OEDRO H4 9003 HB2 LED Initial Review

[StreetCreeper]

Firstly, my 97 limited has 99+ headlight housings that are the clear lens style, so keep this in mind in case you have not upgraded to newer clear-style headlight housings.

I swapped out the stock halogen bulbs for some fancy Piaa Xtreme white bulbs a few years back and I liked them a lot but they didn’t last even a year.

So I went the slightly cheaper route after that and just picked up some SYLVANIA 9003 SilverStar ULTRA Halogen bulbs from Walmart and called it good. These bulbs weren’t as good as the Piaa bulbs, but they didn’t cost as much either and I could return them to Walmart if they didn’t last very long.

SYLVANIA 9003 SilverStar ULTRA Halogen:





Fast forward a couple of years and the Sylvania bulbs did “ok” I guess – but I wasn’t ever really happy with them, so I started considering the OEDRO H4 9003 HB2 LED headlight bulbs that everyone is talking about in another thread.





My main concern with LED headlights had always been unintentionally blinding oncoming drivers. One thing that really irritates me personally is when I encounter some jackass with a wall of crappy blue LED lights from China all over their vehicle and blinding me. Half the time I wonder if they have their high-beams on or if they’re just fools who care not that their shitty headlights are lighting the tops of telephone poles along with everything else.

Either way, it’s a dangerous distraction and I don’t ever want to be a part of the Kmart ‘blue-light’ special club. So I’ve been pretty reluctant to even consider LED headlights at all during the last couple of years. However, the reviews for these Oedro LED headlights seemed pretty good with everyone saying that they have decent cutoffs. I had a code to get them at half off — so what the hell. I ordered up a pair for like $23

I’m pretty I’m happy with them so far, but I’ve only had them a few days so time will tell. But so far I’m pleased.

One of the things I did to be sure that I wasn’t going to blind other drivers with these headlights, was to immediately scrutinize the beam pattern and make any housing adjustments if needed before driving.

Under identical conditions about 10 minutes apart from each other, I took before and after pictures from the same spot with the low beams on the back of another vehicle at a normal distance (if driving) ahead of me. Nothing else changed but the bulbs.

As can be seen in the picture below, the beam pattern while “whiter” than the halogens, did not really change in any significant way that I could see. I studied the beam pattern pretty closely both in person and in the photos and saw nothing that alarmed me or made me think that these were not aimed well or otherwise inappropriate for these headlight housings.



I felt it was safe to drive with these LED bulbs without blinding anyone, so the next part of the test was taking a picture of the beam pattern on a wall both before and after the bulb swap. I took the first pic a ways before starting the bulb swap, so there was probably an hour between pictures and the shopping cart moved ( I was too lazy to reposition it .) Also note that the cart was closer to the wall in one pic than the other. This kinda skews the perception a little, but the parking spot and distance to the wall are really pretty consistent. The cart moving just makes it look like it’s not in the same spot.

I chose the back of a store for this test and while the shopping cart had moved in the time it took me switch bulbs and return, you will see I pointed out the little fastener for the rain gutter drain-spout running down the side of the building (hard to see as it’s painted the same colors). That fastener is a good indication of the differences in beam height as all other aspects are nearly identical (shopping cart aside of course.)

Here are the differences in low beams:



Here are the differences with high beams:




The following pictures are of typical intersection street sign in the middle of nowhere. I edited out the street name so those pesky ninjas with their creepy black helicopters can’t find me again ... but other than that — not edited in any way. Same for all the rest of the pics too.

Low beams:






High beams:




These headlights have a very definite cut off. It’s actually a bit lower than I prefer and I may actually aim them up a little if it annoys me too much. Also interesting in that the cut off is actually in an equal U shape where the ends of the “U” are the sides of the road as opposed to a more typical // patern. You’ll see what I mean in the picture below. While blurry, it gives you a better idea of the pattern it lays on the road.






Here is a picture of both the LED and the Halogen bulbs together for a color comparison.

 

[jgue467]

Not seeing the pics yet the overall opinion sounds similar to mine and these guys too: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/261903-real-hi-lo-beam-led-bulb-awesome.html


Enjoy the Runner and vape on! :cowboy:

 

[ToyotaBrah]

Pics load for me.

Great review, sir. Also, good on you for being considerate enough to evaluate them if they give any glare.

 

[gamefreakgc]

The following pictures are of typical intersection street sign in the middle of nowhere. I edited out the street name so those pesky ninjas with their creepy black helicopters can’t find me again ...

Pssh I already know where you live. I have family in the central valley. I'm calling the ninjas to tell them you have DOT illegal LED headlight's in your 4Runner. All they have to do is follow that sweet vape aroma all the way to your house.

In seriousness, are they much brighter than the PIAA extreme bulbs? I have a similar product in the Phillips Nighthawk bulbs with new 99+ housings as well. I'm in 3 year with those bulbs but I will admit, I do not do much night driving and no daytime headlights here so they rarely are used.

 

[jgue467]

I'm certain SC will chime in. Yet I've also used pretty much all the bulbs he has, the PIAAs IMO were no brighter/longer/wider light throw than the Sylvania Ultas and they both only last about 12-18 months. That's with lots of use (at night) using only the DRL (w/markers), they still didn't last long and cost more than the oedros or other similar LEDs.

They're not perfect, some spots are brighter than others but overall its brighter/slightly longer throw and whiter of course. Now for longevity tests..... :cowboy:

 

[StreetCreeper]

Not seeing the pics yet the overall opinion sounds similar to mine and these guys too: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/261903-real-hi-lo-beam-led-bulb-awesome.html



Enjoy the Runner and vape on! :cowboy:

Weird you can’t see them. I have them hosted on Postimage.com. Can you see this thumbnail pic below?

Pssh I already know where you live. I have family in the central valley. I'm calling the ninjas to tell them you have DOT illegal LED headlight's in your 4Runner. All they have to do is follow that sweet vape aroma all the way to your house.

In seriousness, are they much brighter than the PIAA extreme bulbs? I have a similar product in the Phillips Nighthawk bulbs with new 99+ housings as well. I'm in 3 year with those bulbs but I will admit, I do not do much night driving and no daytime headlights here so they rarely are used.

Me & the ninjas have history. After I learned karate and stole my fam back – the ninjas were hot on my trail. It’s only my wits & trusty 4Runner that keep us safe...



As for the bulbs, I can’t accurately compare the Piaa and Oedro bulbs because it’s been a few years since I ran the Piaa. But if memory serves me correct, the Piaa bulbs were only marginally better at throwing the high beams in a more useful pattern than the Oedro bulbs, but up close it seems like the Oedro bulbs give more useful light. The Oedro bulbs are more white/blue than the Piaa bulbs however, so it may just seem brighter. I’ll see if I can’t dig out sone old pics of the Piaa beam pattern. Perhaps I can do a “sorta” picture comparison of the Piaa VS Oedro bulbs if can find the old Piaa pictures.

I'm certain SC will chime in. Yet I've also used pretty much all the bulbs he has, the PIAAs IMO were no brighter/longer/wider light throw than the Sylvania Ultas and they both only last about 12-18 months. That's with lots of use (at night) using only the DRL (w/markers), they still didn't last long and cost more than the oedros or other similar LEDs.

They're not perfect, some spots are brighter than others but overall its brighter/slightly longer throw and whiter of course. Now for longevity tests..... :cowboy:

Yeah the Sylvanias & Piaa are fairly similar — but both bulbs are outclassed by these LED bulbs in most departments I think.

As you already mentioned, let’s see how long they last now.

 

[StreetCreeper]

Ok here’s a comparison picture of OEM bulbs, Piaa Xtreme White Plus halogen bulbs and the Oedro H4 9003 HB2 LED bulbs.

A couple caveats first. The OEM and Piaa pictures were taken in 2015 on an old older iPhone than the Oedro picture which was taken a day or two ago and on a newer iPhone.

Also, the OEDRO picture is of a different road sign and from a different distance than the OEM and Piaa pictures.

So no meaningful comparison can be made TBH, but it still is interesting to compare the pictures just for shits & giggles.

I may go back to that original road sign and take a pic with the Oedro LED bulbs. While years have passed since the first pictures, it may still prove insightful to more properly compare the Piaa bulbs and Oedro bulbs.

***also, I’m not sure if the pictures with the OEM and Piaa bulbs were of high beams or low beams as I didn’t note that in the pics. So who knows, but the Oedro picture in the comparison is most definitely low beams.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Don't go out of your way for more pics, just wanted your thoughts if it was a big improvement. Always searching for better non-projector (also read as: cheap) headlights.

 

[StreetCreeper]

Don't go out of your way for more pics, just wanted your thoughts if it was a big improvement. Always searching for better non-projector (also read as: cheap) headlights.

It’s no problem. I just need to remember to do it when I’m in that neighborhood at night. :hat:

 

[4Runner4Leon]

I've been running the OEDRO bulbs in the '99 housings. I previously ran the Osram Nightbreakers.

There is no comparison in brightness; the OEDROs are much much brighter than the Osrams. I used to run my HID foglights to supplement the halogen headlights. With the HID foglights on, I hardly knew if the halogens were on. Now, with the OEDROs, it's the opposite - with the OEDROs on, I almost can't tell if my foglights are on or not.

My real problem with the OEDROs is one that SC was concerned about, and that's light bleeding past the cutoffs. I've been studying my beam pattern over several weeks, and there is no doubt that while the cutoff is properly adjusted, there is light bleeding up above the cutoff and right into the interior of the cars in front of me. Lit up headrests don't lie .

One thing to be careful with posting iphone pictures is the exposure. Unless you are using manual exposure, set to the same level for both photos (and maybe you are), then the comparison between halogen and LED outputs is not going to be objective. With the much higher lumens of the LEDs, the camera will shorten the exposure and will not show any of the bleed off light.
I took photos of my LED beam pattern too, but they don't show the light bleeding out past them, because it is much less bright than the primary light. But it definitely does light up the interiors in front of me.

I'm going to try the Hikaris, which, at least according to the reviews, do a better job of avoiding bleed through of light.

 

[StreetCreeper]

I've been running the OEDRO bulbs in the '99 housings. I previously ran the Osram Nightbreakers.

There is no comparison in brightness; the OEDROs are much much brighter than the Osrams. I used to run my HID foglights to supplement the halogen headlights. With the HID foglights on, I hardly knew if the halogens were on. Now, with the OEDROs, it's the opposite - with the OEDROs on, I almost can't tell if my foglights are on or not.

My real problem with the OEDROs is one that SC was concerned about, and that's light bleeding past the cutoffs. I've been studying my beam pattern over several weeks, and there is no doubt that while the cutoff is properly adjusted, there is light bleeding up above the cutoff and right into the interior of the cars in front of me. Lit up headrests don't lie .

One thing to be careful with posting iphone pictures is the exposure. Unless you are using manual exposure, set to the same level for both photos (and maybe you are), then the comparison between halogen and LED outputs is not going to be objective. With the much higher lumens of the LEDs, the camera will shorten the exposure and will not show any of the bleed off light.
I took photos of my LED beam pattern too, but they don't show the light bleeding out past them, because it is much less bright than the primary light. But it definitely does light up the interiors in front of me.

I'm going to try the Hikaris, which, at least according to the reviews, do a better job of avoiding bleed through of light.

You are absolutely correct about the phone cameras and the exposure. I tried to keep every thing as close to the same as possible, but I did not manually adjust the exposure.

Ultimately though, no picture is going to really capture the lighting in the same way as seeing it in person. Just too many variables to control in real-world conditions. I think the biggest value in everyone’s review is what they think of these particular bulbs in our particular headlight housings — the pictures to me are just supporting evidence.

Amazon reviews are nice, but unless they are driving 3rd gen 4Runners, those reviews have limited value for me. It was all the great reviews on this forum ( including yours ) that are what prompted me to consider and ultimately purchase these bulbs in the first place. Whereas I would never have given these or any LED bulbs a second thought had I just seen them while farting around on Amazon.

Does your truck have a neutral or reverse front/rear level or rake? My truck is lower in the front than the rear, which may explain why my headlights actually seem a tad low for me. I can’t see anyone’s headrest from my perspective and I’ve not had anyone flash me.

Let us know how those Hikaris bulbs are! There is definitely room for improvement with the Oedros.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Does your truck have a neutral or reverse front/rear level or rake? My truck is lower in the front than the rear, which may explain why my headlights actually seem a tad low for me. I can’t see anyone’s headrest from my perspective and I’ve not had anyone flash me.

Let us know how those Hikaris bulbs are! There is definitely room for improvement with the Oedros.

Well I adjusted my lights to have the cutoff at the correct height, so that should adjust for the rake, if any. So the primary beam does not light up the interiors ahead, but the bleed through definitely does. Again, I hate to be "that guy", so maybe I'm extra sensitive.

As for flashing, I also have not been flashed. But I don't flash anyone either, so I don't know how telling that is. I figure if I flash these jerks with misadjusted HIDs/LEDs, they'll just hit me with their high beams and send my retina into the never never land .

And yeah, I agree about the Amazon reviews. Some of the folks singing the praises of the Hikaris post photos to show how great the light output is - but also show how much light bleeds above the cutoffs!

I'll try them anyway and post back!

 

[StreetCreeper]

...

But I don't flash anyone either, so I don't know how telling that is. I figure if I flash these jerks with misadjusted HIDs/LEDs, they'll just hit me with their high beams and send my retina into the never never land .

...

Hahah that is so me too. It’s like “crap, if I’m wrong and those aren’t high-beams but poorly adjusted headlights — I’m screwed...” so usually I just flip them the bird and mutter some nonsense under my breath about the world going to shit. I figure if they can see me flipping them off at night @ high speed — then they deserve the bird.

But I’m kinda odd too

 

[jgue467]

Cutoff and blinding other drivers

I drive 5 hours at night each week. I've had the oEdRos about 2 months now. I have yet to have ONE, UNO, vehicle of any type (low to the ground or whatever) flash me to indicate my brights are on when they are not on (which luckily those nasty 01's no one likes on here do work to indicate brights are on)

I think many on here are overthinking the cutoff, it's not about what You see, it's about what those in front of you see. The only real way to test that is either wait for others to complain via flashing you or BE the other driver against your own runner with these lights. Now go try that and report back! :cowboy:

 

[4Runner4Leon]

The only real way to test that is either wait for others to complain via flashing you or BE the other driver against your own runner with these lights. Now go try that and report back! :cowboy:

Sorry, I have to disagree. I posted this on the other thread, but here it is again. Those LEDs are dumping of bunch of light into other cars, whether you get flashed or not:

With all this discussion of beam pattern and cutoff, let me illustrate what I'm talking about.

First photo is from my 4Runner with the halogen bulbs. You can see the hotspot of the beam, the cutoff, and some light bleeding up above the cutoff:

This amount of light bleeding up above the cutoff is not too bad, because the overall brightness level is low.

But look at what happens when you put very bright LED's in place of the halogens (photo courtesy of OP on this thread):

The amount of light in the hotspot is insane, but so is the amount of light bleeding up above the cutoff. See how the whole wall is lit up? That's what the drivers in front of you see as well. Some may choose to ignore it, being content with how bright the lights are, but that's the part that's bothering me.

For comparison, as unfair as it is, here is a photo of the light pattern on my HID retrofit project in a Chrysler minivan:

The light is bright and uniform, with no light bleedthrough. If our trucks didn't look bugeyed with projectors (IMO), I'd be doing a retrofit right about now.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Hahah that is so me too. It’s like “crap, if I’m wrong and those aren’t high-beams but poorly adjusted headlights — I’m screwed...” so usually I just flip them the bird and mutter some nonsense under my breath about the world going to shit. I figure if they can see me flipping them off at night @ high speed — then they deserve the bird.

But I’m kinda odd too

OMG, you must be my brother from another mother! Or we're both odd :lmao:. As I was driving up the 5 a couple of days ago to your neck of the woods, I did the same thing - flipped the bird to every 18 wheeler I passed that illuminated everything in sight, including my interior! And not one of the honked at me, which I guess means they didn't see it :horn:.

 

[BamaDrewski]

As the OP on the thread: Real Hi/Lo Beam LED bulb! AWESOME! I really appreciate the time and effort you put into the comparison of these bulbs in your "OEDRO H4 9003 HB2 LED headlight bulbs".

For the money that was spent on the OEDRO's, and the brighter light they give out, I am totally pleased with them. Like many others, I have yet to have anyone flash me going down the road. What I like the most is the way the yellowish tint is gone from the old halogen style bulbs. Also, as I bought them from Amazon.com, Amazon backs up the two year warranty with the product.

Best low-dollar "investment" I have made in a long time! Nice write up man!

 

[StreetCreeper]

I drive 5 hours at night each week. I've had the oEdRos about 2 months now. I have yet to have ONE, UNO, vehicle of any type (low to the ground or whatever) flash me to indicate my brights are on when they are not on (which luckily those nasty 01's no one likes on here do work to indicate brights are on)

I think many on here are overthinking the cutoff, it's not about what You see, it's about what those in front of you see. The only real way to test that is either wait for others to complain via flashing you or BE the other driver against your own runner with these lights. Now go try that and report back! :cowboy:

I agree that the only real way to know if these lights are blinding or not, is to experience them from the flip side. I think I may do this soon. Although I don’t own any little cars to use as a test vehicle, so this may not work as well with my 4wd Ford.

Sorry, I have to disagree. I posted this on the other thread, but here it is again. Those LEDs are dumping of bunch of light into other cars, whether you get flashed or not:

With all this discussion of beam pattern and cutoff, let me illustrate what I'm talking about.

First photo is from my 4Runner with the halogen bulbs. You can see the hotspot of the beam, the cutoff, and some light bleeding up above the cutoff:


This amount of light bleeding up above the cutoff is not too bad, because the overall brightness level is low.

But look at what happens when you put very bright LED's in place of the halogens (photo courtesy of OP on this thread):



The amount of light in the hotspot is insane, but so is the amount of light bleeding up above the cutoff. See how the whole wall is lit up? That's what the drivers in front of you see as well. Some may choose to ignore it, being content with how bright the lights are, but that's the part that's bothering me.

For comparison, as unfair as it is, here is a photo of the light pattern on my HID retrofit project in a Chrysler minivan:


The light is bright and uniform, with no light bleedthrough. If our trucks didn't look bugeyed with projectors (IMO), I'd be doing a retrofit right about now.

Tonight I had to load down the 4Runner with a ton of stuff and it was sagging a bit in the rear...well not sagging exactly, but I had lost most of my front to rear rake. I could tell immediately that my headlights were blinding a bit as I could see the headrests in the backs of cars in front of me and I was lighting up road signs in very unnatural ways as I drove. Yet not one single vehicle (two police vehicles as included) flashed me or otherwise indicated that I was blinding them.

I think this speaks volumes about the amount of blinding light many people are willing to endure before they will actually let you know it’s a problem. This is definitely something to take into consideration as I had previously assumed that I would be immediately flashed if I was blinding other drivers.

I’m not a fan of the bug-eyed HID look either, but admittedly I think HID is where I’ll eventually end up. In the meantime though, these Oedro LEDs seem to provide a solid & cost effective upgrade from the previous halogens I ran.

As the OP on the thread: Real Hi/Lo Beam LED bulb! AWESOME! I really appreciate the time and effort you put into the comparison of these bulbs in your "OEDRO H4 9003 HB2 LED headlight bulbs".

For the money that was spent on the OEDRO's, and the brighter light they give out, I am totally pleased with them. Like many others, I have yet to have anyone flash me going down the road. What I like the most is the way the yellowish tint is gone from the old halogen style bulbs. Also, as I bought them from Amazon.com, Amazon backs up the two year warranty with the product.

Best low-dollar "investment" I have made in a long time! Nice write up man!

Thanks bud, I’m glad this review can add to the discussion about these particular LED lights and their potential issues. I figured I would start a second thread from yours that specifically mentioned the Oedro brand in the thread title itself for future search purposes as I know some people only search via thread titles for specific keywords. Otherwise I would have just added my review to your thread.

I had the opportunity to try these out in some light fog the other day and I was happy to see that they functioned well and did not appear to reflect undue amounts of light back at me or otherwise suffer from any color washout with the fog particles. Heavy fog may be another story but they at least passed the light fog test. :hat:

 

[StreetCreeper]

Don't go out of your way for more pics, just wanted your thoughts if it was a big improvement. Always searching for better non-projector (also read as: cheap) headlights.

I’ve had this picture now for a week or two but forgot to post it back up.

Keep in mind there is 2-3 year difference in the pictures and the phone is newer. While the sign has been moved and barriers put up (guessing some drunk ran the old sign down) the latest picture with the LEDs is pretty much the same as the older pics. These Oedro LEDs lights are quite a bit brighter and the pictures show this as well.

 

[BamaDrewski]

I’ve had this picture now for a week or two but forgot to post it back up.

Keep in mind there is 2-3 year difference in the pictures and the phone is newer. While the sign has been moved and barriers put up (guessing some drunk ran the old sign down) the latest picture with the LEDs is pretty much the same as the older pics. These Oedro LEDs lights are quite a bit brighter and the pictures show this as well.

That's a pretty big difference man!! Seems like these bulbs deliver a pretty good bang for the buck