I’ve had my headlights changed to led because of poor visibility. Drove home tonight in dark pouring of rain could hardly see a thing. Nearly parked up and get a bus but managed it home. Any suggestions please for brighter bulbs
You don’t mention the model of MX5 you are driving.
EDIT - just spotted nc mk3
First check would be that the lights are properly aligned.
Some led bulbs change the beam pattern when installed - it may need correcting.
My nc headlights were very low when I got it.
They were much better after being set on an mot light checker.
Worth noting:
Existing halogen headlamp units on vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp for light source and lamp not compatible.
(MOT Inspection manual)
For what it’s worth, I found that simply spending a few minutes polishing my headlight lenses made a huge difference.
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Do you mean that you had the complete headlight units changed out, or just the bulbs?
If it’s the complete units, then I’d go back to whoever fitted them.
If it’s just the bulbs: apart from being illegal/MoT failure, LED bulbs will not work properly in a reflector which has been designed for non-LED bulbs. Your best bet is to go for Osram Night Breakers or similar bulbs from Ring or Philips.
Be aware that there is a trade-off between the brightness of a halogen bulb and its longevity. Not normally an issue, but the headlight bulbs on the NC are an utter pain to change.
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If your headlight lenses are hazed over then restore those first, then look at an upgraded set of bulbs like ring 5000 series or osram nightbreakers. I did the headlight restore and the ring bulbs and it was well worth it.
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