OEM Headlights upgrade to LED White Bright Headlights

E

Escape08

Joined
Mar 10, 2021
Messages
1,117
Location
TX
Anyone here upgraded from OEM Headlights to LED Bright White (20000 LM) with built in electric fan headlights? Will these blind drivers from incoming vehicles like might result to road rage :eek: ? Just worried.
I'm thinking of upgrading my Escape's to LEDs
Thanks for any inputs...
 
Of course. They don't blind drivers, assuming you're not putting LEDs in factory halogen reflectors. That will scatter the light and potentially be blinding. Our CR-V and Silverado have upgraded lights in their projectors. Cut-off is the exact same....just a little bit brighter since they're not the Long-Life (LL) halogen bulbs.
 
Marcozi said:
I've done a few cars' conversions from halogen to LED. No complaints.
Click to expand...
I’m curious - how do you know there are “no complaints”? Oncoming drivers would be the ones to judge if your converted lights were obnoxious.

How did you solicit their opinion?

Or is it, “no complaints” from your side, while you’re blinding oncoming drivers with a lousy light pattern?
 
Escape08 said:
Anyone here upgraded from OEM Headlights to LED Bright White (20000 LM) with built in electric fan headlights? Will these blind drivers from incoming vehicles like might result to road rage :eek: ? Just worried.
I'm thinking of upgrading my Escape's to LEDs
Thanks for any inputs...
Click to expand...
Again see Danielstern lighting blog and hidplanet blog. There are NO aftermarket LEDs that wirk well in a halogen setup. Even halogen projectors don't work terribly well.
 
Two of my vehicles have been upgraded. Aim them right,as much effort installing them should be put into making sure they don’t blind others.Especially when you decide to load up the trunk or pickup bed.
 
General rule is to not replace halogen bulbs with LED bulbs in reflector type headlights.
Projector type headlights take LEDs easy without blinding oncoming traffic, adjusting height may be required thou.
If you have road rage happening in your area because bright lights, there is a much bigger problem to worry about.
 
Every study I have seen says that when LED lights are put in headlight fixtures designed for halogen lights, the light will be terribly scattered. Scattered headlight output is always blinding to oncoming traffic.

Manufacturers of LED lights intended to go in halogen fixtures, have come up with a lot of different designs, and have made a lot of claims, that their designs create a light pattern that will simulate that of halogen bulbs. Some are better than others. But the studies show that none are ideal.

D1sc said:
Two of my vehicles have been upgraded. Aim them right,as much effort installing them should be put into making sure they don’t blind others.Especially when you decide to load up the trunk or pickup bed.
Click to expand...

Are you sure that it is a matter of aiming LED converted headlights right? Or is it a matter of having to aim LED converted headlights lower than the headlight would normally be aimed if it had the correct bulb type, to reduce the glare to oncoming traffic?
 
Road rage aside as blinding as a 60 watt Led are you should get a ticket. This is the effort involved in changing my 19 ram 1500 classic,aiming is a lot easier than installing them.But when the back of the vehicle is loaded and lower what happens?

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oldhp said:
Try making sure your headlights are aimed correctly. Every car, truck I've bought new has the lights aimed too high. Lights shining up don't shine on the road. I've never needed to upgrade the factory bulbs.
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Splatter a deer at 70 mph on our pitch black roads (hwy 26 between Janesville and Johnson Creek and you’ll reconsider.
 
I replaced halogen bulbs with LEDs in both cars in sig, light pattern was exactly same just brighter, both cars came with projector type headlights. Another thing is LED bulb position, LED blade has to be vertical in the housing.
 
930.engineering said:
Except for Philips and Osram. In its intended and approved applications and thoroughly aimed of course.
.
Click to expand...
He said the word well. Approval does not mean it works well and from what little I’ve read are demonstrably worse then halogen. Only advantage was longer life. I don’t see the point.
 
Astro14 said:
I’m curious - how do you know there are “no complaints”? Oncoming drivers would be the ones to judge if your converted lights were obnoxious.

How did you solicit their opinion?

Or is it, “no complaints” from your side, while you’re blinding oncoming drivers with a lousy light pattern?
Click to expand...
Great questions. I've driven my wife's car several times and never had another driver flash their high beams at me. Also, when I replaced the halogens in my wife's car I used the wall in front of her car to compare light patterns. No difference though the LEDs were brighter.
 
might i suggest you first polish your headlights to get them optically clear.
Then jump into the led convert.

The cleaning will improve safety either way of your existing lamps and provide better functionality if you choose to go led. If you need more power, get leds and then aim them correctly.
My project farm like source would be Car headlight reviews.
 
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One problem with LED's, even factory is the lack of heat for snowy weather if you encounter any. This was today driving home 25 miles from work, at least it was daytime. 2019 Honda Pilot EX-L, factory projector low beam LED's and LED factory fogs.

The HID's in my Accord (in factory halogen projectors) and Hella DE fogs have no problem and generate enough heat to melt. They are also aimed correctly. I get flashed more with the Pilot even after correctly aiming the lights. Low beams were too high, one fog was high one was very low from when we got it new. First night driving it I was like ***?
IMG_5478.jpg
 
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