7 wonders of the world Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 On the last two Chippy runs we have followed members running stock Caterham lights with clear lens ad coloured bulbs... Even under the canopy of a tree lined road the brake lights are only just visible on open roads in bright sunshine they are invisible..... Actually they are utter shite... There is a reason these will fail an IVA and as such are not road legal... You are putting yourselves at risk... And if your arse ended the other car will have reason to claim against you... Please spend a few pennies and get some decent lights.... I can't remember last years member but this year was a 620 white with dark purple rear wings. MY620R S reg istr. A third high level brake light would be a worthy inclusion too. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCol Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 42 minutes ago, 7 wonders of the world said: A third high level brake light would be a worthy inclusion too. I think that this, irrespective of other lighting, is the first upgrade any owner should make. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted May 25 Member Share Posted May 25 1 hour ago, 7 wonders of the world said: On the last two Chippy runs we have followed members running stock Caterham lights with clear lens ad coloured bulbs... Even under the canopy of a tree lined road the brake lights are only just visible on open roads in bright sunshine they are invisible..... Can this be made any better with red LED lamps under clear covers? Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7 wonders of the world Posted May 25 Author Share Posted May 25 If your meaning LED bulbs then your in the same boat the the lights are no longer E marked... The replacement LED bulbs I've seen are pretty poor too. The car in front of the 620 I was following had Caterham new (albeit very expensive) LED rear light which were very effective and noticable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graearea Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 is it relevant to point at this as a cheap replacement? I'm nearly ready to start selling the cowls to fit the cheap lights to the caterham wings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCol Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 Just now, graearea said: this as a cheap replacement? I'm nearly ready to start selling the cowls to fit the cheap lights to the caterham wings. [ahem] value-for-money, inexpensive, economic, reasonable maybe…. not cheap! 🤔😳🤣🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graearea Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 (edited) let me rephrase. not £500 Col, do you want a job on my marketing team? 😄 Edited May 25 by graearea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted May 25 Leadership Team Share Posted May 25 5 hours ago, 7 wonders of the world said: If your meaning LED bulbs then your in the same boat the the lights are no longer E marked... The replacement LED bulbs I've seen are pretty poor too. The car in front of the 620 I was following had Caterham new (albeit very expensive) LED rear light which were very effective and noticable. I’ve been banging on about this for years but it falls on deaf ears, LED bulbs in standard Caterham rear lights are a poor substitute for the o/e incandescent bulbs and are in some cases are plain unsafe. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouisFeakes Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 (edited) Before upgrading to Caterham’s LED lights last year I used to run clear light clusters. But…I had JAL’s LEDs behind them and a third high level brake light on the cross bar of the roll cage. The above set up works well and provides the visibility required. Edited May 25 by LouisFeakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W33SVN Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 I too have clear lenses with JAL multi-LED lights underneath. I can take a photo tomorrow to show brightness. They are very bright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlastererPete Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 Same here, clear lenses and JAL inserts. A great combo. Tried led bulbs in the standard holders and they weren’t great. But then again they aren’t designed to be used with anything other than halogens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graearea Posted May 26 Share Posted May 26 I've just put my high level LED mount on the for sale page if someone wants a "buy it, plug it in, stick it on and no solder/crimp/bodge needed" solution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W33SVN Posted May 27 Share Posted May 27 (edited) Pretty poor photos I’m afraid, but I put my bike in for comparison. One side lights, one with brake lights. Photos taken in bright sunshine and don’t really do the luminosity any favours. I’d suggest they were equally as bright, the only issue with the 7 is, they’re so low. Hence, like may suggest, I’d be better to support with a high level brake light. Edited May 27 by W33SVN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David aka Blue7 Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 I agree with the poster and also agree with Louis, W33 and Pete, JAL LED cards inside clear lenses are superb. Prior to that I tried the coloured bulbs and then the led bulbs but both were quite useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heptagon Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 On 25/05/2024 at 10:26, 7 wonders of the world said: On the last two Chippy runs we have followed members running stock Caterham lights with clear lens ad coloured bulbs... Even under the canopy of a tree lined road the brake lights are only just visible on open roads in bright sunshine they are invisible..... Actually they are utter shite... There is a reason these will fail an IVA and as such are not road legal... You are putting yourselves at risk... And if your arse ended the other car will have reason to claim against you... Please spend a few pennies and get some decent lights.... I can't remember last years member but this year was a 620 white with dark purple rear wings. MY620R S reg istr. A third high level brake light would be a worthy inclusion too. Thanks so much for this post, like many I was unaware of this and my car recently passed its MOT but I’m now going to add the LED light cards. I already have a high level 3rd brake light but it’s then hidden when I am running my half hood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GulfSeven Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 (edited) The standard Caterham "clear lens LED bulb" rear lights on my 2020 310R aren't good, but pass MOT no problem. I fitted a high level brake light in the centre of the track day roll bar cross. I've not done anything to the original lights yet, but I figure the high level light is the one that will get seen anyway. Edited June 3 by GulfSeven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David aka Blue7 Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 The point is that the side lights are not bright and can barely be seen and I suppose having one brake light is ok if you are riding a motorbike but in a car?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris SSR400 Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 Couldn't agree with this more. My clear lenses were terrible and made worse with an LED bulb (not the JAL panel LEDs). The Caterham rear LED lights are expensive but are extremely effective, personally I think they also look fantastic but I know not everyone agrees. I also fitted the high level light after my wife telling me she didn't see me braking due to sitting so much higher in the car behind me. But obviously I told her thats because she wasn't paying appropriate attention when driving as the Caterham is perfectly safe.. 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 I looked at lots of options to avoid drilling my rear panel and refitting the Land Rover lights during my rebuild. In the end I went for the Caterham LEDs. When I first saw them I thought they looked too modern, but they are growing on me and I'm pleased with the purchase, despite the outrageous cost... VideoPro_20230819_185854.mp4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrp Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 As others have said clear lenses are ok with JAL clusters and preferably a high level brake light on the roll bar Mrp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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