Angel eayes 430. Take a look.

Allmost all LED strips have already integrated resistors. That's why you can cut them every 3 LEDs without having to adapt the voltage. If you buy a 12V led strip, it's straight forward. Just cut it exactly where it is indicated. A little advise though, cut them at the other end and not the end having the wire attached. It's very difficult to solder wires on the strip especially if they are IP67 or more (leds covered with resine). So you better keep the existing wire.

 

Thanks yguys. I'm gonna try to do is mod this week whilst the car sleeps at the paintshop getting the bodykit fitted. So for the bulb, any help with diagrams on exactly where I should connect what? Apologies coz I'm really clueless when it comes to electrical stuff.

 

No problem, just have a look back to #127. It has been very well documented there with very good pictures. Both wires must be soldered on the bulb holder. The + wire goes in the center of the bulb holder. The - wire goes on the metalic exterior side (the holder itself).

I'll come back in a couple of days with my upgrade details using SMD5050 led strips which are the brightest available today and have the best lumens/heat/power consumption ratio(see more technical details about SMD leds a couple of posts ago). There is a bit work though to get it perfect like eg the copper strip color should be masked with white tape otherwise, it can been seen easily through the headlight. I'll post as usual some detailed pictures of the process

 

Wow! Thanks for the help. Just wondering if the rubber tubing is absolutely necessary. I know it is to keep the leds facing upwards in a uniform manner. I've not taken a look at the path to slide the LED in. Is it really narrow or is there sufficient space for the LED strip to 'wander' about? I'm just concerned despite the minimal heat the silicon tubing will turn yellowish at the spots where the LEDs are (based on experience with outdoor LED lighting).

 

You're very welcome. I tested it out without the tubing and the problem is that the LED strip will move or vibrate while driving. If you buy a Cristal tube of 1cm diameter, it will hold the LED strip right in place. I bought a 8mm Cristal tube and cutted it open so that it slides better and further in the headlight. Although, you won't be able to slide the tube up to the end as the end of the headlight path is very narrow. The end of the LED strip must remain outside the Cristal tube to able to go up to the end of the path. It seems complicated but it's not. I will post soon details about all the exact mesurements with detailed pictures how to achieve that.

I don't think that the tube will yellow with the heat of the SMD5050, especially the Cristal tube. They have a very high heat resistance, well higher than the few heat coming from the LED's.

 

Thank god, was going for 10,000k, better to rethink that now. Might be too bright for angel eyes.

 

Mine are 6000-6500 Kelvin SMD 5050 (White) which are just perfect. If you prefer a warmer temp, you can buy also the SMD 5050 Warm White which is more in the 3500k spectrum.

Bought mine here : http://www.led-store.ch/50cm-smd505060-weiss-p-266.html

 

I ordered two of those LED strips! Do you mind sharing where can I find those cristal tubes?

Thanks!

 

You can find the cristal tubes in any DIY shop. That's where I bought them. They have usually several sizes. Try to get those that have an oval form as it will be easier to fit them in the headlight path.

 

Thanks for the tip. Not sure if my local hobby store would have that but I'll look for it. When I ordered the LEDs the website says that it comes with tubes. What is that all about?

 

Here are some more details. If you use the SMD 5050 strips, they will have a width of 1cm which is quite large. You will have to cut your strip at the right length of 40cm. Good news, this length matches perfectly with the cut line. Remember that these LED strips must be cutted every 3 LED's. There is usually a marker where to cut it off. I recommend to cut the strip off at the opposite side of the connector . Soldering on such a LED strip (4 contacts on 1cm) is a real challenge so it's better avoid this And before soldering wires on it, you would have to remove first the protection resine as the strip is IP6x waterproof...

Despite the width, it's still possible to fit them in a tube but you won't be able to get the tube up to the end of the taillight path. As shown on the picture bellow, I left 4 leds outside the tube so that the entire strip can go up to the end of the path. I taped also with with tape between each LED because the copper colored strip can be seen too well in the transparent headlight path. Also, the white tape between the LEDs smoothens the overall light effect. To make sure that the connector will not get loose, I filled the end of the tube with Silicone (transparent encasing silicone). This protects also the wire from breaking off.

Now fitting this isn't that easy. You'll need some patience to be able to slide it inside while keeping all the LED upwards. With the IKEA leds, it was impossible to do while with the LED strip, it's doable. The headlight path is quite tricky as it turns inwards while getting narrower. One trick: keep the LEDs swithed on while sliding them inside. This will slightly warm up the plastic tube. Just enough to torsen it in the right way.

The difference of brightness between the Ikea and SMD5050 is incomparable. The SMD5050 are very efficient at full daylight which is important in countries like Switzerland as we drive always with the lights on. I'll post some daylight photos tomorrow.

Hope this helps,
Stef
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Hmm I don't know Jason. Let's wait and see once you'll receive them.

 

There is also a way to avoid using a cristal tube. The SMD5050 strips are also available in the IP68 waterproof version. These strips can be installed underwater. They are entirely encased in a plastic cover. Jason, that's maybe the version you've ordered and will make the installation much easier (I haven't tested them though).

 

I'll see what I get when it arrives. I ordered the one you posted a link to so if that's the waterproof one, great!

 

Stef, any difference between H6 versus H6W versus H6M? The fitting does look different. So for the F430 I should be looking at H6 right?

Another question, since LEDs are meant to be energy saving, the smd ones you recommended are running 72W whilst some standard H6 are running 30+W. What gives? LEDs = more power consumption?

 

H6 or H6W is the same for me. It represents the 5W bulb we need here. They have a BA9S base. H6M, I think this is a kind of HID bulb which is not what we need here.

Very good point about the LED consumption I forgot to write these details. You're very right that it's important to calculate the exact power consumption. The SMD leds brightness is incomparable to a H6 bulb, no doubt, but we don't want at the other side to deal with blown fuses issues and over power consumption.

Before even thinking of the SMD5050 LED's or any other leds, the first thing to do is to calculate the right power consumption
.
Our 40cm SMD5050 led strip contains exactly 24 LEDS. 1 SMD5050 LED + resistors takes 18 mA maximum. Our LED strip needs a total current of 432mA max = 5.184W max.

So be reinsured, we're really fine here. A SMD5050 LED strip will never consume more than 5W while a H6 bulb will, the older it gets.

Cheers,
Stef

 

So the underwater ones are fine to use?

Cool! And any H6 bulb regardless of wattage will work right? Since I will only be using it's socket.

 

It's true Anders, as I wrote before, the SMD led strips are not easy to fit. I took me a while to have them all alined upwards. But with a bit patience, it's doable. Even if 1 or 2 leds are not 100% oriented upwards, it didn't bother me too much because they are incredibly bright. I was even thinking that, instead of having individual leds, it would be even nicer to have just a global light effect. A bit as I have seen on some new concept cars during the past Geneva Motor Show. Lamborghini Aventador is using this new technology and it looks really great.

 

Yes, you can use the IP68 waterproof strips. No tube required and they will fit much easier.

Any BA9S bulb base should be fine for this mod.

 

Hi Anders,

Here is the guide how to remove the entire headlight unit. This requires to remove the front bumper but I suppose you're already familiar with this

Stef
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Stef, do you mean the headlight glass covers can be removed for cleaning purposes? I notice mine has vapor build up over time and would love to have the headlight internals cleaned. Tech told me the entire headlight needs to be replaced, which i reckon is bollocks.