stella31

I have searched a bit but have not found any conclusive answer. Is there an LED bulb that is brighter than the current halogen we use as our stock DRL? I am trying to find a brighter beam for the high beam. I put in LEDs and the color matches well to the switchback parking lights, and as I had read and knew in advance the high beams become virtually useless. I put in HID foglights and although they work well the lights still seem to point low and are not very bright. I am going to try adjusting the headlights up a bit to increase visibility.

Point of my ramble: do any of you know if there is a way to have an LED 9005 bulbs that are brighter than Halogens, even if they have to be custom fab'd?

wreak

I don't have a concrete answer for you but my understanding is that LED's can definitely appear brighter to the eye, but do not project light onto the road as well. Since DRL are more for other drivers to see you I would say in this case LED's would be superior. Now if we were talking actual low beams lights the halogens would be superior since they would light the road better. That's my 2 cents.

stella31

Ok that is what I was thinking as well. I have the LED from IJDMtoy and it definitely looks better but I'm trying to go for a very bright high beam. I also do not want to lose the color of the bulb though so I am looking for a very bright LED/Halogen that projects but it also white.

Hogan9166

iTrader: (1)

Halogen won't work, if you also want a white color for the DRL. The lower voltage running the light for DRL purposes is what causes the lights to look yellow. I have silverstars in mine and they still look yellow until running full voltage for high beam purposes.

potmilkz

fact is.. led are not brigher than halogens.. its a fact..

i have LED DRL's and they are useless as highbeams..

sockpuppet

There was an article I read recently...not sure where...that talked about the new PIAA fogs and driving lights. Seems they've designed them rear-facing, and designed the reflector so that the maximum amount of light is projected forward. Supposed to be pretty good (at least according to the article), however that does us little good, as they are only available as a complete assembly (with housing).

wreak

Ahh no it's not a fact that halogens are "brighter" than LED's, it all depends on bulb types...too many factors to take into account to make that statement. Besides halogens are ancient technology which we've already reached the limits of, LEDs on the other hand are still relatively new to the market and continue to get better year after year. There's a reason you're seeing cities replace all their halogens with LED's in just about everything and a reason car manufactures have begun using them as oem equipment.

At the moment running aftermarket LED lights as anything other than DRL's or taillights is pointless when considering what's on the market right now. But give it 10-15 years and I think you'll see some huge steps forward in automotive LED low beam and high beam lighting.

keith7120

I have vleds led and they are brighter than the imdjtoy led because they are 15w as opposed to 5w. They are also white instead of the bluish color. So in this case, they match the halogen in brightness. However, in hi-beam mode they are basically useless. I'm ok with this because my HID fogs give me plenty of brightness.

wreak

A big factor as to why they're useless as high beams is because it's no different than tossing an HID kit into a headlamp designed for halogen bulbs, the reflectors in the headlamps aren't designed to work with LEDs so they will do a shit job of projecting the light they produce.

potmilkz

wreak, you do know that i am referring to just drl/turn signal lights in general.. you are stating your facts as a whole.. while im stating it related to just car bulbs.

side by side you will know.. there is a reason why your able to look at a led bulb straight up and it wont hurt your eyes as oppose to looking straight at a halogen bulb and that shit makes you want to turn the other way.

prime example.. HID bulbs are still considered a type of halogen and not LED.

wreak

Well your prime example is a little strange since HID lights are not a type of halogen...HID's don't even have a filament...

Car LED's, street light LED's, flashlight LED's, doesn't matter, same wattage halogen vs LED the LED produces a brighter light, look it up. But like I said before with what's available now for the TL low beam and high beam nothing is available that will beat HID or halogen.

stella31

I did the LED DRL and it exactly what you guys are saying, nice in color, useless for high beams. I also put in the HID fogs, would you guys recommend changing the lens to maximize light output? I know it isnt going to be like daylight but going from my 3g TL full tint to a 4G TL only rear tints i still feel like visibility is horrible...

Thanks for all the replies and info as well! I appreciate all of the input

Domm

I personally wanted to thank you for this reply. You took the words from my mouth.

LEDs use a lot less power than any other bulb, but LEDs using a third of the wattage will be brighter than a fluorescent or halogen. However, in terms of a bulb for cars, LEDs cannot be brighter due to size restrictions and price. You can save 2/3rd of the power using LEDs to light a garage or warehouse, but it'll cost you close to x20 the price ($80 led vs $4-10 fluorescent bulb). However, LEDs will last beyond the life of the car or even a house (if it is a quality led).

wreak

No problem! Glad I could help. I just noticed last night that the concept for the new Acura RLX includes what Acura is calling Diamond LED headlights. They might be one of the first brands to actually successfully use LED tech on low beam and high beam headlights. Should be interesting to see if the RLX actually launches with those headlamps or not.

Mr Marco

Jesus H Christ Acura! WTF? ^That looks really stupid.^ I can't wait for the first journalist to write "Four (8) Eyes" as a nickname for this new ride. Acura, did you learn nothing from the "Beak?"

wreak

It's just a concept so definitely don't take it at face value, but it's certainly possible the headlights might remain.

Treblig

The new Accord offers LED headlights.

wreak

It just has DRL LED's which even KIA have in their cars now, it doesn't have low beam or high beam LED's.

Mr Marco

-ODD So than what is up with the multiple lights? Why not have ONE bigger (maybe wider) lens to cover the surface rather than the "lighthouse lenses" look?

wreak

You quoted me when I was responding to Treblig's comment about the 2013 Accord.

The car pictured further up is the RLX concept, I couldn't tell you why they went with the lighthouse design, it might have something to do with beam pattern for the LED technology or it might just be a stylistic thing, hard to say.

Treblig

Looking at the brochure as I type this:

Accord Touring - LED Headlights with auto on/off

wreak

My mistake, I stand corrected, the highest end 2013 Accord (touring model) does in fact use LED DRL and LED projectors (a Honda first).





I wish they would've incorporated that into the 2012 TL refresh.

ceb

It is all in the housing. A LED can certainly produce a respectable amount of lumens but unless the housing is designed for that type light it becomes useless - just like putting a HID bulb in a halogen housing (even if it is a "projector" beam design.)

Each light source requires its own specially designed housing.