Automobile LED Headlights - Latest Technology
The JW Speaker 8700 LEDs we've been building into our premium headlamps for five years are excellent but these Philips Integrated Beam LED's, with the latest advanced technology, have surpassed them. We rely heavily on the technical expertise of Daniel, our Senior Lighting Consultant, and he has subjected the Philips LED's to extensive testing and found them to deliver significantly superior performance versus the Soeaker 8700's . Here 's an excerpt from his analysis:
I can finally give John a good answer to his question about what are the best 7" round LED headlamps. I have a new favourite, by a comfortable margin, and it's affordable: the Philips Integrated Beam LED.
This Philips lamp produces a very wide, well-formed and -focused beam, with a pleasingly sharp cutoff and lots of down-the-road light even with a low headlamp mount height. It can readily be aimed visually, optically, or with the old-fashioned Hoppy-type sealed beam aimer that interfaces with the three lens pips. And while it doesn't look olde-tyme, it also doesn't deface the car by looking like it came off a space ship.
Objectively these are superior to the JW Speaker 8700 LED units. It's been more than a few years since the Speakers were updated, and LEDs and associated optics have been evolving at a galloping pace. The Philips puts more light on the road, and it is focused more usefully for maximum seeing distance (= maximum safe speed at night), _even with a low headlamp mounting height_. This really is a knocked-outta-the-park product from Philips, and no, I am not being paid or otherwise induced to say that.
So we are switching to the Philips Integrated LED's. There is nothing wrong with the Speakers - technology has simply passed them. One big advantage of being a small business is that we are very nimble and can respond to technological advancement quickly as we don't have a warehouse full of old technology that we have to sell before moving forward.
Lens Options
You have a choice of quality lenses:
- Hella SB19 Clear with Hella logo
- Bosch H4 fluted with proper marking including Bosch logo
- Bosch 4487 and Hella 4485 flat fluted with proper markings including logos
BOSCH H4 fluted lenses are fine but they are vertical with a ridge on the top which breaks the perfect silhouette of the 911. The HELLA 4475 and Bosch 4487 lenses were used on early 911's. They're flat with no ridge on top which lies flat with the fender preserves the perfect and classic silhouette. As they are very similar in appearance and quality, we use the Hella and Bosch lenses interchangeably depending on availability.
Satisfied User
“The quality of your products is second to none. I have compared your JW Speaker AC Series 5 units with the Porsche factory lamps on my new Taycan on a dark Welsh night and the yours perform just as well as the Taycan. I have two more 911 projects in the works and look forward to ordering more from you.” ~ G.E., Wales
Notes:
(1) While these are complete assemblies and largely plug n’ play, some Porsche models have metal mounting tabs inside the fender headlight buckets that are used for other headlights. They are not used for the LED assemblies and may interfere with mounting. If that is the case it will be necessary to bend them back. They are sturdy and could be bent back in the future if so desired.
(2) These headlights use H4 type 3-prong plugs.Depending on the headlights you currently have, sugar scoops for example, you may need H4/H5 plug adapters available HERE for $19.00.