LEDs?

[TLC]

Has anyone upgraded to leds lights is it possable?

[E_T_V]

Which ones? And what do you mean upgrade?

There are certainly LED replacement bulbs available but for the most part these are not an upgrade.

If you mean headlamps then well you need to think again at the moment. Maybe in a few years but not yet.

[Guest]

LED light bulbs as an alternative to CFL energy saving bulbs are now very good and available in the shops (I worked on the design of one!), but they're not yet there for headlights as Dan says.

[Guest]

The PIA website has a number of uprated brighter bulbs, several it seems would fit a Maestro. Halfords also do a range of stronger bulbs but printed up 55w to remain legal presumably, but "rated" at double that in effect.

[E_T_V]

The halfords bulbs are "Xenon" filled ones and essentially burn brighter giving more light from the same wattage.

HID's are brighter again, but I've found don't seem to work well in maestro lamps.
(They work fine in my other cars though).

[The Express Valeter]

I was thinking of replacing the stop lights & indicators for LED lamps but need to find out which ones to use first!

[E_T_V]

Simple answer is don't.

Indicators will need fudging with resistors or changing the flasher relay.

Stop lamps usually give a bright spot on the rear lamp unit rather than lighting up the whole cluster.

I've tried a fair few and still run standard bulbs. They aregetting better and better but most are still carp.

[The Express Valeter]

Well I guess that's that sorted.

[Guest]

The halfords bulbs are "Xenon" filled ones and essentially burn brighter giving more light from the same wattage.

HID's are brighter again, but I've found don't seem to work well in maestro lamps.
(They work fine in my other cars though).

So, what do you suggest for the Cape Town Rally project-car? Two spotlamps are going on the car, but what should we consider for uprating the headlights?

[RalphG]

With regard to HID lamps, it is likely that after-market ones will become an MOT failure in the not too distant future. The legality of them has always been questionable, as HIDs should be auto height adjusting and have a cleaning system for the headlamp lens.

[E_T_V]

If you could get the beam pattern correct I'd suggest HID's for the headlamps (as you'll need to adjust the pattern anyway I presume for the foreign countries).

Otherwise I'd suggest HID's for the spot lamps if you can easily fit them (some are easier than others).

The easiest upgrade would be some Xenon filled bulbs. I use the Ring 50-60% brighter ones as they were very cheap, but Osram Silverstar and Philips Nightbreaker also come recommended by many. Avoid any bulb that has a coloured tint to it (as the colour absorbs light).

You could use higher wattage bulbs e.g., 80/100 or 80/130 etc, but you'd probably need to do electrical mods (relays etc), and the reliability of high power/high heat bulbs in the plastic reflectors is unknown.

If you have the early style dash then fit a relay into the headlamp circuit anyway as the steering column surround switches are prone to burning out. The later style dash with stalk mounted switches are a lot more reliable as they already have relays built in.

If it was my car I'd be fitting Xenon filled bulbs of a standard wattage then fitting high power bulbs in the auxillary lights if I couldn't fit HID's. I'd also consider extra lamps mounted to the bumper too as well as your wing mounted ones.

HID's are not currently illegal for fitting, but may become so in future. However it is so easy to swap out if needed in future for standard ones. My 600 passed with HID's in it this morning (and has had them fitted for 3 or 4 years at least now).

[TLC]

If only uprated bulbs are avalable is the existing wireing capable of taking the higher wattage bulbs without burning out the wireing

[E_T_V]

In my opinion no.

You'd need to install relays and new wiring for high power bulbs.

Upgraded standard power bulbs like the ones I mentioned above are standard wattage.