2013 LC Low Beam HID Upgrade - Philips / Stedi / Morimoto / Other (1 Viewer)

[wingnutted]

Looking for any thoughts/knowledge/feedback that anyone has to share regarding upgrade options for the HID's that are standard for the 2013-2015 LC low beams.

I don't have a ton of personal knowledge regarding lighting, but I'm trying to address the fact that I want "better" light from my low beams.

What comes as standard (I think?)
Amazon product ASIN B004CP40LE

Possible upgrade options below. Philips seem to be the gold standard around here, but I've heard good things about Stedi in general, and like that they have the highest lumens. I haven't found anything on Mud that relates to the Stedi or Morimoto products, although I may just be bad at searching...

Philips

D4S: Philips 42402WXX2 Ultinon HID Xenon Bulbs | Pack of 2

Experience the ultimate in lighting performance with Philips HID Ultinon D4S bulbs. Upgrade your headlights today for brighter and whiter light. Shop now!

www.hidconcept.com

Stedi

D4S Xenon 35W HID Bulbs (Pair)

Xenon HID D4S Bulb Kit

www.stedi.com.au

Morimoto

D4S: Morimoto XB XenGreen Bulbs 4500K-6500K Hues MM.N.069

The highest quality materials from Philips & Plansee make for the best HID Lighting with the Morimoto XB D4S Bulb. It's stronger and brighter than any other

www.morimotohid.com

 

[Darije]

Looking for any thoughts/knowledge/feedback that anyone has to share regarding upgrade options for the HID's that are standard for the 2013-2015 LC low beams.

I don't have a ton of personal knowledge regarding lighting, but I'm trying to address the fact that I want "better" light from my low beams.

What comes as standard (I think?)
Amazon product ASIN B004CP40LE

Possible upgrade options below. Philips seem to be the gold standard around here, but I've heard good things about Stedi in general, and like that they have the highest lumens. I haven't found anything on Mud that relates to the Stedi or Morimoto products, although I may just be bad at searching...

Philips

D4S: Philips 42402WXX2 Ultinon HID Xenon Bulbs | Pack of 2

Experience the ultimate in lighting performance with Philips HID Ultinon D4S bulbs. Upgrade your headlights today for brighter and whiter light. Shop now!

www.hidconcept.com

Stedi

D4S Xenon 35W HID Bulbs (Pair)

Xenon HID D4S Bulb Kit

www.stedi.com.au

Morimoto

D4S: Morimoto XB XenGreen Bulbs 4500K-6500K Hues MM.N.069

The highest quality materials from Philips & Plansee make for the best HID Lighting with the Morimoto XB D4S Bulb. It's stronger and brighter than any other

www.morimotohid.com

I bought this one. It is good. Compered to OEM it is nicer light and visibility is just fine. I ordered for high beam also Osram.

 

[wingnutted]

Thanks for sharing, I hadn't come across that one. Do you happen to have any before / after photos or video of the light output?

 

[Darije]

Thanks for sharing, I hadn't come across that one. Do you happen to have any before / after photos or video of the light output?

No, I didn't make one. I forgot. Was in hurry

 

[YellowJacket]

No, I didn't make one. I forgot. Was in hurry

Can you take one now?

Brighter lights are great and desirable, but my primary interest is in making all my lights match in color.

 

[bloc]

If you want "better" as said in the first post, I'm very very happy with my Philips Xenon X-tremeVision gen 2 bulbs. The extra light output was really noticeable.

If you want all of them matching in color.. I can't really comment. I run yellow fogs, which I believe look great as well as actually help in foggy conditions, and philips HIR high beams. Partly because LED high options tend to make a bluer light that is worse in fog/snow/mist. Light color is all over the place. I'm more concerned with performance than appearance... so I guess I can speak to your first post.. but not the one directly above.

 

[wingnutted]

@bloc do you have any further detail on your high beams / fogs that you can share?

I don't have much of a preference for how the lights look, I'm much more interested in their ability to help me see clearly in a variety of different situations. I spent time in the mountains in the winter and fog / snow are a common issue.

If yellow lights, especially in the fog position, have been beneficial to you, what have you been running?

I'm running stock bumper for the foreseeable future and am just trying to figure out a high/low/fog combo that is more useable than stock. My technical skills are nowhere near those of others in this forum, so I'm admittedly also looking for something that's close to plug and play.

I've had non OEM LED lights in motorcycles on and off for years, and TBH, other than kits from Cyclops, I've been pretty underwhelmed with aftermarket LED's in an OEM projector and HID housing.

 

[bloc]

I agree completely on stuffing a LED into a non-led projector/reflector. They just can't put the light element in the exact location and beam spread of a hot filament, so that beam won't go where it was originally intended.

I run Philips 9011 HIR bulbs in my high beams. They require a small cut on the plastic bulb base to drop in, but are rated for our wiring and the bulb location is perfect. Impressive light output.. large reflective road signs verge on being painfully bright on a dark night. You can read up on the original design of HIR.. and the bulb base modification is easily researched online.

My fogs are Nokya H16 Type 2 Hyper Yellow 2500K NOK7622 Nice yellow light as has been traditional on japanese tuner cars for ages, and the yellow light down low reduces glare from fog/mist. Unfortunately we don't have the option to easily turn off the low beams with fogs on so the lows will reduce the effect of the yellow fogs, but ultimately it does help.

 

[wingnutted]

When you mean "cut to the base", is it just modifying one of the locating tabs so that the new bulb can slot into the housing? If so, that doesn't sound like a big deal...

Thanks for the pointers on light options, especially the fogs!

Just out of curiosity, have you seen or read anything on the Stedi option in my original post? It seems to check the boxes that the Philips does for the low beam, I'm just not seeing any firsthand use of them...

 

[bloc]

When you mean "cut to the base", is it just modifying one of the locating tabs so that the new bulb can slot into the housing? If so, that doesn't sound like a big deal...

Thanks for the pointers on light options, especially the fogs!

Just out of curiosity, have you seen or read anything on the Stedi option in my original post? It seems to check the boxes that the Philips does for the low beam, I'm just not seeing any firsthand use of them...

I haven’t even heard of Stedi other than your post but will do a little digging. I generally tend to stick with OEM parts or suppliers, or companies that produce that level of product.. so often the aftermarket places don’t even make it onto my radar.


The indexing tab that sticks radially outward from the round plastic base on the 9011s is about 1/8” wider than will fit into the stock location.. I can’t remember whether stock is 9005 or 9006. You just remove the extra. I used toenail clippers the half dozen times or so I’ve used these bulbs.

The harness itself plugs directly in with no modification.

Edit: the stedis seem impressive in their parts sourcing, and are the same wattage as the units I run. I actually didn’t know mine were such a large jump in wattage over stock, and I’m not sure whether or not to be nervous about that. I will say the Philips bulbs you posted being “brilliant white” will tend toward greater glare.. the whole point of yellow fogs is that color reducing it, the more white or especially blue you go, the more glare there will be for a given humidity condition. My low beams don’t look particularly yellow, but next to “brilliant white” they might. But again, I’m more worried about function.

 

[HRTROB]

I have Osram Cool Blue Boost D4S bulbs on my 200 and Toyota 86. They are whiter and brighter than stock and I highly recommend them.