What are your experiences with LED headlights?
#27
Recovering Miataholic
"That's your first problem. Depending on parts department at a dealer for light bulb questions. Especially for a car that's 25 + years old. Did you read all the guidance in the thread? Seems like a lot of answers were provided already."
I'm not depending on the Mazda dealer, "Headlight Experts," or anyone else. Reviews of Sylvania Silverstar bulbs were uniformly negative due to claimed short bulb life, even though pundits listed them as very good. I appreciated all the answers in this thread, but am still looking on my own. FYI, the dealer has said that the "99703-8605" bulb listed in the '94 RX-7 parts manual has been replaced by "0000-11-9003." Price is reasonable at $16+ (per bulb, I think). Sounds like an aftermarket 9003 replacement, but I don't currently know the brand. At the moment I am considering the halogens which (according to Amazon and my own visual inspection of pics) would fit our '94 FD.
I'm not depending on the Mazda dealer, "Headlight Experts," or anyone else. Reviews of Sylvania Silverstar bulbs were uniformly negative due to claimed short bulb life, even though pundits listed them as very good. I appreciated all the answers in this thread, but am still looking on my own. FYI, the dealer has said that the "99703-8605" bulb listed in the '94 RX-7 parts manual has been replaced by "0000-11-9003." Price is reasonable at $16+ (per bulb, I think). Sounds like an aftermarket 9003 replacement, but I don't currently know the brand. At the moment I am considering the halogens which (according to Amazon and my own visual inspection of pics) would fit our '94 FD.
Last edited by wstrohm; 02-21-21 at 12:21 PM.
#28
Recovering Miataholic
I went with the Hella halogen headlights, part 9003, 55/60 watts. Below is a comparison of my original 27-year old Koito headlights and the new Hellas, after my amateurish adjustments.
OEM Low Beam
Hella Low Beam
OEM High Beam
Hella High Beam
OEM Low Beam
Hella Low Beam
OEM High Beam
Hella High Beam
Last edited by wstrohm; 02-26-21 at 12:05 PM.
#29
RX-7 Bad Ass
iTrader: (55)
Definite improvement in output! Also your beam pattern looks pretty good. I think a. lot of "these headlights suck" can be fixed with adjustment.
Dale
Dale
#30
Rotary Freak
iTrader: (2)
Choose the right bulbs and you don't need the projectors. This is coming from an owner that has had two FD's in the past that both had SBG HID projector lights and my current FD is running these in stock housings:
https://www.horizonleds.co.uk/h4-5th-gen-4000-lumens
I've put many miles on all these configurations and can safely say with certainty that my current FD with the oem housings and LED's has far superior output, I was shocked. The beam pattern when tested is also absolutely perfectly cut off, doesn't blind people or throw light anywhere it shouldn't. I've been running these since January 2017 and have passed many inspections since, it always surprises the testers how good the beam pattern is when fired into their testers and the output is modern car good.
https://www.horizonleds.co.uk/h4-5th-gen-4000-lumens
I've put many miles on all these configurations and can safely say with certainty that my current FD with the oem housings and LED's has far superior output, I was shocked. The beam pattern when tested is also absolutely perfectly cut off, doesn't blind people or throw light anywhere it shouldn't. I've been running these since January 2017 and have passed many inspections since, it always surprises the testers how good the beam pattern is when fired into their testers and the output is modern car good.
Has anyone Stateside been able to find and use these bulbs? I tried searching but have only seen these bulbs exclusively on the Horizon LED website Ceylon posted.
I too saw parts of the long youtube video of the LED bulb comparison. A handful do look very promising. I might have to try one of his suggestions.
#31
Lives on the Forum
iTrader: (6)
Has anyone Stateside been able to find and use these bulbs? I tried searching but have only seen these bulbs exclusively on the Horizon LED website Ceylon posted.
I too saw parts of the long youtube video of the LED bulb comparison. A handful do look very promising. I might have to try one of his suggestions.
I too saw parts of the long youtube video of the LED bulb comparison. A handful do look very promising. I might have to try one of his suggestions.
#33
Rotorhead for life
iTrader: (4)
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gracer7-rx7 (07-29-22)
#35
Lives on the Forum
iTrader: (6)
I think these are the ones?
If so, they appear to be available here:
https://www.oraclelights.com/product...ght-bulbs-pair
Lastly, theretrofitsource.com has some interesting alternatives to consider:
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/s-...4V4?quantity=1
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/H4...2.0?quantity=1
I've had very good experiences with theretrofitsource.com, and you might want to call them for their opinion. They are pretty honest with whether these will be an upgrade or not.
If so, they appear to be available here:
https://www.oraclelights.com/product...ght-bulbs-pair
Lastly, theretrofitsource.com has some interesting alternatives to consider:
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/s-...4V4?quantity=1
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/H4...2.0?quantity=1
I've had very good experiences with theretrofitsource.com, and you might want to call them for their opinion. They are pretty honest with whether these will be an upgrade or not.
Last edited by David Hayes; 04-15-21 at 12:40 PM.
#36
Rotary Freak
iTrader: (2)
I think these are the ones?
https://www.amazon.com/ORACLE-000-Lu.../dp/B07VP4BRNR
If so, they appear to be available here:
https://www.oraclelights.com/product...ght-bulbs-pair
Lastly, theretrofitsource.com has some interesting alternatives to consider:
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/s-...4V4?quantity=1
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/H4...2.0?quantity=1
I've had very good experiences with theretrofitsource.com, and you might want to call them for their opinion. They are pretty honest with whether these will be an upgrade or not.
https://www.amazon.com/ORACLE-000-Lu.../dp/B07VP4BRNR
If so, they appear to be available here:
https://www.oraclelights.com/product...ght-bulbs-pair
Lastly, theretrofitsource.com has some interesting alternatives to consider:
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/s-...4V4?quantity=1
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/H4...2.0?quantity=1
I've had very good experiences with theretrofitsource.com, and you might want to call them for their opinion. They are pretty honest with whether these will be an upgrade or not.
Appreciate the links.
I also just found these...I had no idea Pettit made these and includes the "crystal" housings:
https://pettitracing.com/products/pe...adlight-kit-fd
#37
RX-7 Bad Ass
iTrader: (55)
Those housings from Pettit are just inexpensive Chinese-made housings, they are typically available on Ebay, probably for a lot less for the same thing.
Dale
Dale
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fendamonky (04-15-21)
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