New Headlights !

[billt460]

Just to be clear, I'm not saying that YOU are being a source of blinding light (a menace) on the road but there are plenty that are in my area. Every time I'm on a long (1 hr +) drive at night I run into at least a couple "high-beams on" (or poorly aimed) blinders but most of the issue (at least 10x more) is from the LED headlight upgrade crowd and "big ball swingin" pickup trucks........

So what? Do you think you're experiencing anything different than everyone else? Look, enough of the petty whining. I get glare all the time from other cars driving at night, everyone has.

Especially out here, where this time of year people are pulling big boats, heavy toy haulers, and RV's.... With most of them having excessive tongue weight that puts their low beams right into peoples line of vision.

Learn to deal with it. What the hell do you guys do when you drive east in the morning, or west in the afternoon? Yell at the Sun?

If you're so against these LED replacement bulbs, then write a letter to the DOT, and let them be on the receiving end of your whining and complaining. They have the authority to do something about it. But they won't because the free market allows these replacement LED bulbs to be sold.

And they will continue to be. Regardless of how much you, or anyone else complains about it, or think they shouldn't.... Here's another news flash. Every car ever built in the last half century plus has 2 sun visors, along with a "night" setting for the rear view mirror. Learn how to use them. That's what they are there for. To keep glare out of your eyeballs.

People aren't going to kowtow to submit to your petty, personal demands, of what you think they should or shouldn't be doing to the lighting of their vehicles. Just to appease you and your overly delicate vision.

Sorry, but it doesn't work that way. If someone's headlights are that bad, they'll get pulled over and ticketed. It's only a matter of time. Then they will either change or adjust them.

I can't believe all the silly crying and whining, along with all the demands that have been going on in this thread for the last 2 pages. The petty arrogance I've been reading in this thread is all but laughable. Christ almighty, what the hell do you guys do when you're faced with a real problem?

 

[martinq]

Wow, someone seems extra sensitive today.

Nothing to be concerned about if you're a knowledgeable and considerate driver. My only expectation is that other drivers are not putting lives at risk.

 

[Spring Break '92]

I am aware of the retrofit systems like the Morimoto. Good luck with that. Not only are you going to need to remove the headlights - which to be fair, in some cases is cake, but you're going to have to separate the lenses from the housings which are likely old and brittle. One look at used headlights on Ebay will reveal many assemblies with broken mounting tabs.

You would probably be better off buying some aftermarket DOT assemblies and installing the retrofits.

By then you have added at least a couple of hundred more dollars. $300-400 will get you a set of LED pods that will work with your factory headlights, and the neat part is if there is a collision you don't run the chance of destroying retrofitted headlights that your insurance is not going to cover. And, you can install them on anything easily. Just my take, but do as you wish.

 

[Oillover]

I can't believe I am the only one who has said this, or that I have to say it - LED bulbs DO NOT BELONG in halogen reflector bowl headlight housings.

Jeez dude, why you gotta be so smart all the time?!

 

[Spring Break '92]

Jeez dude, why you gotta be so smart all the time?!

I'm not sure what you mean by 'all the time' but I'll take it. We've had no interactions whatsoever that I recall.

 

[meep]

Here’s one of my two favorites. Real low beams.

Buy a pair of hella halogen e-code inserts, and the cheap pair of name brand sylvania halogen bulbs. The non-long life bulbs have smaller filaments, burn slightly hotter, but have a tighter beam… all the benefits of a higher performance bulb at 1/2 the price of a LL halogen.

Install them in motorcycle buckets. Mount those to the bumper or bar, aim them, and use heavier wiring to add them in. I’ve done light mods on every car I’ve owned, and this is one of the two best. (The other is morimoto D2S HID projectors, which have more output, wider distribution, very little light bleed, but 3rd party HIDs get quirky with age).

I’ve also compared different insert beam patterns. The high pattern is pretty similar on all, but hella has the best distribution on low. Note, I put yellow filters over these. Real halogen, better color rendering and night time definition.

 

[4wd]

One of your biggest threats are the two lanes roads. I like to turn my passenger light just a hair towards the shoulder - and I use that to hold my lane looking slightly right instead of at the blinding vehicle. Also find the yellow glasses helpful at night …

 

[Hollowed_Mist65]

 

[Spring Break '92]

Buy a pair of hella halogen e-code inserts, and the cheap pair of name brand sylvania halogen bulbs. The non-long life bulbs have smaller filaments, burn slightly hotter, but have a tighter beam… all the benefits of a higher performance bulb at 1/2 the price of a LL halogen.

I’ve also compared different insert beam patterns. The high pattern is pretty similar on all, but hella has the best distribution on low. Note, I put yellow filters over these. Real halogen, better color rendering and night time definition.

This. My Honda has halogens and our Mazda has the modern LED projectors. The light output of the Mazda right up close is bright and fully illuminated, but there is no down-road projection of light. I have to drive it with the high beams on. Some LED headlights put out this massive amount of light in the foreground and it takes the focus off of what's further down the road. Also, the color temperature of them isn't necessarily what you should be looking at things at night with. And in the rain that bluish-white color sucks.

 

[Oillover]

.

 

[2015Corolla]

Please don't. There are already too many aftermarket LED lights blinding people.

 

[wlk]

My old 1991 F-150 had really yellow, dim headlights. They're the original Halogen bulb type. I restored the lenses to like new condition, and it sits in the garage, so it's only exposed to UV light when I drive it.

I had read that Halogen bulbs can dim with age. I don't know if that's true or not. You don't notice gradual deterioration. But they never really seemed to be very bright. Especially out here on these desert roads in the dead of night. Even driving with the brights on, the road was poorly illuminated.

So I took a chance and looked high and low for a set of good rated LED bulbs that would fit my ageing Ford, that would be a "plug and play" easy swap out. I settled on these from Auxito. They came in the mail today, and I just finished installing them.

I installed one, then turned on the lights, and the difference is unbelievable! In a direct comparison, the old bulb looked like a yellow incandescent flashlight with a dying battery. The new LED was brilliant blue white.

I then installed the other one, and the change was really profound. I can't wait until dark to go for a ride and see how much better I'll be able to see. With the older bulbs I was over driving the beam at anything over 50 MPH. Even with the brights on.

If anyone is driving an older vehicle with ageing halogen lights, give these new LED replacements a shot. They're a huge improvement. And they didn't take all of 10 minutes to change out, and they fit perfectly.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FN3S5RCV?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Not sure if headlights cause issues but led's in brake lights can cause shifting issues in obs fords. If you start to get trans problems put the old lights back in.

 

[billt460]

Not sure if headlights cause issues but led's in brake lights can cause shifting issues in obs fords. If you start to get trans problems put the old lights back in.

I have no intentions of changing out my brake light bulbs.

 

[researcher]

I am a huge fan of Beamtech LED's. Not only do they work perfectly in halogen housings, but their better offerings have adjustable clocking, to tune the cutoff and beam spread. Chosen properly, they do not glare or bother oncoming drivers on low beam. Yet provide a great and smooth beam pattern with sharp OEM cutoff.

And on high beam...

I'm late to this post but thanks for your image. @Cujet That is definitely impressive. what vehicle is this on? a truck? suv? car? wondering because the height can make a difference of how far down the road the bulbs can throw the light. I do like it though! nice!

I've said it before and yep I'll say it again.. The Chinese that make these LED replacements are getting better at their designs every. single.. day.. and there will come a time and it might be now, that they will achieve a usable light, just like this one @Cujet posted!

Everyone has the right to their opinion, but to dictate to @billt460 what they can and cannot do is a bit extreme. Reminds me of the past and I know everyone here is familiar with the following story. The old saying that if you used synthetic oil it WILL leak out of the seals and so no you cannot use synthetic oil like Mobil 1. How did that work out in the future? Oh that's right.. The seal problem was solved and now no issues like that. Again, seeing this photo and looking up reviews online with images of the LED replacement bulbs installed seeing the illumination down the road, sure looks like the Chinese have solved this issue too!

So what's my opinion? Things can get better and designs improve, the old way of thinking where everything is junk, it doesn't last long. Best to keep an open mind, hey look Fram was junk now it's going to get better too! Didn't PGI buy out that brand? Same idea.. anyway.. good for @billt460 for being able to solve his problem with a cheaper fix and it does not look like he's going to blind people into a ditch on the side of the road!

Another thing.. Why isn't there this type of attack on the OEM's for making such poorly designed lights that only blind oncoming drivers and really don't do much to light up the road. yup.. something to think about.