Looking to improve visibility (LED running lights)

[headshrink]

The two I am considering at the moment are the Hyper-Whites
or the Cree LED Running Lights

Has anyone used these, or have other suggestions? Mounting is also going to be an issue, so suggestions are also welcome there.

I don't want to spend as any more than these kits cost (under $150).

[kaiserz]

I like those a lot. I'm pretty sure 150 will pay for itself for the added visibility that you'll get from it. (I might even get one for myself too)

[Kevin2109]

I'm working on a all LED headlight right now. I'm using a custom made luxeon three up LED right now in a custom housing. The light puts out a little over 900 lumens (average bulb is around 400-600) its about an inch around and 2.5 inches deep. I havent had a chance to hook it up to the bike but my god its so bright





Oh and the Hyperlite is a bunch of BS, 55,000MCD is less then 10 Lumins at the beam angle that there using

[headshrink]

Kevin, you are going to have to give us some pics.

The hyperlite, or hyperwhite is BS? Are you saying it is junk, or there marketing is junk?

[headshrink]

This pic is from the whitehorsegear webpage . It give a good idea for mounting the cree, in my ideal location. The only problem, for me, is I would then need flush-mounts, which I didn't intend to do. If there was a bracket available for the forks, that would be a good alternative.

[Kevin2109]

Originally Posted by headshrink

Kevin, you are going to have to give us some pics.

The hyperlite, or hyperwhite is BS? Are you saying it is junk, or there marketing is junk?

What pics do you need?

Sorry there website is hyperlite, the product hyperwhite Is BS, I wouldnt buy it especially at that price. There using "high intensity" LEDs which are not very bright. The only true way to get a bright LED that isnt just bright but actually has a good throw distance is to use CREE or Luxeon (both are small SMD LEDs that are mounted to a board. Dont know if that makes sense or not. And I was wrong, I used a three up cree led for mine, this is what it looks like

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by Kevin2109

What pics do you need?

Sorry there website is hyper-lite, the product hyper-white Is BS, I wouldn't buy it especially at that price. There using "high intensity" LEDs which are not very bright. The only true way to get a bright LED that isn't just bright but actually has a good throw distance is to use CREE or Luxeon (both are small SMD LEDs that are mounted to a board. Don't know if that makes sense or not. And I was wrong, I used a three up Cree led for mine, this is what it looks like

I was just interested in your project pics.

Thanks for the heads-up on the hyper-white. You may have saved me some $$.
Based on your comment and picture of the Cree, I am wondering if the model of Cree I was looking at is the appropriate product. I may be very wrong, but you are pointing toward the board-mounted LEDs as the good ones, but the product picture on the Cree I mentioned LOOKS to be the old bulb-style LED....

[Kevin2109]

Originally Posted by headshrink

I was just interested in your project pics.

Thanks for the heads-up on the hyper-white. You may have saved me some $$.
Based on your comment and picture of the Cree, I am wondering if the model of Cree I was looking at is the appropriate product. I may be very wrong, but you are pointing toward the board-mounted LEDs as the good ones, but the product picture on the Cree I mentioned LOOKS to be the old bulb-style LED....

The cree that you were looking at are most likely the 1up crees (the most common) they look like this raw



The cree ones that you are looking at are using a lens, They dont say what the degree of the spread is. The lens im using is a 43° X 16° meaning its very wide but not very tall, so it wont blind oncoming cars

[Kevin2109]

Here is what I'm working with right now

Next to a sharpie for comparison



You can see how the lens works a little



Its really hard to tell how bright it is with my camera phone pic, but its really fing bright



This is the best comparison I could come up with, Both pictures have to over head lights on, the first pic is lit up by my deck lights, the other pic is the desk lights and the LED, you can see how the LED completely drowned out the over head lights

[headshrink]

If I you are planning to mount those INSIDE your headlamp assembly, get a bunch of pics.... that would make an AWESOME DIY!

[Kevin2109]

Originally Posted by headshrink

If I you are planning to mount those INSIDE your headlamp assembly, get a bunch of pics.... that would make an AWESOME DIY!

Thats my plan well was lol Now that I'm selling the 250r I probably wont be doing it. But my next bike I'll do it too, and it will be the same sort of idea so it would be easy to do on the 250

[headshrink]

Originally Posted by Kevin2109

Thats my plan well was lol Now that I'm selling the 250r I probably wont be doing it. But my next bike I'll do it too, and it will be the same sort of idea so it would be easy to do on the 250

Any idea how your LED's compare to the light output of the Bikeviz bullets?

[Kevin2109]

Originally Posted by headshrink

Any idea how your LED's compare to the light output of the Bikeviz bullets?

those lights are rated at a little over 60 lumens. mine is just under 900 lumens lol

[Sfork]

I wonder how hard it would be to DYI. I did a 24X3w cree led fixture for my reef tank, I made it to replace a 250W metal halide lamp.

If these are 3w units be careful of overheating, it will significantly and quickly lower the light output of these lights. You may want to add some fins to that light when you install it. probably not a problem when in motion, but what about when your bike is warming up or other situations.

[Kevin2109]

Originally Posted by Sfork

I wonder how hard it would be to DYI. I did a 24X3w cree led fixture for my reef tank, I made it to replace a 250W metal halide lamp.

If these are 3w units be careful of overheating, it will significantly and quickly lower the light output of these lights. You may want to add some fins to that light when you install it. probably not a problem when in motion, but what about when your bike is warming up or other situations.

That is my plan, I noticed it gets hot. I'm just looking for a good heatsink, maybe even have the whole light assembly vented with a couple small fans

[Kevin2109]

Little update, Just finished the heatsink. It was a bitch to drill out the heatsink to fit perfectly, but 2 days later and its done.



Its so much better with heat! After about 5 min being on before it would get so hot you could barely touch it. I had it on for 10-15 min today and I could hold onto any part of the metal without it being uncomfortable

[fujio001]

A good place for light engines and LEDs is www.ledsupply.com

You can also use the housings from easy2led.com

I have used their housings on my Miata with great success