Shop who did my inspection today asked if I wanted LEDs?

[aquariuscsm]

I went to get my car inspected today. The shop asked if I would like them to upgrade my headlights to LED's. I didn't think LED's were plug and play, that some electrical stuff had to be changed out.

Can you really do that, and what would the end results be?

 

[GumbyJarvis]

I went to get my car inspected today. The shop asked if I would like them to upgrade my headlights to LED's. I didn't think LED's were plug and play, that some electrical stuff had to be changed out.

Can you really do that, and what would the end results be?

Ive done it in the past, in my experience if its just replacing the bulb its simple plug and play.
Now changing the entire headlight housing that has additional led strips etc, that can get complicated.

End Result? me blindly cursing you coming down a hill toward me as I drive up it.

 

[RooflessVW]

Can you really do that, and what would the end results be?

Yes, they make a plethora of cheap "plug and play" LED bulbs. The result would be worse vision for you and everyone facing you.

Some "companies" even sell LED replacement bulbs for D1S/D3S and D2S/D4S. The output is just sad.

 

[skyactiv]

I assume your car is unmolested and original? I wouldn't do anything to make it appear riced out. It's refreshing to see an original which unfortunately when it comes to older Japanese sports cars like the 300ZX, WRX, Evo, Supra, it's too rare.

 

[RooflessVW]

Your ZX should use 9005/9006 bulbs which means 9011/9012 HIR bulbs are an easy swap. They'll outperform any LED in beam pattern, brightness, and color.

 

[MrPlow]

I did a lot of research on LED bulbs in headlights and even tried some out in tests. Several things that make them complete failures for headlights designed for halogen.
1. Completely useless in melting snow from the headlight, even the best ones that are supposed to melt snow, but don't. Fog will also stick to the headlights and not evaporate off like it would with halogen.
2. Color temperature and color spectrum are very poor, forcing them to run much brighter to compensate. So a 10% gain in your perceived visibility while taking away +80% of oncoming traffic's visibility.
3. They are all 100% not road legal and no LED bulb for halogen lamps meets DOT standards. I would suspect any shop willing to put LED bulbs in might be breaking the law in some states?

Beam patterns are not as big an issue with newer, better LED bulbs, but still not ideal. Most LED bulbs are indeed plug and play, but might run into issues with daytime running light mode without modification.

 

[Wylie6G72]

This must have a lot of takers, because I see a LOT of ill-engineered LED lighting on the roads. Their biggest accomplishment is burning retinas of oncoming drivers.

 

[brianl703]

This must have a lot of takers, because I see a LOT of ill-engineered LED lighting on the roads. Their biggest accomplishment is burning retinas of oncoming drivers.

I don't know why they don't just save the money they spend on the LED bulbs and instead just drive around with their high beams on all the time. The effect is the same.

 

[Ihatetochangeoil]

I have OEM headlights, but my turn signals, brake lights, back ups, license plate & interior lights are ALL LED; The advantage to LEDs is lifespan and they are manufactured in St. Louis MO, not Chinese junk. They also have a 3 year warranty on most bulbs. https://www.diodedynamics.com/info/about-us.html

 

[aquariuscsm]

I assume your car is unmolested and original? I wouldn't do anything to make it appear riced out. It's refreshing to see an original which unfortunately when it comes to older Japanese sports cars like the 300ZX, WRX, Evo, Supra, it's too rare.

^^Absolutely!! I couldn't agree more. Everything is completely and totally Nissan dealership oem.

 

[aquariuscsm]

They'll outperform any LED in beam pattern, brightness, and color.

They really do!! Those Nissan glass headlights are beyond incredible. 30+ years later and they look look and work like brand new. You wouldn't believe how far they light up the road. Honestly the best car I've ever owned.

 

[RooflessVW]

They really do!! Those Nissan glass headlights are beyond incredible. 30+ years later and they look look and work like brand new. You wouldn't believe how far they light up the road. Honestly the best car I've ever owned.

Right, and if you swap your 9005/9006 to 9011/9012 HIR bulbs, they'll be even better.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Right, and if you swap your 9005/9006 to 9011/9012 HIR bulbs, they'll be even better.

Nice!! Thank you

 

[Jetronic]

I did a lot of research on LED bulbs in headlights and even tried some out in tests. Several things that make them complete failures for headlights designed for halogen.
1. Completely useless in melting snow from the headlight, even the best ones that are supposed to melt snow, but don't. Fog will also stick to the headlights and not evaporate off like it would with halogen.
2. Color temperature and color spectrum are very poor, forcing them to run much brighter to compensate. So a 10% gain in your perceived visibility while taking away +80% of oncoming traffic's visibility.
3. They are all 100% not road legal and no LED bulb for halogen lamps meets DOT standards. I would suspect any shop willing to put LED bulbs in might be breaking the law in some states?

Beam patterns are not as big an issue with newer, better LED bulbs, but still not ideal. Most LED bulbs are indeed plug and play, but might run into issues with daytime running light mode without modification.

I agree. I keep a pair of glasses with amber lenses in the car for when there's too many idiots around, or the roads are wet and too reflective. It really cuts down on the retina burning, and doesn't seem to impact my range of vision. Everything obvioulsy gets a bit of a yellow tint to it, Red lights appear more bright yellows and greens seem unaltered. Only problem I see is if a road sign was yellow or white, which matters over here. White municipality sign means 50 kph limit, yellow not.

A good quality factory HID headlight is certainly less disturbing and they at least came with auto levelling. And they removed fog from lenses and melt snow. LED bulbs are okay for high beams I suppose, if used correctly

 

[mightymousetech]

I went to get my car inspected today. The shop asked if I would like them to upgrade my headlights to LED's. I didn't think LED's were plug and play, that some electrical stuff had to be changed out.

Can you really do that, and what would the end results be?

You mean a state inspection? Then they offered you headlight bulbs that are not street legal?

uhhhhhh........

 

[aquariuscsm]

You mean a state inspection? Then they offered you headlight bulbs that are not street legal?

uhhhhhh........

Yep state inspection. They called it an "upgrade" they offer their customers haha.

 

[PimTac]

Yep state inspection. They called it an "upgrade" they offer their customers haha.

Sounds more like a upsell to me.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Sounds more like a upsell to me.

Exactly!

 

[GSCJR]

You mean a state inspection? Then they offered you headlight bulbs that are not street legal?

uhhhhhh........

I saw a used Nissan ad yesterday on kijiji that was being sold certified. After reading the ad particulars, it was noted that the headlights don't work. I know for a fact the model came with factory HID so they probably don't want to invest further, but yet it's "Certified".

 

[circuitsmith]

https://www.bulbfacts.com