How about doing a retrofit? Halogens to HID projectors. It would involve some work. Those would be the brightest and safest headlights on the road. Checkout the retro fit source web site. Also get on Acura forum. I’m sure someone has done a retrofit over there.
Question about headlight upgrade
- Thread starter Sturg
- Start date
When replacing Halogens's with anything else its about putting the filament/chip in the exact same location as the factory bulb in order to preserve the focus of the reflector or projector. Cheap amazon LED's will not get you there, you're going to have to spend some money. Check out some LED's S-V.4's these are some of the best I have seen for preserving factory reflector or projector optics.
Here is a photo of the S-v.4's in a reflector housing. You can see the cutoff is clean without any glare above the cutoff. As long as the headlights are aimed properly you wont be blinding anyone.
This photo is representative of the headlights I run in my 2021 trailboss with reflector housings. I also run these in the 07 Camry with projector housings. 10X better than stock and I am not blinding anyone.
Here is what you don't want to see, this blinds people and is illegal for good reason...
Here is a photo of the S-v.4's in a reflector housing. You can see the cutoff is clean without any glare above the cutoff. As long as the headlights are aimed properly you wont be blinding anyone.
This photo is representative of the headlights I run in my 2021 trailboss with reflector housings. I also run these in the 07 Camry with projector housings. 10X better than stock and I am not blinding anyone.
Here is what you don't want to see, this blinds people and is illegal for good reason...
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Alla Lighting says your car came with Halogen or HID’s? Presumably you have Halogens?
So after I've detailed to the OP a real $50 solution that preserves intended HB and LB patterns and will produce actual results, we turn to HR marketing videos and bulbs at $200 a set, not designed for the housing, not legal for on-road use, and 6000K color temperature that is a compromise for night vision.
Bowl burn is a real thing. Reflector degradation and lens yellowing on his 12 year old assemblies are almost guaranteed. Additionally, I can almost guarantee his present bulbs are LL versions that are low output for their type. OP needs new housings and if he wants, 9011 and H9 combo for increased output.
But I get it. Housings and best of a kind halogens are less sexy than $27 china Hikarimpowvov LED drop in toys from M-zon.
Check out Retrofit source
Blah Blah Blah.... I guess I missed the memo that made you the "AUTHORITY" on headlight upgrades. I shared not because of marketing but because of real world results. I just used pictures from HR because they were perfectly aligned with my real world results. Check your ego dude.
The HR marketing media is overhyped, but it's out there and it's good for sales, especially of the units that are 10x the cost of the amazon cheapos. Let's get out the LUX meter and measure peak intensities...
I have yet to see a LED chip that replicates the size, cylindrical shape, and emission pattern of a tightly controlled headlamp filament. Not to mention the pattern. That halogen filament emits photons omnidirectionally, filling the reflector. LED chips don't do this. They emit perpendicular to the junction. So an LED chip without an integral lens over it will never fill a reflector. You'll always get light presented unevenly into the (aged and degraded) reflectors. It's not as bad as a laser but it's going to be a ersatz source. OP would be better served with a $50 drop-in 55w HID kit to vaporize whatever might be left of his 12 year old reflectors.
I'm not the authority. The (inconvenient) science is. Check the science behind the product, dude. LED's emit perpendicular light.
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I realize that, but proper placement of the chip makes a huge difference which was the purpose of the first picture I showed. This screenshot was from a video they did for a 2019 trailboss with reflector housings which are the same housings my 2021 has. The beam pattern and cutoff between the LED's I quoted and the stock halogens is almost identical which was the intent of the screenshot/photo
I never brought up HR, you did. I couldn't possibly care less about them or their marketing. I simply showed the difference between a good light pattern and a crappy one that blinds people. That is the main point. Too many people are installing the crappy LED's in reflector housings and blinding people. Driven at night lately?
Meh, my commutes are 100% at night. My 55w HIDs in appropriate projectors ensure that my pupils are adequately constricted to the point I'm really not bothered by oncoming illumination. If I am, my Toshiba 9011 HIR1 high beams are sufficient to get the point across.
If HR (the source of your images?) manages to test all bulbs in all fixtures and arrive at DOT compliant combinations, I'm all ears. If they're only promoting a combination that makes a particular product (that they sell) look good, I remain skeptical. They don't promote H11>H9 swaps, 9005>9011 swaps, or 9006>9012 swaps because there isn't any margin for them in it. Their marketing is based on convincing people that the $200 units they sell are better than the unsafe $20 amazon units. Reality is that they all have the potential for junk results because they all compromise principles of optics.
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I change the headlight bulbs every November with the brightest 9004’s available. Purchased from RockAuto in bulk.
The brightest bulbs don’t last long but I don’t really care.
I want the highest visibility possible.
The brightest bulbs don’t last long but I don’t really care.
I want the highest visibility possible.
9004. Talk about starting life at a disadvantage.
For sure. Fortunately the +30% and +50% bulbs make a significant improvement.
