Halogen Or LED Headlights

[DamHoodlum]

Yes I did a search but I wanted to see if anyone else had any newer suggestions.
I changed out my headlight and tail light housings (Factory Style) over the holiday. I also changed over to all LED bulbs. I did not change the headlight bulbs( I used the one that came with lights) which left a lot to be desired.

I have read about the LEDs not working correctly with factory style lenses however I did find a LED with adjustable 360° rotation to put the bulb where you want it. Would this help with the lighting? Or should I stick with a 9005/9006 halogen type bulb

What Brand 9005/9006 Halogens? Sylvania, Hella, Phillips, GE?
Which is Brightest? (White)

What Brand LED’s?
DO I Need Plug and Play LED's?
Are there any fitment issues, fan or no fan?


I know Halogens burn hotter and use more power, I will do the 4 hi mod if needed.
I know LED uses less power, Is the 4 HI mod needed?

I don’t need to see to Saturn or Mars
I just want bright clean white lights

Not interested in HID's
I Don’t mind spending $100 or more on a quality bulbs

Lets see/hear your opinions

Thanks In ADVANCE

 

[98chevy2500SS]

I've found the LEDs to project light better in the factory-style housings. Same with halogens.

Don't bother with the fancy adjustable LED bulbs. The Auxbeam S1 9006+9005 bulbs do not need to be adjusted and they fit great.

For halogens, I usually just go with Sylvania or Philips bulbs. The Sylvania XtraVision is a good halogen bulb, and the Philips Xtreme-Vision is also good halogen bulb. The XtraVisions are about $15-20 locally and the Philips are about $40 locally. Stray away from the blue-tinted halogen bulbs as they will reduce light output in exchange for a whiter appearance.

Regardless of which bulb you go with, the 4-HI mod is what these trucks should have come with from the factory. However, with my factory-style replacement headlights on my plow truck, I do not need 4-HI because the hi-beam coverage is actually pretty decent. When I had my clear Anzo headlights, the hi-beams were practically useless.

 

[df2x4]

If you want to get the most out of halogens, you're going to need more than the 4-Hi mod. You'll need to upgrade the entire wiring harness with relays and larger wiring. @5vortec7 makes a plug and play harness for this purpose.

https://www.gmt400.com/threads/hd-headlight-harnesses-w-4-high-mod.45669/

This is the route I would recommend going if you want the best possible street legal light output. LEDs don't need any wiring upgrades besides the 4-Hi mod but they're going to put light where it's not supposed to be when used in a reflector housing designed for halogens, and technically aren't street legal when used that way. (Although I doubt you'd ever be bothered about it if they were aimed reasonably well)

@98chevy2500SS is on point with his bulb advice. If you do go with LEDs I'd stick to two sided fanless units like the Auxbeam S1s he mentioned. To take the halogen setup one step further you can replace the high beam 9005 bulbs with Philips 9011 HIR bulbs. It just takes a little trimming on the mounting tabs as shown below. I would not do this with the low beam bulbs if you're running clear non-diffused headlight lenses with no glare caps, due to the fact that the factory 9006 bulbs have a painted tip to eliminate glare and the 9012 HIRs do not.

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[Markmartin01]

Word of caution on aftermarket LED headlights from someone who has owned several...most SUCK in the rain. The LED light just disappears in rain so expect sub par headlights in the rain. My HIDs were somewhat like that but not as bad.

 

[AK49BWL]

Word of caution on aftermarket LED headlights from someone who has owned several...most SUCK in the rain. The LED light just disappears in rain so expect sub par headlights in the rain. My HIDs were somewhat like that but not as bad.

This is true - which is why I'd like to have a set of fogs to compliment the LEDs I run. I also have the 88 style headlights with the LMC housings which do shine better than the factory or equivalent housings imo, but in the rain the halogen bulbs would do better.

 

[Ehall8702]

I disagree with using 2 sided leds, they leave a cat's eye in center of ur lens when they r on, I only use 4 sided in factory housings, I use the fan equiped ones personally had good luck with isincer brand lights till the last two sets. Had the others for well over 4 years. As for pattern the 4hi is awesome, can see very well, even with 6000k led u still need 4hi mod, our headlights just don't do well even aimed correctly, I use an ancient machine to aim my personal lights and they must be okay cause I don't get flashed cause they think my hi's r on.

 

[Blazer92]

Word of caution on aftermarket LED headlights from someone who has owned several...most SUCK in the rain. The LED light just disappears in rain so expect sub par headlights in the rain. My HIDs were somewhat like that but not as bad.

Just a question on this what K you are running that you have experienced this? I upgraded to HID 5K and a diamond clear aftermarket housing at the same time and I feel it's better than factory in the rain. Granted to compare to a current halogen I have an 08 Buick Lucerne with halogens so that might be ride height. Just asking to see if there might be some correlation to the frequency not trying to start a debate

 

[Godholio]

A problem in cold weather areas is that LEDs don't heat up the way halogens do, so you can get snow and ice buildup on the lenses. I've never had a big problem with this, but I've had to pull over a couple of times to scrape the ice off.

 

[Jermu]

Not sure how relevant this information is since I've used HB bulbs so far due to availability, dunno if the lights are placed differently on them compared to 900x bulbs, but in my high beams I tried HB3 LED's and the result was actually rather very poor. The light output was ok, but the pattern was very bad, it was a very sharp edged hourglass figure, leaving huge blind spots on the sides and middle, not to mention half the light went on to light up tree tops. They were 360 degree adjustable, but it still didn't help any, as vertically they just did the same hourglass but left the blind spot on the road. They were worse than my Phillips HB3 highs that have been ran through a relay. Poorly by the PO, but either way. Again, don't know if this is purely bulb related, as the LED's could be differently placed on the 900x variants, offering better pattern, but with HB's it was very much not worth it, needless to say I swapped the halogens back in, although they too leave much to be desired in light output, at least the pattern is better. Have not yet tried it on my low's.

 

[A97obs]

If you want to get the most out of halogens, you're going to need more than the 4-Hi mod. You'll need to upgrade the entire wiring harness with relays and larger wiring. @5vortec7 makes a plug and play harness for this purpose.

https://www.gmt400.com/threads/hd-headlight-harnesses-w-4-high-mod.45669/

This is the route I would recommend going if you want the best possible street legal light output. LEDs don't need any wiring upgrades besides the 4-Hi mod but they're going to put light where it's not supposed to be when used in a reflector housing designed for halogens, and technically aren't street legal when used that way. (Although I doubt you'd ever be bothered about it if they were aimed reasonably well)

@98chevy2500SS is on point with his bulb advice. If you do go with LEDs I'd stick to two sided fanless units like the Auxbeam S1s he mentioned. To take the halogen setup one step further you can replace the high beam 9005 bulbs with Philips 9011 HIR bulbs. It just takes a little trimming on the mounting tabs as shown below. I would not do this with the low beam bulbs if you're running clear non-diffused headlight lenses with no glare caps, due to the fact that the factory 9006 bulbs have a painted tip to eliminate glare and the 9012 HIRs do not.

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I decided to do some research on LEDs vs halogens my suburban has or had an old set when I got it , along with crusty stock diffused lenses . I just did the new clear reflective lenses and one high beam led is shot , they’re all old LEDs afaik.
I wanna keep it good but simple ..
I may lean away from leds and stay halogen , as I take it that’s the recommended idea , but I wanted to make sure I know the variables if I am Not using a stock type diffused lense .
These are a set of cheap but ok clear lenses with chrome reflective inner housings. I’m gonna seal up the gaskets better ! As normally I do , to avoid condensation, but I also read about you can leave in a silica gel absorbing packet in the housings .. sounds a bit extra ? Any input on that

I was always under the assumption the aftermarket lenses might not do well with the halogen heat output ?
(Thin lense) ( Shotty material ) maybe?
Im sure ((oem)) diffused lenses are made tougher in a sense ?

What should I run for a good 9005/9006 that I can get local for this type of Lense. I’m also doing the 4-Hi mod later this month

These are the basics I threw on the truck. What’s the better choice a specific type of led if I can or should stay with LEDs or Halogen from any local auto parts ?Definitely want Something better then what comes with these

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