Originally Posted By: wsar10
I use them in a JEEP that I run on trails,I use HID setup on my daily drivers where I can. They ARE not DOT compliant in my application or state, BUT I wanted to experiment so I threw them in a 93 ZJ. I have E-code "reflector" housings (glass) with the LED 900? replacement bulbs. I got CHEAP CHEAP ones form EBAY and another pair from DDM tunning (IIRC) the cheaper pair were actually impressive but advertised as 5000K when in reality they are probably closer 8000K (disgustingly purplish) anything beyond 5500-6000K you are loosing usable lumen's of lighting output, the better ones were 6000K and seem dead on (a bit whiter than high noon sunlight).
The above posts mention heat sink's and using in a reflector or projector housing.....these are kinda old school problems.
The bulbs I have, have a heat sink core that the bulbs mount over. The diodes themselves are a specific viewing angle and directed in a manner that utilizes your reflector housing design, actually pushing the lighting back into the reflector and allowing the reflector to divert the light forward.
All that being said I would be willing to bet they are not DOT compliant in your vehicle or state. IMO I would move on to something like an E-CODE upgrade, HIR's or a true HID setup, HID'sare second to none IMO.
From inside my 04 WJ I can see (what seems like) two football fields away, but yet when standing in front of the JEEP you can stare directly at the light and almost have to double check if its turned on !
HID's have gotten a bad name with allot of people, Due to people that half [censored] there lights and just add an HID bulb and ballast kit to there OE light housings, doing this is VERY dangerous for other drivers. Than you have the guy who goes to AAP and buys "APC" BLUE TINTED bulbs and thinks he has "brighter better lights" .
I'm always skeptical--- my instinct is to echo hokie's light distribution as an area of "yea, but..." that probably still applies, BUT--- based on what you are saying, that sounds much better to me than how HID conversions started. Much more promising.
I too agree that HID is just a stepping stone. Very excited to see where LED can go. Heck the warm white cree lamps sold at home depot, to me, give off better light than the best CFL, and arguably more pleasant than some incandescents.
Unfortunately, there's still a bunch of [censored] out there. sitting in front of me is an "1800 lumen" LED flashlight. per the spec for the LED itself, it can't push more than maybe 600 as it melts down. it looks, mm, maybe 50% brighter than the 150lumen one sitting beside it. We'll see the same gimmicks with LEDs as we did and do with HID.