Alan

I'll take a look - but in that case the heat does still stay inside the housing.

Looking at available H3 LED bulbs - it seems virtually all of them have the LED's in the wrong place, very very wrong on most of them. Most are also far too long to fit in the shielded fog light position. Ideal would be a single sided bulb for the fogs (could maybe even drop the shield) and a two, or multi-sided for the Aux Headlamps. Again I think this new topic deserves its own thread.

Back On Topic. Ed I have ordered the LED's - can I go ahead and order a set of covers from your initial run? can PayPal you for them. Let me know.

Alan

Ed Scherer

I don't mind the H3 discussion, although perhaps we should start another thread on that, because I'm sure it will introduce a whole new set of discussion points.

Which H4 bulbs did you wind up getting?

I should be ready to ship within a few days (still waiting for shipment of more brackets and vents). I'll see if I can get the web page for ordering set up by tomorrow or Monday. I'm not necessarily expecting all that much interest from many people on these (seems more like a lot of interest from just a few people), but who knows?

I'll make sure you're one of the first few people whom I notify when I've got things ready to ship. As with the AILD-1s, I don't ever want to take orders before I'm absolutely sure I can ship within a day or two. I've seen too much grief when people over-promise. I've got to be especially careful about that because I've got things that can (and have over the past few years) happen with personal family responsibilities that can whack days, weeks, or even months away from my life with little to no warning.

I'm also trying to decide what kind of caps to make for the next batch. I might first do another round of prototyping to see if I can make the same cap work for both the LUMILEDS style bulbs as well as the R3 (the R3 turned out to be a especially challenging due to unfortunate geometry on the barrel, with a transition from about 22 mm to 25 mm right around where the O-ring was placed on the 22 mm caps). I could make a bunch of the 25 mm caps since they at least work for the (what I was calling a few posts back) "2015 CREE" style bulbs. But I'm not sure there's any demand for that.

Alan

Ed - these:

BROVIEW S7 HB2 H4 LED Headlight Bulbs Conversion Kit - 50W 8000Lumen 6500K White - Brightest Lumileds Chip for Replace HID & Halogen- (2pcs/set) BROVIEW S7 HB2 H4 LED Headlight Bulbs Conversion Kit - 50W 8000Lumen 6500K White - Brightest Lumileds Chip for Replace HID & Halogen- (2pcs/set) ($69.99 at the moment; "LUMILEDS" is shown in photo and mentioned in the description)

The 3rd ones you listed - and I'm in no real hurry so do all you need to do.

I too suspect there will be a somewhat limited demand - but for those who have experimented with HID headlights this is a better conversion, also anyone who already swung for H4's ($$$) in the USA or anyone at all outside the USA with stock H4's this is an easy upgrade to do (now).

Alan

Rob Edwards

I bought a pair of H4's in April of 2008, and this is going to be the icing on the cake that gets me off my butt to install them on the GTS.

So count me in for a set.

Ed Scherer

Aged to perfection.

I'll notify you when they're ready to order/ship, too.

Ed Scherer

FWIW, here's the prototype 25 mm cap that works with what I was calling the "2015 CREE" H4 LED bulb style. Brackets for the driver modules require a 45° angle (due to their larger depth, but decreased thickness, they have to be tilted more) rather than the 80° angle that worked for the driver modules for the LUMILEDS H4 LEDs. I just got lucky that the driver module also has the same 56 mm spacing for the back cover (and the same M3 screws, which is convenient!), so the bracketing attaching them to the cap is nice, simple, and elegant.

Does anybody care about these? I can make a bunch, but I'm rather more inclined to push people toward the superior H4 LED bulb types.

For the record, the driver module is 65 mm (not including the little mounting ears at the bottom) by 46 mm, 15 mm thick. The four screws centers on the back form a rectangle 56 mm by 35 mm (symmetrically arranged relative to the corners of the enclosure).

Alan

Well Ed I'm now ready with LED's in hand... Actually I'm on vacation in Europe from 7/24 - 8/6 so take your time to do it right (but keep me a set!). A good deal at ~$70 and free shipping

Alan

Ed Scherer

Enjoy your vacation, Alan!

Those look (silver body in particular, which I've seen as black on others) very similar, but not quite identical to mine. The only difference I see is that the marking(s) on the bulb barrel for angular alignment are a little different; that's a minor cosmetic detail.

I finally got my car out on the road last night (it had been kind of boxed in and not driven due to some projects, including having the headlight covers off for various fitting experiments on different H4 bulb caps). It was the first time I could try out on the road the style of H4 LED bulbs you've shown above. A couple of things I noticed:

• they badly needed adjustment (both sides need lowering);
• the shift in beam pattern for high beams was way more pronounced and effective than with my previous H4 LED bulbs and before that, HIDs.

I thought I was seeing some unevenness in the lighting as well (due to the two sets (at once) of quad LED point sources?), but I'll withhold judgement on that until I get them aimed properly. Sounds kind of funny due to my location (i.e., Kansas), but it's actually hard to find a level area suitable for performing the aiming procedure.


FYI, I'm still waiting on more brackets. The backorder/shipping date has been slipping by a day every day since Tuesday when they were originally supposed to ship. Other than that, there are eight pairs (16 caps) ready to go.

Glen McCartney

I got my new LEDs, same ones as Alan got on Amazon ready for a set of your sealing caps when they are available! Thanks.

Ed Scherer

Over the last few days (while waiting for more brackets and vents; they still haven't shipped!), I did a little more research on fastener materials and decided it would be best to go with zinc-plated steel rather than stainless steel, as stainless steel and aluminum aren't compatible (galvanic corrosion will occur in the presence of an electrolyte, which is probably a risk due to the possibility of any spray working its way up from underneath the headlight). Remember, the brackets (and the LED driver modules) are aluminum; that's something I can't change.

So... zinc-plated steel fasteners are on the way. I'll save all the stainless steel screws I already acquired for other projects.

If anybody is really paranoid about this, I suppose nylon screws could be used, but that's probably unnecessary. And I can get aluminum screws, too, but they cost a fortune and might be gross overkill.

If anybody knows more about this than I do, feel free to chip in with advice.

Alan

I don't think the pod has much likelihood of spray inside. Even at speed I'd expect water entering the front to just run down the inside pod wall and drain out. The stepped front gap means it will already be in contact with the inside wall of the pod cover as it enters. Humidity is likely the bigger issue.

Anyway your change seems a good choice.

Alan

Arnoud

Ed, as always: great attention to all details!

I just noticed from your web-site that ordering of these was now possible, so I went ahead and ordered one set. PM to be send.

Ed Scherer

Well, the first batch of 8 pairs sold out in < 24 hours and shipped a few hours ago. I'll make another batch (of 9 pairs) tomorrow or Wednesday.

Some of you (those in the USA) should be getting them on Wednesday. I'll appreciate any feedback, especially if you have time to install them this week.

I'll also be interested in your evaluations of the related LED H4 bulbs.

Ed Scherer

Anybody installed a 928-H4-Cap Kit A yet? I'd like any feedback you might have.

How much interest is still out there for these? I've still got eight of the 928-H4-Cap Kit A from the second batch (I made that batch last week). I've got enough materials on hand to make another 36 caps (18 kits of cap pairs and hardware), but was going to wait until I can determine whether to make all of them for the 22 mm bulb barrel "LUMILEDS" style bulbs or whether there's sufficient demand for other bulb types to make caps for them (remember, it's easy for me to make the 25 mm bulb barrel caps, which work for what I was calling the "2015 CREE" bulbs).

I've also updated all the related documentation (web content and installation guide) to make it clear that these caps are for the 928 8″ H4 headlight assemblies only. I have no idea what the 928 7″ H4 headlight assemblies would need for caps. I've never had a chance to examine those headlights and I don't think I've ever seen a high-resolution photo of the back of them. I'm guessing they're different enough that a different cap design would be needed. I don't believe I've ever seen anyone seeking caps for those 7″ H4 headlight assemblies, either, so unless anybody speaks up, I probably won't worry about them.

Alan

Ed,
Just got mine in the mail yesterday. Won't actually be installing for a while (too hot) - but I did check the fit on the LED bulbs & ballast - perfect of course.

These are very nice and Ed's packaging/instructions etc is excellent as always.

If you already have H4's and want to go to LED bulbs - this is way to go!

Alan