LED headlights/foglights

[apgocolts]

is anyone running LED's in there headlights or foglights, or know if they are any good? i am looking to upgrade my headlights and foglights but not sure what i wanna do yet. i had 8k hid in both for a while but had to much trouble with them . i am just looking to change the bulbs. would preffer the "HID look" if possible. any suggestions would help, thanks

 

[soulsea]

You mean run leds as low/high beams by simply replacing bulbs?

There's no plug and play led bulb out there that comes close to the output needed for high/low beams, in fact the same goes for fogs as the most output you'll get from an led bulb is bright enough for drl and no more.

Now there are led fog lamps that one could try to replace the stock ones with, but those run in the hundreds of $ to buy.

 

[apgocolts]

what about the replacement bulbs that are supposed to be a "cool blue" look? are those any good, any suggestions on whats the best?

 

[soulsea]

To use as what?

Leds can be any color you want, the issue isn't the color it's the usable light output.

 

[VTburban]

He's right on. Think about it like this...LED's can be seen by others but won't give you enough light to see them. They look bright when looking at them, but no matter how bright they look, they don't project light the same way halgen bulbs or xenon bulbs do. That's why they're great for DRL's...you don't need to put out light during the day, it just helps other folks see you coming.

 

[CEN2MENTAL95]

ok...the TECHNICAL answer to this is simple:

LED's don't PROJECT light...they just EMIT it..meaning the light goes no further than it's housing...it is stagnant light...so you can't use them as headlights because the road wouldnt light up


HIDs are what you want, and a 9006 conversion kit is about $40 shipped on ebay

 

[soulsea]

I'm sorry Heath but what you said above is simply mistaken.

ALL light sources emit light, they just emit it in different intensities and geometries.

LED headlights exist in high end vehicles, and can be had (for a high price) as either fog or driving lights ... but their housings' optics are designed to disperse light in a usable way relative to the type of light source.

Led light can emit high power beams (see Baja Designs/ Rigid/etc) off road driving lights, as bi-led headlamps/fogs (see JW Speaker auxiliary lighting).

Halogens equally require halogen specific optics in their housings to optimize usable lumens, and so for that matter do HIDs. And although HIDs PNP bulbs may overpower with lumens giving the driver the impression they are getting more usable light than halogen when they actually aren't, they suffer the same problem as sticking an led bulb in a housing reflector.

Any time you use a light source in a housing for which it was not designed problems will arise ... the fact that HIDs overpower the problem with lumens glaring everywhere, does not solve the problem, in fact makes it worse, especially for oncoming traffic.

---------- Post added at 04:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:52 PM ----------

Oh and since you wanted to get technical and stuff ... there are two 'don't' links in my sig, feel free to audit their veracity.

 

[CEN2MENTAL95]

I'm sorry Heath but what you said above is simply mistaken.

ALL light sources emit light, they just emit it in different intensities and geometries.

LED headlights exist in high end vehicles, and can be had (for a high price) as either fog or driving lights ... but their housings' optics are designed to disperse light in a usable way relative to the type of light source.

Led light can emit high power beams (see Baja Designs/ Rigid/etc) off road driving lights, as bi-led headlamps/fogs (see JW Speaker auxiliary lighting).

Halogens equally require halogen specific optics in their housings to optimize usable lumens, and so for that matter do HIDs. And although HIDs PNP bulbs may overpower with lumens giving the driver the impression they are getting more usable light than halogen when they actually aren't, they suffer the same problem as sticking an led bulb in a housing reflector.

Any time you use a light source in a housing for which it was not designed problems will arise ... the fact that HIDs overpower the problem with lumens glaring everywhere, does not solve the problem, in fact makes it worse, especially for oncoming traffic.

---------- Post added at 04:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:52 PM ----------

Oh and since you wanted to get technical and stuff ... there are two 'don't' links in my sig, feel free to audit their veracity.

while you are correct that LED lights exist in high end cars (Audi's and MB's come to mind), notice they are NOT driving lights..they are always running lights/DRL's...why? because LED's do NOT emit useable light! I forget the useable range but it is negligible at best.

The only car that has LED's as the low beam that I know of is the new Prius and have you seen one light up the road at night? its a joke


While I also agree with you that HID's should be left for projector housings or reflective housings meant for HID output, I have no issues using them in normal halogen housings. I am really not worried about oncoming glare....

 

[soulsea]

while you are correct that LED lights exist in high end cars (Audi's and MB's come to mind), notice they are NOT driving lights..they are always running lights/DRL's...why? because LED's do NOT emit useable light! I forget the useable range but it is negligible at best.

The only car that has LED's as the low beam that I know of is the new Prius and have you seen one light up the road at night? its a joke

Again you are mistaken.

There are many high end vehicles that use leds for their low and high beams.

Not the least of which:

Audi, Lexus, and many others have led low/high beams as an option.

---------- Post added at 04:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:21 PM ----------

There are also highly functional bi-led housings and fog lights:

http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/headlights/
http://www.newark.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=65T6518&CMP=AFC-GB100000001
http://www.hamsarstore.com/store#!__store

And obviously the off road spots and light bars by companies such as Baja Designs and Rigid Industries, etc.

The issue with led is not that they do not put out enough light, it is just as with hids they need to be properly housed and heatsinked to operate functionally and safely.

And to get back to the OP's point, there's no way to simply swap an led bulb in and get functional light output, all that I have stated is limited to led specific housings and optics.

 

[gitrduun]

Agreed soulsea. International and kenworth are starting to put them on their new units. And they are bright. As. ****.

 

[soulsea]

Hella bi-led projector:

http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=5138

 

[gitrduun]

Looks expensive

 

[soulsea]

Looks expensive

$700 each!

It's relatively new technology ... in a few years it'll be comparable in price to hid retrofits.

---------- Post added at 06:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:12 PM ----------

Plus that a bi-led projector ... you can get the low beam/fog lights for much cheaper. But as I noted earlier, still very expensive to get effective/functional led lamps.

 

[metalemt]

My buddy has an S4 Audi and apparently those led's are only at I believe 15% brightness. His tuner turned them up to 100% an they were noticeable in visible forward light even with the HID's on.

Also look at flashlights I have a streamlight LED flashlight that is just ridiculous with its light output, I hit a helicopter with it from 5 miles out (worked related not being an @$$)

 

[apgocolts]

so basically if i want the HID/blue look i have to go back to an hid kit. any suggestions as to the best one? i had two kits from HIDNATION and had problem with one headlight not always turning on.