Headlight help? Are expensive Halogens worth it? Better alternative?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

peripatew

peripatew

10 Year
Joined
Dec 5, 2015
Threads
18
Messages
93
Location
SE Asia
I'm looking at ordering some new bulbs, mine seem terrible! I've got a hzj105, so 9005/9006 bulbs. I've seen people recommend the Phillips and the Sylvania lights, and there doesn't seem to be a ton of info about LED replacements. I'm not looking to burn a hole in the pavement, but the roads are terrible where I live.

LED's make the most practical sense, assuming they will have some longevity to them.

I plan on getting some driving lights soon, but can't use those around town as traffic is always insane.

OR, would it be better to get some HID projection implants instead?
 
Every thread I've seen points towards the HID solution as the best upgrade for lighting. I'm not brave enough to do it the right way (leveling, something about an oven, etc.) so I'll just pay someone to do it correctly. However, I went to my local Pep Boys and got the phillips ultra whites for low and high beams, and it makes a BIG difference from stock. For you LED solution: I looked at some LED replacements, it didn't look like the heat sinks will fit? Maybe someone who's done LEDs can shed more light on it. (my dad jokes have been on fire this week).
 
Forgot to mention.... It would make sense that LEDs have considerably less power draw than stock (even more so over HIDs). Seems like that would make them ideal candidates for overland builds, where battery draw is a concern. Longevity is nice too!
 
Whatever u decide on, check out amazon for some better prices and reviews. Pricing was much better than walmart and local auto parts stores. Advanced Auto Parts said they cant compete with Amazon.
 
I had a headlight out a few weeks ago - didn't want to wait for Amazon, etc. Stopped in Pep Boys and bought the most expensive, brightest replacement bulbs (I have a 2006).... They are a bit whiter - but only noticeable when I swapped one and compared them. I can't tell any difference in the brightness.
 
If you really need a marginal improvement now, a brighter halogen bulb like a Sylvania is a decent start. However, there is absolutely no substitute for a proper retrofit with projectors. I had a retrofit done and do not regret it at all, in fact it may be the best money I've spent on this truck! I looked into coupling the projectors with LED's, but from what I saw, the LED's aren't able to match the HIDs (yet) in terms of how much light they throw down the road.

In the end, the answer is always retrofit!
 
spaber05 said:
If you really need a marginal improvement now, a brighter halogen bulb like a Sylvania is a decent start. However, there is absolutely no substitute for a proper retrofit with projectors. I had a retrofit done and do not regret it at all, in fact it may be the best money I've spent on this truck! I looked into coupling the projectors with LED's, but from what I saw, the LED's aren't able to match the HIDs (yet) in terms of how much light they throw down the road.

In the end, the answer is always retrofit!
Click to expand...

Are you talking fitting the projector beams from a 470? Those are different housings, correct?
 
I'm new to the 100s from the 80 side, but the upgrade to the HIR 9011/9012 bulbs is a huge upgrade to the 80 lights. I'm going to be swapping mine over from the 80 to compare. Anybody here tried them in the 100 that can compare? By contrast, the stock 100 lights are night and day difference from the dim 80 lights. Interested to see how much better the HIR bulbs are.
 
dnp said:
Here's my LED observation (post numbers 23 and 24):

LED Light and Wiring Tech and Classifieds
Click to expand...

MUCH brighter than I was expecting, nice job! I want to do LEDs eventually, but I haven't seen any products that fit without some sort of modification. My concern is lack of waterproofing/protection. Any issues with this?

OP if you go with the HIDs or LEDs, consider a projector upgrade as well. Being in front of someone with HIDs and no projectors is...blinding.
 
TomEf said:
I have the OPT7 LED's in my LX. I'm not impressed. They seem bright, but their range is weak.
Click to expand...
I sort of felt that way too, at first, but then I started noticing how much more "usable" light there is. I mean, I'm used to having a light that has a lot of concentrated "throw" down the road, so it illuminates a lot straight down the road from the truck. While that's fine, the only time I'd really benefit from that much distance is if I were really running fast. By comparison, these LEDs still light up way down the road, but the light is not all concentrated in a "beam." They light up the sides of the road, above, in front of the truck, etc. It's definitely a different situation from a regular light, but I've come to like it..........The ones I bought are complete plug-n-play, and for the price, I just had to give them a try.

http://www.amazon.com/Stark-All-One-Headlight-Conversion/dp/B019QZS7RM?tag=ihco-20

If anyone else decides to give them a look, please let us know what you think!
 
I just wanted to throw in my $.02, I have had a lot of experience with various headlight scenarios. Not necessarily on the LC/LX platform, but many others. The best throw, light output, and intensity will be a projector retrofit with a full HID conversion. LEDs are good, but the technology isn't there yet. It has a lot of usable light that will light up far away road signs/reflective surfaces due to the different wavelength of light produced by the LED. They just have not been able to produce a bright enough diode that will fit for headlight applications, at least plug and play. I have seen the new acura rlx headlights and a few audis that are using full LED and through a series of diodes and several projectors that are amazing. But unfortunately we don't have the room in our LC headlights to do a worth wile LED conversion w/ projectors.
 
I just went through this exact thing. I dropped cash on the Hella bulbs ($99) and they are 1% better than the others. Total waste of money. How do I know they are 1% better? One burned out after 2 weeks during a road trip and I had to go to napa for a cheap-o to run back so I got to see them side by side.

Do your self a favor. GO HID I went with the best most pure white light option (Extra $45) the project is here on Ih8mud I'll post the link.
 
PabloCruise said:
Are you talking fitting the projector beams from a 470? Those are different housings, correct?
Click to expand...

As was said above, I was referring to retrofitting any projectors in general. I think if you're going to do it, there are better projectors out there for the money than the LX's, check out www.theretrofitsource.com for some more information on all of that jazz, it's a really helpful site!

@peripatew - I think you've got your answer based on the replies here, an HID retrofit is your best option, hands down!
 
No question that, at least for the time being, HIDs are the best light source. However, the reason I went with LEDs in the high beams was the HIDs warm up time after the bulbs strike. HIDs are of little to no use in a "flash-to-pass" capacity, and I didn't like the idea of having high beams that needed to warm up.

I'm not missing anything on the high beam HID application, am I?
 
dnp said:
I'm not missing anything on the high beam HID application, am I?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately you're not. With some of the modern ballasts used, warm up time is actually a lot quicker than it used to be, but still not quick enough to flash. On a previous headlight build I did, I was using a dual projector set up (one projector dedicated to high, one low), so I installed a VERY bright LED halo ring on the high beam pod. The ring was set up to a push button switch that you could reach while handling the steering wheel normally, when flashed at night (viewed from a distance), you couldn't even tell it was a ring.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom