blizzard78

Hey guys, I am new to this forum and also want to throw out a disclaimer that i know not much about cars.

I just purchased an 2014 Acura TL Elite black/black and really want to replace the original headlights with some LED headlights. The 2014 MDX has LED's and they look nice. Wanted somethign similar for my TL. Any idea where I could get them from?

ABDomega

Unless the MDX housings are completely swappable with your car (which I doubt) you'll probably need to buy the LEDs separately and retrofit them into your existing housings.

blizzard78

I don't know if I could do that by myself. I was hoping I could just buy new headlights with the LEDs all in place already from somewhere?

potmilkz

i dont think YOU are able to do it.. but i think a professional can.. it has to be completely fabricated from scratch between 2014 tl headlight housing and 2014 MDX internal led assembly..

the whole set up can cost you about $2000+ for for parts and labor. maybe more depending on how much the 2014 MDX headlight cost..

if i were you i drop this idea.. its way too expensive.

ABDomega

Unfortunately such thing doesn't exist right now. I'm sure there will be in the future but LED head lamps are kind of a new technology and OEMs had some hurdles getting them to market (namely figuring a way to cool the things since they tend to run hot).


Most likely too expensive and without that much of a payoff since the output on our stock HIDs is pretty solid. This seems to be a rather costly and largely cosmetic upgrade.

ItzRocky

You cant change your look of the TL to the MDX Bug Eye look but you can change your High Beams/DRLs to a LED bulb and your side marker and blinkers to LED. Thats the only thing you can do.

carbonTSEX

Could of waited for the TLX as it will have the Led headlights your MDX has.

potmilkz

lol get a tlx.. problem solved

blizzard78

LOL only reason I didn't wait was because i got a deal on a demo!

I'm hoping within the year there will be OEM options for me!

blizzard78

where would you recommend I pick these up from. I know nothing lol

Brock79

[QUOTE=ABDomega;14971517]Unfortunately such thing doesn't exist right now. I'm sure there will be in the future but LED head lamps are kind of a new technology and OEMs had some hurdles getting them to market (namely figuring a way to cool the things since they tend to run hot.

Where did you get this info of running to hot from? You cam touch an LED bulb directly with your hand after 8 hours of running them. LEDs have been around in cars for years in tail lights anyways as an OEM product. T.V.s have had LED screens for quite awhile now as well. I have had LED lights over my fish tank for the past 5 years and they run 12 hours a day and feel the temp feels the same from the minute they turn on as it does 12 hours later. There is literaly no heat to speak of. The problem has been creating a bright enough/ high wattage LED that won't burn out and that can be driven through a vehicles power source. Most LEDs range from .5 - 3 watts per diode. That wasn't enough to light up a roadway at night.

kickarsmann

@Broke LED's do not run hot, and yes you can touch the diode after 8 hours, however the diode is what's sensitive to heat, I believe their limits are 150F and they need a heatsink to cool that part down.
The LED's in your TV, fish tank light don't use a lot of wattage compared to a set of headlights. Headlights have a bigger diode thus causing more heat. I have installed a set of VLED's for my TL fog lights, they come with a heatsink in the back and a mini ballast to monitor voltage. It matches my OEM headlights perfectly, both white and the ground is now white while driving at night. It's not as bright as HID's nor cheap, but I wanted to try something new. They cost 130 shipped from vleds.com 2100 Lumens.

ABDomega

kickarsmann answered it best. There is a difference between low output LEDs (you're referring to) and the ones OP is asking about.

If you look at all the new LED headlamps they either use massive heatsinks or (in the case of the aftermarket LEDs) have fans installed. I know no example of a halogen or HID setup that requires either cooling mechanism, do you?

Brock79

If both of you would have read what I wrote entirely, you would have seen that I mentioned the car LEDs being higher wattage. My fish tank lights have heat sinks as well, though they are useless as the cooling fan never even comes on. This would be the same for LEDs in cars, yes they will come with heat sinks but, they most likely won't even be used any where near capacity. Look at car amplifiers and the heat sinks on them and how hot they run. LEDs will never get that hot unless they come out with some monster sized diode at 50 watts or higher. I don't remember the correct breakdown but I think it's something like a 3 watt LED is equal to a 20-25 watt light bulb in par output. Also par is what the lights are measured in as far as intensity, that goes for any light. I'm still waiting for plasma lighting to be introduced into vehicles.

ABDomega

Please reference the link below to for more detailed information regarding my initial assertion.

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/show...mal-Management

Perhaps my verbiage ("run hot") wasn't wholly accurate but it doesn't take anything away from the fact that thermal management (whether the heat comes from internal or ambient sources) was and is a concern when converting to LED.

I agree, LED are more efficient (create more light with less energy and less heat as a side effect) but they have a tendency to fail when they overheat and that fact cannot be overlooked.