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There are many types available. These seem to create a lot of heat behind the light source. Some have heat sinks (finned) or ribbons that hang out behind the bulb. Some have a heatsink and fan. I have not used any but a friend changed out his. His observations were that they were much brighter, lighted up a wider area in white light. He did not think the light pattern was the same as a normal filament light shines light in all 360 degrees where a LED the light is split between 2 or more sources on each bulb. They come in many forms and prices. I have always used the Philips 9007 CrystalVision Xeon look bulbs as my 04 Navi has real HID low beams. HID are not used for HI beams as they take too long to warm up and will not work with the "Flash" feature. My 04 EX does not have HID so I as well would be interested in hearing from anyone about their experiences with the LED headlights.
There a dozen brands of LED headlights out there in the market. You should read the customer reviews and opinion before picking a product. All LED lights need some sort of heat dissipation, especially when located inside the headlight. I have read that some people have had their cooling fans fail and yet the lights are performing fine for a long time.
FWIW, The $99 sale price is still 2-3 times more expensive than some others that are in the market.
Thanks for the responses. I am looking for something a little brighter than the stock lights. Ever since I installed the plow harness the just seem a little dimmer. I have gon thru the wires a couple times and cleaned all connections and they still seem a little dim. I was thinking about changing bulbs but know nothing about these LEDS or how they perform. Thanks again
Another good thing with LED headlights is they do not heat up the plastic headlight cover like the incandescents do. This cuts down on the yellowing of the lens/cover. They draw less wattage than the halogen bulbs but produce a lot more white light.
As the lights have the heatsinks on the back, they have to relocate the plug, usually on a short extension wire. As all this sits on the back of the bulb/led, you need to make sure you have a little extra room. My 04 Navi has sealed headlight buckets (rubber plug closes off headlight access) so these LEDS will not work with it. I checked my 04 EX and it seems to have enough room if I go that route.
I agree, $99 seems high compared to others. "Top Rated Complete LED Light Kit with Lifetime Warranty" Ratings can change fast when newer technology comes out. The "Kit" is nothing more than 2 bulbs/LEDs. I see the Life Time warranty as being the lifetime of the company that you purchased them from. Many of these overseas products/companies do not last long and/or change their names.
Things to look for: How many watts? Halogens are up to 65 watts. LEDs are much less. Brightness, this is measured in Lumens. The higher the number, the brighter the light. LED lights are much brighter than comparable filament bulbs. Light color is in Kelvin. Here is a chart that will explain this: https://media.treehugger.com/assets/...crop-smart.jpg
My findings: the standard, or even smooth lamps, are not made for LED's. I tried 3 different types/brands and got 3 different light patterns. None of them were as far ahead of the vehicle as the standard type. They were brighter, but washed out to a very short projection distance. The clocking notches in the lamps did not allow for proper clocking of the LED lamps. If you get sided lamps, low beams on one side and the brighter LED on the other side, the low beam will look like crap and you will have a very bright flood in front of the vehicle but no distance. Then, hit the brights to illuminate the trees. I would not recommend LED's for your stock lamp housings. They suck. Dont waste your money.
Spend a few bucks on the standard type bulbs with a high lumen rating and maybe a white/blue hue for an LED look. Hope this helps.
Retrofit HID's in the stock housing. So far the best that I have done...and the brights are unbelievable!! Sorry not pics except for them in the housings for now in my build thread.
Retrofit HID's in the stock housing. So far the best that I have done...and the brights are unbelievable!! Sorry not pics except for them in the housings for now in my build thread.
^^^What he said^^^
IMO, HID and LED lighting should ALWAYS be used in conjunction with a good quality projector. Without the projector, you will have a lot of unusable light being thrown around. Yes, both of them are much brighter, will produce a lot of light, and are also pricey (if using quality) components. But, when done right, they can produce a lot of usable light focused and thrown in the right direction. The $$$ budget can vary based on your choosing. A quality HID projection setup (Projector+Shroud+Bulb+igniter) can run between $250-400, not including the cost to retrofit them. I just ordered a full setup (headlights & fog lights) of LED projectors from The Retrofit Resource over thanksgiving for ~$550 after the black friday discounts.
After doing the retrofits on my own rig, I have offered to do them for a few others. I can get them all done for $500.00 and that is using the kits from retrofit source and new 2005 headlight housings as well.
Another +1 on HID retrofits. The output is awesome. I had another forum make mine and they're great. I liked the HIDs so much I also put in 35w HID 3000k color temperature (yellow) fogs, no retrofit needed there.
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