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LED headlight bulbs


mickmutante
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I would like to change my standard headlight bulbs, so I was looking for some LED bulbs... So I found a lot of models, wattage, lumens, etc...

Do I have to take care of the wattage or lumens for a standard headlight plastic case? Will tempararure or hot spots affect the plastic case?

Is there some LED headlight that are considered "stay away from"?

I do not want to make electrical modifications, just "plug and play" bulbs, if possible.

Same for the standard fog lights...

 

Thanks a lot

 

 

mickmutante - Gallardo

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I have LED headlights installed - in my factory housings. Purchased the Blackened housings online (ebay I think) that you can also find on carid.com, and they came with 8000k HIDS. I ran those for a short time but the output was so unfocused I had to upgrade. I am also one of those people that feel bad being an a$$ to other drivers using my "awesome" HIDs in my reflector housings. So... Along came the LED: Genssi brand I think (amazon) and they fit great. Output is slightly better than my factory fog lights - which I run an H3 HID 2700k conversion. So, not good at all for driving at night. The LEDs I purchased have 2 Diodes, one on top and one on the bottom - offset the top is Low beam, and the bottom is the high (low beam reflects down, high beam reflects up-ish). I want to get better ones - PIAA or OPT-7 but the PIAA are $250+.

 

If you do get LED, make sure they have low beam output on both sides. Read reviews from others - and compare many products.

Don't get Genssi - great cosmetically, not functionally.

Better option: Projector lenses. Sadly - not available mainstream for us.

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I've checked my HID's in an oncoming situation and found them to be no more annoying than some factory HID's. The glare isn't bad. Yes they would be better in a projector housing,but we all know how difficult it is to change over.If I thought they were unsafe I wouldn't use them. My experience with them,so far has been good.

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I found these ones on a similiar site to Ebay...

 

They have 3 leds in 3 faces of the lamp... 3500 lumens

 

Tomorrow I am going to take a look to them....

 

http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.co/MCO-417987863-bombillo-hid-led-moto-o-carro-3500-lumenes-h4-obsequio-_JM

 

bombillo-hid-led-moto-o-carro-3500-lumen

 

 

 

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So... I found that if you want to use this type of LED bulb, you have to change to a projector housing... In those LED bulbs only two sides work in low mode, and in hi mode the rest of the sides work...

 

I think for now I would buy the Osram Night Brakers bulbs... I do not want to buy new housings or install HID lights....

 

 

mickmutante - Gallardo

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Today I bought and install Osram Night Brakers bulb... They are more clear... Not yelowish color...

I took some photos to compare at least the color... I will try them at night as just as I can...

I bought these fog led bulbs... I have to wait at least 4 weeks until delivery....

 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-Arrivals-850LM-100W-H3-LED-Fog-Light-High-Bright-H3-Fog-Lamp-360-degree-12V/32537597411.html

 

Osram Night Braker vs Koito

image_zpss1uqu14w.jpeg

 

 

mickmutante - Gallardo

Edited by mickmutante
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  • 2 weeks later...

Guys the only bulb that can safely go Into the oem reflector housings is, unfortunately, a halogen bulb. Hids in stock housings are blinding and glaring no matter how you adjust them. Factory hid projectors have that "crisp" cutoff line for a reason - so that no light goes above that line and blinds oncoming traffic. Plug and play led bulbs are also a bad choice, and have been proven to throw less light down the road than normal oem.halogens. leds will appear "brighter" but actually have less output, and have a terrible failure rate since becoming popular. Using leds or hids in reflector housings is just as bad as using the popular led light bars and pods as aux lighting on public roads.

 

The only proper way to improve your headlight output is, as posted, upgrading to a higher quality halogen bulb (silverstar, zxe, night breakers), or do a proper HID projector or led projector retrofit.

 

Sent from my SM-G928T using Tapatalk

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I tried the Osram NightBraker this weekend... I was out of the city on a wedding party... Anyway...

Compred to the Koito lights... The Osram were way more clear and with more range in low and hight mode... I do not have a photo... It was 2 am... But I like them a lot

 

 

mickmutante - Gallardo

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I am waiting for the fog led bulbs... If they do not blind the other drivers... I will keep them... If not, i will look for Osram or similar fog hallogen bulb....

 

 

mickmutante - Gallardo

Edited by mickmutante
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I confess I placed an HID conversion in my factory foglight housings. There is a nice output from the factory fogs, I do not see a bad beam pattern, appears to have a nice cutoff. No upward light at all. 2700k kit, so very nice yellow light behind clear lenses.

Headlights are LED, but I am not happy with them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I decided to play Guinea pig for this.

My verdict, they work, they put out better light than the halogen ones. I haven't driven on the road yet so I don't know if they are blinding to oncoming traffic or not. That's the good part.

The bad part, they generate a lot of heat (which I find odd since LED is supposed to not do that) which means they require a built in cooling fan, making them quite tricky to fit into the tight rubber grommet that keeps the inside of the headlights clean.

The second thing which I am not sure yet if it's my installation's fault or the bulb's. But when I put the high beams on the patterns seems to go wider instead of taller. There are diodes on 2 sides so I'm thinking I just have them sideways. Will give them a spin and see if that changes things.

So as long as these don't melt, or just stop working like a lot of cheap bulbs, they might be a decent option.

 

8edffd2328b9955665a53ef9a1197fba.jpg

 

OSRAM Halogen

8462b5333a6835cb49cf1e0cb34a3ac9.jpg

 

7be1f739e175dddc68ba27d1c2180189.jpg

 

 

Driver side LED, passenger OSRAM

e13bffac2b8624d94a7bb868e1baed37.jpg

 

984635ca202325da353ae8569702387e.jpg

 

2db7261e4c8d26504714b11b7e24aae0.jpg

 

50fd49b4156cfe926363d29587cac59d.jpg

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Crapatalk

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I was inspired by this thread to try some LED bulbs. Bought the cree style LED bulbs. Affordable but a pain to install due to the fan like CDN_S4 stated before. It makes it hard to clip the bulb hold down in place because the weather seal wont fold back with the fan motor in the way.

 

Seems i cant adjust the beam either? Did you have this problem CDN_S4? Didnt matter how much i rotated the adjustment dial, they just seem to have a broad pattern. Color is white and much brighter than halogens. Overall ok for the price but not sure how they endure. Wasnt impressed with the housing materials.

 

 

20160105_171212_zpst0fwj0nr.jpg

20160105_173133_zpslxbge9sj.jpg

 

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Pretty much my thoughts exactly buddy. The light output is good but the high beam is pretty much useless on mine. Also no way to adjust them. I was able to get the weather seals back over but it was a pain in the butt and I'm not sure it will stay put. I do think they should have an air escape due to the heat build up so in itself as long as you song drive through hood deep water, should be fine. But as a daily driving light, especially in the winter months, I think it's worth it. Especially given the affordable cost of these.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Crapatalk

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Yea, the cost is the big factor here. Cheap enough to not really worry so much. They are bright for sure, but the lack of adjustment, fitment/seal and the light spread potentially annoying other drivers are all significant downsides. I havent driven on the road yet. Tomorrow mornings pre-dawn commute will be the test.

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My Halogens were upgraded OSRAM Nightcrawler or Nighthawk or something like that and they did not provide as much range as the current LED's. The question that remains is how these hold up over time and if they are blinding to oncoming traffic. Given the height of my Pathy, I pretty much blind any car, regardless of bulb, however, I haven't had anyone flash their high beams at me yet. I've only had limited night time driving so far. But again, given the low cost of these bulbs, it isn't a big deal to experiment with. Personally I love them so far.

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