Totally agree, 9011 all the way. However, I talked with Candlepower and there is nothing special about their 9011s, so I went with the Wagners from Rock Auto. Rebranded Philips. Saved a few bucks.
Replacement Headlight Bulbs - Revisited
- Thread starter Heckraiser
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Crush 4
SILVER Star
Did you have to upgrade the harness to use these bulbs?
I don't believe so but I think the PO upgraded the harness so I haven't tried. I did have to make a slight modification with the plug on mine to make it work.
Bump...what are the thoughts about the led lights with the fan on the back?
rex in bama
SILVER Star
The plug and bulb were not a perfect fit on my Wagners either, but I whittled down the two raised “slides” inside the bulb portion of the plug connecter and it went in fine and snug. Better to mess with the bulb than mess with the harness plug.
Can’t believe I waited so long for this upgrade - huge improvement
I modified the plug so I can drop in bulbs quickly. These seem to last right around 10k miles for me, not super long. I've had two pairs burn out at very similar times. At $9 each it's still a no brainer.
Agreed. Great bulbs at an unbeatable price.
I trimmed the plug as well. I’m running the new Korean made 9011. Huge improvement. Also I linked some research on the new Korean bulbs below.
HIR bulb fiasco - what's latest?
Testing HIR lamps - What I found Still running 4 Toshiba 9011 lamps in both High and low after 5 years, one of my best mods to date. Data output in link above
forum.ih8mud.com
SmokingRocks
hopelessly addicted to Cruisers
LED headlights are a hot topic for sure. And there is excellent information in this thread about their shortcomings.
That being said the technology is vastly improving and there are some offerings on the market which are engineered to place the emission point at the same place as the stock halogens. These are on wafer-thin boards now. While not 100% perfect they are lightyears ahead of the crap that gets produced in mass and sold to people that don't know anything about what it takes to have a good LED bulb option.
I have a set of Supernova V.4's from https://www.headlightrevolution.com/ in my Depo housings, this company has a whole youtube channel -HERE- dedicated to testing hundreds of 'bulbs' in all sorts of housings for their cutoff quality and light output. Only the best options are listed on their site. I believe I have Nova Gen3's they've been great, have a good cutoff, and don't blind others however they weren't cheap. The light output is better than the halogens, overall I've been happy with them. Now in winter storms, the headlight will frost over since there is no heat from the bulbs to melt off the ice, but that's not something I deal with much since I have other vehicles for winter driving.
As far as heat dispersion I wouldn't recommend any LED bulb replacement that has fans as it's a failure point. Flexible heat sinks are the best.
That being said the technology is vastly improving and there are some offerings on the market which are engineered to place the emission point at the same place as the stock halogens. These are on wafer-thin boards now. While not 100% perfect they are lightyears ahead of the crap that gets produced in mass and sold to people that don't know anything about what it takes to have a good LED bulb option.
I have a set of Supernova V.4's from https://www.headlightrevolution.com/ in my Depo housings, this company has a whole youtube channel -HERE- dedicated to testing hundreds of 'bulbs' in all sorts of housings for their cutoff quality and light output. Only the best options are listed on their site. I believe I have Nova Gen3's they've been great, have a good cutoff, and don't blind others however they weren't cheap. The light output is better than the halogens, overall I've been happy with them. Now in winter storms, the headlight will frost over since there is no heat from the bulbs to melt off the ice, but that's not something I deal with much since I have other vehicles for winter driving.
As far as heat dispersion I wouldn't recommend any LED bulb replacement that has fans as it's a failure point. Flexible heat sinks are the best.
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So my USDS low beam HIR bulb burns out about every 18 months. So far the PS one has not. I always replace both lows though. Perhaps the biggest downside. Case in point, just discovered today it was burnt out. But why always that one side?
Somebodyelse5
16124-75030
This is the case for the cheap replacements, but companies like Diode Dynamics are addressing the issue but approximating the halogen filament with two LED’s mounted at nearly the same width apart as the filament would be. Brighter light, emitted from the same point in space, will reflect the same. They are getting a ton better. The old “LED’s are always bad” stance isn’t true anymore.
I'm running Stedi H4 LED lamps in stock Toyota inserts. Have not yet fitted their H1's to the hi-beam only inner inserts yet. They work well. Still waiting to see how they go for annual rego inspection compliance.
I think a bunch of makers now produce LED headlight lamps - as Australia is RHD the market is very limited, but for LHD there could be a lot more products.
I think a bunch of makers now produce LED headlight lamps - as Australia is RHD the market is very limited, but for LHD there could be a lot more products.
Jason Andrews
Modaholic
I agree about people having the wrong bulbs, too much light, or incorrectly adjusted/angled headlights. It's real annoying to be blinded constantly.
I tried the Wagners a couple years ago and they sucked IMHO.
I have been running the Cougar Motor LED's in the 80 stock housings as well as running them in our 120 and my Duramax in new housings. In my opinion the quality, cutoff, and adjustment or lack thereof, of new housings has more to do with blinding other drivers than the bulb type or color type.
Lows 9006/HB4:
Amazon product ASIN B07VDDFF1C
Highs 9005:
Amazon product ASIN B01H6NZ6F2
Downside is they are super bright and I can't see squat when driving home in snowstorms because of how white they are. It reflects off the snow like the high beams would.
I tried the Wagners a couple years ago and they sucked IMHO.
I have been running the Cougar Motor LED's in the 80 stock housings as well as running them in our 120 and my Duramax in new housings. In my opinion the quality, cutoff, and adjustment or lack thereof, of new housings has more to do with blinding other drivers than the bulb type or color type.
Lows 9006/HB4:
Amazon product ASIN B07VDDFF1C
Highs 9005:
Amazon product ASIN B01H6NZ6F2
Downside is they are super bright and I can't see squat when driving home in snowstorms because of how white they are. It reflects off the snow like the high beams would.
You have any beam shots of these? I'm considering getting them...
I don't think Stedi do any that suit LHD - remember the beam cut spec between RHD and LHD is different. But I think Philips, etc. are making LED headlight lamps now. Here in Australia they are technically illegal as they're considered a 'modification' to factory spec. A lot of 4wd and uts people here run Ultraflex 4x4 or similar full LED replacement inserts and again they are technically illegal because they're in the same boat of being a 'modification' to original factory specs.
Australian rules (including individual state-based ones) are quite strict on what's allowed.
I had a set of the same Stedi H4's in the headlights of my car (a 1992 Saab 900) and because of the design of the headlights (quite different optics to the ones in the 80) they don't work very well with the LED lamps and police asked me nicely one night at a RBT stop (!) to replace them.
I've had no problems with the ones I put in my 80's headlights yet.
Australian rules (including individual state-based ones) are quite strict on what's allowed.
I had a set of the same Stedi H4's in the headlights of my car (a 1992 Saab 900) and because of the design of the headlights (quite different optics to the ones in the 80) they don't work very well with the LED lamps and police asked me nicely one night at a RBT stop (!) to replace them.
I've had no problems with the ones I put in my 80's headlights yet.
surfpig
The Anti-Tech
"Welcome To Candlepower USA
It is with extreme sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Kenny Franklin. Kenny took over this business less than two months ago from his long term employer, Candlepower. Candlepower’s owners retired after 51 years in business. Kenny was excited by the opportunity to have his own business, only to have a massive heart attack end his life. He is survived by his three daughters.
This site is now permanently closed."
Boomer down!
"Welcome To Candlepower USA
It is with extreme sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Kenny Franklin. Kenny took over this business less than two months ago from his long term employer, Candlepower. Candlepower’s owners retired after 51 years in business. Kenny was excited by the opportunity to have his own business, only to have a massive heart attack end his life. He is survived by his three daughters.
This site is now permanently closed."
He could have been about your age.
Dirt Ferguson
SILVER Star
For those of you who run the 9011 bulbs, what kind alteration did you need to do at the connector port to make it interface with the stock headlight harness?
