sbojangles
Member
I just checked and it looks like 4-5 pins don't even line up and are definitely different layout than the original halogens.
LR4 Xenon Headlight Facelift (DRL Issue using GAP)
- Thread starter sbojangles
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I just checked and it looks like 4-5 pins don't even line up and are definitely different layout than the original halogens.
Buy the Valeo lights from one of the UK distributors. Same price as the Chinese knockoffs on eBay, but Valeo is the OEM manufacturer.
Make sure you get the ones that aren't for the UK, though (but rater for a left-hand drive vehicle).
Make sure you get the ones that aren't for the UK, though (but rater for a left-hand drive vehicle).
gsxr
Full Access Member
+1. I'm not a fan of offshore copies unless the OE/OEM items are NLA (no longer available) and there's no other choice.
YES!! ^^^
In technical terms, lights are either for right-hand-traffic (RHT, USA/Canada/Europe/etc) or for LHT (UK, Japan, Australia, etc).
Since it's possible to have a right-hand drive vehicle (UK) in a RHT country (USA), it's best to refer to the lights based on the country of use, rather than steering wheel location.
There's a raging storm over on the Mercedes 500E board related to this, as the headlights & lenses are unique to this specific model, and they went NLA a year or two ago. There are a bunch of LHT lights & lenses on the market and many people have a hard time telling them apart from RHT. A couple pairs of "correct" RHT lights sold recently for ~$3k. (!) The LHT stuff is far less valuable.
Why do you care? Because using the opposite beam pattern (i.e., LHT in USA) will shine the lights into the eyes of oncoming drivers, instead of lighting up road signs as they are supposed to.
In November, I bought some of the Valeo lights from LR Centre. They give you two options, "Genuine Land Rover" and "OEM." The "Genuine" ones are significantly more expensive, but I'm willing to bet the "OEM" ones are the exact same thing, only without the Land Rover sticker on the top.
Even for the left-hand drive ones, they are listed as not north-American spec (NAS). This means they are the euro-code headlights. Over my time messing around with headlights on all my vehicles, I have gathered that the euro code beam pattern is superior to the NAS one, although I've never taken the Pepsi challenge on mine next to a US model.
They look a little different than the NAS headlights. The outermost light is not amber. I think the blinker function is a little different in terms of what blinks. I know the blinker function is different in terms of the DRL not turning off on the headlight with the blinker activated.
Make sure you adjust the beams when installed. They are certainly not adjusted correctly when new from the factory and you will blind oncoming drivers.
Even for the left-hand drive ones, they are listed as not north-American spec (NAS). This means they are the euro-code headlights. Over my time messing around with headlights on all my vehicles, I have gathered that the euro code beam pattern is superior to the NAS one, although I've never taken the Pepsi challenge on mine next to a US model.
They look a little different than the NAS headlights. The outermost light is not amber. I think the blinker function is a little different in terms of what blinks. I know the blinker function is different in terms of the DRL not turning off on the headlight with the blinker activated.
Make sure you adjust the beams when installed. They are certainly not adjusted correctly when new from the factory and you will blind oncoming drivers.
gsxr
Full Access Member
This is generally correct. The USA DOT regulations are ridiculously outdated, and in general ECE rated lamps have superior lighting.
This was especially true through roughly the 1990's, after that either the DOT regs changed slightly, and/or manufacturers found ways around the DOT regs (to meet the requirements, but still get light on the road).
I find the USA-spec 2010 LR4 halogens to be quite good, but not fantastic. However I'm using stock bulbs, I haven't done the H9 upgrade yet. I'd prefer OEM HID's but that appears to be spendy and I'm not sure how much improvement there is vs H9's.
I did the H9s for a while, then went the HID route. The H9s are a definite improvement over the stock halogens, and the HIDs are a definite improvement over the H9s.
I wound up going with the updated 14+ headlights for totally moronic reasons. The paint was peeling off of my grill, and since I needed a new grill anyway, I thought I'd buy a 14+ one and get the updated headlights.
I wound up going with the updated 14+ headlights for totally moronic reasons. The paint was peeling off of my grill, and since I needed a new grill anyway, I thought I'd buy a 14+ one and get the updated headlights.
On my 2012, I went from H11 -> H9 --> Xenons from a Lux. I think the difference from H9 to Xenon was bigger than that from H11 -> H9.
This is generally correct. The USA DOT regulations are ridiculously outdated, and in general ECE rated lamps have superior lighting.
This was especially true through roughly the 1990's, after that either the DOT regs changed slightly, and/or manufacturers found ways around the DOT regs (to meet the requirements, but still get light on the road).
I find the USA-spec 2010 LR4 halogens to be quite good, but not fantastic. However I'm using stock bulbs, I haven't done the H9 upgrade yet. I'd prefer OEM HID's but that appears to be spendy and I'm not sure how much improvement there is vs H9's.
Oof, no OEM option for the 2014+ Adaptives. That's a lot of coin!
https://www.lrparts.net/lr052380-di...eft-hand-drive-not-nas-adaptive-bi-xenon.html
https://www.lrparts.net/lr052380-di...eft-hand-drive-not-nas-adaptive-bi-xenon.html
Hello gents, I am returning back to this forum after a few years away, mostly because I am sick of the halogen bulb performance. Thanks for helping me out with my question. I am following the conversation in this thread. But would like to confirm, are there any differences between the harness plugs for the halogen to xenon headlamp assembly swap?
