LED Headlights..NOT QUITE THERE

[TOY2G]

I took the time to hunt down a manufacture last week at the SEMA show for LED Headlamps. I found a manufacture from Korea that made better looking (more robust) than the others 3 Chinese manufactures at the show that I was able to visit.

We spent some time talking and he was very honest with me about the lighting expectations of the LED lights. Long story short, he agreed to sell me a few sets at a very low price for me to test, I agreed to carry them in our online store if i were pleased with the lights.

Sad to say, the lights are great looking, well built, and put off a nice 5k white light.......HOWEVER they light output is awful. The best i can describe is, it looks like I am holding a flash light out the window to drive. The light dissipates very quickly (10-15 feet in front of the vehicle).

I know others have had similar luck with other LEDs, and as a fog lamp, tail lamp or perhaps a projection lamp, the LEDs may be fine, but as a headlamp in a standard reflector, the technology is simply not up to par. To make a LED bright enough, and small enough to replace a halogen bulb is hard, not to mention fitting the drivers in the lamp and keeping them both cool.

Hope this helps someone on the fence...

 

[Dirtyfingers]

Sure helped me out man, thanks. I was defiantly on the fence. I think I'll stick to my reserch and go with the retrofit source on my 3rd gen.

 

[gm350reratliff]

I wish the light output was as good as HID. I liked the light output of HIDs but they seem too unreliable especially in cold weather. I see big rigs running LED headlamps so we are getting there. I was wondering if someone could just retrofit in some Rigid LEDs. I was hoping to check out more lighting options at the show but I ran out of time.

 

[TOY2G]

Sure helped me out man, thanks. I was defiantly on the fence. I think I'll stick to my reserch and go with the retrofit source on my 3rd gen.

I wish the light output was as good as HID. I liked the light output of HIDs but they seem too unreliable especially in cold weather. I see big rigs running LED headlamps so we are getting there. I was wondering if someone could just retrofit in some Rigid LEDs. I was hoping to check out more lighting options at the show but I ran out of time.

I should have mentioned, the manufacture said the light performed great in projector headlights. I could that being much better since the issue is the light is far to scattered. But the retro kit, and LEDs make it a 5-7 hundred dollar conversion...hard to swallow..

Rigs with factory LEDs (an European cars) have the entire headlamp assembly designed for LEDs with drivers built in to the housing and larger LEDs with higher output.

the issue we are having is trying to make an H4 or a 9006/9005 replacement. bulb sized LED

I am working on another option i will post if it pans out.

 

[SIKHILUXSURF]

i have tried some on the wifes car as well, and they just dont cut it and are just not bright enough to justify the swap from halogen for her yet.

gm350reratliff what issues are you having with hids in cold weather? is it mainly fog and rain? also what temp bulbs were used? i use 4300k headlights and 3000k fogs an they work very well in bad weather conditions for instance. rain and fog. the bluer the light is on the Hid the less can be seen during rain as the blue light gets washed away with the mosture on the ground. this is when the yellowish light as well as fully yellow light comes into play.

 

[Dirtyfingers]

Hmm. I think that makes more sense. Hope to see some good results.

 

[gm350reratliff]

i have tried some on the wifes car as well, and they just dont cut it and are just not bright enough to justify the swap from halogen for her yet.

gm350reratliff what issues are you having with hids in cold weather? is it mainly fog and rain? also what temp bulbs were used? i use 4300k headlights and 3000k fogs an they work very well in bad weather conditions for instance. rain and fog. the bluer the light is on the Hid the less can be seen during rain as the blue light gets washed away with the mosture on the ground. this is when the yellowish light as well as fully yellow light comes into play.

The problem I was having was that one side or the other would sometimes not light when I turned the headlights on, mostly in cold weather. Same issue with a few different kits on two different silverados (before I purchased the 4Runner). As for color, I had 2 4300k kits and 2 5000k kits. I was tempted to try them in the 4runner but at this point I've given up on HIDs. I still have the OEM bulbs in the 4runner. As bad as they used to seem, they are 5x brighter than my 2012 F150.

 

[SIKHILUXSURF]

The problem I was having was that one side or the other would sometimes not light when I turned the headlights on, mostly in cold weather. Same issue with a few different kits on two different silverados (before I purchased the 4Runner). As for color, I had 2 4300k kits and 2 5000k kits. I was tempted to try them in the 4runner but at this point I've given up on HIDs. I still have the OEM bulbs in the 4runner. As bad as they used to seem, they are 5x brighter than my 2012 F150.

were you using generic kits or oem parts? i have stayed away from cheaper kits and went with oem parts and had no issues even in wet weather. my headlights fire all the time any time. i totaly understand where you are at because i have been there and done that.

 

[bimrunner]

hmm. The V-led ones seem to put out plenty of light. I have them installed but only could test in the shop where my truck is being completed so pretty hard to tell. Looking head on with one side factory and one LED, it looked 2x brighter from LEDs. I'll discover for sure soon enough... If they aren't very good, I can always turn on my RI fogs.

 

[gm350reratliff]

were you using generic kits or oem parts? i have stayed away from cheaper kits and went with oem parts and had no issues even in wet weather. my headlights fire all the time any time. i totaly understand where you are at because i have been there and done that.

The last ones were phillips, the second kit was generic, the first I'm not sure about.

 

[SIKHILUXSURF]

The last ones were phillips, the second kit was generic, the first I'm not sure about.

be carefull with philips. there are alot of knockoffs that are rebadged to look like philips.it is very rare you will see a kit and at a cheap price. have you thought about a retrofit? i would recomend to try that instead.

 

[gm350reratliff]

be carefull with philips. there are alot of knockoffs that are rebadged to look like philips.it is very rare you will see a kit and at a cheap price. have you thought about a retrofit? i would recomend to try that instead.

Yeah, I thought about retrofits. Maybe someday.

 

[mikey's2010SR5]

I am waiting for the BMW laser headlights to come out to do another retro! LOL

BMW Laser Headlamp Demonstration - YouTube

LEDs would have to be a full on retro fit and probably would be pretty expensive. For now our trucks benefit great from a proper HID fit.