Picture this: You’re driving down a dead straight stretch of road. It’s about 10 p.m. - you’re already on the lookout for potential hazards and your eyes wide.
Over the crest, a 4WD with eBay LED headlights shuns your eyes with the force of a thousand daggers or mixed with the light of a dying star bright enough to bring light to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. You think to yourself, "that cannot be legal".
The reality is that headlights are certainly getting brighter, but as some commenters pointed out in a previous Drive story, the problem is not the standard LED headlights in cars but the poorly adjusted aftermarket options.
“Mostly idiots in monster utes with badly adjusted lights. But no revenue in that, apparently,” said one Drive reader.
“Why do 4WD and SUV vehicles have to have the headlights to be as high as they are positioned, and then they are even made higher by upgrading suspensions and installing big tyres? Surely there needs to be some sort of restriction on these vehicles,” said another.
Are LED headlights legal?
Yes, LED headlights are legal as long as they follow set guidelines and design rules.
LEDs essentially became a standard fit on cars in the mid-2010s, and that was the beginning of a bright future for headlights.
Those dull, yellowy lights you see on older cars are sealed beams or halogen globes. The more blue light you see on 2000s vehicles is a high-intensity discharge (HID) setup, while most cars built after the late 2010s have that intense white light from LED lighting.
All of these technological leaps are at least twice as bright as the outgoing technology, with the leap from HID to LED being the brightest jump.
But the truth is that with stringent Australian Design Rules (ADRs) that vehicles must adhere to when they go on sale in Australia, there’s no doubt the factory-fitted options are legal.
However, what about those aftermarket ones we described earlier?
Am I allowed to put LED lights in my car?
Yes, you are legally allowed to change your headlights to LED globes, but they must follow the same ADRs as brand-new cars - specifically ADR 13/00.
While the job itself is straightforward, setting the angle to comply is not. The incredibly complex set of rules makes it difficult to correctly install your own LED lighting that adhere to the angle and brightness regulations.
The basics are that the headlight must emit white light and not exceed 430,000 candelas with a reference value of 100 and a complex mathematical equation to understand the intensity.
Pair this with the fact that the light cannot extend longitudinally out from the car more than 400mm, the light must not be less than 500mm off the ground, and no more than 1200mm above the ground, as well as the light emitted, must “not cause discomfort to the driver either directly or indirectly through the devices for indirect vision and/or other reflecting surfaces of the vehicle”.
Does that sound a bit confusing? Well, it certainly is. This is likely why your eyes are polluted by a haze of cheap LED lighting and blinding lights, because the average consumer cannot make sense of the 150 page ADR lighting document.
Not complying with the guidelines can land you with a defect notice and a defect fine ranging anywhere between $100 and $900 depending on the state and enforcing police officer.
How much does it cost to change my lights to LED?
The cost heavily depends on the kit you want and the type of car you have. A branded kit such as Narva or Phillips can cost between $250 and $400 for a full conversion. There are some off-brand models you can purchase for less, but it’s always a good idea to go with a trusted brand.
We don’t recommend installing LED lighting yourself, as some will require extra wiring, including controllers and resisters, in addition to the aforementioned aligning issues.
The labour, on top of the cost of the lights, will likely cost you an additional few hundred dollars if the globes are not “plug and play,” which some cars are not.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
