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My update:

Lights that I got the spec sheet for were not RHD dim/dip but universal. Whilst I am aware that you can set them up to point to the N/S If I was going to push the button I would want the correct units.

As for the output and temp I would also want to consider that in the equation.

My requirement is really not for bling, but where it makes sense on both price and technological maturity to make changes to my truck which will improve either the reliability or drivability.

As for a group buy, it was not something that I had ever considered... Or mentioned.

Although I do believe Nigel has some blasting cabinet's he can't shift...

I will of course post up the results of my enquiries and should it become necessary to purchase in bulk to secure the best price maybe consider approaching others to share the costs.

However the abuse and insinuations I received from a small minority of people accusing me of everything from tax evasion to profiteering left a bitter taste in my mouth.

As if the mud slinging wasn't bad enough, when HMRC wrote to me informing me that they had been "informed of my activities" and asking why I had not declared the profit from the sale in either my personal or company tax return for last year.

All this was going on at a time I was battling with both a nasty divorce and my ongoing depression and really didn't help.

Fortunately I kept all of the paperwork electronically and was able to show that I actually made a small loss as a couple of people didn't pay for postage despite promises they would <£20.00 this didn't include my time.

In the end HMRC insisted I put it through my books, so to keep them happy I did and in an ironic twist was able to write off the loss against tax!

Jason

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sorry to hear of your experiences, didn't know that was going on or could somehow be interpreted as tax evasion or profiteering, the market pays whatever it's willing to pay (law of supply and demand) and a business always sources on cost and or time for availability.

From the links that have been posted on here, I think one showed a youtube video, it did look like the beam pattern was a little horizontal, and did not flick to the right of left. Buyer beware, they'll be offered for accessible sale soon instead of direct from China.

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Sorry to hear you had such a bad time regarding the group buys Jason. If it were me id be naming and shaming them. However knowing you to be the gentleman you are, i know you probably wont. Were the troublemakers from the lr4x4 community or from outside?

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Not a problem guys, these things sometimes happen.

The majority of the abuse came from people who missed out, and then took umbrage to the fact that I replied explaining that I was not running a business and would not be able to supply them.

I pointed them to people who would be able to help, however as they were running a business and their price was 40% higher, hence the profiteering. I was then accused of all sorts. These were mainly new members who just didn't get the principles behind what we had done.

There were a couple of people who also stated that they didn't believe that I wasn't somehow on the take. Either I must have been skimming off the top, or negotiated 'free lights' for myself. Again totally unfounded I offered to send all of the invoices and the P&L to them, but was told that anyone can make up an invoice.

I also think I know (but can't prove) who reported me to the HMRC, I believe that it was someone already importing lights who again took exception to what we were doing.

However I was also to blame as I had used my PayPal business account to handle the monies as I felt this provided everyone more protection. I also used my Business Fedex account to settle the airway bill, duty and tax as it meant that the goods were available for immediate release.

By doing this HMRC deemed it as a business transaction, and I really couldn't be bothered to argue the toss with them.

If however I have learned anything over the past two years, is that life is to short to waste time on negative people.

The majority of people on this Forum as in life, are great people and the support and offers of help from complete strangers has been fantastic.

As however again in life some people are trolls who have nothing better to do than apply their own low standards to others.

Giving these people attention only, serves to feed their desire to do harm.

Jason.

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...The majority of people on this Forum as in life, are great people and the support and offers of help from complete strangers has been fantastic.

As however again in life some people are trolls who have nothing better to do than apply their own low standards to others.

Giving these people attention only, serves to feed their desire to do harm..

Couldnt agree more buddy. Fair play. :)

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Couldnt agree more buddy. Fair play. :)

Spot on Jason, if is proven to the A&M team who these idiots were I for one as an admin would strongly put forward a vote of banning them for bringing the forum into disreput and being a bunch of ar**holes for treating you in the way you did.

If you can PM me the info etc I will happily raise it, this sort of behaviour is NOT what LR4x4 is known for

Nige

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Hi Nige,

Whilst I appreciate the support, as I said previously life is to short to waste time on people like that.

Furthermore by banning them I believe that you would only (in their heads) provided justification for their behavior.

Life moves on, I'm not saying that I wouldn't sort out another group buy just that I would approach it differently and possibly make it more formal.

Jason

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Spot on Jason, if is proven to the A&M team who these idiots were I for one as an admin would strongly put forward a vote of banning them for bringing the forum into disreput and being a bunch of ar**holes for treating you in the way you did.

If you can PM me the info etc I will happily raise it, this sort of behaviour is NOT what LR4x4 is known for

Nige

Without meaning to Troll in anyway, less I get banned by Nige - but still being negative. If you fit LED headlights (or any type of LED bulb) to a 110 you break Construction and Use Regs. Most rule/law breakersd are easy to get away with but headligths are less so.

If you want lots of light, just go down the relay route and fit some Osram Night Breakers in Wipacs... All legal then, no matter what

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Sorry to hear of the grief and abuse directed at you for trying to be helpful to fellow forum members, and I admire your positive attitude. An attitude we should all take to heart.

Anyway, I've had clarification from our potential Chinese LED headlight supplier, and he has confirmed that the price is US$118 per each unit, which comes to about GBP145 for a pair. Shipping, import duty, etc to be added. I'll leave it to others if anybody wants to progress a purchase, individual or group.

Mike

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Without meaning to Troll in anyway, less I get banned by Nige - but still being negative. If you fit LED headlights (or any type of LED bulb) to a 110 you break Construction and Use Regs. Most rule/law breakersd are easy to get away with but headligths are less so.

Unless this has changed recently I don't believe there is anything that fully supports this. There are several articles from different organisations such as VOSA, DVLA and others expressing "opinions" on HIDs and LEDs. But nothing is actually clear. And again as far as I know, there is no explicit law/regulation or case law that says they are illegal.

When discussing this, it is well worth noting, that technically, running some 80/100 watt bulbs in a Land Rover, is "technically" more illegal. As they breach a stated watt rating.

Leds and HIDs don't breach these.

After much digging, VOSA did publish an article supporting the use of aftermarket HIDs (and in other articles they group aftermarket LEDs with HIDs).

The go on to state in their "opinion", you should adhere to the same standards as new cars, namely:

-E marked housings

-headlight washers

-self levelling headlights (or rear suspension)

But this is not law, just an opinion. The also state "some sports cars" do not need the levelling systems, but never name a single make or model or any define what cars would or wouldn't qualify.

There are also other issues with this "opinion", such as importing a car from say North America or Japan, which might very well have HIDs or LEDs, but obviously won't be E-marked.

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Further to Chicken Drumsticks research. The "requirement" for self levelling and washers is linked to HID headlights with an output in excess of 2000 lumens.

As MoT stations have as much or little clue about light output as I do and manufacturers tend to exaggerate the performance of their lights, MoT stations seem to either take a hard view or ignore it as not testable/provable. The fallback in all cases is the beam pattern. Fail that and it's not arguable. E marking on a purposed designed headlamp should ensure beam pattern.

In discussing it with my local MoT tester he also claimed that many systems utilising separate main and dip HID headlights would fail because of the time taken for the lights to come to full brightness, thereby failing the criteria for the switchover to be without any associated delay.

I'm fairly certain that most LED headlight bulbs of acceptable light output would fail on beam pattern if fitted into a standard reflector. However, the only restriction that I could find on indicators, side lights and rear lights seemed to concern actual maximum wattage. Not on the type of light source. I'd suggest a chat with your local MoT station before paying out. If you want to go ahead regardless, find another MoT station with a different opinion.

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Theres a simple little bit that asically says something along the lines of replace like for like or get your writs smacked. If it didn't come with LED's out of the box, hard cheese, you don't get to fit LED's

Because I'm not a troll but I do worry about folk admiting to breaking the law on public forums, I thought I would simple warn against it - this moves the liability firmly back into the court of the original poster and not into the conjoined mass mind of the forum... I would suggest you simply read the relevant bits of the C&U regs then come back with a nice hard core, un troll like argument for the use of LEDS...

If Jason can prove that it's all ship shape and Brissle fashion, then find a great price for the units then fair do's to the guy and good luck with his night driving

If he can't prove it's Spotty Dog, then it's best to fit them but not tell the membership of an international forum, just in case...

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Theres a simple little bit that asically says something along the lines of replace like for like or get your writs smacked. If it didn't come with LED's out of the box, hard cheese, you don't get to fit LED's

Because I'm not a troll but I do worry about folk admiting to breaking the law on public forums, I thought I would simple warn against it - this moves the liability firmly back into the court of the original poster and not into the conjoined mass mind of the forum... I would suggest you simply read the relevant bits of the C&U regs then come back with a nice hard core, un troll like argument for the use of LEDS...

If Jason can prove that it's all ship shape and Brissle fashion, then find a great price for the units then fair do's to the guy and good luck with his night driving

If he can't prove it's Spotty Dog, then it's best to fit them but not tell the membership of an international forum, just in case...

Are you talking headlights, or any lights on the vehicle?

There is nothing saying you can or can't use any bulb type for things like indicators, side lights, spot lights, brake lights. Unless you can point me to a specific regulation.

It is headlights where there is more detail. But it isn't illegal to swap sealed beam units for halogens.

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Hi Chaps,

First of all I have no problem with people responding with critical or negative comments and don't in anyway see this as trolling, that is the whole point of this forum, and the reason I asked the question in the first place. The comments about Trolls were about something completely different.

Secondly I would not push the button unless I was 100% happy that what I was buying is legal and wouldn't cause any issues, reading all about LED's in the past for them to qualify as 'legal' they need to be below 2000lm and have a certificate of conformity marked as E14 on the lense unless the lights met this standard they are not for me.

Regards, Jason.

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Jason, FYI, it's the 'E' mark that matters, not the number 14. The number simply tells you which country it was that issued the 'E' mark - 1 is Germany, 11 is the UK, 14 is Switzerland. I'm sure you can find a list of which number is which country with a bit of googling, although it doesn't really matter, they all use the same standard.

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