LandRoverAnorak wrote:

The problem with this sort of thing is that it's always very subjective. Most people don't have experience of a wide variety of options and even if they do, it's usually over a long-ish period of time rather than a proper side-by-side comparison. People also have different opinions of what acceptable, or what represents value for money. It's the same story with things like tyres, too.

Personally, I was very happy with the Philips bulbs that I fitted to my old Discovery and Freelander (Vision Plus and X-treme Power respectively). I now have a set of the latest incarnation and, based on positive reviews here, a pair of Wipac Crystal headlights ready to fit to my 110 when I get a minute.

Performance aside though, value for money plays a big part, too. There are guys on here that have the latest LED headlights and rave about them. However, at around £1k a pair, they're more than ten times the price of the set-up that I've settled on. For me, I can't imagine them performing ten times better, so they don't represent value for money when an adequately significant upgrade is available for much less, but I expect those that have paid for them think otherwise.

What's really needed is an objective comparison of a variety of bulb and headlight combinations with proper measurements of light output and beam pattern. It's the sort of thing that you might expect a magazine to take on but comparison tests these days seem afraid to reach a conclusion for fear of upsetting advertisers

I was thinking of a doing a picture comparision myself compared to original bulbs however I was pressed fro time when fitting and the weather wasn't to good so I didn't get the chance at the end of it.

konabikes11 wrote:

I was thinking of a doing a picture comparision myself compared to original bulbs however I was pressed fro time when fitting and the weather wasn't to good so I didn't get the chance at the end of it.

I did exactly that when I fitted the Philips bulbs to my Freelander.

Before:



After:



It gave an indication that the new bulbs were brighter, but I wouldn't claim it was scientific. It also only shows the relative improvement over the old standard bulbs. What's really needed is something that shows the relative merits of the upgrade options. Darren

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mudrut wrote:

I suppose we are drifting off topic now we are onto auxiliary lights, but Lightforce are Australian.

From what I can find from a quick search, Roo Lites appear to be a Taiwanese copy. Seems there is a whole 'Roo Lites vs Lightforce' debate going on the various Australian forums.

regards


Ian

I didn't know that. I don't think there is any real difference really. Except of course 240's which are bigger by Light Force. As you say slightly off topic.

mudrut wrote:

Oh yes, LED Lightbars are oh so lovely! SteveS off here had his on the Arctic Trip last month. When he was several hundred yards behind and sparked it up, it was so bright it was deafening (if you know what I mean.)

I was thinking about those LED headlamps. As the MOT regs make retro-fit HID a non-starter on a Defender from this year, the next best in terms of price performance is a new loom, better lenses and high wattage bulbs. I reckon that is still a £350 solution fitted.

I have ample auxilliary lighting on my trucks, but sometimes you just want a well-patterned, bright dipped beam.

I wonder how long before LED replacements are £500 a pair?

regards


Ian

I thought anything over 55/60 wasn't road legal though? All after market bulbs I've seen for sale online at 100w ect have been not road legal and for off road / rally use only.