Headlight’s too glaringly bright

[Ian Vincent]

3 hours ago, RobH said:

It isn't a war Ian. 

Part of the problem is that everyone seems to think that going brighter-and-brighter  is the answer, which in the end is self-defeating. Brighter lights just make for more contrast - the dark areas just become darker because your eyes adjust to the bright bit. 

Modern LED street lamps are a case in point.  The soft yellow light from the old sodium lamps did not throw hard black shadows in the same way LEDs do. Now if something isn't directly lit it is virtually invisible, because the excess brightness causes your iris to close down further. 

 

 

My experience has been that the brighter lights enable me to see better after the car coming the other way has passed.  I was sufficiently impressed to try fitting LED bulbs into my wife’s MB SLK 280 that only had halogen bulbs but the CANbus system objected and I couldn’t be bothered to start messing around with resistors to boost the current draw.  The car only got used at night very occasionally and has now been sold.

Rgds Ian

PS My current daily driver is a Porsche SUV and the lights on that are something else - they are phenomenally bright so I don’t think it’s a case of my TR making life difficult for other drivers and I’m not even sure if Porsche offer a lower light intensity version for younger drivers with better eyesight and a social conscience.

 

Edited October 30, 2025 by Ian Vincent

[tim hunt]

4 hours ago, Ian Vincent said:

As someone with LED headlights on my TR3a I feel I have to defend my decision. 

I started off with sealed beam units and very quickly discovered they were worse than useless. I progressed to H4 bulbs but still found them lacking when confronted by HID lights on SUVs and the like so fitted LEDs. They are properly adjusted and I have car MoT’d every year to confirm this. I also have a couple of marks on my garage wall so they I can check them easily. 

I don’t find that I get cars coming the other way flashing me unless I’m a bit slow on the dip switch. I can also say that whether it’s down to the particular bulbs I’m using or my reflectors, the cut off is very sharp. 

So in summary, because we can’t fit HID units there’s no reason why we shouldn’t take advantage of modern technology (like the majority of modern cars including for example my daily driver) and for older drivers (I’m 76) we need all the help we can get at night. 

Rgds Ian

+1 Ian. My quality H4 LED bulbs in the 4A give a sharp cut off on dip with excellent illumination of the nearside as the beam kicks up. They are capable of meeting MoT requirements. I also took part  in the recent Club Triumph Round Britain Reliability Run, involving two more or less continuous overnight drives and not one oncoming driver flashed me when I was on dipped beams. If following another vehicle at a two second separation my well controlled dipped beams never illuminate the other vehicle, only the road surface between. I never found myself inconvenienced by another Triumph on the event. 

As regards possible dazzle from oncoming vehicles the answer is of course to reduce speed if necessary and  concentrate on the nearside of the road. Also, if you have two, consider shutting one eye as necessary to preserve some night vision.

Tim

[BlueTR3A-5EKT]

On 10/29/2025 at 6:00 PM, RobH said:

It was introduced in 1937  -- so that cannot be the reason. 

Quote:

"At the heart of the French government’s decision to require yellow headlights was a commitment to road safety. The selective yellow light was believed to enhance visibility in adverse weather conditions, such as rain or fog. Studies conducted during the early years of this regulation suggested that yellow light penetrated fog and rain more effectively than white light, reducing glare and improving the driver’s ability to see the road ahead."

https://gigagears.com/the-legacy-of-selective-yellow-lights-in-french-automotive-history/

 

 

I still have in my ‘if going to France’ box a pair of LHD headlamp units fitted with cadmium yellow H4 halogen bulbs 

This is a hang over from the years of renting out Wipac Quadoptic LHD headlamp units to TR owners going to Europe.   Another little helper from C&B.  
 

The bulbs

 

 

[PaulAnderson]

Just came across this link elsewhere to a House of Lords library report from April 2025

[trchris]

The answer is………let’s ban SUVs let’s face it they’re far too big and ugly take up too much space and nobody seems to be able to park them and indicator’s are optional

Chris   
 

[mike ellis]

It would appear that if you replace a halogen bulb with an LED  in the same reflector unit it would be an MOT fail.

There must be lots of classics out there in this category.

[RogerH]

1 hour ago, mike ellis said:

It would appear that if you replace a halogen bulb with an LED  in the same reflector unit it would be an MOT fail.

There must be lots of classics out there in this category.

This was raised on the forum last year or so.  I think the outcome was that H4 LED's could be retro fitted but needed to be properly set up.

 

Roger

[Lebro]

8 hours ago, mike ellis said:

It would appear that if you replace a halogen bulb with an LED  in the same reflector unit it would be an MOT fail.

There must be lots of classics out there in this category.

That law was quickly ammended to not include historic vehicles.

Bob

[mike ellis]

Thanks Bob and Roger 

Mike

[Robin Powell]

I fitted warm white LED headlight bulbs which produce a light more like incandescent bulbs.  There is also much less glare when driving in foggy conditions compared to the bright white versions.