LED lights or stick with high spec halogens?

[Gimpymoo]

Do the housings work well with LED or just stick with high spec halogens, Philips Racing Vision GT200 H7 for example.

Many thanks.

[Art]

I fitted various so claimed upgrade/brighter halogen bulbs over the years and without exception I've been disappointed with them all, never fitted the Philips Racing Vision GT200 H7 but can't help feeling they will be no different to past experiences.

I have the stock 55W H7 high beam bulb and have converted the dip beam to a HID bulb & ballast plus I added a pair of LED DRL's. All cheap as chips kit off eBay, paid £10 for the HID kit and it's still lighting the way after 8 years service. I'm on the third pair of LED DRL's due to dropping the motorcycle and crushing them, on the bright side they're cheap as chips DRL's cum crash bungs.

[Gimpymoo]

Originally Posted by Art

I fitted various so claimed upgrade/brighter halogen bulbs over the years and without exception I've been disappointed with them all, never fitted the Philips Racing Vision GT200 H7 but can't help feeling they will be no different to past experiences.

That is my concern.

Originally Posted by Art

I have the stock 55W H7 high beam bulb and have converted the dip beam to a HID bulb & ballast plus I added a pair of LED DRL's. All cheap as chips kit off eBay, paid £10 for the HID kit and it's still lighting the way after 8 years service. I'm on the third pair of LED DRL's due to dropping the motorcycle and crushing them, on the bright side they're cheap as chips DRL's cum crash bungs.

Any problems with the LED's in the stock lamp?

Where did you mount the ballast? Did you need a seperate lamp holder?

Any problems with power draw?

[Rev Ken]

Few LEDs have their focal point at at the same place of halogen lights so fail to meet MOT regs and spray light everywhere, not helping forward vision. HID lights - if bought from a reliable source with better quality control can now meet the MOT regulations. DVSA, when updating MOT regs made them illegal after years of accepting them so long as they met MOT beam patterns, but after a campaign (I used to manage the Vehicle Inspectorate MOT branch) by making myself a nuisance along with many others, they rescinded this change to the regs, so long as they meet the MOT beam pattern requirements, as before. I think LED conversions are covered as well, but listening to others it seems many of them fail to make a good improvement, spraying light everywhere, and many fail to meet the MOT regs.

[Art]

Originally Posted by Gimpymoo

That is my concern.

Any problems with the LED's in the stock lamp?

Where did you mount the ballast? Did you need a seperate lamp holder?

Any problems with power draw?

Assuming you meant HID's...

The HID kit I got included bulb, bulb holder, ballast and short harness, similar to this

Which I connected to the stock bulb holder by means of spade connectors which means I  can carry the redundant H7 halogen bulb as an emergency spare and re-fit by simply disconnecting the HID kit from the stock bulb holder. On the first fit I had an issue where the ballast 'locked out', resolved by fitting an on/off switch inline between the HL blue and ballast red wire connections although I've not had to use it since that first issue.

[YDraig]

Last time I went with H7 LED and haven't looked back. Only forward with decent lights.