I just happen to have some of those old posts.... it's a bit of a read.
Here you go.
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https://www.st-owners.com/forums/threads/h4-led-2018-evitek-f2-replaces-g6.162067/
I am getting questions about not being able to find the Evitek G6 bulb. I too needed to get another set and could not find them either. So I did some looking around.
There is a lot more stuff out there now and confusing!
In 2017 they came out with the T8 bulb with a fan and the S1 bulb without a fan.
In 2018 they came out with the F2 bulb with a fan and now the M1 bulb.
G6 is 22 watts, tall beam, shortest reach.
S1 is 22 watts, mid beam
T8 is 25 watts, mid beam
F2 is 30 watts, thin beam, most focus, more light to the horizon. This one is most like the original Halogen bulb....
M1 is 25 watts, thin beam, most focus, like F2 but in the T8 package..... <----- This will be the one to watch!!!!
E1 is 25 watts , thin beam, most focus, (maybe reduced dark spot) like the S1 - no fan. not yet tested.
The F2 is about 50% brighter and is narrower focused than the G6.
If you double the power you will only see 50% further, If you cut the beam angle in half you will see twice as far...
Is it worth throwing away the G6 and getting the F2? I would say NO, since the improvement is really only slightly noticeable.
If you just want the best available in 2018, just look for the F2 led or the newer M1 (mini led headlight). It looks like this and will be sold under different labels.
direct link to Evitek, scroll to bottom to find Cindy's link.. Slow delivery, but direct from Hong Kong.. only place to get the new M1 (mini led headlight)
https://evitekhid.en.alibaba.com/pr...spm=a2700.8304367.prewdfa4cf.1.546a714fCP7TCP
It should be available soon on amazon from Evitek.
https://www.amazon.com/Safego-Headl...111185&sr=8-2-fkmr1&keywords=evitek+led+h4+f2
or
https://www.amazon.com/JDM-ASTAR-Ge...sr=8-19-spons&keywords=headlight+h4+led&psc=1
or
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JM421VC/ref=dp_prsubs_2
Tech differences
The G6 had a thick heat spreader sandwiched between two circuit boards. The F2 has one circuit board between two heat spreaders. The plus is better focus, the minus is higher spot temperature.
So it will take some time to prove long term reliability. I just swapped out my G6's and put in a set of F2's. I will keep the G6's in my top box just in case....
Update: I took the extra g6's out of my top box, they will not be needed, the XD16 cree LEDs are thermally more efficient than the previous chips and is why this configuration will define all future Led bulbs.
IMHO -- The newer M1 will most likely be the one to define what a DOT compliant LED bulb should be. WOW!
Hopefully, we will not have to wait a decade for it to get through the legal mill.....!
Post 64:
Difference between the G6 and F2 is that the F2 is 50% more light and tighter focus. I use the focus-able mag light as an example. If you focus the beam to a tight spot that is the F2 if you slightly defocus the beam making a slightly larger beam, that is the G6. The low beam the F2 puts more light down the road and the G6 puts more light on the sides of the road and close in but it is hard to notice this difference. The high beam you will notice a difference. If you seldom drive at night, or do drive on well lit streets keep the G6. If you drive a lot at night on dark roads it might be worth upgrading. The G6 is a good light the F2 is still just slightly better. With light you need to go a 3 times improvement or more to get a wow factor.
FYI:
Evitek currently offers the T8 bulb which, performance wise, sits between the G6 and the F2.
Post 114 :
Looks like they now have a new bulb. The M1 which has the focus of the F2. It is made like the T8. These bulbs have the power converter built into the heatsink. So there is no PS box in the cable like the F2.
The fan is replaceable.... better end cap. slightly lower power. more choices.......
Post 177:
Feel free to do all the experimenting that you want. I did the same about 4 years ago.
I have a bucket full of H4 led bulbs. I wasted a small fortune trying to find something that works. No, I am not rich, I will have to work until I am 70 before I can retire... but I am an engineer that knows how the H4 optical system works. I knew that I had to help if I wanted to get a H4 LED bulb that works. So that is what I did. The Evitek G6 got us into the ball park, the F2, M1 and even the E1 have made small improvements. There is still some minor tweaks that needs to be done. I only got the E1 for measurements and to give technical feed back to Evitek.
G6 is 22 watts, less focus, taller beam
F2 is 30 watts, fan, power wart in cable, (still my favorite, because its 30 watts)
M1 is 25 watts, fan, no power wart (This one is better (simpler) than the F2, but why did they give up 5 watts)
E1 is 20 watts, no fan, no power wart, needs to be in direct air flow. If hot power drops to 14 watts....
The bulbs that you pointed to, the first one is not worth your time, the second one has a COB (large LED) which is usable off road.
This is my thread that has some useful information.
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/sh...dify-H4-led-to-reduce-glare-ST1300&highlight=
My F2 has about 9000 miles on it and is surviving the triple digit heat that we had last week (max 118 F)...
Post 318:
There are still a lot of junk bulbs that are out there. --[ 2019 ]--
Here is what to look for in a H4 led.
It needs to have a full shield under the low beam emitter. (look inside of your H4 for a clue)
The low beam emitter and high beam emitter need to be mounted offset. (if they are inline you will get a weak high beam)
A heat spreader between two circuit boards will create a wider taller beam. (flood)
A circuit board between two heat spreaders will create a thinner more focused beam. (spot)
A large COB led ( wide flood)
A square led ( in between )
A inline row of small leds (spot)
20 watts min, 30 watts max. (this will get exaggerated by the vendor)
Lumen values are not to be trusted (yet)
Let me give you three options to look at spot, medium, wide.
The F2 and its clones.
It fits my riding needs, it has an awesome high beam on the ST1300. The low beam lights curb to curb and then some.
It is most like the halogen H4 in beam pattern. Low foreground lighting which is better to see far but....
The XHP50 led, this one has a taller beam pattern and really does a better job of lighting up the foreground.
It is better suited for your city driving or slow off road or winding roads. But you will have to be the judge of that.
It does not have the long distance that the F2 will do, too much foreground light reduces your ability to see way far down the road.
The big COB led. This one is more flood and has a smooth wide beam but no distance. It maybe better for city driving. (not for me, but here for completeness)
The F2 is still the best at the moment.
I can see two more steps to improve the F2 model....
One is 3D fabrication which requires re-programming the process,
The other is tubular fabrication which requires new tools not yet built....
[both with very small gains that will only be measured (but not noticed) in full round headlights.
These are what to look for in the different
types.
Notice high beam is shifted (left or right) in the pictures. NO offset then no high beam.
Post 378:
Indeed, getting better LEDs is only part of the equation.
Once installed one has to adjust the beam so that it is correctly aimed. This does two things. It prevents glare but also gets the most light down the road. What is worse is that there are many cars/bikes on the road that have their low beams aimed too low, so they can not see very far. This puts pedestrians and bambi at risk of becoming hood ornaments. Not being able to see far enough ahead is the biggest factor in night time accidents.
So there is this new blade LED bulb (
B6) that is a little different than the others that look like it...
I had made the suggestion to make the leds longer than the halogen filament.
This is because the wire filament is 3D and the leds are 2D.
The filament emits light off the back end which makes it effectively "optically longer".
by making the leds longer it spreads the light wider, better lighting up the sides of the road.
This bulb might work in those headlights that have poor patterns with leds and halogen bulbs.
This configuration creates a very thin ribbon of light on the horizon. This reduces foreground glare and puts the light where it is needed. It makes a very good low beam and an excellent fog beam pattern.
This bulb has the solution for the dark spot and provides a wider beam pattern.
notice that there are six leds on each side on the low beam.
This bulb is
only 18 watts (measured) which is half as bright as the F2/M2 bulbs. But is twice as bright as the halogen bulb.
Because the leds are spread out and being lower power it does not project as far as the F2/M2 bulbs.
This would be a good "in between" bulb. Wait What !!!!
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EDIT:
The NEW "under powered" 18 watt bulbs test to be exactly equivalent (but better) than a standard halogen bulb. This technically makes them
DOT compliant !!!!!!!
Since I was focused on getting a bulb that gets us to the goal line, I blinked and missed this important mile stone.....
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In the H4 version the power is the same for High and Low beams. When you switch to Hi beam, instead of turning off the low beam the power is split between the low and high leds. This makes for a less powerful hi beam, but it does keep the light on the sides of the road. I have been using them on my bike for the last three months. (I will go back to the F2 when the time changes and I have to commute in the dark, to me distance matters... )
https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...ml?spm=a2700.icbuShop.41413.10.444577b7xKlc8x
not yet on amazon......
Post 387:
The F2 comes in many flavors (versions) you can get them for you car or truck too ....
Your first picture is a
9004 or
9007 version of the F2 and NOT a H4 version of the F2 bulb. **
Edit
The ST1300 uses a modified H4, We cut off (break off) the bottom two tabs...
The second picture is the
H4 version of the F2 and it is reboxed and sold by many vendors.
The F2 is 32 watts (measured) and is brighter than the B6 which is 18 watts (
NOT 80 watts).
The B6 is an attempt to make a halogen Equivalent.
So if you do not want the brighter F2 bulb there is now lower power option.
The B6 is still brighter than the Halogen bulb but since it makes a wider beam pattern it measures equivalent to the halogen....
The longer row of low beam leds in the B6 spreads the light wider on the road.....
high beam lights all leds but at the same power (18 watts).
Here the vendor re-labels the
B6 as
W6
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07B2GVVBK...lja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1
Yes, The F2 really does light up the road signs and pedestrians, bicyclist, coyotes, moose, deer, elk and other road hazards giving you more time to react......
Which is the real purpose to have better lighting........
Post 453:
https://www.amazon.ca/Headlight-Con...keywords=m1+led+h4&qid=1588372571&sr=8-5&th=1
That one is the M1 bulb which has the focus and correct led shape like the F2. The F2 is 35 watts and the M1 is 30 watts.
The M1 does not have the power converter in the middle of the cable like the F2 so it is simpler to install.
The M1 is a little longer so It might not fit in some spaces, but both work in the ST1300.
The W6 is their latest bulb but it is only 18 watts which makes it more "equivalent" to the H4 bulb.
I still prefer the brighter F2 bulb for the freeway speeds that I ride at night (winter time).
You need 4 times more light to see twice as far..... The 20% difference between the M1 and F2 is not noticeable.
You will be happy with the M1 bulb.
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Some of this might be out of date now, and the links may not work, but there's some reference in here at least.
Obo.
