Headlight Upgrade

coolman1987us said:

Autolumination.com has high output halogen bulbs. They may or may not be legal but they work great. I use the 80/100 watt bulbs with the aftermarket harness and its twice the light on high beam.

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that is irresponsible AND illegal.....in the US, low beam bulbs are spec for 55w, highs 60/65w......unless you're off a public roadway, then anything goes.

they may "work great" for you, but what about the people you're dazzling as you approach them on the road......that's DANGEROUS and has caused many accidents, often fatal.

Dylans95Chevy said:

So I should just go with a high quality halogen bulb?

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read my thread....within it you'll find many links to other thread on the same topic.

you'll also find tons of stuff that has nothing to do with lighting, but i always derail my threads.

Lone Wolf said:

Just to put in my two cents about LED Headlight bulbs. I am running stock style headlight lenses. Purchased the 2006 and 2005 bulbs of this brand https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L1NLR1A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 .

I've always been skeptical about plug and play LEDs in stock headlight lenses until I saw them on a friends truck. These ones seem to be designed to use your reflector in your headlight lenses to project the light.

I am super surprised and happy with these ones and their light output. They produce 4 times the light as the stock halogen bulbs. The other thing is they are not so blue compared to a lot of them out there.

Here is some pics although cameras can never do justice then in person.

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this post is not an attack on what you've done, just my thoughts from the porch.

i've tried various LED's in one my Harleys, because i was curious......it's documented in my thread...they were from a seemingly good company, were supposed to be drop in "conversions" and were also quite expensive($50+ per unit)...they sucked and are on my shelf....i put in good Philips halogen BULBS and have good lights now.

i personally found massive hot spots that are distracting to the DRIVER(me), too "white" a color, inconsistent and spotty beam patterns, errant "artifacts" that show up to oncoming drivers as GLARE....and some are often a stupid illegal fu@kin blue which is annoying as hell and even more distracting.

if you aim them down to prevent glare, what have you accomplished?

this is MY opinion....based on35+ years of upgrading lighting systems in all my trucks.......and bikes.

michael hurd said:

Wrong. 100% wrong.

Although they may have a similar base, they are not a compatible item at all. Optics require precision, not by gosh by golly accuracy. Can you put on someone else's prescription eyeglasses and proclaim you can see correctly?

You might be super surprised to learn that the light pattern is too bright in the foreground, while driving, this causes your pupils to constrict, as a result, your distance vision is lowered. Just looking at the bottom picture, I can tell the radiation pattern is like 'spokes of a wheel'.

The only bulb that works correctly in a halogen reflector housing is a HALOGEN bulb, period. No ifs, and's, or but's. One that has the correct filament placement WRT to the reflector.

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The light is too bright in the foreground in the picture not in person because my camera on my phone cant adjust to what the human eye can see. Yes there is a spot of light on the ground just like any other light would (did that not to blind people). However, one thing you cant see because my camera cant pick it up is how far it actually projects.

The spokes of a wheel thing you are talking about is the bars on my bumper blocking the light if you are referring to the picture of looking at my truck. I as well as the many people I've shown in person love these lights and can see so much better than halogen lights. I agree not everyone's eyes are the same but not one of the many people I've shown don't like them.

I also agree that the lenses were designed for halogen but the way theses LEDs are designed works with my lenses reflectors.

Sounds like an attack with the way you worded that I'm just telling my experience. Take it as you want the proof in person doesn't lie.

Also even if hes considering either way he can still try them and if he doesn't like them he can send them back.

shovelbill said:

this post is not an attack on what you've done, just my thoughts from the porch.

i've tried various LED's in one my Harleys, because i was curious......it's documented in my thread...they were from a seemingly good company, were supposed to be drop in "conversions" and were also quite expensive($50+ per unit)...they sucked and are on my shelf....i put in good Philips halogen BULBS and have good lights now.

i personally found massive hot spots that are distracting to the DRIVER(me), too "white" a color, inconsistent and spotty beam patterns, errant "artifacts" that show up to oncoming drivers as GLARE....and some are often a stupid illegal fu@kin blue which is annoying as hell and even more distracting.

if you aim them down to prevent glare, what have you accomplished?

this is MY opinion....based on35+ years of upgrading lighting systems in all my trucks.......and bikes.

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I do appreciate that.

It is down to preference from experience. I'll take a look at the thread you are talking about in a bit.

For me mine are straight white (I prefer that over the blue of other brand LEDs or the halogen color). The spot to me is not too bright however is brighter than the stock halogens. Even though I've aimed it down some to prevent blinding people too much these ones do project really far with a good amount of light.

All and all I would say if he has the money he should experiment with the different kinds (halogen or LED) and if he doesn't like whichever he can return them.

It is down to what you like and for me I shared the ones I like.

It is not down with 'you' to 'render inoperative' critical safety equipment as defined by the FMVSS 108. Lighting, while required for 'you' to see driving at night, also must be designed so that your vehicle does not blind oncoming traffic.

Do what you like.

Lone Wolf said:

The light is too bright in the foreground in the picture not in person because my camera on my phone cant adjust to what the human eye can see. Yes there is a spot of light on the ground just like any other light would (did that not to blind people). However, one thing you cant see because my camera cant pick it up is how far it actually projects.

The spokes of a wheel thing you are talking about is the bars on my bumper blocking the light if you are referring to the picture of looking at my truck. I as well as the many people I've shown in person love these lights and can see so much better than halogen lights. I agree not everyone's eyes are the same but not one of the many people I've shown don't like them.

I also agree that the lenses were designed for halogen but the way theses LEDs are designed works with my lenses reflectors.

Sounds like an attack with the way you worded that I'm just telling my experience. Take it as you want the proof in person doesn't lie.

Also even if hes considering either way he can still try them and if he doesn't like them he can send them back.

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No one's attacking you here, but this is a subject we've beaten to death. Drop-in LEDs just aren't a safe option. No one's debating that you can see more with them, the issue is the glare presented to oncoming traffic by using a bulb that's not designed for your reflectors. It's not safe, and it's definitely not considerate of other drivers. Reflectors designed to use halogen bulbs? Don't use anything else besides halogen bulbs. Simple as that.

Dylans95Chevy said:

So I should just go with a high quality halogen bulb?

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Yes, absolutely. I recommend either GE NightHawks (The standard ones, no blue tint on the glass) or Sylvania XtraVision. Don't buy anything with blue tint on the glass like SilverStars, all that crap does is trap heat and block light output.

Dylans95Chevy said:

So I should just go with a high quality halogen bulb?

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that...and for those long lonely stretches of Montana road, i would consider using these LED Cibie's. you could build another harness for them and have it triggered by the high beam circuit......use a switch too, so you control how they work......lows, 4hi and 4hi with Cibie's that you can also shut off independently.


i ordered an old NOS set of Cibie Oscar Plus lights, i like the halogen output myself.....but i'm always open to new things.


this is the mini Oscar....and man, it has a beautiful light pattern....imo

Lone Wolf said:

The light is too bright in the foreground in the picture not in person because my camera on my phone cant adjust to what the human eye can see. Yes there is a spot of light on the ground just like any other light would (did that not to blind people). However, one thing you cant see because my camera cant pick it up is how far it actually projects.

The spokes of a wheel thing you are talking about is the bars on my bumper blocking the light if you are referring to the picture of looking at my truck. I as well as the many people I've shown in person love these lights and can see so much better than halogen lights. I agree not everyone's eyes are the same but not one of the many people I've shown don't like them.

I also agree that the lenses were designed for halogen but the way theses LEDs are designed works with my lenses reflectors.

Sounds like an attack with the way you worded that I'm just telling my experience. Take it as you want the proof in person doesn't lie.

Also even if hes considering either way he can still try them and if he doesn't like them he can send them back.

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Yes, the lenses and reflector 'package' were developed for a halogen bulb, a specific light source manufactured to fine tolerances. When these trucks were launched, as all vehicles, the headlights had to be certified to meet requirements in terms of minima and maxima lux within defined degrees. Changing just one part of an optic system means that it no longer is in compliance. Moving the light source in and out manually when lit, you can watch the pattern change.

If you feel this was an attack on you, you are welcome to your opinion. It still does not change the facts.

Fact: your 'white' LED's are blue emitters, and use a yellow phospor coating to convert the blue light and produce white light. They have low CRI compared to a halogen source. Spectral power distribution is very narrow compared to a halogen source.

Notice that red stop signs are not as visible with an LED as with a halogen source? "White" LED output in the 'red' band is next to nil. Halogens have much better color rendition.

You are not qualified to make this statement:

"I also agree that the lenses were designed for halogen but the way theses LEDs are designed works with my lenses reflectors."


Proof in person? You may subjectively LIKE the output, but that doesn't mean it is OBJECTIVELY better or even proper, and legal conforming.

Here's a thread on spectral power distribution:http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?424010-quot-Whiter-quot-headlamps-CCT-CRI-SPD

Here's another on what lux, footcandle, candela is:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?7336-Lumens-lux-candela-measurements-for-LEDs

Shovelbill- Think Im going to go with the same headlights and bulbs as you. I like the output and reviews on the bulbs. I was actually thinking about flush mounting these in the bumper for my fog lights: https://www.bajadesigns.com/products/squadron-pro-amber-flush-mount-led-wide-cornering.asp and if I need more Ill mount a single row led bar in the grill