(OPINION!) LED Replacement Headlamp Bulbs

[MEXICOWANDERER]

No instruments...merely stare and compare.

• Where I drive there are no goose-stepping over-regulatory restrictions about bulb replacements
• I have as of this morning ordered and replaced 13 sets of 90xx series incandescent bulbs
• Six different manufacturers
• All LED bulb headlamp bulbs use internal mechanical fans to aid cooling - a potential failure or weak point - the headlamp housing is the focusing agent so errant stray light beams are non existent
• Some vehicles have 2 bulbs each housing so a bulb is used for high beam
• In the focus area the light intensity is immeasurably greater as compared to factory incandescent bulbs. Impossible to state in a coherent fashion but I imagine lit areas to illuminate 500% better
• Every person who has driven vehicles with factory HID lamps are emphatic - white light is far superior to bluish HID lighting
• In the hundreds of oncoming vehicles that have passed by, not one has flashed their headlamps when I am on low beam
• With standard incandescent lamps on high beam close to 90% of oncoming cars flashed me down
• IF and I mean this is a BIG IF, the manufacturer used a sealed ball bearing fan inside the LED lamp, the lamp should operate for many thousands of hours
• Think of the longevity of a laptop's fan
• This may provoke arguments
• Go ahead and argue while I do not run off the edge of an unstriped road shoulder

[MEXICOWANDERER]

When a group (6) drivers walks 100' away from a car showing low beam settings and they immediately agree "The color of the lights is distinctive - white" and say, the brilliance does not in any way offend them, I have to take it seriously.

The new cars I see in México and the USA with HID factory lamps are positively slanted toward high K of the spectrum BLUE. Incandescent headlamps swing toward "Warm White". To me pure white is not sunlight - correct me if I am wrong. Sunlight has a definite yellowish tint.

But as far as headlamp illumination is concerned I could care less about the twenty-two-million shades discernible to the human eye. I could care even less than that the exact color rendition of a pothole or gray steer. I want to SEE the hazard.

And yeah, not blinding an oncoming driver so he veers into my lane is also a consideration.

So is another point not discussed here NOT LOADING THE VEHICLE UNTIL THE REAR SAGS WHICH WILL BLIND AN ONCOMING DRIVER 10-TIMES WORSE than the points nit-picked over in this thread. My toad had weak rear coil springs. The FACTORY bulbs blinded oncoming drivers. I fixed that in a rush with variable rate MOOG springs. Now 300# in the trunk does not lower the rear one-inch.

I do not like the dimness of the tail or stop lamps. So I ordered (4) CREE bulbs. I also have a multitude of sealed LED amber and red lamps and if I do not like how I end up with the CREE bulbs, then on - go side markers.

Writing about "distractions" --

The last trip I made on Interstate 5, had me passing big rigs with light-show grade amber and red LED marker and clearance lamps. Seeming 6 dozen of them.

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

Perhaps an even more challenging task of safe driving may also be overwhelming and therefore may I suggest not being on the road when I am...?

[landyacht318]

I don't like the satellite dish analogy either.

I do like the eyeglasses analogy.

Putting Any LED bulb into a halogen reflector/projector is like randomly picking up a stranger's eyeglasses and expecting to be able to see properly.

Perhaps some glasses would be fine, and some others hideously wrong.

Problem with headlights is 'hideously wrong' can still yield that 'Wow, OMG' result, as the tree top squirrels start glowing, and some would never acknowledge their purchase was a bad and dangerous downgrade.

[SCVJeff]

Yeah.. look at the higher rez zoomed in pic of that fixture. It's a beautiful thing..

BTW- to comments above: focusing light on a reflector and aligning a satellite dish are two completely different and unrelated things with the ONLY common thing between them is a reflector

[NinerBikes]

SCVJeff wrote:

pconroy328 wrote:

GoPackGo wrote:

Chris Bryant wrote:
I still remember changing my parents Volvo to Cibie Z-beams, back when they were illegal. Amazing headlights with a razor sharp cutoff. Oncoming it looked like the bottom half of the bulb was not lit, high beams, both halves.
Personally, I think they still blow others out of the water.

I did the exact same thing on two cars back in the 70's. Very sharp cutoff - low on the left side and angled up on the right side on low beam. On high beam I could see across two counties. If those Cibie Z-beams would fit my F350, I would add them in a heartbeat. Best EVER.

Me three - Cibie Z's in my 1975 Opel. I was doing a ton of night driving and came to love those things.

They were the best!

When I was running 7" round Cessna landing light high beams, then rectangular headlights I was using Hellas for Low beams that had the same razor-sharp cutoff as the Cibe's, maybe even more so. It was ricidlous that European approved lights couldn't meet DOT standards only because they had a removable/ replaceable lamp. It took another 20+ years for USDOT standards to catch up, but the GE and Sylvania's of the world never came remotely close to the reflector nor lensing accuracy as what Hella and Cibe had been doing for a lifetime. It was no problem whatsoever to see those headlights behind or coming at you. There was Zero overshoot off of those reflectors. Now they're all chromed plastic that can't last only a few years before the sun eats them, and they still don't come close except for projectors.

The cut angle in the lense tells all. Hella H4 original.

[trail-explorer]

Gdetrailer wrote:
As noted by someone else, HIDs are much lower on the color spectrum (4,300K-5,000K) which is more inline with good vision resulting in less scatter and potential blinding of other motorists.

Color temp has nothing to do with scatter or beam pattern.

YOu can buy various color temp HIDs, just as with LEDs.

Not all HIDs are 4300-5000k

[trail-explorer]

I'm running a set of these in my 2010 Silverado:H11 LED Headlights

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Many school districts high in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California refused to operate halogen sealed beams for exactly that reason in the 1980's.

Landyacht emphasized one of my points - do research and choose an LED headlamp bulb that has earned a high number of stars and reviewers.

But to compare outside at a distance of 100' looking back at my low beams and comparing them to brand new car HID low beams is a cruel joke. The HIDs not only dazzle my eyes but other's as well. These are 2014-2017 original equipment lamps. Some new rice-burners add to the insult by encasing the headlight housing within a glaring LED halo. Or eyebrows or other useless / irritating gizmo effect.

I remember Ford's first 1985 headlamps in their pickup trucks. Almost level with my rear view mirror and shockingly bright.

Washington is administered by regiments of failed lawyers and I cannot emphasize the amount the contempt I have for them. They cannot even control (?) Oh hell they do not even acknowledge the flood of counterfeit Underwriters Laboratories "certified suicide" Chinese appliances. Metal housing, two prong plug riiiiight!

[pfidahospud]

Isn't there any concern during wintertime driving that the LED headlamps won't create enough heat to melt off the snow? That's my biggest gripe with LED tail lights - impossible to see the back end of new semi trailers in heavy snow (compared to the old ones that made enough heat to melt off the snow).

[SCVJeff]

pconroy328 wrote:

GoPackGo wrote:

Chris Bryant wrote:
I still remember changing my parents Volvo to Cibie Z-beams, back when they were illegal. Amazing headlights with a razor sharp cutoff. Oncoming it looked like the bottom half of the bulb was not lit, high beams, both halves.
Personally, I think they still blow others out of the water.

I did the exact same thing on two cars back in the 70's. Very sharp cutoff - low on the left side and angled up on the right side on low beam. On high beam I could see across two counties. If those Cibie Z-beams would fit my F350, I would add them in a heartbeat. Best EVER.

Me three - Cibie Z's in my 1975 Opel. I was doing a ton of night driving and came to love those things.

They were the best!

When I was running 7" round Cessna landing light high beams, then rectangular headlights I was using Hellas for Low beams that had the same razor-sharp cutoff as the Cibe's, maybe even more so. It was ricidlous that European approved lights couldn't meet DOT standards only because they had a removable/ replaceable lamp. It took another 20+ years for USDOT standards to catch up, but the GE and Sylvania's of the world never came remotely close to the reflector nor lensing accuracy as what Hella and Cibe had been doing for a lifetime. It was no problem whatsoever to see those headlights behind or coming at you. There was Zero overshoot off of those reflectors. Now they're all chromed plastic that can't last only a few years before the sun eats them, and they still don't come close except for projectors.

[pconroy328]

GoPackGo wrote:

Chris Bryant wrote:
I still remember changing my parents Volvo to Cibie Z-beams, back when they were illegal. Amazing headlights with a razor sharp cutoff. Oncoming it looked like the bottom half of the bulb was not lit, high beams, both halves.
Personally, I think they still blow others out of the water.

I did the exact same thing on two cars back in the 70's. Very sharp cutoff - low on the left side and angled up on the right side on low beam. On high beam I could see across two counties. If those Cibie Z-beams would fit my F350, I would add them in a heartbeat. Best EVER.

Me three - Cibie Z's in my 1975 Opel. I was doing a ton of night driving and came to love those things.

They were the best!

[landyacht318]

Since there is an LED drop in replacement of basically every Halogen bulb out there from dozens of different sources, and there is no stopping someone from actually installing any bulb they want into their vehicle, wise legal or not.......

I urge readers here to at least know it is highly likely that their LED Bulb choice in their vehicle's halogen reflector will likely emit excessive glare to oncoming drivers, and to pretend they are that pissed off blinded driver, rather than simply assuming that the glare does not exist, or than their purchase is indeed an improvement, because they really want it to be.

No doubt some reflector designs and some LED bulbs can work together for an improvement in lighting output and with an acceptable beam pattern, but these are likely the exception rather than the rule and I thinks Mex's combo is an exception.

Regarding 2016 and 2017 factory HID projectors or Factory LEDS in reflectors, I find most of them to be extremely offensive too, but not nearly as bad as many of the aftermarket HID that are dropped into halogen reflectors behind clouded lenses which simply sear retinas and are worthy of a shotgun. Most of these are truly obnoxious and fill me with rage against the halfwitted teen tuner or brotruck driver who thought blue lights are cool.

Some factory halogen projectors are really bad too with so much light coming from such a small area, especially with a fatty in the back seat.

My opinion, I am in the Halogen bulbs in halogen reflector/projector camp. My 12AWG relay feeds my GEhighthawk 6054 sealed beams voltages within 0.3v of alternator voltage, and light output and pattern eclipse a good percentage of other vehicles on the road, and with no excessive glare to oncoming drivers. Ideally, I would get some Cibie 200MM replacements and put some Phillips extreme +130 H4 halogen bulbs in them.

The 6054 sealed beam also had a LED replacement from JWspeaker and Trucklite, which are great performers and are fully compatible with
US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108

I would not use the JWspeaker or Trucklites simply as they do not appear stock in daylight and certainly not at night, and i do not wish to draw attention to the lighting, also the JWspeakers are like 250$ per light. cancel.

[Gdetrailer]

road-runner wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

Automakers must PROVE that their headlight designs will pass all Federal regulations concerning headlight glare.

I'm wondering if this is really true and/or enforced. Even in cars with factory LEDs, I'm often hit with near-blinding light when close to passing them in the opposite direction. They're throwing out light above eye level at 80 degree or so angles. And sometimes when one is behind me, the inside of my car becomes brightly lit. Some of the factory LEDs are pretty much as bad, glare-wise, as the LED retrofits in reflector housings. I'm of the opinion that an LED retrofit in a projector headlamp is ok, so far as blinding other drivers goes.

The headlight ASSEMBLY must pass DOT, doesn't exactly mean that all headlights are INSTALLED AND SET CORRECTLY on the production line. They use assembly fixtures and jigs on the factory assembly line which depending on what day of the week may or may not be used correctly..

Every day on my morning drive to work I get blasted with more and more "blueish" lights from behind and from oncoming traffic, many times not new vehicles so I can only assume that someone has bought either the cheap blue tinted incadescents or the LED aftermarket bulbs..

I drive a pickup truck and IF the lights on the vehicle are aimed right it will barely shine through my rear window..

Yet many of these blueish bulbs often light up my cab interior like it was daylight from those vehicles behind me.. SO, either everyone has turned their headlight to point into the sky OR the bulbs they are using are SCATTERING due to not correctly focusing.. Take your pick. If your lights are lighting up overhead signage like it daylight then you have a focusing issue.

LEDs lights like I explained cannot focus correctly since the LED physically is further away from the exact center of focus in the reflector.. It has to be that way due to the thickness of the LED and the aluminum heatsink the LED is mounted to..

In a nutshell, LED aftermarket bulbs have the SAME issue as HID bulbs retrofitted into incadescent reflectors..

HID bulbs don't have a filament so the entire bulb capsule glows which puts a lot of light outside the focal point of the reflector..

Pretty much all of the OEM LED lights are using PROJECTOR STYLE headlights, it is done that way for the same reason as HID bulbs..

Folks can argue all they wish but these aftermarket LED bulbs the way they are made right now really should be for off road use until someone can come up with a design that is able to get the light to simulate the correct position of a filament..

For those wanting LEDs and have a 2017 F250 or higher there is some folks who are finding a way to replace the factory incandescent with factory LED.. That is due to the fact that LEDs are only available on the top trim level.. The retrofit is not cheap at $2500 and requires the F150 Raptor harness along with the OEM LED housings..

But if you are not into that kind of cost, I would recommend adding a headlight relay kit.. That IS on quick way to increase your headlight brightness at least 20%.. OEM wiring is typically 18ga and that represents a lot of voltage loss due to resistance!

I measured mine at 10.8V-11.0V at the headlights with engine running on the factory harness.. After adding a relay kit I now get the SAME as the battery voltage (13.8-14.2V).. Makes a huge difference!

For those who don't understand, OEM wiring goes from fuse box to light switch to high/low then to the headlights, that is a lot of wire..

Please note that newer vehicles are using FET transistor outputs on the body control module to drive the headlights.. These FETS ARE VERY SENSITIVE TO OVER CURRENT DAMAGE.. Once damaged, you WILL have to replace the Body control module at a hefty cost..

If you do use a relay kit (or make your own) you should ensure that a snubber diode and or a resistor is placed across the relay coil to prevent back EMF from the coil from frying your Body Control module..

Relay kit simply intercepts the the headlight wire from the dash to operate the relay coil, coil closes the contacts to supply power to the headlights.. Typically 12ga wire is used to supply the 12V to the relay and from the relay to the headlights..

[MEXICOWANDERER]

As an aside, the greater the horizontal distance between pupil and filament the better the lamps work in fog or rain. But the poorer the lamp works for general illumination if the filament is 18" or less above the pavement.

COMMON SENSE which is perfectly illustrated in the 2 posts immediately above, has been abandoned in favor of gimmickry and hyperbole. Having 9004 lamps in my toad I was stuck with garbage grade factory lighting. Not wishing to feed the Grim Reaper Vitamin B, I elected to change them.

Assssssssssssssssssssssssumptions lead to misrepresentation. Like asssssssssssssuming I did not light the lights, walk down the street, turn around and look at my headlights AT NIGHT. The fact that they dazzled less than the factory bulbs was not lost on me.

With the CREE 300-watt light bar, I dim my lights in excess of one mile from an approaching car. I do not illuminate it on hills or in curvy country. This may be due to common sense. I may have encountered asphalt tinted cattle residing on the centerline a couple-dozen times now. With the LED headlights, and CREE light bar I can see them for a distance of perhaps 300'. Enough time to slow down safely from 70 mph.

But maybe some comments here are correct - hyper regulation, because hookah-induced fogbrain numbs frontal lobes into a near coma state of being. Training wheels needed above 50 IQ rated obstacles.

[NinerBikes]

GoPackGo wrote:

Chris Bryant wrote:
I still remember changing my parents Volvo to Cibie Z-beams, back when they were illegal. Amazing headlights with a razor sharp cutoff. Oncoming it looked like the bottom half of the bulb was not lit, high beams, both halves.
Personally, I think they still blow others out of the water.

I did the exact same thing on two cars back in the 70's. Very sharp cutoff - low on the left side and angled up on the right side on low beam. On high beam I could see across two counties. If those Cibie Z-beams would fit my F350, I would add them in a heartbeat. Best EVER.

Installed the same version Hella H4's in my 1967 VW beetle, then later my 77 VW Transporter, also my 81 Jetta Diesel Coupe, later the 83 Audi 5000 turbodiesel. Great cutoff beam, then at a slight upwards angle, off to the right, to light up all the road signs, far, far away.

It's my belief, upon looking at the lens used in the Hella's, that they were of some sort of grade of crystal glass, in terms of noted clarity between the bulb and the glass, and were treated inside with some sort of anti reflection coating to transmit light through the glass, not back at the reflector mirror. These were headlights clearly suitable for driving at autobahn type speeds at night, as I've never seen anything else like them.

[GoPackGo]

Chris Bryant wrote:
I still remember changing my parents Volvo to Cibie Z-beams, back when they were illegal. Amazing headlights with a razor sharp cutoff. Oncoming it looked like the bottom half of the bulb was not lit, high beams, both halves.
Personally, I think they still blow others out of the water.

I did the exact same thing on two cars back in the 70's. Very sharp cutoff - low on the left side and angled up on the right side on low beam. On high beam I could see across two counties. If those Cibie Z-beams would fit my F350, I would add them in a heartbeat. Best EVER.