car is LED, which to me is a forward-looking proposition. Theoretically, none of them should ever burn out, at least in my lifetime.

I'm not a fan of "halo" headlights on a car such as a 356 or a Spyder, too modern of a look.

You can also get the Hella H4 Vision Plus lights with the City Light feature.  It's an extra socket at bottom with a small bulb.  In Germany, you don't use bright headlights in cities since there is street lighting and these lights are used to not disturb residents.  They are used there for parking along the narrow streets too at night. In US they can be used for daytime running lights or even turn signals.  The precision glass lenses are flat but are designed to act as a fog light where on low so you can read signs and when on high you get more of a driving spot light effect. They say 75% more light with std H4 bulbs - you can swap higher wattage or LED in (but may have to cut back of headlight bucket out a bit). These are not US DOT approved but are European approved.

Here's a reasonable copy of the for $44/pr.

https://www.busdepot.com/hq6014

They also have $35/pair (plus bulbs)

https://www.busdepot.com/nl910ch4/

The Hellas are available for $79/pair

Danny wrote: "Theoretically, none of them (LED light bulbs) should ever burn out, at least in my lifetime."

That's what I thought when I flipped all of the lights in my house to LEDs and yes, the BULB might last a lifetime but those little AC/DC converters in the lamp base or tucked into the fixture?  They poop out in 15 - 18 months, it seems, because they heat up and destroy themselves.

Honestly, they may last longer in cars, but I'm not seeing the longevity here at the house.  THAT was a big surprise, after using LEDs for decades in computers with never a failure.

those little AC/DC converters in the lamp base or tucked into the fixture?  They poop out in 15 - 18 months, it seems, because they heat up and destroy themselves.

This statement is closer to the truth than anybody in the industry would like to admit. My house is all LED, as are most of the case lights in supermarkets now.

It's quite nearly always the drivers that are the issue. They're marginally sized for the LED array, and generally last 2- 5 years, depending on how much air they can get around them. They last longer in freezers, and can light retrofits in living spaces are the worst (because they run the hottest). Knowing that the driver is the issue, but tossing the entire (sealed) assembly is maddening.

Wolfie wrote: "Most house LED bulbs say not for totally (my italics) enclosed fixtures."  I just checked and my spare bulb boxes say that, too.  Probably because those little power supplies generate enough heat to go into silicon melt-down and poop out.  Mine also say "Not intended for Emergency Exits."   Don't know what's up with that.....

Dr. @Bob: IM S6  wrote: "I went out last year or so and bought a huge supply of traditional lightbulbs, as I can't stand the look of LED lights in the house.  I much prefer the soft look of traditional light bulbs."

I may have a solution for you for when you've used up your ten year supply of incandescent bulbs.  

LEDs are typically sold with two totally different ratings noted on the package:

1.  Light output, measured in Lumens.  This can be anything from 250 lumens (pretty dim, like the headlights on an original '57 VW sedan) all the way up to 2000 Lumens (wicked bright - Don't look right at it).  

For an average table lamp, you want something around 800 lumens or so of brightness.  But that won't get you to that soft, yellow-y light you get from those circa 1830 candles you're used to burning.  For that you also need:

2.  The color hue or temperature measured in Kelvins (Don't look at me.  I didn't come up with the term.)  This refers to the color saturation of the light being emitted and typically runs the range of about 1700K (leaning past yellow towards orange as sen in "decorative" bulbs), all the way up past "wicked bright white" at 5,000K and on into the tinges of blue range at 10,000K.  (if you want wicked bright light in your shop, that's the puppy to get.)

What you want for your den's table lamps, in fact just about anywhere in your 1830's castle, is a color hue/temp of about 2,700K.  How do I know this?  Because I went through this after the "Great Generator Blow Up" and had to replace a couple of recessed lights in my kitchen and tried to match color hue with the remaining, good ones.  Now they're all 2,700 bulbs and that's what I got for the two dead bulbs in the living room, too.  They look "normal", not too white.  Stay away from "Daylight" bulbs as they'll probably be close to 5,000K.

Here's a handy-dandy chart showing the difference in hue/temp/color versus Kelvin rating, and to answer the question at the bottom of the chart, YES!  Color temperature matters one helluva lot!  You probably won't like anything higher than 4000-5000 as it'll be wicked white AND seem too bright.

LED color chart

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  • LED color chart
Last edited by Gordon Nichols
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