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I would like to replace the stock bulbs, and have been looking into LED headlights. I have not seen much information on the forum, so I decided to get some of your opinions in one place. Obviously xenon is the best solution, but to do it properly with new housings it will cost over 1,000 USD. What are your experiences with LED headlights? Pictures included would be excellent. Here is a link to a video I saw testing several aftermarket LED headlights, it is pretty long, but I thought it was well done.
As Peter said, the best way to upgrade your stock lights is to do a projector retrofit and use a HID bulb. You will be very impressed with the difference in light output and in the light pattern. The Retrofit Source sells the components used by SakeBomb, so you could do this yourself and save some good change. Probably would cost under $400.
I have no experience with the headlight LEDs, but the Profile Peak bulbs are really nice and I've used them in just about everything else on my car. I'd guess you'd get much better light output than stock (but less than HID for sure) and it is an easy conversion to try. Call the Retrofit Source and talk to them about putting LEDs in a reflector housing. They are very helpful.
I have heard that putting good LED bulbs in the stock housings can help but it still isn't perfect. The light pattern on the stock reflectors is just crap.
Another thing that I've seen on a number of FD's is the headlights aimed all over the place, many times pointing way down. Using one of the guides out there (there are Youtube videos, how-to pages, etc.) you can align your headlights and that makes a HUGE difference in light output. This is true of any headlight upgrade - if your headlights are aimed all over creation, you aren't going to see well.
I would also be VERY cautious with cheapie Ebay bulbs here. Going with a good vendor is worthwhile. I also wouldn't get some oddball color temperature, many times that will actually decrease light quality over stock.
Drop in led or hid bulbs are not the way to go. TRS offers hid and led projectors that you could retrofit yourself for way less than a thousand. I even sell them for less than that. Total cost for a DIY is around 600 with all new parts.
I have heard that putting good LED bulbs in the stock housings can help but it still isn't perfect. The light pattern on the stock reflectors is just crap.
Another thing that I've seen on a number of FD's is the headlights aimed all over the place, many times pointing way down. Using one of the guides out there (there are Youtube videos, how-to pages, etc.) you can align your headlights and that makes a HUGE difference in light output. This is true of any headlight upgrade - if your headlights are aimed all over creation, you aren't going to see well.
I would also be VERY cautious with cheapie Ebay bulbs here. Going with a good vendor is worthwhile. I also wouldn't get some oddball color temperature, many times that will actually decrease light quality over stock.
Dale
Quoted for truth.
Headlight "uprgrades" are tied with "high performance, give-instant-30hp-increase air intakes" for shitty products that appeal to ones base desire to have something "better", while ignoring the fact that an OEM spent millions of R&D dollars to get the OEM unit. As others have noted, the BULB is just one element in how a headlight performs.
Don't get fooled into thinking there is a "miracle cure", or frankly even ANY improvement possible with stock FD headlights. We already know that most HID kits are simply bought for the perceived 'cool factor', but do nothing for better headlights, for example. Put a set of Silverstar Ultra bulbs in, align/aim the headlights like Dale points out, and deal with the fact you have 25 year old technology.
Thanks for all of the input. I agree Xenon is the best way to go, but only if done properly with projectors or proper Xenon housings. I was hoping someone had experiences/pictures with LED headlights in our cars since its an easier and cheaper upgrade from stock.
Also thanks for all of the input on how to create my own projector headlights, this is something I will look into. The 1000 dollars I was referring to was sakebombs kit.
I replaced my stock bulbs with Sylvania Silverstar bulbs years ago. It was inexpensive, and very easy to just swap out the bulbs. The result was a really nice improvement from stock. Its definitely worth trying before spending a lot of time and money on HID's.
I replaced my stock bulbs with Sylvania Silverstar bulbs years ago. It was inexpensive, and very easy to just swap out the bulbs. The result was a really nice improvement from stock. Its definitely worth trying before spending a lot of time and money on HID's.
Exactly what I did - big improvement. Same bulbs as the ones in my '74 Chevy Van tow vehicle.
I recently tried out a pair of LED H4 bulbs (see below for link). The install is a little tricky with the black boot, but i got them to work just fine. After installing them, I noticed that the beam pattern was pointed higher than they should, so I turned down the housings using the bottom adjustment screw. The light output is a huge improvement over the OEM H4 bulbs. As already stated, with the OEM housings there isn't a distinct cutoff like there would be with a true projector housing; however, the output isn't as dispersed as compared to used an HID bulb in the OEM housing. I believe this has to do with the bulb focal point. The Hikari LEDS seem to have the same focal point as the OEM H4 bulbs, and therefore the light refraction is similar, but with higher lumens. I've driven the FD at night, and no one in the opposing lane has high-beamed me. One of the huge positives is that the Hikari H4 bulbs retain the high-beam functionality vs. some other LED bulbs with offer only low beam.
The OEM halogens were getting old and dim. I recently bought and installed a pair of LED dual-beam headlight "bulbs" from "Headlight Experts" and have had some trouble learning the correct orientation of the LED carriers within the headlight housing. The fit is good, but whereas "Headlight Experts" say to orient the LED carriers horizontally with LEDs facing up and down, various YouTube videos say side-to-side is correct. I don't like the light patterns much. I'm using the top/bottom orientation of the LED carriers, but maybe that's wrong. I was told that the "tip" LEDs are used for low beam and the "rear" LEDs are lit for high beam. If looked at from a cul-de-sac length away on low beam, the right headlight does not blind me but the left headlight does. I had adjusted the lights per the "X's" on our garage door at 2" to the right and 2" below the centers of the headlights, when backed up 25 feet.I'd like to fix the patterns, but don't know how. The OEM halogens were getting old and dim. Any help?
^ I don't use these particular bulbs - I have the Morimoto 2Stroke 2.0s installed in my high beam sleepy eye setup - but as I recall the LEDs need to be "clocked" to the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. That would mean they need to be vertical, not horizontal. I'd reach out to the website though and ask.
For what it is worth, LEDs are a bit of an upgrade over the stock lighting, but the best output would be to retrofit some HID projector units into the OEM assembly, much like what SBG sells. The Retrofit Source sells everything you need to do this for around $350. The output of the HIDs in a projector setup would be far superior to any drop in LED bulb conversion.
Choose the right bulbs and you don't need the projectors. This is coming from an owner that has had two FD's in the past that both had SBG HID projector lights and my current FD is running these in stock housings:
I've put many miles on all these configurations and can safely say with certainty that my current FD with the oem housings and LED's has far superior output, I was shocked. The beam pattern when tested is also absolutely perfectly cut off, doesn't blind people or throw light anywhere it shouldn't. I've been running these since January 2017 and have passed many inspections since, it always surprises the testers how good the beam pattern is when fired into their testers and the output is modern car good.
Choose the right bulbs and you don't need the projectors. This is coming from an owner that has had two FD's in the past that both had SBG HID projector lights and my current FD is running these in stock housings:
I've put many miles on all these configurations and can safely say with certainty that my current FD with the oem housings and LED's has far superior output, I was shocked. The beam pattern when tested is also absolutely perfectly cut off, doesn't blind people or throw light anywhere it shouldn't. I've been running these since January 2017 and have passed many inspections since, it always surprises the testers how good the beam pattern is when fired into their testers and the output is modern car good.
I was always really on the fence about the plug in LED bulbs, especially with some of the names, and them being sold through amazon, but there was a really good thread on a different forum that got me to change my mind. That other thread pointed to this web site https://www.bulbfacts.com/led-kits/chart/ where they actually test out all of the bulbs, many times in the housing you're looking for, like a H4. They have photos that show the light pattern, any hot spots, general thoughts on the bulb, whatever. Following that site I got a set for my daily driver and am really happy with the results, I have a nice cut off pattern, a lot of extra light, and I don't get people flashing at me.
I'm not affiliated with the site in any way, I just thought I'd share it since it helped me out so much.
[QUOTEI have the Morimoto 2Stroke 2.0s installed in my high beam sleepy eye setup - but as I recall the LEDs need to be "clocked" to the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. That would mean they need to be vertical, not horizontal.[/QUOTE]
According to what I have seen on YouTube, that is correct for single-beam LEDs (as in your high beam setup), But for dual-beams, both videos in YouTube and the Headlight Experts company say they should be horizontal.
[QUOTE... this web site https://www.bulbfacts.com/led-kits/chart/ where they actually test out all of the bulbs...[/QUOTE]
The problem I have with all the LEDs listed in that link is that California allows a maximum of only 2315 lumens per bulb, and every LED bulb listed (all prices) far exceed that maximum. The ones I have installed claim 4000 lumens (total for both LEDs).
The problem I have with all the LEDs listed in that link is that California allows a maximum of only 2315 lumens per bulb, and every LED bulb listed (all prices) far exceed that maximum. The ones I have installed claim 4000 lumens (total for both LEDs).
Well, there are a lot of things that are illegal in California that the rest of the country somehow survives with. I can only provide the info, what you decide to do with it is up to you. I also wonder what the lumen output of modern hid, LED, and xenon headlights are?
Anyways, if you're getting busted for having excessive lumen output, the cop was probably going to pull you over no matter what
The low beam pattern on the LEDs I have installed (top pic) is absolute crap. High beam (bottom pic) is at least a spot, but low beam is all over the place with a void in the center. Unacceptable. Will buy replacement halogens from Mazda. Pics are of the LEDs (left headlight only, after attempting adjustment from 25 feet from garage door).
The bulb itself and how it's designed will make a huge impact on the quality of light and the beam pattern. Halogen bulbs spray light everywhere but LED's are more directional and the bulb needs to be designed to hit the right spots in the reflector housing.
I saw a video on Youtube a while back (I think from Headlight Revolution) that tested and compared beam patterns on a bunch of LED's, the difference was substantial.
The LED's that Ceylon linked might be a good way to go, he has tested them and knows they work good in our housings.
If you just want to go back to halogen, look into the Sylvania Silverstars, they are superb halogen bulbs and are as good as that tech can get.
Also, aiming makes a HUGE difference. I've worked on a number of FD's with factory headlights that had them aimed all over creation. Don't assume that your headlights are aimed right!
Thank you, Dale. The pics in my post above were taken after aiming as best I could. There was just nowhere to go from there. Thanks for the tips on Sylvania Silverstars.
The LED "bulbs" are back in their shipping box, and the original halogen bulbs are back in the headlight housings. So I am now reset to zero. At least I was able to repair the underside of the two headlight lids. I used PVC primer and cement to glue back the fourth mounting "bracket" on each lid, which had been broken off sometime in the past. There were no missing pieces, so the lids now look "as new." I still hope to replace the halogen headlight bulbs with new halogen bulbs that make good light patterns... waiting to hear from the parts dept. at dealer.
02-22-18, 09:59 AM
