Has anyone ever tried LED headlights?

[jcboy]

LED lights are usually not wide-angle, theyre directional. that's why position matters when people retrofit their car interior lights with such. (try it yourself, im not talking about ready-made replacement lights, rather just LEDs + DIY). glare shouldnt be an issue, but a lot of careful attention should be put into this when using as headlights.

oh, and the heat, that's actually where the HIDs win hands down over them, and the distance of light projected. light output vs. current, LEDs win by a small margin. the thing is LEDs don't produce UV light, which can cause a little bleaching on the thinner (aka newer cars LOL) reflectors.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by jcboy

LED lights are usually not wide-angle, theyre directional. that's why position matters when people retrofit their car interior lights with such. (try it yourself, im not talking about ready-made replacement lights, rather just LEDs + DIY). glare shouldnt be an issue, but a lot of careful attention should be put into this when using as headlights.

oh, and the heat, that's actually where the HIDs win hands down over them, and the distance of light projected. light output vs. current, LEDs win by a small margin. the thing is LEDs don't produce UV light, which can cause a little bleaching on the thinner (aka newer cars LOL) reflectors.

That is a purpose made headlight. We're talking about just a simple bulb swap here.

But yes, placement matters with LEDs if you don't get a wide spreading one. I took a few minutes to get the lighting right in our Camry (using just a simple, 6 SMD board in the lone (dome) interior light. The same with my ex's Civic (all three interior lights in her car). lol


LEDs do produce a lot of heat if not properly heat sinked or if too much voltage is running through them. I have LEDs in my car. Those are properly made, so they don't run hot. However, on my first attempt to make a macro photography ring light, I over powered the LEDs, and they were HOT within a minute or two. I had to modify the battery case to run lower wattage. All cool now. haha

[invader166]

I came across this article today. It looks like the new LED bulb designs may have cought up to the regular halogen ones. Mind you, quality replacement bulbs like these are not cheap, but it may be an easier non-glare solution then doing a projector retrofit with HID.

http://www.xenondepot.com/Philips-12...eview-s/62.htm