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Thread: LED headlights

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date:  Dec 2018

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    LED headlights

    I was reading the "Ironman Delorean" thread and noted that the stock wires going to the headlights (amount other places) were not really of a heavy enough Gage. Rather than rewire them, I was thinking of changing to LED headlights. I'm sure the wires are sufficient to run them. I'm not a fan of some of the LED lights available. Frankly, they look kind of weird sometimes. But they do have some that look more conventional. Some include daytime running lights. (Although that would include some additional wires.)

    In any case, I would appreciate pics with LED headlights and brand info if you guys have it.

  2. #2
    DMC Timeless's Avatar
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    I have 20+ years experience in car building/tuning/fabrication/etc. and lots of experience with LED lighting. Long story short: JW speaker will be your best bet for performance. The cost is high but so is the cost of great DMC-12. There are other OE looking options like the United Pacific units but I have no experience with those. Watch this:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATr3AnfcMZE
    ~LXA~
    Dunmurry | Stuttgart | Leipzig | Munich | Tochigi | Fremont | Bratislava | Sindelfingen | Kansas City | Oakville | Coventry

  3. #3
    '82 T3 FABombjoy's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Lansing, MI

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    My VIN:    10270

    I have a set of JW Speaker headlights w/ heaters & black bezels waiting to install. The look will not be for everyone but I like it It also took 8 months of patience to assemble a set for reasonably less than retail.

    It might be some time but I will post installed pictures later this spring.

    JWSpeaker.jpg
    Luke S :: 10270 :: 82 Grey 5-Speed :: Single Watercooled T3 .60/.48 :: Borla Exhaust :: MSD Ignition :: MS3X Fully SFI Odd-fire EFI :: DevilsOwn Methanol Injection

  4. #4
    DMC Timeless's Avatar
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    I see you got the heated units - nice. The aesthetics may not be 100% for some but they'll see the "light" when driving at night with JW. It's fantastic to have modern headlights on these cars.
    ~LXA~
    Dunmurry | Stuttgart | Leipzig | Munich | Tochigi | Fremont | Bratislava | Sindelfingen | Kansas City | Oakville | Coventry

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date:  Dec 2018

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    Quote Originally Posted by Timeless View Post
    I have 20+ years experience in car building/tuning/fabrication/etc. and lots of experience with LED lighting. Long story short: JW speaker will be your best bet for performance. The cost is high but so is the cost of great DMC-12. There are other OE looking options like the United Pacific units but I have no experience with those. Watch this:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATr3AnfcMZE
    I've heard that JW is amoung the best, but I wasn't really doing it for better lighting. I just wanted to take the load off the wires. I have a truck that had halogens and kept melting the headlight switch plug. I got a conversion bulb and it draws lots less power. I can't tell the differnce in light and I didn't have a name brand like a JW.

    In that case, I just changed the bulb. Obviously, here the whole housing must be changed. It would be nice if it was just plug and play, but I'm not above doing some modifications.

  6. #6
    Senior Member
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    My VIN:    10757 1st place Concourse 1998

    It's not the wiring so much as the headlight switch that melts. There is a relay upgrade being sold to fix that. LED's would also help but not for the side markers if they short out.
    David Teitelbaum

  7. #7
    Senior Member Christian Dietrich's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

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    My VIN:    11035

    Been running leds headlights in my car for 7 years and is a daily driver car. 6000K at 7200lms and never a single issue. All from Amazon. Second picture is just the low beams.

    Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
    Vin 11035 wide stripe, flat hood, 5 speed, Spec 1 exhaust, custom grey/black interior, custom lighting, custom stereo and custom alot of stuff!

  8. #8
    Formally hmm252000
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Hillsboro, OR

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    I did a conversion 5 years ago and documented it here:
    http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?13...ght-Conversion

    Basically any H4 conversion housing and some H4 LED bulbs should work, but I had to modify to get a good beam pattern. Toby at DPNW has a kit as well that's fully tested and works great if you want an easier option.

    I've never heard of the factory wiring melting from stock halogen lights. While not thick AWG, it's enough to handle the current of US spec bulbs. Both high/low beams are also switched via relays, so there's no problem with the switch either. The switch does handle the full load of the marker lights, so a relay/fuse addition should be done (or at least a fuse and LED upgrade for those marker/plate lights). Still, plenty of benefit to upgrading the lights to LED on their own, so I still recommend it.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Christian Dietrich View Post
    Been running leds headlights in my car for 7 years and is a daily driver car. 6000K at 7200lms and never a single issue. All from Amazon. Second picture is just the low beams.
    Cool pics, reqardless of the lights. Thanks for posting.

    Quote Originally Posted by Chris4099 View Post
    I did a conversion 5 years ago and documented it here:
    http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?13...ght-Conversion

    Basically any H4 conversion housing and some H4 LED bulbs should work, but I had to modify to get a good beam pattern. Toby at DPNW has a kit as well that's fully tested and works great if you want an easier option.

    I've never heard of the factory wiring melting from stock halogen lights. While not thick AWG, it's enough to handle the current of US spec bulbs. Both high/low beams are also switched via relays, so there's no problem with the switch either. The switch does handle the full load of the marker lights, so a relay/fuse addition should be done (or at least a fuse and LED upgrade for those marker/plate lights). Still, plenty of benefit to upgrading the lights to LED on their own, so I still recommend it.
    Thanks for the link. That was a very interesting thread. It was very interesting how you focused the lights. I have a custom truck I'm building and I installed LED's in the big 5x7 halogen housings. They appear to work in my back yard. But now you have me questioning if they need focusing. (I haven't driven it at night at all.)

    I find it funny how other people were telling you they won't work when you are already driving it. Are the colors perfect, maybe not, but you are driving and obviously it hasn't been a big issue.

    These are the lights I'm considering. I think the thin daytime lights will look good on the Delorean without looking completely alien.

    https://www.carid.com/lumen/lumen-4x...547467711.html

  10. #10
    Senior Member Timebender's Avatar
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    Do you know if these need to have the wire switched on the plug to get low beams working?

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