Watson Streetworks LED 7”

[Heater63]

Has anyone used the 7” LED headlights from Watson Streetworks on their 60-66? Reviews?

I want to go LED, but with the correct classic 7” look. Though pricey, it looks like Watson may have a good setup to achieve that.

[nsb29]

Originally Posted by Heater63

Has anyone used the 7” LED headlights from Watson Streetworks on their 60-66? Reviews?

I want to go LED, but with the correct classic 7” look. Though pricey, it looks like Watson may have a good setup to achieve that.

PRISEY!!!! that’s an understatement

[theastronaut]

Those are H4 headlights, not LED headlights. I'm very surprised that the NSRA would give an award for "Safety Product of the Year" to a set of very ill-engineered and illegal headlights! You cannot put any other bulb in an H4 headlight besides an H4 bulb without drastically changing the beam pattern for the worse.

If you want LED headlights, check out candlepowerforums.com for info on finding the best LED headlights that are actually engineered to be properly functioning headlights, not scabbed together mismatched parts like those Watson "headlights". At the moment JW Speaker makes the best performing LED headlights.

[theastronaut]

The best headlight upgrade for the money is Cibie 7" H4's. They're plug and play, no wiring mods needed and they're the same wattage as sealed beams so they won't overload the stock wiring. A relay harness is a great upgrade though. The lenses are fluted so the look very similar to sealed beams so they look right at home on an old truck. They're around $95 shipped on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Cibie-082440-.../dp/B008DQV88Q


Low beam/high beam shots.






Lens pattern:

[jweb]

I agree, I installed the Cibie h4 setup in my '51 and I've been very happy with them. Also you can get a bulb anywhere for a few bucks. No expensive bulbs needed.

Also the kit you're looking at uses Hella H4 housings. The glass is flat on those which I don't like the look of. The Cibies have curved glass more like the old sealed beam.

[slowcpe]

I forgot about the Cibies. I need to do something on my '72 since 1 low beam is burned out and one of the terminals on the other is broke off. Relay upgrade is a must for me as well.

[The Rocknrod]

How do the Cibies look on our trucks? They don't seem to be space-ship looking which is a plus.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

How do the Cibies look on our trucks? They don't seem to be space-ship looking which is a plus.

Most people probably couldn't tell them apart from sealed beams.

[rvrfoot]

Any pictures?

[The Rocknrod]

I have started a relay wiring project with the rest of the new wiring (from my truck in a bucket). So you buy the Cibie, it's a reflector and then buy an H4 bulb? I remember Sylvania makes a killer H4. I see they also have a DOT version - https://www.ebay.com/itm/H4-Headligh...8AAOSwdGpZi63o
And there is room, no modifications to the bulb housing and sheet-metal?

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

How do the Cibies look on our trucks? They don't seem to be space-ship looking which is a plus.

Originally Posted by rvrfoot

Any pictures?

Not a 60-66, but in a '51 GMC.




And in my old '66.

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

I have started a relay wiring project with the rest of the new wiring (from my truck in a bucket). So you buy the Cibie, it's a reflector and then buy an H4 bulb? I remember Sylvania makes a killer H4. I see they also have a DOT version - https://www.ebay.com/itm/H4-Headligh...8AAOSwdGpZi63o
And there is room, no modifications to the bulb housing and sheet-metal?

Yes, the Cibie headlight is a reflector/lens with a separate bulb. That way if the bulb goes bad you only have to replace the bulb. I have run across a few headlight buckets where the opening in the rear of the bowl was smaller than the dust boot over the bulb, but it's easy to trim the opening slightly larger. I had to trim the GMC buckets slightly to clear the dust boot. Otherwise they bolt in just like sealed beams. The original buckets were only designed to clear the thre prong connector on the back of a sealed beam.

For bulbs, stay away from anything with a blue coating on the glass; that filters out light and makes them dimmer. Phillips currently makes an excellent H4/9003 bulbs ( I think the 9003 was the US designation for the bulb, H4 was the euro name for them) that has great output and precisely located filaments to maintain a crisp beam pattern. The whole problem with the Watson LED's is they're using housings designed for a H4 bulb and the LED bulb they're using changes the size and location of the light source. The reflector shape and fluting pattern of the lens can only properly distribute light if the light source is in the right place and is the right size.


H4 dual filament bulb, notice the tiny filaments and the half-bowl cover over the low beam filament. The cover helps create the low beam pattern cut off to minimize upward light/glare for oncoming traffic. The high beam filament can illuminate the whole reflector.




The LED's made to fit in a H4 headlights greatly change the size and location of the light source in relation to the reflector and lens, so it's impossible for the beam pattern created to function properly. They create more glare on low beams and less distance visibility with too much foreground lighting on high beams. The added foreground lighting is what most people look at, and then they talk about how much "brighter" they are. Having the first 20-30 feet in front of you well lit at 60 mph doesn't help much; you need the proper beam pattern that shoots light straight out to see well farther ahead. The Cibie lights on highbeams let you see for hundreds of feet out without producing too much foreground lighting.





Link to Phillips bulbs.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQWQLPO/?tag=2402507-20



The lights in your link are cheap Chinese Autopal headlights, not Hella brand, and have a poor beam pattern. The seller list the interchange part number as "Cibie Sev Marchal Hella Autopal ARB, bosch" so they pop up if you search any of those brands. Sneaky.


From his listing:

These are DOT/SAE approved. If you are shopping headlights, and you don't see any E-Code or DOT marking, that means they have NO standard to meet - they are NOT good lights and not worth the time and money to install them. I've tried them, I know.

I also sell a non-DOT H4 headlight on my other auctions with a CITY LIGHT (dim interior bulb for use with parking lights at dusk - it's a Euro thing). The beam pattern is slightly better than these, but they are not DOT legal, technically.

The DOT doesn't "approve" any aftermarket headlights, they just list the specs they require and it's up to the manufacture to follow the rules. Having a DOT mark on aftermarket lights doesn't mean anything as the DOT hasn't actually checked any of these aftermarket lights, or rejected anyone's false claims that they produce an adequate and legal beam pattern. The exceptions to that are OEM manufactures like Hella, Cibie, Bosch, etc who actually conform to DOT or E-Code standards.

[The Rocknrod]

Very informative, thank you.

[Blue666(2)]

These LEDS are made in the USA. Easy drop in installation.

https://www.amazon.com/Truck-Lite-27...70_&dpSrc=srch

[The Rocknrod]

I have no response to that.

[Heater63]

Thanks everyone, great discussion. One reason I wanted to go LED, price be damned, was to decrease the electrical load and simplify things by not running headlight relays.
The Watson’s are out, Astronaut makes good points to negate their approach.
Best performance/value/original-look would go to the Cibie/H4.
If LED is still the goal, the Truck Lite is American made, highly regarded in the Jeep/Hummer/Motorcycle crowed, look less ‘spacey” than the JWSpeaker,...but are still modern looking and $$ expensive.
Hmmm....

[Cooper197]

I have a set of the rectangular Truck Lite's in one of my old rigs. They are surprisingly good. They do have a blue tint, just as a newer rig with LED's or HID's does. They are bright far and wide at night, but they do have an annoying hot spot in the middle. If it were my daily driver, the hotspot would probably annoy me to the point of switching to a different light, but with how infrequently I drive it at night, I'm more than satisfied.

[Heater63]

Thanks Cooper. Any hotspot or pattern to the light would annoy me too, and your not the first person to mention that as a problem. The Cibie/H4 seems the best, and cheaper too!

[theastronaut]

The light distribution is the best thing about the Cibie's. On low beam they are the best at evenly lighting up everything as far out as possible without creating glare. On high beam they do have a hot spot directly ahead but if they're aimed correctly the hot spot shines straight out for really good distance visibility. I have heard complaints about the Truck Lite's uneven light pattern, and I'm also not a fan of the blue tint.

If you ever drive with a set of Cibie's you'll wonder how you ever drove with stock or lower quality aftermarket headlights, they're that good.

[Blue666(2)]

The Cibie has a great reputation. I only favor the TruckLite as I did some consulting work for them and was really impressed with their operations. TruckLite also makes a direct replacement for the Signal Stat 7094 West Coast Junior mirrors. All of the products are geared toward the professional for hire truck operator. http://www.truck-lite.com/

[jweb]

If you're stuck on LED's you may want to look at Dapper lighting. I have seen several good reviews and they look more like an original light, US made and 5 year warranty. I was going to use these or the Cibies.

https://www.dapperlighting.com/colle...ssic-projector

[theastronaut]

Dapper uses very small Halogen projectors in their both their halogen and HID headlights. I bought a set of their V2 Classic 7" HID's to go in my Miata to "upgrade" from the Cibie's. When they arrived I found that they had halogen projectors, not xenon projectors. Same light source size/location issues as installing a LED/HID bulb in halogen housing, the beam pattern is distorted. Due to the small projectors they have to use to fit in a headlight bucket, the beam pattern was only about 90* wide; rather inadequate. I ended up going back to the Cibie's.

That said, they have said that they are looking for better performing lights that still fit in an average size headlight bucket. it does look like they are using a different style of projector with their LED 7" lights. Hopefully they perform better than the V2's I tried.

[Pinchecharlie]

Oh man my hella stuff just came and now I read this! Hope it works as well!? Love all the details being shared around here! Awesome!

[Heater63]

I ordered Cibies+bulbs+wiring pigtails+relays. $150, half the cost of LED. Will give a results update later!

[DLW]

Anyone have trouble getting the headlight retainer over Cibie headlights? Mine don't seem to fit these things.

[Ken Cook]

Following.