Dude. Just did 4 different led on Projector (RAM 2016) . Ranged from 40-250€. Now i am back to HID for ca 75-100€. Hid is still the way to Go at least from my perspective
RedWings-44 depends on car. For My RAM 2016 with projector headlights is the best bang for the Buck the WinPower HB3/9005 55W Auto HID Xenon Kit. Regards
Great video. I tried switching to Led light bulbs (20,000 lumens) in my Kenworth T680 semi and was appalled that my vision was even worse than my stock bulbs which are pretty unsatisfactory to begin with. I am switching back to my halogen bulbs and ordering an HID kit for my projection headlights. Thank you for doing the legwork on my dilemma.
Brian. A good reason for the poor led performance is that there are no bulbs that will give out 20, 000 lumens. I think you could half that figure. About 6,000 lumens (per bulb) is the absolute max, contrary to what some suppliers claim.
EmofacePS3 LASFIT H7 LED Headlight Kits-COB Flip Chips/Adjustable Beam- 60W 7600LM 6000K-Hi/Lo Beam/Fog Light Bulbs. Link is in description above. They look like the low end types with the flat cob leds. I would say try it with the 4 sided cob leds, or get some like those opt7 ones. What ya think?
Blueford86 no the more sides an headlight led has the cheaper and usually more ineffective it actually is at displaying a proper beam pattern my friend. Two sided LEDs at the most are the industry leaders blueprints for production
@@slumygoat Having upgraded honda dual-sport motorcycle headlights, I have to firmly disagree with your statement here. If you are trying to replace a halogen bulb with the most comparable coverage, you want a minimum of 2sided led unit that mimics the halogen filament location. And even stepping down in wattage, it will be a massive improvement in visibility (near doubt the long reach and more evenly out to the sides)
This was a much better comparison video, my only problem is Eric, you used a very very poor quality LED Kit. The LED themselves on them are not powerful enough to produce the amount of light you need. Also Projector housings that are aftermarket usually have defects in the reflector base with the chrome usually its all bubbled and not a perfect mirror. Not saying yours are like that though. To have any comparison with the HIDS would be to get a 100 or more LED bulb/kit. Usually the good ones with be passive cooled and not fan cooled. They usually have a bunch of flat braided cables coming out the back. But for good LED bulbs you have to spend some money. Anyways keep doing what you do Eric!
HID are brighter yes but for reliability, ease of installation and the fact no ballast is needed like the HID bulbs need led is better and in a couple years I see LED surpassing them
chrome shrouds/housing have little to do with emitting light so those defects don't matter. All you have is a type of light source, a physical piece to make the cutoff line, and the lens.
I don't have projector housings in my cars but I have tried many different HID and LED lights in my reflector housings and I can say from experience that even though most halogen and HID bulbs are comparable between brands, LED vary greatly between quality, style and placement of the led chips.. They also have different wattage bulbs in both HID and LED. I have a set of LED bulbs in my 06 Lancer that rival my old HID bulbs any day.. It would be interesting to see what they would do in your housings.
Dear Eric Thank you for impressive review. You spent a lot of time and efforts and deserve big admiration. I have one question. Is this Honda projector housing came originally with HID bulb or LED. I am not sure if that make any difference but I think the LED projector lens and reflector are quite different than the HID. I will really appreciate your opinion if you discovered such a difference in the shapes etc.
This proves what I have been saying for years, LED lights are only good for lights that need to be "seen", like stop lights, tail lights, marker lights, etc. They are terrible for light that needs to be "cast", bad for headlights, spot lights or street lamps. The DOT in my state has swapped out almost all of the halogen freeway lights for LED, while you can see them fine as you approach, they do not illuminate the road at all. These lights that use less energy, have come at a cost, do not perform as well and are not appropriate for all applications.
Hey Eric... A bit off the topic here... But perhaps you can answer this? Is there a way to fix the driver's side shutter on a 2008 Caddy CTS? I read that there has been an issue with the wiring to the solenoid that controls the high beam shutter on the CTS with HID Xeon bulbs. Any information or links would be great. Thanks
Actually 5600K is pure white, but the HID and LED spectra are not true blackbodies, so the numbers aren't very applicable to them anyway. They just use it so people can have something to get an idea for the color.
Eric, I believe that HID lux value is not 140k, but 14k. The three dots you saw on the screen are just ellipsis, indicating that the value doesn't fit on the screen completely, but it doesn't necessarily have to be exactly three digits. You are right in saying that HIDs are definitely brighter than Halogen bulbs. 3.5 times brighter sounds reasonable, but 35 times brighter isn't really possible. Especially since at 50ft they read only twice as bright as the halogen lights.
Hey Eric, depending on the type of chip technology and layout that's inside the actual LED package, it will determine the pattern/layout and brightness of the bulb. It would be unfair to categorize all LED's under one umbrella since they are all made differently, designed differently, and perform differently. Even some halogens are like this to SOME degree but, in general, you can make a generalization with halogens. I do not have enough data about HID's or hybrids (xenon) bulbs to say whether or not generalizations can be made about them. I thought I had HID's in my system but after taking to many mechanics I found out I had a hybrid system of xenon bulbs, which is most annoying. So my recommendation to you is to find some LED bulbs with different LED chip technologies and find some different manufacturers and use them as a good comparison.
EpicATrain I tried two brands of LEDs in my projector housings, both of them had great reviews and moderately high prices. The ones from 4x4 LEDs died in less than 3 months and had poor light output. The second pair I had got better light output but died in 11 months. I decided to have my local shop install some HIDs and it’s literally night and day. In projector housings the HIDs just throw the light so much further that it’s crazy. Granted there could be better LEDs out there and worse HIDs out there. But it seems like for the housing the LEDs just can’t hang from my experience.
@@jmwlife2k Two different brands in housings? Wow, that's a unique study....NOT. Again, LEDS need to be in housing DESIGNED FOR THEM, NOT SHOVED INTO HOUSING DESIGNED FOR OTHER TYPES of bulbs. Just look at how they are designed.
@@f5fstop For one both LEDs were recommended for the housing I bought. Secondly I never said what happened to me is going to me the experience for everyone or it’s some great case study. I even made clear that there might have been better LEDs or worse HIDs out there. - With that said, it doesn’t change the reality of what I experienced. Why would I buy a third pair of different recommended LEDs when two failed in less than 18 months and the light output for both of them were bad? HIDs in both experienced I had with them worked better. Stop being a weirdo product defender and learn how to read.
Pretty sure it’s going to be 14,000 not 140,000. I don’t think the amount of dots equals the number of 0’s. Great video though Eric. You’re right, it’s wayyy better than your last one.
I'm a flashlight maker (yes it's more scientific than it sounds) and I commonly work with high power LEDs. This is probably 1,400 lux since lux is just lumens per square meter, and it's spreading out over a very large area.
Well this test was done 6 years ago with some mediocre (2018) bulbs. LED technology has greatly improved over those past 6 years. Maybe give a New style LED bulbs another chance to redeem themselves? Newer bulbs Have crazy LED sizes, shapes and even configurations that you can actually adjust yourself. I personally think it would make a great re-review video.
Hate those turds driving their lifted trucks on the highway with aftermarket bulb installed HID FOGS, HEADLIGHTS and OFF ROAD lights all on running behind me.
making my last comment I didn't realize this video is from 2018. LEDs have improved so much compared to HIDs. hopefully you're doing another one of these in the future. thanks for your time
when it comes to this topic and having done everything from stock reflectors to full custom retrofit HID projectors yeah I'd say so, also 5000k sucks unless you are running a 55 or 65 watt ballast, if you are on 35 watt ballasts you should be no higher then 4300k for the most light output.
As someone who deals with theatrical lighting on a regular basis, I'm not sure I see the connection between power dissipation and color temperature on non-tungsten lamps. It may be different for headlights, but this would be the first time I've seen it. For what it's worth, 5000k tends to wash out details with its unnaturally white hue. My eyes prefer a slightly warmer temperature, which brings out details better (such as foreign objects in the roadway at night). Again, just my $0.02 based on a loosely related field of experience.
the higher wattage ballast causes the bulb to color shift about 500k or so lower, like a 5000k bulb with a 55 watt ballast looks closer to a 4300k bulb with a 35 watt ballast then a 5000k bulb on a 35 watt ballast
People, PLEASE recognize what eric did in his low car. I have a low car and can't tell you how often I get blinded by people with aftermarket headlights. AIM THEM DOWN. Don't worry, we can see you, my god.
You seem to forget that headlights are to see _by_ - not just so you can see them. And just aiming them down isn't necessarily safe as, in a lower vehicle, there will always be a point where the light beam is going to be at the same height as your eyes. How about "set them correctly - both for height and horizontal aim"...?
Some people are just really dumb and point their headlights straight forward. It's actually best to aim at the road because that's what you are trying to see.
That point goes clearly over the heads of most people with lifted vehicles in particular. I drive a lot at night for my job, and live in the South, so I regularly encounter lifted trucks and SUV s. With the over abundance of cheap LED and HID retrofit kits on eBay and Amazon, these types also like to find the brightest (ie., most glaring) lights they can find. So anyone in a lower vehicle, like me in my Mazda 3, get a double whammy or poorly aimed, too bright headlights.
Feb 2021, even tho led has grown big (hikari, aukee, morimoto, Alla lighting, etc), I decided to go for a 40$ 6000k 55w hid kit for my 2009 tsx with stock halogen projectors. Next time could be LEDs idk
this may be old news, and you may already know this... but seeing as how it was done THIS year, im going to post it anyway. you cannot simply lump all LED bulbs into the same category. there are some out there that are terrible for projectors... no doubt (especially the cheap ones like you just tested - lasfit are complete garbage). they werent built for projector housings. however, if you do a minor amount of research, youd see that there are a ton that ARE designed specifically to work in projector housings. HID and LED bulbs that were designed for projectors will result in typically the exact same output numbers. while it is true that HID are the safe bet as no matter what... they will give consistent performance - it is still a trade off. HIDs take several seconds to 'warm up'.... you can't flash HIDs... flipping from low to high beams results in several seconds of little light. if you know what youre doing, and what youre getting, LEDs are the better alternative, but they are not all made the same.
Good informative video, ignore stupid comments, he is a mechanic not a scientist so stop acting like the video lacked information or that he done this and that wrong, if you don't like it don't watch it.
I changed my halogen projectors to hid projectors. The results are absolutely amazing! I have them adjusted properly. And I couldn't be happier. The light travels noticeably farther. And I know they are not blinding oncoming traffic. If you're getting blinded by someone's low beam HID projectors, that means they are not properly adjusted. People have them adjusted up past the level of the mark on the light housing. Those people are really the douchebags!
I know I should use HID projectors but my car already comes with halogen projectors so I guess I'll just settle instead of getting a projector retrofit. Hopefully it's not enough to make me regret it.
@@caseywilson9520 Most car in the early adaptation of DRL uses 'High Beam' with lower voltage for DRL. Now most vehicle uses separate DRL and/or Switchback (switches between DRL and turn signals).
@John Doe aftermarket lights aren't bull shit. It's just with reflectors it blinds people if not set up properly. I got aliexpress headlight and it has total of 4 projector (hella +Q5) and my lights are amazing after adjustments You have not used any other cars with proper led headlights. That's why you were amazed.
Not all LED bulbs are created equal, some project more light forward than others, the rated brightness is not indicative of how much light will be projected forward. Some LED lights may do better in a reflector than a projector, and vice versa.
@@matty1053 Totoally incorrect. OP has the proper statement. Most Led bulbs have their diode placement very far forward or at the end of the stall and this usually makes it bad for reflector housings but decent on projectors that uses to house HID. Some brands, like Hikari found on Amazon, are developed to match halogen bulb filament placing. This makes them suitable for reflector or halogen projector. I put some in my 2008 MX5 and the improvement was vast. The projectors shot the light perfectly with no real issue except near car blind spots that you really can't see in the car. I never had to use my brights after that and was never flashed. In addition to that my old Mx5 was better illuminated than my brand new 2019 that comes with LED from factory, in projector style headlights. Also put same brand LEDs in a 2002 Porsche boxster with reflectors. Most European cars have projector style cut offs in their reflector housings so I tried them to make an improvement. They did make somewhat an improvement with better road illumination but overall it's a marginal improvement over halogens. Not like my MX5 where I could see down the road and off to the sides and never need brights again.
You need to do your testing in a secluded area with no lights and determine the reach of each light into the darkness. That is the thing you should be concerned with is how far the light can illuminate objects down the road. Also keep in mind the brighter a light gets the shorter the spectrum of light it emits, no matter what type of light it is
Hey Eric, just want to say i love your videos and watching and learning from you has inspired me to teach myself more about automotive maintenance. Ive just started taking a automotive class and i love it! In the process I've also discovered a new interest in it. Just wanted to say thank you and keep making videos as long as you can! Thank you!
Yeah with those projector housings where that line is where nothing above it goes yeah that's usually where you can see road signs and deer and pedestrians walking that you can't see with those headlights very dangerous you need to ambient light to light up stuff on the side of the road and down the road further without blinding other drivers when you go over bumps those projectors fly up in a reflect up in the people's eyes very badly it's like you're flicking their high beams on and off when they're not I hate them I absolutely hate them
I would not run random LED bulbs even in projectors as their beam pattern needs to be directly identical to HID or Halogen bulbs or else they will not project properly
Interesting. I think the reason I like the LEDs is because of the life expectancy over the other two. Have a lot of HID experience and the higher quality ones really work well and are reliable. The cheap one nope. Same with LEDs. However my question is what wattage did you use for the LEDs? I am willing to bet it was 35 watt not 50 or 55 watt which both the halogen and HIDs used (typically 55 watts). Even at 50-55 watts for the LEDs they will never equal the HID output. Good test I am surprised at the low LED output since my Ridgeline uses LEDs for all three low, high and fogs and they are the brightest output I have ever seen in any car I owned all which since 2001 were HIDs except my Ford Super Duty which I kept stock. I learned something by this vid and one by Headlight Revolution. Thanks
There are two kinds of high beam, if the car got one singel projetor lens, like vw passat, there is a flap that opens inside to give you high beam. On my old 2006 saab 9-5, i got two sets of projector lenses, low beam with HID and high beam with halogen bulbs. Then i got LED auxeliry lights on high beam to give me day light at night. On my car and cars with similar set ups, it is a bad idea to instal HID kit on the high beam instead if halogen bulbs. HID lights wants to be turned on and stay on, if the are turned on and off, on and off rapidly, the ballast may overload and fail, LED will not.
I think a better test would be to use lights that are all the same color frequency. I am a firm believer that the lower the frequency the better it is on your eyes (Cause less strain). I have driven for years at night and have tried all the lights out there from the regular sealed beam, Halogen, HID, and LED. My find is this. if you care? Sealed beam: Very long lasting, but not as bright as I would like. Appear to have a short throw. Perhaps to low of a frequency, but very easy on the eyes. (from inside my van looking out onto the road.) HALOGEN: Very nice light, keeping with a lower frequency but also giving the appearance of greater distance of light than the sealed beam. HID: Nice lights very bright and long throwing. Not made for regular light housing though. Must have a projector for these bad boys. Again the only color frequency I could get was 5000+ and this I find hard on the eyes when driving long distances at night. I always got flashed by oncoming traffic with these lights installed. LED: These lights are still in their infancy. Some car makers like Mercedez, Audi, BMW, and so forth have spent millions to developing their LED lights to make them work pretty good but there is still a long way to go. No one should ever think that buying a LED bulb and putting it into their headlights will have lights like the above-mentioned cars. A little FYI for everyone. LEDs are best reflected out to the road rather than pointed at the road. In other words, LED lights need a lot of reflective control and can NOT use the same housing you use for your Halogen head lights. Check out J.W. Speaker head lights Now look at the difference between them and your head lights. (LED version) Love the video Eric glad to see you back and moving forward. later buddy.
There are changes in the Fstop and the "time" of the light meter app... Shouldn it be the same for every step? As a photographer there is big difference in the F stops, for example ?
There's a real problem with modern car LED & HID projector car headlamps on all new cars, they sit too high, they're blinding oncoming driver's, they cause absolute havoc on the roads specifically more with older drivers at night. One can't tell whether they're dipped and they constantly flash at you all the time so you think the driver is flashing lights at you there's a problem here and it needs to be acknowledged
Great comparison, yes it could have been done in a more controlled environment but give this guy a break. Normal bloke in a normal car in a normal environment. In my opinion this is a cracking comparison, thank you very much.
It's worth mentioning that some aftermarket headlight upgrades are too hot for the stock reflector housings. I've seen cheaper eBay hid kits in an early 2000's Pontiac and the bulbs we're so hot during normal usage, the stock housings melted just enough for the bulbs to fall half way out. I had to replace the whole mess and pull out the hid kits and go back to stock with new housings too. Maybe you you could run the hid kits for 6 months and report back if they melted the plastic in yours too.
they should, because of quality, if you buy a 35W its no problem, but most promise "better visibility" and "bright white light", yet a cheap ballast will never give you a nice white light like the Osram or Phillips HIDs, in order to compete they are forced to give you a 55W ballast to give a similar light...again you may get better visibility compared to the cheap 35W, but will never get the white light the 35w Osram and Phillips gives in OEM cars today. and with a cheap 55w ballast and bulb, they would melt your housing just like a 55w halogen would because they give off much more heat and don't give you twice as much output, no reason ever to go 55W because its too hot for plastic, you run the chances of messing up your cars electrical system and melting the housing, besides the lifespan is already short, why reduce it in half for a 55W? sorry its a little long
Something I would be curious about in HID vs halogen too. Some plastic housings will not tolerate a halogen upgrade over standard without melting. Also Ebay is probably not the best source of good quality. Some really rubbish stuff sold as premium product thanks China!
For my money, LEDs are the way to go. The 5K white light gives you the clarity to see perfectly well with a comparable brightness to halogens (but superior spectrum of reflected light actually gives greater perceived brightness from the driver seat). The moderate brightness also is a benefit since you won't be blinding that driver speeding towards you in the oncoming lane. Best of both worlds.
Nah bro we’re good I love blinding other drivers it’s funny af when they rage then they get scared when they see how big of a penis I have and back off
Exactly, if he’s using a halogen projector housing, then it’s not really scientific. LED light will scatter in a halogen projector and HIDs won’t put out the intended output, etc etc etc
Nice job, Eric. Until the leds get there with the halogens, i'll keep the halogens. The hids are wayy too bright. The hids would be better suited to places where there's no lights, like out in the country, with little to no traffic. They're too bright for city driving.
The bulbs were matched for 5000k but what was the wattage on the LED bulbs? Does this matter? I am about to buy a different car and it has projectors. I saw on amazon that there are different Lumen outputs on LED bulbs. Would this affect your tests or would halogen still out perform LED? Lastly, if halogens were put in this vehicle stock with projector lamps, what would I have to change to convert to HID's ? Thanks
Modded my 4Runner Projectors stock H11 Halogen bulbs to fit H9 Halogen bulbs, I get much whiter and brighter light. No need to mess with HID ballasts or junky LED bulbs.
"High beams, low beams, high beams, low beams." Colonel Jack O'Neill did a similar test on Thor's ship, the Daniel Jackson. "Light's on, light's off, light's on, lights off..." Thor, T'ealc and Daniel were understandably unimpressed. :o)
Excellent video, you did a FAR better job than I could have done. It's interesting that the glare that people are knee-jerk "warning" about with the HID retrofit in these projector housings is no more than with a Halogen bulb. I did a comparison of the "cheap" H3 LED bulbs on my Expedition's spyder auto projector lights today and found all of them lacking, So, HID is getting ordered. Damn, my BMW's factory xenon lights got me spoiled :D
just wanted to add my 5ct.. Actually lux or lux-o-meter is used to measure brightness of light on the surface, for example it is mainly used for measuring how bright is the surface of the sign of the supermarket or exmpl. coca cola sign. So when you were measuring the effect from a car that mainly may have had an effect on the reading, because accuracy of the reading in luxometer depends on the angle of the light that is projected to the sensor it self. In this case it would be better to use a lumen meter, as it is the most accurate metering device for light output from the source. BUT!, just for a comparisement this was an awesome test Eric, thank you.
Those projectors are commonly known as "bi-xenon" projectors, so named for the HID headlight assemblies that use them to get both low and high beam from a single HID xenon capsule, since firing the capsule on and off as with normal halogen low/high beams can drastically shorten the life of the HID capsules. This is the first time I've ever seen them in an aftermarket assembly designed for halogen bulbs. The mid-2000's Nissan Maxima used a single halogen projector with a solenoid on the cutoff shield like this, along with a similar bi-xenon HID projector housing on the HID equipped cars (same projectors as used by the mid-2000's Mercedes E55, which I used in my Integra bi-xenon retrofit back in 2004).
It all depends on what LED you use.. they vary greatly.. the one you got was as shitty as you can possibly find.. also a 55w hid will always kill every other option
Just gonna say that this video clearly shows why you need to have the correct focusing elements for your bulbs. These are for HID bulbs. With the LEDs and Halogens the hotspots are in a different place, the cutoff isn't as clean, and the spread is different. All of those things make a huge difference on how much you actually see when driving down the road. Much better video
Just proves that HID's are still king 😎 LEDs are perfect for brake and tail lights because they turn on instantly but I always prefer HID's for headlights.
Wesley Green If you have a new 2014+ Corolla then no. Proper testing will prove that an OEM HID projector system of the same time beats it in glare levels, foreground, distance, and width. Also, most OEM HID projector systems are bi-xenon.
I think LED comes out on top when it's done right. Led's dont' work the same way halogen's and hid's do, they require different housing requirements. If you want to see what LED is capable of look at either car's that come stock with them, or the sealed beam LED's. Both of these offer engineers the chance to properly heatsink the led's and crank the power up.
I bought some headlights with integrated LEDs for low/high beams. They came with a warning that they make sound while operating because there is a fan that has to cool things. The only reason they don't seem as bright as the stock bixenons is because they are ~6000k while the stocks were closer to ~4500k
I wonder whether the low lux reading of the LED’s is due to LED’s flicking on and off so quickly. The camera may pick this up, where we don’t? Just a thought. Great video though!
Awesome vid, man! LEDs are just a tad dimmer than halogens but, IMO, you cant beat that white. HIDs are great but too expensive, and maybe too bright. Few people actually need that amount of light, unless you're off-roading in the middle of a new moon night.
ComandanteJ I nightly drive Florida back roads, so I really do need that bright of a light. Deer are a serious issue here, and with my stock lights I could barely see the sides of the roads
Off in a tangent I know, but as the driver of an MX-5, every single vehicle with LED headlights driving toward me completely blinds me. The higher the vehicles lights are, the worse it is.
hendrik jan People that put aftermarket LEDs in their halogen housings will still blind people just as much as people that put HIDs i their halogen housings. OEM hid systems will properly light the road for the driver, and it will not produce much glare. Some exceptions are there, but for the most part OEMs are pretty good at their job. OEMs include: Koito, Stanley Lighting, Valeo, Ichiko, Philips, Osram, and there are a few others that I cannot remember.
@ericthecarguy just picked up my first car the other day for $2k. 2000 Acura 3.5 RL with 93k on the speedometer everything is a1 but the headlight got ripped out along as messed up some of the fender and bumper and going to have to replace the headlight
Somehow 140k lux sounds like way too much. Sure this wasn't some measuring fault? Could you repeat that measurement and get that high a number each time? Sounds quite unbelievable...
WHTMAN0815 even if he was using the phone, he measured all of the lights consistently with the same device. Rather than getting super accurate numbers, I think the point was more about comparing the three different light sources to each other. For that purpose, the phone app is fine.
Not cool.. I just bought need headlights and bulbs. I looked for a good video for different types of bulbs. Wish I had this video yesterday. Haha great video.
Geez, I can't freaking believe people wouldn't use common sense and think that halogen housings refer to...halogen housings, as in, you should only use halogen bulbs, even if they're not named like that, we've come to a pussyfying of single damn thing, nice job Eric, I feel for you to have to clarify every single stupid thing because of idiots with a holier-than-thou complex.
Well unfortunately they make halogen projectors as well, not just reflector based, and most people just buy kits like Eric did and throw bulbs in said projectors that aren't designed for it. Eric was right to make the correction regardless.
Christian Lamey I know that, it's because its obvious that I feel like it shouldn't be clarified, and never did I say it wasn't Okay from him to clarify such, I said he shouldn't have to
should be noted not all "projector headlights" are created equal, unless you did a proper retrofit of a good projector you are likely running a projector that was still designed for Halogen bulbs which would skew the results, this is also likely due to the odd cutoff pattern of the high beams, I've had projectors that actuated like that which did not have that cutoff issue, I suggest checking somewhere like TheRetroFitSource.com where you can get proper HID projectors, yes these projectors you have now are far superior to running the HIDs and LED's in the stock reflector housing's but it's still not good quality.
DanielRichards644 those headlights use H7 projectors which generally work well with HID. Indeed the HID beam pattern in the video looked quite good compared to the halogen. Even beam spread and very little glare. They look almost like Bosch H7 projectors which work excellent with D2S HID bulbs.
nice to know very informative vidoe, can't explain it any better.Some dodo birds here commenting seems like they know better.But are clueless of what they are saying
One point I would like to make to your test. Although this is a very good test, the LED lights are at a great disadvantage because when you sit any aftermarket LED bulb in a projector housing, it is not in the correct position to give you the maximum output. The LED chips do not produce a full 360° light dispersion even if you have 4 large chips that cover the entire bulb. The chips project the light perpendicular, whereas the HID and the halogen project the light forward, backward, and around all sides of the reflector within the projector housing. To get the maximum output the light source needs to be at a specific focal point inside the reflector parabola. You will notice that if you take something like an H1 bulb and move it forward and backward in a reflector parabola (just the part that has the reflective surface) made for a H4 bulb the light output will fluctuate until you get it at the right focal point where the light will be able to hit the immediate surrounding surfaces of the reflector and project it forward as a concentrated beam of light.
Thanks for your input. If you watch the other video linked in the description you'll see that the results of the LED are typical. The light for LED is not as intense as HID.
Yes. Watched that just now. The LED lights are a lot tougher to maximize the light output using after market bulbs. If you were to compare Audi's matrix LEDs or those from Mercedes multibeam LEDs.....or even one from a Mazda CX-9, you'd see the output is 10 times greater than what any aftermarket LED bulb could duplicate because the factory LED set up don't use actual bulbs like H11, HB4, etc. as far as I know. The LED chip is mounted to a board and several mirrors are used to get the LED to project in a true 360° pattern (forward, backward, and around all sides). A test comparison between the 3 bulbs that would be a bit more fair where all the bulbs would equal would be to make the HID and halogen bulb similar to that of the LED by preventing some of the light from going forward, backward, and masking off 2 sides depending on how many LED chips you have. That would be a bit extreme though.
Great video! Agree w/14k and not 140k. I can certainly buy that HID's are best because they burn at much higher temperatures therefore the light being hard and not soft like LED's. Think I'll do HID for headlights and LED for fogs.
So! It's okay to put HID's in a projector housing assembly? I have a Hyundai genesis 2.0t base model and the low beams are halogen and the high beams are HID. But I want new headlamps and they say i cant have HID in projector housing. Can someone help me out with this?
I have the same Element and headlights, I am running XKglow 76 Watt Super Bright LED Headlight Error-free Conversion Kit. Best mod I have done thus far.
Hi Eric, excellent video. Entertaining and informative. Quick question though... What Wattage are you using for the HID kit? Eg. 35W or 55W Same question for the LEDs. Thanks
For aftermarket LED this is a fair test. but a car that comes stock with LED headlights they are not in a projector housing, but in a small reflector housing again and are much brighter than HID headlights.
Eric looking at some IPCW aftermarket hid lights for my 07 Dakota. I been doing a lot of night time driving and really getting annoyed with my lights even after changing the bulbs. They’re $271 commitment, and thoughts or other ideas I could find for the 07 dodge Dakota?
theres nothing brighter then a HID in a properly aimed projector housing and if you have halogen housings, halogens should be the only bulbs used unless you upgrade to a projector housing.
ltwargssf R these are H7 projectors which usually work pretty well with D2S bulbs. The beam pattern looks sort of like Bosch H7 projectors which I know work excellent with HID. Not like 9006 projectors lol those are total crap with HID.
deja vu man deja vu... seriously though, light output measurements aside; which did you prefer when driving? eg. on a back road, on a well lit road, and with oncoming traffic?
Agreed re. it being an unreasonable number...the dots just means there's at least one additional digit that didn't fit the screen, but not necessarily a digit for each dot. However, just assume there's a 0 at the end of each (making it between 1400 and 1409 lux) and that's good enough for a test like this.
Not ALL PROJECTORS, HIDS, AND LEDS are equal. The world of automotive lighting and optics is pretty vast and while generally decent information this video is not concrete
Thank you for revisiting this topic. Can everyone please stop ricing out your pos by throwing "HIDs" in the stock reflector housings. Thanks. For a more in depth explanation check out this forum post: www.clubroadster.net/vb_forum/20-exterior/69869-hid-lights-reflector-housings-reminder-some-you-out-there.html#/topics/69869?_k=nxdr4r
9:50 is when the testing stops and he does the summary, in case you wanna skip.
Thank you
I should have read the comments before watching the full video :( Thanks anyway.
Bless
Thank you for doing that :)
I'd love to see a remake of this video. From my understanding, LED technology has come a long way in 2 years.
Dude. Just did 4 different led on Projector (RAM 2016) . Ranged from 40-250€. Now i am back to HID for ca 75-100€. Hid is still the way to Go at least from my perspective
55 W ballast and 6000K bulb. Perfect light Color.
@@lordodd452 which bulbs?
RedWings-44 depends on car. For My RAM 2016 with projector headlights is the best bang for the Buck the WinPower HB3/9005 55W Auto HID Xenon Kit. Regards
@@lordodd452 correct. Sorry, I forgot to specify. What LED bulbs and reflector or projector housings?
Great video. I tried switching to Led light bulbs (20,000 lumens) in my Kenworth T680 semi and was appalled that my vision was even worse than my stock bulbs which are pretty unsatisfactory to begin with. I am switching back to my halogen bulbs and ordering an HID kit for my projection headlights. Thank you for doing the legwork on my dilemma.
Brian. A good reason for the poor led performance is that there are no bulbs that will give out 20, 000 lumens. I think you could half that figure. About 6,000 lumens (per bulb) is the absolute max, contrary to what some suppliers claim.
was there a lumen rating on the led bulbs because i do know that not all leds are created equal
also were the HID bulbs 35 or 55 watt
EmofacePS3 LASFIT H7 LED Headlight Kits-COB Flip Chips/Adjustable Beam- 60W 7600LM 6000K-Hi/Lo Beam/Fog Light Bulbs. Link is in description above. They look like the low end types with the flat cob leds. I would say try it with the 4 sided cob leds, or get some like those opt7 ones. What ya think?
Blueford86 no the more sides an headlight led has the cheaper and usually more ineffective it actually is at displaying a proper beam pattern my friend. Two sided LEDs at the most are the industry leaders blueprints for production
@@slumygoat Having upgraded honda dual-sport motorcycle headlights, I have to firmly disagree with your statement here.
If you are trying to replace a halogen bulb with the most comparable coverage, you want a minimum of 2sided led unit that mimics the halogen filament location.
And even stepping down in wattage, it will be a massive improvement in visibility (near doubt the long reach and more evenly out to the sides)
@@SportBikeAnthony Actually, the link is for 50W version LED's, vs 55w halogens, vs (link broken)
This was a much better comparison video, my only problem is Eric, you used a very very poor quality LED Kit. The LED themselves on them are not powerful enough to produce the amount of light you need. Also Projector housings that are aftermarket usually have defects in the reflector base with the chrome usually its all bubbled and not a perfect mirror. Not saying yours are like that though. To have any comparison with the HIDS would be to get a 100 or more LED bulb/kit. Usually the good ones with be passive cooled and not fan cooled. They usually have a bunch of flat braided cables coming out the back. But for good LED bulbs you have to spend some money. Anyways keep doing what you do Eric!
If you watch the other video you'll see the results are typical. HIDs are brighter than LEDs.
HID are brighter yes but for reliability, ease of installation and the fact no ballast is needed like the HID bulbs need led is better and in a couple years I see LED surpassing them
Andrew Muller and that being said in colder climates HID are superior to LED due to the LED bulbs not emitting enough heat to melt ice off the lens
chrome shrouds/housing have little to do with emitting light so those defects don't matter. All you have is a type of light source, a physical piece to make the cutoff line, and the lens.
Plus he made sure the output of both led and hid were both 5000k
I don't have projector housings in my cars but I have tried many different HID and LED lights in my reflector housings and I can say from experience that even though most halogen and HID bulbs are comparable between brands, LED vary greatly between quality, style and placement of the led chips.. They also have different wattage bulbs in both HID and LED. I have a set of LED bulbs in my 06 Lancer that rival my old HID bulbs any day.. It would be interesting to see what they would do in your housings.
Dear Eric
Thank you for impressive review. You spent a lot of time and efforts and deserve big admiration. I have one question. Is this Honda projector housing came originally with HID bulb or LED. I am not sure if that make any difference but I think the LED projector lens and reflector are quite different than the HID. I will really appreciate your opinion if you discovered such a difference in the shapes etc.
This proves what I have been saying for years, LED lights are only good for lights that need to be "seen", like stop lights, tail lights, marker lights, etc. They are terrible for light that needs to be "cast", bad for headlights, spot lights or street lamps. The DOT in my state has swapped out almost all of the halogen freeway lights for LED, while you can see them fine as you approach, they do not illuminate the road at all. These lights that use less energy, have come at a cost, do not perform as well and are not appropriate for all applications.
Hey Eric... A bit off the topic here... But perhaps you can answer this? Is there a way to fix the driver's side shutter on a 2008 Caddy CTS? I read that there has been an issue with the wiring to the solenoid that controls the high beam shutter on the CTS with HID Xeon bulbs. Any information or links would be great. Thanks
Mad, good work ETCG
4300K is pure white light... 5000K and definitely 6000K already start loosing output and start going to the cooler bluer temperature.
Actually 5600K is pure white, but the HID and LED spectra are not true blackbodies, so the numbers aren't very applicable to them anyway. They just use it so people can have something to get an idea for the color.
This is all true of xenon and halogen. LED lamps have a different perception, the ice from Philips is 6500K, so they have white light.
It varies.
Eric, I believe that HID lux value is not 140k, but 14k. The three dots you saw on the screen are just ellipsis, indicating that the value doesn't fit on the screen completely, but it doesn't necessarily have to be exactly three digits.
You are right in saying that HIDs are definitely brighter than Halogen bulbs. 3.5 times brighter sounds reasonable, but 35 times brighter isn't really possible. Especially since at 50ft they read only twice as bright as the halogen lights.
Agreed, Direct sunlight is between 30,000 and 100,000 lux. No way these tiny things are putting out more than the output of the sun.
Agreed
More like 1400
zaqway kinda blows his expertise out of the water. Rendering his video completely useless
That sounds about right 3.5 x brighter. Minor detail we can take in our stride.
I bet even engineering explained would be proud of such scientific test
Hey Eric, depending on the type of chip technology and layout that's inside the actual LED package, it will determine the pattern/layout and brightness of the bulb. It would be unfair to categorize all LED's under one umbrella since they are all made differently, designed differently, and perform differently. Even some halogens are like this to SOME degree but, in general, you can make a generalization with halogens. I do not have enough data about HID's or hybrids (xenon) bulbs to say whether or not generalizations can be made about them. I thought I had HID's in my system but after taking to many mechanics I found out I had a hybrid system of xenon bulbs, which is most annoying.
So my recommendation to you is to find some LED bulbs with different LED chip technologies and find some different manufacturers and use them as a good comparison.
EpicATrain I tried two brands of LEDs in my projector housings, both of them had great reviews and moderately high prices. The ones from 4x4 LEDs died in less than 3 months and had poor light output. The second pair I had got better light output but died in 11 months. I decided to have my local shop install some HIDs and it’s literally night and day. In projector housings the HIDs just throw the light so much further that it’s crazy.
Granted there could be better LEDs out there and worse HIDs out there. But it seems like for the housing the LEDs just can’t hang from my experience.
@@jmwlife2k Two different brands in housings? Wow, that's a unique study....NOT. Again, LEDS need to be in housing DESIGNED FOR THEM, NOT SHOVED INTO HOUSING DESIGNED FOR OTHER TYPES of bulbs. Just look at how they are designed.
@@f5fstop For one both LEDs were recommended for the housing I bought. Secondly I never said what happened to me is going to me the experience for everyone or it’s some great case study. I even made clear that there might have been better LEDs or worse HIDs out there. - With that said, it doesn’t change the reality of what I experienced. Why would I buy a third pair of different recommended LEDs when two failed in less than 18 months and the light output for both of them were bad?
HIDs in both experienced I had with them worked better. Stop being a weirdo product defender and learn how to read.
Pretty sure it’s going to be 14,000 not 140,000. I don’t think the amount of dots equals the number of 0’s. Great video though Eric. You’re right, it’s wayyy better than your last one.
I'm a flashlight maker (yes it's more scientific than it sounds) and I commonly work with high power LEDs. This is probably 1,400 lux since lux is just lumens per square meter, and it's spreading out over a very large area.
Well this test was done 6 years ago with some mediocre (2018) bulbs. LED technology has greatly improved over those past 6 years. Maybe give a New style LED bulbs another chance to redeem themselves? Newer bulbs Have crazy LED sizes, shapes and even configurations that you can actually adjust yourself. I personally think it would make a great re-review video.
Hate those turds driving their lifted trucks on the highway with aftermarket bulb installed HID FOGS, HEADLIGHTS and OFF ROAD lights all on running behind me.
Sky1 drive a 4miles below the speed limit and they will get frustrated and pass you up petal to the metal. easy stuff
@@Idleplayer17 Thanks, I'll do this next time. Not to annoy them of course, but to drive more safely ;)
making my last comment I didn't realize this video is from 2018. LEDs have improved so much compared to HIDs. hopefully you're doing another one of these in the future. thanks for your time
LEDs are still not recommended to be used in projector housing and still perform best in reflector housing.
Everyone is an expert in the comments apparently
when it comes to this topic and having done everything from stock reflectors to full custom retrofit HID projectors yeah I'd say so, also 5000k sucks unless you are running a 55 or 65 watt ballast, if you are on 35 watt ballasts you should be no higher then 4300k for the most light output.
As someone who deals with theatrical lighting on a regular basis, I'm not sure I see the connection between power dissipation and color temperature on non-tungsten lamps. It may be different for headlights, but this would be the first time I've seen it.
For what it's worth, 5000k tends to wash out details with its unnaturally white hue. My eyes prefer a slightly warmer temperature, which brings out details better (such as foreign objects in the roadway at night).
Again, just my $0.02 based on a loosely related field of experience.
the higher wattage ballast causes the bulb to color shift about 500k or so lower, like a 5000k bulb with a 55 watt ballast looks closer to a 4300k bulb with a 35 watt ballast then a 5000k bulb on a 35 watt ballast
AkiraTheGodEater it's Allright I'm a "UA-cam master mechanic"
You sound like an expert on experts.
Thank you for this useful information eric! I can see that a lot of effort went in to making this video.
People, PLEASE recognize what eric did in his low car. I have a low car and can't tell you how often I get blinded by people with aftermarket headlights. AIM THEM DOWN. Don't worry, we can see you, my god.
You seem to forget that headlights are to see _by_ - not just so you can see them. And just aiming them down isn't necessarily safe as, in a lower vehicle, there will always be a point where the light beam is going to be at the same height as your eyes. How about "set them correctly - both for height and horizontal aim"...?
Some people are just really dumb and point their headlights straight forward. It's actually best to aim at the road because that's what you are trying to see.
Lift your car
That point goes clearly over the heads of most people with lifted vehicles in particular. I drive a lot at night for my job, and live in the South, so I regularly encounter lifted trucks and SUV s. With the over abundance of cheap LED and HID retrofit kits on eBay and Amazon, these types also like to find the brightest (ie., most glaring) lights they can find. So anyone in a lower vehicle, like me in my Mazda 3, get a double whammy or poorly aimed, too bright headlights.
Jeff Reeves Yes the road. Not the obstructions or the pedestrians ahead, nor the oncoming traffic.
Try driving somthing really low.. Like a c5 vette, and here come the God of light truck with full hids and light bars on...
Try a Toyota MR2 even smaller, and the lights output only goes 6 -8 feet away.
U finna meet Jesus lol
HID"S all ways work better in projector headlight. LED's don't work well .
Feb 2021, even tho led has grown big (hikari, aukee, morimoto, Alla lighting, etc), I decided to go for a 40$ 6000k 55w hid kit for my 2009 tsx with stock halogen projectors. Next time could be LEDs idk
this may be old news, and you may already know this... but seeing as how it was done THIS year, im going to post it anyway. you cannot simply lump all LED bulbs into the same category. there are some out there that are terrible for projectors... no doubt (especially the cheap ones like you just tested - lasfit are complete garbage). they werent built for projector housings. however, if you do a minor amount of research, youd see that there are a ton that ARE designed specifically to work in projector housings. HID and LED bulbs that were designed for projectors will result in typically the exact same output numbers. while it is true that HID are the safe bet as no matter what... they will give consistent performance - it is still a trade off. HIDs take several seconds to 'warm up'.... you can't flash HIDs... flipping from low to high beams results in several seconds of little light. if you know what youre doing, and what youre getting, LEDs are the better alternative, but they are not all made the same.
Good informative video, ignore stupid comments, he is a mechanic not a scientist so stop acting like the video lacked information or that he done this and that wrong, if you don't like it don't watch it.
I changed my halogen projectors to hid projectors. The results are absolutely amazing! I have them adjusted properly. And I couldn't be happier. The light travels noticeably farther. And I know they are not blinding oncoming traffic. If you're getting blinded by someone's low beam HID projectors, that means they are not properly adjusted. People have them adjusted up past the level of the mark on the light housing. Those people are really the douchebags!
I know I should use HID projectors but my car already comes with halogen projectors so I guess I'll just settle instead of getting a projector retrofit. Hopefully it's not enough to make me regret it.
HID’s for LOW beams
LED for DRL/High beams
LED’s look brighter but don’t go as far.
Daytime running lights on most cars ARE low beams.
@@caseywilson9520 Most car in the early adaptation of DRL uses 'High Beam' with lower voltage for DRL. Now most vehicle uses separate DRL and/or Switchback (switches between DRL and turn signals).
early 2010, this would be the answer. 2020 ? not so much
My car has one bulb for High and Low beams.
@John Doe aftermarket lights aren't bull shit. It's just with reflectors it blinds people if not set up properly.
I got aliexpress headlight and it has total of 4 projector (hella +Q5) and my lights are amazing after adjustments
You have not used any other cars with proper led headlights. That's why you were amazed.
Damn....1 million subs....bet Eric didn't see this happening 20 years ago
I appreciate all the time and effort you put into this video. Im going with LED in my 2015 RDX
Oly problem I can see with this otherwise excellent review is that not ALL Halogen/HID/LEDs are created equal.
Not all LED bulbs are created equal, some project more light forward than others, the rated brightness is not indicative of how much light will be projected forward.
Some LED lights may do better in a reflector than a projector, and vice versa.
LEDs are overall brighter in reflector housing. Projector? Not so much. But you have to spend the money to get the better output.
@@matty1053 Totoally incorrect. OP has the proper statement. Most Led bulbs have their diode placement very far forward or at the end of the stall and this usually makes it bad for reflector housings but decent on projectors that uses to house HID.
Some brands, like Hikari found on Amazon, are developed to match halogen bulb filament placing. This makes them suitable for reflector or halogen projector. I put some in my 2008 MX5 and the improvement was vast. The projectors shot the light perfectly with no real issue except near car blind spots that you really can't see in the car. I never had to use my brights after that and was never flashed.
In addition to that my old Mx5 was better illuminated than my brand new 2019 that comes with LED from factory, in projector style headlights.
Also put same brand LEDs in a 2002 Porsche boxster with reflectors. Most European cars have projector style cut offs in their reflector housings so I tried them to make an improvement. They did make somewhat an improvement with better road illumination but overall it's a marginal improvement over halogens. Not like my MX5 where I could see down the road and off to the sides and never need brights again.
You need to do your testing in a secluded area with no lights and determine the reach of each light into the darkness. That is the thing you should be concerned with is how far the light can illuminate objects down the road. Also keep in mind the brighter a light gets the shorter the spectrum of light it emits, no matter what type of light it is
Great job Sir. I drive a new semi and need brights lights. Thank you for clearing up my questions.
Hey Eric, just want to say i love your videos and watching and learning from you has inspired me to teach myself more about automotive maintenance. Ive just started taking a automotive class and i love it! In the process I've also discovered a new interest in it. Just wanted to say thank you and keep making videos as long as you can! Thank you!
Yeah with those projector housings where that line is where nothing above it goes yeah that's usually where you can see road signs and deer and pedestrians walking that you can't see with those headlights very dangerous you need to ambient light to light up stuff on the side of the road and down the road further without blinding other drivers when you go over bumps those projectors fly up in a reflect up in the people's eyes very badly it's like you're flicking their high beams on and off when they're not I hate them I absolutely hate them
Oh shit! He marked it with a board! Damn, that is precision baby! 😂
I'm j/k
something's not right. I'd expect LEDs to be brighter than halogen
Just to note for UK readers, and motorists. Your car will fail an MOT if fitted with HID lights as fitting them is an offence, and illegal.
only if not fitted with projector headlights, lense washers and automatic leveling
Those cost 500$ plus labour. It's more convenient to run projectors and halogens inside .
very true, hence why there is a bad reputation in regards to HID's, so many people use them without the proper equipment..
Chris P Bacon charming ✌️
legal in my motorcycle headlight. different rules :-) aimed properly and i don't get any harassment. passed MOT.
I would not run random LED bulbs even in projectors as their beam pattern needs to be directly identical to HID or Halogen bulbs or else they will not project properly
140000 seems like a huge difference. It's probably 14000. Appreciate the video Eric!
Interesting. I think the reason I like the LEDs is because of the life expectancy over the other two. Have a lot of HID experience and the higher quality ones really work well and are reliable. The cheap one nope. Same with LEDs. However my question is what wattage did you use for the LEDs? I am willing to bet it was 35 watt not 50 or 55 watt which both the halogen and HIDs used (typically 55 watts). Even at 50-55 watts for the LEDs they will never equal the HID output. Good test I am surprised at the low LED output since my Ridgeline uses LEDs for all three low, high and fogs and they are the brightest output I have ever seen in any car I owned all which since 2001 were HIDs except my Ford Super Duty which I kept stock. I learned something by this vid and one by Headlight Revolution. Thanks
This was an awesome test. I'll be getting HIDs for my lights. Thank's bro.
There are two kinds of high beam, if the car got one singel projetor lens, like vw passat, there is a flap that opens inside to give you high beam. On my old 2006 saab 9-5, i got two sets of projector lenses, low beam with HID and high beam with halogen bulbs. Then i got LED auxeliry lights on high beam to give me day light at night. On my car and cars with similar set ups, it is a bad idea to instal HID kit on the high beam instead if halogen bulbs. HID lights wants to be turned on and stay on, if the are turned on and off, on and off rapidly, the ballast may overload and fail, LED will not.
l was debating what to possibly upgrade to, this video just helped me make my decision.
I think a better test would be to use lights that are all the same color frequency. I am a firm believer that the lower the frequency the better it is on your eyes (Cause less strain). I have driven for years at night and have tried all the lights out there from the regular sealed beam, Halogen, HID, and LED. My find is this. if you care?
Sealed beam: Very long lasting, but not as bright as I would like. Appear to have a short throw. Perhaps to low of a frequency, but very easy on the eyes. (from inside my van looking out onto the road.)
HALOGEN: Very nice light, keeping with a lower frequency but also giving the appearance of greater distance of light than the sealed beam.
HID: Nice lights very bright and long throwing. Not made for regular light housing though. Must have a projector for these bad boys. Again the only color frequency I could get was 5000+ and this I find hard on the eyes when driving long distances at night. I always got flashed by oncoming traffic with these lights installed.
LED: These lights are still in their infancy. Some car makers like Mercedez, Audi, BMW, and so forth have spent millions to developing their LED lights to make them work pretty good but there is still a long way to go. No one should ever think that buying a LED bulb and putting it into their headlights will have lights like the above-mentioned cars. A little FYI for everyone. LEDs are best reflected out to the road rather than pointed at the road.
In other words, LED lights need a lot of reflective control and can NOT use the same housing you use for your Halogen head lights. Check out J.W. Speaker head lights Now look at the difference between them and your head lights. (LED version)
Love the video Eric glad to see you back and moving forward. later buddy.
There are changes in the Fstop and the "time" of the light meter app... Shouldn it be the same for every step? As a photographer there is big difference in the F stops, for example ?
That's the recommended aperture (and shutter speed next to it) for the light conditions measured
There's a real problem with modern car LED & HID projector car headlamps on all new cars, they sit too high, they're blinding oncoming driver's, they cause absolute havoc on the roads specifically more with older drivers at night.
One can't tell whether they're dipped and they constantly flash at you all the time so you think the driver is flashing lights at you there's a problem here and it needs to be acknowledged
The housings can and should be adjusted properly so as not to blind others. It's just people dont always take the time.
Great comparison, yes it could have been done in a more controlled environment but give this guy a break. Normal bloke in a normal car in a normal environment. In my opinion this is a cracking comparison, thank you very much.
It's worth mentioning that some aftermarket headlight upgrades are too hot for the stock reflector housings. I've seen cheaper eBay hid kits in an early 2000's Pontiac and the bulbs we're so hot during normal usage, the stock housings melted just enough for the bulbs to fall half way out. I had to replace the whole mess and pull out the hid kits and go back to stock with new housings too. Maybe you you could run the hid kits for 6 months and report back if they melted the plastic in yours too.
Peshewa diy I'm confused HID lights by fact run more cooler than a halogen, think you got some nice fakes haha
they should, because of quality, if you buy a 35W its no problem, but most promise "better visibility" and "bright white light", yet a cheap ballast will never give you a nice white light like the Osram or Phillips HIDs, in order to compete they are forced to give you a 55W ballast to give a similar light...again you may get better visibility compared to the cheap 35W, but will never get the white light the 35w Osram and Phillips gives in OEM cars today. and with a cheap 55w ballast and bulb, they would melt your housing just like a 55w halogen would because they give off much more heat and don't give you twice as much output, no reason ever to go 55W because its too hot for plastic, you run the chances of messing up your cars electrical system and melting the housing, besides the lifespan is already short, why reduce it in half for a 55W? sorry its a little long
logan thompson
My customers may have, yes. However, I've seen it several times.
Something I would be curious about in HID vs halogen too. Some plastic housings will not tolerate a halogen upgrade over standard without melting. Also Ebay is probably not the best source of good quality. Some really rubbish stuff sold as premium product thanks China!
For my money, LEDs are the way to go. The 5K white light gives you the clarity to see perfectly well with a comparable brightness to halogens (but superior spectrum of reflected light actually gives greater perceived brightness from the driver seat). The moderate brightness also is a benefit since you won't be blinding that driver speeding towards you in the oncoming lane. Best of both worlds.
Please do not use hid or led in reflector housing.. The glare is terrible. Also people with hazy headlights+led/hid are even worse.
Preach it!!
Nah bro we’re good I love blinding other drivers it’s funny af when they rage then they get scared when they see how big of a penis I have and back off
Hence my Navigator. I did not see any projectors in the reflector housings and they seemed stock to me.
hmm I did not know that. I assumed it was LED since the interior had LEDS all in it.
Nah people are gonna do whatever they want to sorry pal
Wish I watched this video before getting led's lol
I did the same mistake. First LED's that I have ever bought after buying HID kits before. Now I'm waiting for my HID kit to arrive.
What kind of LEDs you using if a regular halogen bulb can produce more light?
Aren't projectors also have many different type? Like projector for halogen is different than projector for HID and also LED.
Andri Herawan Yes. Different light sources have different projectors.
Ted R. Okay, now which type of projector does he use in this video?
an Ebay halogen projector, the worst one you can get
To be fair, it's not the worst. Some of those eBay projectors have that crazy ring of darkness through them. These are at least not TERRIBLE.
Exactly, if he’s using a halogen projector housing, then it’s not really scientific. LED light will scatter in a halogen projector and HIDs won’t put out the intended output, etc etc etc
Nice job, Eric. Until the leds get there with the halogens, i'll keep the halogens. The hids are wayy too bright. The hids would be better suited to places where there's no lights, like out in the country, with little to no traffic. They're too bright for city driving.
It's really good to see you back and posting on ETCG. Thanks man.
The bulbs were matched for 5000k but what was the wattage on the LED bulbs? Does this matter? I am about to buy a different car and it has projectors. I saw on amazon that there are different Lumen outputs on LED bulbs. Would this affect your tests or would halogen still out perform LED? Lastly, if halogens were put in this vehicle stock with projector lamps, what would I have to change to convert to HID's ? Thanks
Great video mate, can tell from making videos myself the time and effort which has gone into this video👌🏻 top class job💪🏻
Modded my 4Runner Projectors stock H11 Halogen bulbs to fit H9 Halogen bulbs, I get much whiter and brighter light. No need to mess with HID ballasts or junky LED bulbs.
"High beams, low beams, high beams, low beams."
Colonel Jack O'Neill did a similar test on Thor's ship, the Daniel Jackson. "Light's on, light's off, light's on, lights off..." Thor, T'ealc and Daniel were understandably unimpressed. :o)
....What?
Excellent video, you did a FAR better job than I could have done. It's interesting that the glare that people are knee-jerk "warning" about with the HID retrofit in these projector housings is no more than with a Halogen bulb. I did a comparison of the "cheap" H3 LED bulbs on my Expedition's spyder auto projector lights today and found all of them lacking, So, HID is getting ordered. Damn, my BMW's factory xenon lights got me spoiled :D
just wanted to add my 5ct.. Actually lux or lux-o-meter is used to measure brightness of light on the surface, for example it is mainly used for measuring how bright is the surface of the sign of the supermarket or exmpl. coca cola sign. So when you were measuring the effect from a car that mainly may have had an effect on the reading, because accuracy of the reading in luxometer depends on the angle of the light that is projected to the sensor it self. In this case it would be better to use a lumen meter, as it is the most accurate metering device for light output from the source. BUT!, just for a comparisement this was an awesome test Eric, thank you.
Those projectors are commonly known as "bi-xenon" projectors, so named for the HID headlight assemblies that use them to get both low and high beam from a single HID xenon capsule, since firing the capsule on and off as with normal halogen low/high beams can drastically shorten the life of the HID capsules. This is the first time I've ever seen them in an aftermarket assembly designed for halogen bulbs.
The mid-2000's Nissan Maxima used a single halogen projector with a solenoid on the cutoff shield like this, along with a similar bi-xenon HID projector housing on the HID equipped cars (same projectors as used by the mid-2000's Mercedes E55, which I used in my Integra bi-xenon retrofit back in 2004).
It all depends on what LED you use.. they vary greatly.. the one you got was as shitty as you can possibly find.. also a 55w hid will always kill every other option
Just gonna say that this video clearly shows why you need to have the correct focusing elements for your bulbs. These are for HID bulbs. With the LEDs and Halogens the hotspots are in a different place, the cutoff isn't as clean, and the spread is different. All of those things make a huge difference on how much you actually see when driving down the road.
Much better video
Just proves that HID's are still king 😎 LEDs are perfect for brake and tail lights because they turn on instantly but I always prefer HID's for headlights.
my Corolla's stock LED bulbs are just as bright as HID, he's using shitty aftermarket bulbs.
Wesley Green If you have a new 2014+ Corolla then no. Proper testing will prove that an OEM HID projector system of the same time beats it in glare levels, foreground, distance, and width. Also, most OEM HID projector systems are bi-xenon.
I think LED comes out on top when it's done right. Led's dont' work the same way halogen's and hid's do, they require different housing requirements. If you want to see what LED is capable of look at either car's that come stock with them, or the sealed beam LED's. Both of these offer engineers the chance to properly heatsink the led's and crank the power up.
I bought some headlights with integrated LEDs for low/high beams. They came with a warning that they make sound while operating because there is a fan that has to cool things. The only reason they don't seem as bright as the stock bixenons is because they are ~6000k while the stocks were closer to ~4500k
So YOU'RE the guy who is always blinding me on the road! >:(
I PREFER HID BETTER BRIGHTER, ALSO WELL EXPLAINED AND SHOWN ON VIDEO!!👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
And doesn’t last long... at all
I wonder whether the low lux reading of the LED’s is due to LED’s flicking on and off so quickly. The camera may pick this up, where we don’t? Just a thought. Great video though!
Awesome vid, man! LEDs are just a tad dimmer than halogens but, IMO, you cant beat that white. HIDs are great but too expensive, and maybe too bright. Few people actually need that amount of light, unless you're off-roading in the middle of a new moon night.
ComandanteJ I nightly drive Florida back roads, so I really do need that bright of a light. Deer are a serious issue here, and with my stock lights I could barely see the sides of the roads
Well, that's definetely a justified use-case, then. Bambies are a dangerous lot.
Off in a tangent I know, but as the driver of an MX-5, every single vehicle with LED headlights driving toward me completely blinds me. The higher the vehicles lights are, the worse it is.
I hate cars that has HID and Xenon, they just blind you as opposit driver. just stick with Halogen or LED
hendrik jan People that put aftermarket LEDs in their halogen housings will still blind people just as much as people that put HIDs i their halogen housings. OEM hid systems will properly light the road for the driver, and it will not produce much glare. Some exceptions are there, but for the most part OEMs are pretty good at their job. OEMs include: Koito, Stanley Lighting, Valeo, Ichiko, Philips, Osram, and there are a few others that I cannot remember.
Just look away. It’s your fault for looking directly at the light lmao.
@ericthecarguy just picked up my first car the other day for $2k. 2000 Acura 3.5 RL with 93k on the speedometer everything is a1 but the headlight got ripped out along as messed up some of the fender and bumper and going to have to replace the headlight
Somehow 140k lux sounds like way too much. Sure this wasn't some measuring fault? Could you repeat that measurement and get that high a number each time? Sounds quite unbelievable...
I'm guessing it was 14K, which still is a bit hard to believe.
Needs to get a better app, it was probably 14k.
WHTMAN0815 he has a light reading attachment he's not using the physical phone to read the light
WHTMAN0815 even if he was using the phone, he measured all of the lights consistently with the same device. Rather than getting super accurate numbers, I think the point was more about comparing the three different light sources to each other. For that purpose, the phone app is fine.
The Ranch Mechanic yes but his numbers for the hid light are definitely not right haha but great video
Not cool.. I just bought need headlights and bulbs. I looked for a good video for different types of bulbs. Wish I had this video yesterday. Haha great video.
Aww man... I thought we were going to watch movies.
Geez, I can't freaking believe people wouldn't use common sense and think that halogen housings refer to...halogen housings, as in, you should only use halogen bulbs, even if they're not named like that, we've come to a pussyfying of single damn thing, nice job Eric, I feel for you to have to clarify every single stupid thing because of idiots with a holier-than-thou complex.
Well unfortunately they make halogen projectors as well, not just reflector based, and most people just buy kits like Eric did and throw bulbs in said projectors that aren't designed for it. Eric was right to make the correction regardless.
Christian Lamey I know that, it's because its obvious that I feel like it shouldn't be clarified, and never did I say it wasn't Okay from him to clarify such, I said he shouldn't have to
*_jesus christ those trash chinese projectors give out the shittiest beam pattern. poverty beam_*
My Eyeeeesssss!!!!...
J ROD baaald baaaald baaald
should be noted not all "projector headlights" are created equal, unless you did a proper retrofit of a good projector you are likely running a projector that was still designed for Halogen bulbs which would skew the results, this is also likely due to the odd cutoff pattern of the high beams, I've had projectors that actuated like that which did not have that cutoff issue, I suggest checking somewhere like TheRetroFitSource.com where you can get proper HID projectors, yes these projectors you have now are far superior to running the HIDs and LED's in the stock reflector housing's but it's still not good quality.
DanielRichards644 those headlights use H7 projectors which generally work well with HID. Indeed the HID beam pattern in the video looked quite good compared to the halogen. Even beam spread and very little glare. They look almost like Bosch H7 projectors which work excellent with D2S HID bulbs.
SUMMARY:
Halogen bulbs @ 9 feet: 3,951 lux
Halogen bulbs @ 50 feet: 129 lux
Halogen bulbs low-beam glare inside car: 11 lux
Halogen bulbs high-beam glare inside car: 106 lux
-
HID bulbs @ 9 feet: 14,000 lux (not 140K)
HID bulbs @ 50 feet: 301 lux
HID bulbs low-beam glare inside car: 11 lux
HID bulbs high-beam glare inside car: 233 lux
-
LED bulbs @ 9 feet: 2,704 lux
LED bulbs @ 50 feet: 101 lux
LED bulbs low-beam glare inside car: 7 lux
LED bulbs high-beam glare inside car: 122 lux
LED bulbs are notoriously bad for headlight use. They spread out light wayyyy too much to be usable in such an application.
Hi Eric.....
Thanks for shedding some light on that for us 💡💡
Great content & very informative as usual.
nice to know very informative vidoe, can't explain it any better.Some dodo birds here commenting seems like they know better.But are clueless of what they are saying
One point I would like to make to your test. Although this is a very good test, the LED lights are at a great disadvantage because when you sit any aftermarket LED bulb in a projector housing, it is not in the correct position to give you the maximum output. The LED chips do not produce a full 360° light dispersion even if you have 4 large chips that cover the entire bulb. The chips project the light perpendicular, whereas the HID and the halogen project the light forward, backward, and around all sides of the reflector within the projector housing. To get the maximum output the light source needs to be at a specific focal point inside the reflector parabola. You will notice that if you take something like an H1 bulb and move it forward and backward in a reflector parabola (just the part that has the reflective surface) made for a H4 bulb the light output will fluctuate until you get it at the right focal point where the light will be able to hit the immediate surrounding surfaces of the reflector and project it forward as a concentrated beam of light.
Thanks for your input. If you watch the other video linked in the description you'll see that the results of the LED are typical. The light for LED is not as intense as HID.
Yes. Watched that just now. The LED lights are a lot tougher to maximize the light output using after market bulbs. If you were to compare Audi's matrix LEDs or those from Mercedes multibeam LEDs.....or even one from a Mazda CX-9, you'd see the output is 10 times greater than what any aftermarket LED bulb could duplicate because the factory LED set up don't use actual bulbs like H11, HB4, etc. as far as I know. The LED chip is mounted to a board and several mirrors are used to get the LED to project in a true 360° pattern (forward, backward, and around all sides). A test comparison between the 3 bulbs that would be a bit more fair where all the bulbs would equal would be to make the HID and halogen bulb similar to that of the LED by preventing some of the light from going forward, backward, and masking off 2 sides depending on how many LED chips you have. That would be a bit extreme though.
ua-cam.com/video/2FwdoXpNBSI/v-deo.html
Great video! Agree w/14k and not 140k. I can certainly buy that HID's are best because they burn at much higher temperatures therefore the light being hard and not soft like LED's. Think I'll do HID for headlights and LED for fogs.
Eric💖 welcome back
A bliding video...
I didn't see that one coming!
You really didn't see that one coming? To me it was glaringly obvious.
This comment shines.
So! It's okay to put HID's in a projector housing assembly? I have a Hyundai genesis 2.0t base model and the low beams are halogen and the high beams are HID. But I want new headlamps and they say i cant have HID in projector housing. Can someone help me out with this?
LED for sure. Best light while being kind to other drivers
WashingTone incorrect, all depends on the housing and if you level it correctly.
SuperDuty Zack 9
I have the same Element and headlights, I am running XKglow 76 Watt Super Bright LED Headlight Error-free Conversion Kit. Best mod I have done thus far.
XSeVeNX7 I
Hi Eric, excellent video. Entertaining and informative. Quick question though... What Wattage are you using for the HID kit? Eg. 35W or 55W
Same question for the LEDs.
Thanks
All bulbs used are linked in the description.
For aftermarket LED this is a fair test. but a car that comes stock with LED headlights they are not in a projector housing, but in a small reflector housing again and are much brighter than HID headlights.
Eric the Car Guy meets Engineering Explained
Eric looking at some IPCW aftermarket hid lights for my 07 Dakota. I been doing a lot of night time driving and really getting annoyed with my lights even after changing the bulbs. They’re $271 commitment, and thoughts or other ideas I could find for the 07 dodge Dakota?
theres nothing brighter then a HID in a properly aimed projector housing and if you have halogen housings, halogens should be the only bulbs used unless you upgrade to a projector housing.
ltwargssf R these are H7 projectors which usually work pretty well with D2S bulbs. The beam pattern looks sort of like Bosch H7 projectors which I know work excellent with HID. Not like 9006 projectors lol those are total crap with HID.
deja vu man deja vu... seriously though, light output measurements aside; which did you prefer when driving? eg. on a back road, on a well lit road, and with oncoming traffic?
Please lower the font size on the phone (so all the digits fit on screen) and do the HID test again... 140000 is just not reasonable
Agreed re. it being an unreasonable number...the dots just means there's at least one additional digit that didn't fit the screen, but not necessarily a digit for each dot. However, just assume there's a 0 at the end of each (making it between 1400 and 1409 lux) and that's good enough for a test like this.
So the 3951 reading was just bullocks?
Not ALL PROJECTORS, HIDS, AND LEDS are equal. The world of automotive lighting and optics is pretty vast and while generally decent information this video is not concrete
Hi beams go on, hi beams go off, hi beams go on, hi beams go off, hi beams go on, hi beams go off
Thank you for revisiting this topic.
Can everyone please stop ricing out your pos by throwing "HIDs" in the stock reflector housings. Thanks.
For a more in depth explanation check out this forum post:
www.clubroadster.net/vb_forum/20-exterior/69869-hid-lights-reflector-housings-reminder-some-you-out-there.html#/topics/69869?_k=nxdr4r