Time for some new LED headlights! Any thoughts?

[GNERGY]

I had to do some more adjusting with the way the bulb was oriented in the housing. I was reading where some other people that had purchased them were doing some testing for better beam patterns. The LEDS had to be pointing top and bottom in my housing for best results. With the way the grooves were in the bulbs and the set screws in the collars, no matter how I set them the LEDS ended up not pointing top and bottom. So I drilled out the set screws from 6-32 to 10-32 and used 2 screws in each collar, seeing how the screws weren't going to seat in the grooves, this way I would have enough holding power to be able to lock the bulbs in the collars to keep them from turning when I twisted them in the housing.

I have only been able to drive it at nite one time since I got them adjusted correctly and the beam pattern and the brightness looks really good so far, but didn't have a camera with me. I have been forced in to work on my days off and I drive in during the early evening and come home when it is light out already so I haven't been able to get any pics, but as soon as I get a day off I will get some pics taken and posted.

Tarey

[PrinzII]

Keep us posted on the outcome, GNergy. That's one of the lighting mods I am looking at very seriously.

[GNERGY]

Sorry for not getting back here for a while but I finally had a chance to get them adjusted and take some pics. I got the cutoff line good so that I don't shine in the oncoming drivers eyes. The light pattern is bright and pretty full. I really like the results, way better than the halogen bulbs that were in there. I was talking with a gentleman at V Leds and he was saying that the halogen lens isn't that clear and has those little bumps on it, that some people change out the lens to a clear lens like the better HID lights have. So that got me thinking and reading a lot on HIDplanet. There is a better direct replacement projector by the retrofit source called the EVOX-R. It is even better than the Hella55 that come stock on Ford HIDs. So I am going to order a set and give those a try. I will have to bake the light housing to soften the sealer and take them apart but for what I have been reading the benifits are well worth it. I found an article where a guy compared the V-LEDS led in a good projector to be as good as the HID bulbs.

The first pic is the V-LED housing where I put 2 larger set screws to secure the collar to the bulb.

The last 3 pics are with the high beans on.

Tarey

[inthefuture1955]

I hope this does not leave members feeling at all insulred. It's not my intent.

 

The original poster started stating that he wanted to install 6000 Kelvin LED's. In reading the replies, I saw no mention of the temperature of these LED's

 

DON'T install LED's of that temperature, please.

 

Here's why:

 

The higher the Kelvin index (temperature) is, the greater the UV emitted. An index that high is very piercing. I believe most of those here have experienced that! I don't want to do that to other drivers. And it may seem otherwise, but the higher the K, the lower the light that the human eye can see. Part of the heat issue is that as the temperature index goes up, so does the heat per lumen emitted.(K*L [with some factoring for bulb type and resistor load present])

 

The factory index is 3400 K, as numerous studies have shown that this is the center of the visible (white) light that is perceptible by the human eye, no UV is present at that temperature index. Philips make 3400 K LED bulbs for that reason. If you do want to go to a higher temperature index, don't go above 5000 K; most brands are available in that temperature index.

 

As far as lumens go, go as high as you can, but allow for heat dissipation, as has already been discussed. The greater the volume of light, the greater the heat.

 

I just installed switchback LED turn signals and the lumens for those is higher than the original headlights. The temperature index is 4500 K, so very little UV is present. Name brand bulbs are around $30 and a pair of Phillips resistors (to prevent hyper-flash) are about the same.

 

As for me, I'd like to go with with the Phillips 3400 K bulbs, but heat dissipation is an issue I'm still considering.

 

I hope you will not go above 5000 K, if you insist on going above 3400 K. 6000 K is completely unnecessary. (Here something to consider: most people buy "warm white" LED bulbs for use in the home and these are 3400 K. Yet everyone wants to install 5000 [and higher]. Keep that in mind.)

Edited September 21, 2016 by inthefuture1955

[TheWizard]

I hope this does not leave the new member feeling insulted but there is some misinformation in the previous post.

 

Let's start with LED bulbs emitting ultraviolet light... for the most part, they don't. In fact, one of the big selling points for outdoor LED lighting is that it doesn't attract insects (which are attracted to UV light). Yes, there is some ultraviolet light emitted just as there is some infrared emitted at the other end of the spectrum but the amount is not significant. I think you may be confusing LEDs with HIDs. HIDs do emit significant UV light which is why they look much bluer when viewed from a side angle than straight on. Not so with LEDs and the rated color temperature has absolutely nothing to do with it.

 

Speaking of color temperature, the given temperatures are inaccurate. 3400K is not pure white, it's what's called warm white because it has a significant amount of yellow. It is also not the standard used in automotive headlights. Plain old tungsten incandescent bulbs are 2700K, standard halogen are around 3200K, OEM HID headlights are 4100K-4300K, and OEM LED headlights (Acura, Cadillac, etc.) are around 5600K. 5000K is generally considered pure white, 5700K is daylight, 6000K is "ice" white because it is tinged with blue, 8000K is mostly blue, and by the time you get to 12000K you're looking at violet light.

 

Factory HIDs don't use pure white because it isn't the most effective light for the human eye. Our eyes have trouble with blue light so using a color temperature that has a little more yellow is easier on the eye and therefore more effective. The eye perceives bluer light as glare which is why higher temperature lights seem to be brighter even when they have the same lux or lumen rating. The effectiveness of the light, in terms of ability to see unlit objects ahead, is not as good but the appearance is of brighter light on the road.

 

LEDs themselves produce almost no heat. However, the electronics to run them (the driver) does produce a fair amount of heat - not as much as an equivalent bulb of other types but still something to be dealt with. That's why you'll see powerful LED bulbs have large heat sinks and/or cooling fans. It's not that they get hot enough to damage surrounding items (like an incandescent bulb melting a plastic housing) but that the life of the electronics can be significantly reduced by too much heat.

 

And most people buy 2700-3400K bulbs for home because they are used to the warm (yellowish) light they've always had with incandescent bulbs. That doesn't make it the best temperature for headlights.