(OPINION!) LED Replacement Headlamp Bulbs

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:


If not having the ability to analyze beam pattern, light scatter, and degree of improvement of illumination proves to be too much...

If we listen to the experts, who do study actual objective data and have proper light measuring tools placed at key points in front of a vehicle, Subjective impressions of how well one can see, and actual test data of what is visible where it should be visible, are at near opposite ends on the chart.

Take for example those who drive around with their 'fog' lights always on. The extra foreground lighting gives one a sense of warm and fuzzy security, but if one were on a quiet street, and Illuminated a dark manhole cover with only their low beam headlamps, then backed away from that manhole cover until it was just barely visible, and then turn on the 'fog' lights, the extra foreground illumination causes the pupils to shrink, let in less light, and the manhole cover then disappears.

Try it, and you will find that no, you cannot believe your eyes or your brain's ability to judge just how well your eyes seeing or NOt seeing, objects illuminated before you.

And turn off your 'fog' lights if going over 25MPH. They do not help you see to avoid objects in front of you, they hinder that ability despite the perception otherwise. Also most every OEM 'fog' light provided on vehicles conform to no acknowledged proper fog light beam pattern which is supposed to be flat and wide with A sharp cutoff and minimal upwards stray lighting. Very very Few fog lights actually have this pattern, and those that do are in the 100+ dollar per light range.

Humans are horrible judges of how well thay can actually see, and this is provable time and again by those with actual equipment to do so. These 'those' are also highly critical of OEM lighting, and the current standards allowed and the lighting not allowed, legally. Very few OEMS get approvals from those informed on this subject, and the reviews on COnsumer reports or the governments own testing standards also leaves huge volumes to be desired.

A human might be able to tell if the lighting source is grossly inadequate, like excessive glare, street signs lit up so brightly that they blind the driver, but they are not able to tell if any aftermarket 'upgrade' is really an improvement to their ability to see, and avoid objects at the far end of their low beam's reach.

Excessive glare to oncoming drivers and the ability of a driver behind the lights to see as well as they need to see will always be at odds. The happy medium is a compromise of one or the other, and always will be' at least in the immediate future.

The danger of ultra self important Dimwitted brotruck driver X dropping any given LED or HID bulb into their halogen reflectors and perceiving an improvement, when the opposite occurs, is real, and I think we all wish to not be blinded by Dimwit X who thinks Blue light, and a lot of it, everywhere, is cool.

Most would be impressed at the improvement of their stock headlamps getting 13.X volts, AND aimed properly, through Clear, unclouded plastic lenses, and using a precision Halogen bulb whose filament location within that bulb is highly precise.

The absolute junk available regarding halogen bulbs available is astounding. The 80/100 watt hellas are known not only to not draw that much wattage, but also have huge, poorly placed filaments within the bulb which then causes the reflector to not be able to focus the light properly. The Hella Name would seem to preclude this horrible lack of imprecision and quality control, but it does NOT.

Long Life bulbs use bigger thicker filaments and one can see without magnification, on the store shelves, through the plastic packaging, that the filaments are not properly centered within the bulbs.

My neighbors just had to get some H11's, and because Amazon did not offer free prime shipping on the Phillips extreme +100's I recommended, the wife went out to Napa and bought some Wagner H11's for significantly more than the Amazon price on what can be considered the best of among the very best halogen bulbs available.

Comparing the 2 wagner bulbs side by side, the filaments were not in the same exact place on either bulb purchased. She was less than enthused at the result and after a week of driving, ordered the Phillips Extreme +100's that appeared to be mirror images of each other when compared side by side.

I replaced one and the difference on the white garage wall a few feet away was rather profound, and she claims the difference when driving is also much improved.

But that could also be the undeniable placebo effect which no human is immune to, but there is no doubt a properly placed and tighter filament within the bulb will better use the reflector.

Whether that reflector was designed Well, or acceptable, or horribly when it left the factory is of course not controllable, but it is not improved by putting on someone else's eyeglasses and envisioning rainbows and unicorns either.

It is near impossible for the human not to believe their eyes, or pat themselves on the back when they do/purchase something that is supposed to be an improvement. Talking in general here, not refuting Mex's observations on his LEDs in his reflectors.

And as far as the reader reviews on any particular drop in LED aftermarket bulb, most of these people are hardly informed about anything on this topic. Many are judging the light 'color' and no matter what, whiter light is perceived to be brighter than a yellowish halogen, and so they go right to 5 stars when their actual ability to see the deer standing in the middle of the road was reduced by 75 feet. I bet 99% of the reviews are by those with Zero actual knowledge, and those with some, well that LED bulbs performance acceptable or not, to them, is only valid on their specific headlamp in their vehicle and that specific model year.

And these days, a lack of people flashing their high beams at offending glare does not mean they are not dazzled, but perhaps fearful that the other driver has another 1500 lumens available on their highbeams to completely blind them and send them carreening off into a ditch. I know I think twice when I am dazzled byu oncoming glare and want to return the favor, for fear that it is their low Beams, not their highs.

I'll keep driving knowing I will have to often hold up a hand to shield my eyes from offending glare coming from oncoming vehicles, and let off the gas, while looking at the white lines on the side of the road. I am perhaps a little to comtemptuous of the masses who simply believe that no matter what, a LED bulb in a Halogen reflector is an improvement, when in most cases the exact opposite is true.

And While it will NEVER be enforced, at least until they decide it is a cash cow revenue generator, Dropping a LED bulb into a halogen housing is illegal, and if the worst happens, and the Insurance company's lawyers find out about the illegal lighting, well prepare your prostate for 5 fingered exam.

This includes Amber and red external turn signal/brake lighting too. And some of the LEDS placed in these are truly horrible, and worse on newer vehicles that use Dimpled reflectors instead of crenellated lenses.

LEDs are awesome technology, and improving still, but the light has to be designed around the reflector/projector so as to not cause excessive glare or simply poor light focus.

Since LEDS are quickly getting even brighter, they are becoming even more dangerous when applied to vehicular lighting not designed around such a light source in the first place.