Chrome driving lights, updated 2021 recommendations

My preference would be for those from the LED factory, only because they highlight the lumens produced (2,880)  The Carkart guys don't, so you don't know how bright they are, only their color on the Kelvin scale.

The 6000K (Kelvin) is how white they are.   2700K is about the color (yellow) of an incandescent lightbulb.  3000K - 4000K is good (but bright) for kitchen lighting and 5000K - 6000K is very white, much like daylight (color, not intensity).

If you're curious about which motorcycle lights are better, I would lurk on some Harley or BMW or Ducati cycle forums to see what lights people are using and why (especially in Europe, which always seems to be ahead of the US).  

Remember the difference between Kelvin and intensity - Many Harley riders go for 5000K lights putting out 400 - 500 lumens so they're more like daytime running lights in use.  Some long-distance bikers use a high-intensity (2000+ Lumen) driving light mounted down low on their crash bars on the driver's side (about foot level), and a fog light on the passenger side, both aimed low and left on.  Lots of variations out there.  Maybe @dlearl476 or @Safety Jim Buffalo NY. could comment.

LED lights are significantly different than Halogen (incandescent) lights.  Halogen bulbs cast a ball of light in almost all directions.  That is why there is a reflector behind them - to reflect the light going everywhere into a forward beam.  The lens is used to diffuse the light into a pattern suitable to the application; a tight forward beam or a wider, more disbursed pattern or variations on both.  

LED emitters are a flat surface that cast all of their light straight away from that surface.  To get the light pattern to fit the application (like high and low beam) different LEDs are used for each beam, focused through a projector lens cast or ground to either focus a tight beam or a disbursed pattern at a specific point in space.  Since all the light is cast straight out from the LED surface, reflectors aren't needed.  If a light (LED Factory) has a reflector it usually means that they have an array of LEDs like top, middle and bottom, on a curved mount and bounce the top/bottom light off of the reflector to get more light from a specific area.  You could do the same thing without the reflector and mount the LEDs on a flat surface and then use a compound lens to focus everything but that's probably more expensive to produce (computer-designed lenses are often hard to produce in volume).

Sorry.....Long answer to a short question.  I'm afraid that most LED lights being produced for the auto/cycle markets won't look "period correct" on any of our little cars.  We'll just have to leap into the 21'st century if we use them.

https://www.ledfactorymart.com...=d8abd4e43&_ss=r

you can do the chrome and then put the high lumen lights in them, black housings might look ok on my car as I have the fuch wheels which are black and polished

https://www.ledfactorymart.com...=d02f6e116&_ss=r

maybe the blackout lense would look better when off and 3200 lumen

https://hogworkz.com/blackout-...UX0xMn4aAu2ZEALw_wcB

4.5" fog lights may look too small if you use those chrome bumper brackets.  Might want to mount the brackets and see what a cardboard replica of the fog light would look like. 6" may be a better size.

Those second ones are spotlights John.

@WOLFGANG these a guy posted in the archives with same brackets are 5" I cannot find led 6" with housings :/

@dlearl476 sorry these are the fog blacked out ones. If you put those in chrome housings with the chrome brackets and blackout lense look that might look cool and not too out of period since the lense would be black and then at night the halo and led and led regular headlight lamps would not be period looking but as soon as you go led i guess you lose the period. https://hogworkz.com/black-har...auxillary-lamps.html I could also go all black with housing and just use some woven wire flex wrapping to cover the brackets...

These are cool copper ones if anyone has a car that would look good with copper

https://deadbeatcustoms.com/co...adlight-yellow-lens/

Gordon, there is a company in the UK called Dynamo something who have LED's made that will essentially duplicate an H4 pattern in an H4 bucket, there specialty is antique cars.   If someone is interested, I posted it before.  The

@IaM-Ray http://www.dynamoregulatorconv...dlamp-bulbs-shop.php

I hope when my New Headlights come in my wife and I won’t be needing these anymore

@Gordon Nichols turned out nice

Yes. Very nice. Those mounts are sweet.

Chrome housings and wired into running lights so halos come on with key and then full light and halo comes on with switch.

Nicely done!

@Robert M Thanks again on that tip for the LED lightbulbs I can’t believe the difference! The photo doesn’t do it justice but its so much Brighter!! One old bulb and one new bulb

@Former Member It is amazing how much better the white light of the LED is over the yellow style bulbs. Even the newish Halogen H4 bulbs pale in comparison to the LEDs. And with the added bonus of not having to rewire everything the switch is a no-brainer.

Did you get just the bulbs or the package deal including one of the glass options?

@Robert M Just the bulbs got them today had them in in 10 minutes. I Originally ordered the package but looked at my lights and decided to go with just the bulbs.

@robert m yes thank you, i got leds in my main lights as well big difference.

Speaking of LED's Daniel, was a real help to me in determining whether I would or should change to LED as I wanted to keep my EURO Hella buckets which are Euro Shaped.  In the end I chose to stay with H4 and Euro buckets.

@IaM-Ray posted:

Speaking of LED's Daniel, was a real help to me in determining whether I would or should change to LED as I wanted to keep my EURO Hella buckets which are Euro Shaped.  In the end I chose to stay with H4 and Euro buckets.

@IaM-Ray any one change the light under the headlight with LED. Does that light serve as driving light?

In my case I am running Hella Euro style sloped lights with the focuses lense and 80/100 Watt H4 with P45T base... those are about the same as a good LED, + or -  arguably better or worse.  Not worth changing as my wiring is up to grade using relays and heavy guage wiring.    I have a set of Marshall fogs, with white light that I use in the daytime and as auxiliary lights in the evening.

@calmotion, if you are referring to the little bulb near the front of the headlight bucket, that is a parking light.  I first replaced those bulbs with LED bulbs with amber glass.  Then I switched to LED bulbs with clear glass that illuminated amber.

I will send the amber bulbs to anyone who wants them.

@Michael McKelvey posted:

@calmotion, if you are referring to the little bulb near the front of the headlight bucket, that is a parking light.  I first replaced those bulbs with LED bulbs with amber glass.  Then I switched to LED bulbs with clear glass that illuminated amber.

I will send the amber bulbs to anyone who wants them.

I have standard amber bulbs in mine as of right now Michael. What did you not like about the amber glass LEDs?

I'll take them if they're brighter than a standard amber glass bulb.

I have no idea if they are brighter.

I didn't like amber glass on the bulbs because they didn't look like something that would be used in 1957.  And. I wanted them to be more subtle.

@Michael McKelvey posted:

I have no idea if they are brighter.

I didn't like amber glass on the bulbs because they didn't look like something that would be used in 1957.  And. I wanted them to be more subtle.

I sent you a PM.