LED headlight bulbs?

[Mailman]

I've put tint on all my exterior lights and it looks really good with my black graphics. AFAIK my headlight bulbs could be oem '05's. I could use a little more brightness for night driving. Has anybody installed LED's as a replacement. How are they? Worth the $$$? I ask because I see they run from $30 to over $200. Thanks for any info................the Mailman

 

[Robert Larimer]

Yes you can put LED's into halogen housings. Cost has little bearing on their effectiveness or quality either. The best focused beams are with ones that put the leds as close to the location of the halogen filaments as possible. Look for ones with a thin blade with leds on both sides and fan cooling. You will be shocked at how much whiter and brighter they are.

 

[Mailman]

I see those run about $80. Are you using them? They seem to fall on the low end of the pricey ones. I've seen others at about 1/2 that price, but no idea of comparative quality. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Robert Larimer]

I am using these ($40) and they have good focus but the high beam is not really usable...it's too high. I really don't care about the high beam and the low beam is bright and focused. I think most of these are pretty much the same regardless of price. I do know you want this type though. I have tried 4 sided and others and they just don't focus well in reflector housings.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CMN3NL2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Mailman]

I saw them on Amazon. I'll probably wait til spring. Thanks for the help.

 

[roddy]

I've been looking for somewhere to drop this...looks like a good place...

 

[Mailman]

?????????

 

[Pentalab]

I tried HID's. High bean was ineffective.... regardless of vertical adjustment. (6mm allen key required).
On high beams, they use magnets to pull back the hid bulbs a tiny bit. After 1 yr, the magnet crapped out on the pass side. No big issue since the high beam function was useless at best. Low beam operation was superb. Then the low beam hid crapped out on the drivers side.

Pissed off, bought premium brand leds. Low beams were superb. Again, high beams useless. 6 months later, the low beam craps out on pass side. Went back to oem halogens, zero issues after that..and at least the high beams work.

 

[roddy]

?????????

That's me when someone using LEDs in halogen housings is coming at me from the other direction. Your tint should cut that down to some degree.

 

[Mailman]

I don't want to sound too hopeless, but even this time of year I'm rarely out past dark and the Mustang is pretty much parked and covered. But, I do get what you're talking about, roddy. There are some seriously bright lights out there on some rigs. I'll get out on a dark back road and really do some testing with what I got. I really don't want to drop a C-note on something I don't need. But, FWIW, I do live in one of the most highly populated areas for whitetails in the country. I couldn't count how many close calls I've had over the years, mostly at night. If I thought a set of LED's could prevent one road kill, I'd get them tomorrow!

 

[Conway Hunt]

Mailman - Pentalab's frustration is echoed by many on the forum. I too have experimented with LEDs but have been frustrated by final fit tolerance of bulb-to-receptacle alignment. If the LED blades do not align perfectly vertical, the result is unsatisfactory. After many expensive trial & errors I'm happy with

Sylvania H13 SilverStar Ultra Halogen Headlight Bulbs

available at Walmart, Autozone & Advanced Auto roughly $44/pair. At 77 yrs old, my night vision is not the best, but you will be confident with these. Good Luck!

 

[ApexRaceParts]

05-09 reflector housings are tough with LEDs, I never could get a set adjusted to where I felt they were meaningfully better than high-powered halogen bulbs. On a different vehicle, the same LED bulb has been awesome and much brighter/cleaner cutoff than halogens (reflector housing as well).

With whatever set you get, make sure the bases are adjustable so you can rotate them as needed to get the "correct" beam pattern.

 

[Mailman]

Thanks for the reply, Conway. I like hearing from other 'vintage' drivers (I'm 73). I probably will stick with era-appropriate bulbs and I just had a set of those Sylvanias in my hand at Autozone the other day. My birthday is in April and I'll probably put a pair of them on the wish list I give to Mrs. Mailman.
On another note: we just got back from early dinner at my buddy's restaurant, where I got to see his brand new Chevy Z71 monster truck. Too bad it had just gotten out of the body shop with less than 400 miles on it after he whacked a big doe with it less than a mile from his house!!!!! Hood, fender, door. I didn't ask how much $$$.

 

[Juice]

Based on my experience with 4 vehicles, I have LED headlamps in all. The two sided ones are the way to go. But you have to 'clock' the bulb so it is vertical. And it can be vertical 2 ways, in other words, can be installed "upside down". So if your beams suck, try turning them 180*.

The two sided ones work great on both hi/lo. Nobody flashes me on low beams at night, so no "my eyes", and I love the hi beams when needed. lol.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Lasfit makes a solid led headlamp.