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ZB Commodore LED Upgrade

Craig Olds

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Just installed a set of Narva LEDs - impressed so far. Need to go to Holden to get the headlight error code cleared.
 

DK's

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Just installed a set of Narva LEDs - impressed so far. Need to go to Holden to get the headlight error code cleared.

I understand they could do this, but would be very surprised if they would. Let us know what they say.
 

Skylarking

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Just installed a set of Narva LEDs - impressed so far. Need to go to Holden to get the headlight error code cleared.
I understand they could do this, but would be very surprised if they would. Let us know what they say.
The ADR/EU headlamp standards define how and when error codes should be raised for differing lighting types and their fault conditions.

As is, vehicle programing and calibration is based on the vehicles VIN. The dealer service tools connect to the GM database which uses the VIN to selects the software and calibration modules appropriate for the vehicle. Such tight integration is a pain but ensures vehicle certification can continuie to be met. No doubt a BCM could be reprogramed to raise an error code under differing conditions, more in tune with the non standard globes being used, but such would not be something a dealer would be able to do.

Clearing an error code is easy for a dealer to do but such will not stop the fault being raised again unless something is done to resolve the underlying issue itself (which in this context is to add some resistance to the LED circuit).

Having said that, i've read of one dealers that fitted an "illegal for road use" aftermarket HID/LED low beam globes to their customers vehilces so i'd assume they fitted an appropriate in line resistance to avoid errors popping up. Guess some dealers don't care about liability issues o_O
 

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Hi all,

very interested in this mod.

The sinoparcel product doesn’t come with a canbus controller? Can one be fitted after the fact does anyone know?

They’re in stock so I would get some but I don’t like the idea of having constant codes being thrown up..... has anyone sorted this yet?

Cheers!
 

alsd

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more like downgrade

read this article for the why's (it's a long one, strap in).


Thanks for that, good to know! I had always wondered if it’s just “looking brighter” vs “actually better”....

They don’t discuss HID conversions.... any intel on those?

I haven’t actually picked up my car yet so maybe I’m jumping the gun but from all reports the headlights are terrible.
 

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OEM HID should be the only thing you consider.
 

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more like downgrade

read this article for the why's (it's a long one, strap in).

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The following says it all:

Stern says: “Unlike ‘HID kits’ where there is no possibility of optical compatibility, that possibility does theoretically exist with LEDs. The products presently on the market are not close to acceptable; there are still some very substantial technical hurdles to overcome... but eventually, there will be legitimate products of this kind.”

“It’s hard to wait (believe me, I know!) but the ones on the market now just don’t cut it, no matter whose name is on the box and what promises and claims are made.”
 

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OEM HID should be the only thing you consider.
Other than quality halogen globes and correctly aimed beam ;) Or much more complex and expensive OEM LED retrofit:eek:

Problem is that some simply want something different and modded within their car, at an affordable price, regardless of whether it’s actually better and safer than OEM or even appropriate for road use :(
 

mpower

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Other than quality halogen globes and correctly aimed beam ;) Or much more complex and expensive OEM LED retrofit:eek:

Problem is that some simply want something different and modded within their car, at an affordable price, regardless of whether it’s actually better and safer than OEM or even appropriate for road use :(

I was replying to the post above mine, if you want HID - OEM or nothing.

another article on LED


The problem for many consumers is that they’re paying more for the LEDs but not getting much bang—if any—for that extra buck, says Jennifer Stockburger, director of operations at the Consumer Reports Auto Test Center.

“Yes, they’re stylish, but drivers need lights that will make them safer, and not just make a fashion statement,” Stockburger says. “Car shoppers need to think about headlights as a safety feature in the same way they think about brakes or even seatbelts.”

Both LED and HID headlights can produce a brighter, whiter light than halogens, and they illuminate the sides of the road well. But how far a headlight illuminates straight ahead, in the direction a car is traveling, is what’s most important, Stockburger says. In that respect neither HIDs nor LEDs have proved to be superior over halogens in CR’s testing.

“Even with the new technology, low-beam headlights don't always provide enough forward seeing distance for the driver to react to an object in the road and stop in time,” Stockburger says.

For example, CR’s brake testing shows that, on average, a vehicle traveling at 60 mph (or 88 feet per second) on dry asphalt in ideal conditions needs about 130 feet to come to a complete stop. Estimates for a driver’s reaction time between seeing something ahead in the road and hitting the brake pedal is 2.0 seconds—at roughly 88 feet per second, the vehicle has traveled 176 feet before the driver has hit the brakes. That means the total distance needed from recognizing an object to coming to a full stop is about 300 feet.

But in our headlight tests, we’ve seen that neither LED nor HID low-beam headlights consistently illuminate more of the road ahead than halogens do. The poorer performers among all headlight types don’t reach the 300-foot mark. The result is that drivers traveling at 60 mph or faster will “overdrive” their headlights, meaning they're going faster than the lights can illuminate the road ahead, giving the driver little time to stop. The Escalade we tested in 2015 was able to illuminate signs on our headlight test course as far as 400 feet ahead.
 
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