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LED Headlights

41K views 116 replies 43 participants last post by  Mach1 Driver 
#1 ·
Has anyone ungraded to LED headlights? (Full LED, not just the halo)

How was your experience?

I currently have sealed beam Halogens and don't know whether to upgrade.

Pros and cons?
 
#7 ·
I have these. Worth every penny!

 
#19 ·
I have these. Worth every penny!

I must say those look really nice.....barring the cheesy yet funny infomercial :)
 
#11 · (Edited)
I want to give an alternative report.
I went cheap and got great results. I did not want to have the "Jeep" headlight look as shown in your attachment (much too modern for the 66 vert), nor did I want the every-popular-Rice-Rocket halos -- but rather wanted something that looked a little more 60's appropriate.
I got these from EBay and they are fantastic. Less than $28 for the pair -- headlights plus LED bulbs.
Front Pair 7" Round Headlights & H4 LED Hi/Lo Beam Lamps for 1995 Geo Metro | eBay

Really.
Hard to believe, but here might be a case where high price is price gouging simply by touting "quality".
They fit right in without a problem and no modifications.
BTW, I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO AFFILIATION WITH THE ITEM OR THE SELLER!!

I also installed the relay upgrade at the same time, although many say that it is not necessary due to the low pull from the LEDs. AGAIN, THE RELAY HARNESS IS NOT NECESSARY WITH THE LED CONVERSION!!

While I have had them since DEC19, I have not done any extensive night driving -- in fact, only minutes of use of the lights just to ensure that the pattern is good and that they were not blinding oncoming cars. No adjustments from the orientation of the original headlights was necessary.
They popped right in, but I did have to play around a little stuffing the wiring out of the way -- truly not even worth mentioning.

No problems with clearance in the buckets, even at the back of the lights
At the price differential, how could I go wrong?
I suppose longevity might also be one of the final determinants, BUT, so far, very good.
...but, once again, for the price...
I SAY AGAIN, FOR THE PRICE, HOW CAN YOU GO WRONG. 10 TIMES OVER!

I should also point out that there are blue-dot headlights available (ebay has for about $30), and I might have gotten them if I had seen them in time. HOWEVER, you would have to separately buy the LED bulbs - again very cheap and both headlights could be replaced for about $45.


Just presenting some alternatives to the ridiculously-priced LED lights.
Example LED H4 bulbs: 2X H7 LED Headlight Bulbs Kit High Low Beam 120W 225000LM Super Bright 6000K US | eBay

AGAIN, NO AFFILIATIONS WITH SELLERS OR PRODUCTS.

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Motor vehicle Muscle car
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Headlamp Automotive lighting
 
#20 ·
Just presenting some alternatives to the ridiculously-priced LED lights.
Looks like good bang for the buck. One reason the OEM appearing lights for classics is they are purpose built for a smaller market. The aftermarket lights are made in the 10s or even 100s of thousands. The old tyme appearing lights are made in much smaller quantities.
 
#13 ·
First step should be a relay pack. The difference with that simple mod and even stock headlights is amazing. You can pay as little or as much as you want.


I used a similar relay pack along with Cibie/Valeo H4 housings and H4/9003 60W halogen bulbs. Again, another incredible step up in lighting, for about $100. I went this route as I wanted a stock appearance headlight, and I didn't trust the various LED offerings at the time. It's easy to upgrade them to a higher wattage halogen, or to an H4/9003 spec LED at any time. Hella housings are cheaper, but every review I found said the Cibie had a better light pattern.

 
#14 ·
I installed thesee mustang project LED head lights, pricey but worth it. Easy plug n play install with no bucket mods and I don't need a relay either. They look like stock lamps. Nice white light for my old eyes with a good cut off to not blind on coming traffic.

 

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#17 ·
Okay, I want to preface the following rant by stating that I am NOT addressing or criticizing any person who posted in this thread. I am a HUGE fan of LED lights, halogens, projectors, and all the fancy modern headlight options available to our hobby.

Now having got that preamble and context out of the way...

[ Rant Mode ]

4,000 lumens? Holy head-on collision Batman! When did this become a thing?! I hope those bulbs are grossly over-spec'd. Anyone who requires more than 2,000 lumens to see at night needs cataract surgery. Perhaps these are "off-road only" lights, people. Just maybe?

For some perspective, common 55W H7 halogen bulbs output about 1600 lumens. With my stock 2012 F150 halogens, I've never had a problem seeing at night, in the rain, while pickin' up my drunk Mama from prison before a train hits her.

I have a tiny, cheap CREE mountain bike light that puts out 4,000 lumens with a small LiPo battery. It's for off-road use only. I use it as a search light while night fishing from my kayak. I can light up boats a half mile down the lake. I would never mount anything even remotely that bright on any road vehicle, even a bicycle.

I've been totally blinded and forced to full-brake, dead-stop on two occasions. I literally couldn't see the road 10 feet in front of me. The worst time was a motor cycle with dual LED headlights. When did motor cycles start getting dual headlights?! Seriously, I thought I was being abducted by aliens, but UFOs have less light output than this idiot bike.

Does anyone think about the consequences of totally blinding oncoming traffic with these Mohave-Desert-High-Noon-Laser-Blasters? On big interstates and divided highways, they're a moderate nuisance. They're least bad in really well-lit urban areas because yours eyes are not super-dilated for night-vision mode. But really bad things happen on dark, narrow two-lane county roads with no shoulder.

So can we please keep the lumens below 2K for daily drivers? Is that asking too much? Bigger numbers don't always mean better. Even with the most advanced, crazy-expensive, adaptive projector lenses, there's a point where the tiniest amounts of glare and scatter are blinding.

[ End Rant Mode ]

Whew. Okay. Nobody cares and nothing will change, but I feel much better. I'll never post on this subject again. Pinky promise.
 
#21 ·
So can we please keep the lumens below 2K for daily drivers? Is that asking too much?
So I suppose these 85,000 lumen lights are a bit much? :eek: :ROFLMAO:

As well as the brightness the color temps in the newer lights can be problematic. Even stock headlights can be pretty obtrusive on low beam. When I had the F150 and even with the Focus on a two lane I get flashed by oncoming traffic on low beam. Pickups are the worst when behind the Focus they’re about the same height as the rear view.
 
#18 ·
I have Truck-lite 27220c on mine and according to the website "The low and high beam light sources are powered by just two 1300 Lumen LEDs. The lamp's top half illuminates the low beam and high beam is full illumination. When properly mounted, these lamps exceed DOT and federal motor vehicle safety standards and are approved for highway use in all 50 states."

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#25 ·
To me, there are a couple things on your car where spending the extra cash for a quality product is worth it. Headlights/taillights, brakes, and other safety related items are usually up there, especially if you plan on driving in all types of conditions.
 
#26 ·
As I stated earlier I have the truck-lite 27270c and I often drive to work which means I am coming home around midnight and I live a few miles out in the country. That means every night it is deer, critters, or who knows what might pop out. Having steller lighting is a must and the 27270c's will show the rails on a bridge I cross from over a mile away. I have an fj cruiser and the stock halogens were not near enough, retrofitted hid projectors on that. 2014 f150 with stock hid's were good, had an f150 Raptor with halogens that sucked. Anyway, my truck-lite and my hid's both are incredible on hi beam and respectful to others on low beams. What really bites is when people put hid bulbs in halogen lights, that's the ones that blind incoming traffic with a glowing star of uncontained light.
Worst thing I ever had was my old Triumph Bonneville's as they had a half a lumen powered by Lucas, Prince of Darkness... scary ride at night.
 
#27 ·
One of the reasons I want a good set of LED headlights is I don't think LEDs should require a relay. LEDs pull way fewer amps than traditional headlights. Sure, I can get my old school headlights to be brighter with a relay kit. But good LEDs should be even brighter without the extra relay kit wiring or hardware.
 
#32 ·
Seeing how much price and looks variation there is, I'm tempted to find the best vintage looking housing and best LED globe independently, match them up and see how good it looks while keeping the price low. If it works I'll let you guys know what I found and it may be beneficial to a lot of us.
 
#36 ·
They make a huge difference for sure. Not just in appearance, but in functionality as well. The LED projector has amazing output at to see at night. Mine fit The looks of my very modern car. The halo is switchback from DRL white, to amber for the turn signals. I love them.
760412

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#39 ·
Reading comments here I am tempted to make my own bulb with the following features:

1. LED with low draw. No need to modify wiring for a relay required by halogens.
2. Fits without modification to headlight buckets. Easy plug and play.
3. Looks exactly like stock bulb lenses - same shape, pattern, curve and glass
4. Does not blind on-coming traffic, good cutoffs
5. Much brighter light, max DOT approved lumens
6. Option between modern white light or vintage look yellow light.
7. Not priced ridiculously high, which is why I haven't already bought on of the existing bulbs myself!!

Keen to know if this would interest anyone.
 
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