The Ultimate Headlight Upgrade vs Philips LED headlights

I know, if only the ultimate halogens would last 12 years and burn like the sun I would be happy!

I looked and seems stock is around 1000 lumens while the Phillips on the tech page are about 1000 lumens as well..

That is why I was wondering

 

Both bulbs are designed to angle light up to the left, and down to the right, so swapping the bulbs left to right has no effect. It is actually even evident on the box showing the beam pattern in the original post.

Philips claims 150% more light on the road, maybe it is poorly translated but what I think they mean is 50% more light over stock, or maybe 150% over other LEDs that are not designed for halogen reflectors.

If you look at the lux ratings I took in this thread, I measured the Philips output at 474 lux. In the Ultimate headlight upgrade thread, I measured the stock bulbs at 290 lux. So based on my measurements the Philips are about a 1.6x or 60% improvement over stock. However, note that using a lux meter to measure output is not a perfect science, while it will capture the highest beam intensity, it does not account for in the beam pattern being consistently full. However the Philips had a much more consistent beam pattern than the Opt7s.

 

here is another LED h4 im considering trying, these have an adjustable angle so you can adjust driver and passenger sides to your liking, also these are using similar Philips chips (or better) than x treme ultinon model, there is a side by side comparison in the ebay ad, and are only $36 a pair if they don't work out im not in the hole $200 and unhappy, only $36 in the hole and unhappy.http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-160W-1...baabde5&pid=100623&rk=3&rkt=6&sd=381817921780

 

I see you sold your set after the test... Wasn't good enough I am assuming.

 

Damn even the ad is low quality... lol yeah cheap for sure but I wouldn't run those just because I would be worried about the quality... but hey 35 bucks will tell you if you like em or not...

 

most of these products are all Chinese made, look at the writing the the Philips X treme ultinon box it isn't German sometimes you pay extra for a pretty package(box) but the contents work the same as the cheaper package made in the same place. even the Rigid lights are Made in USA using Chinese parts.

 

Many people have them and like them. I don't mind swapping my bulbs when they burn and prefer the greater output.

The Philips LEDs are rated at 5,000 hrs at 23w, 1250 lumen for $250.
Those knock offs claim 50,000 hrs (but then contradict with 30,000hrs) at 80w, 8000 lumen for $37.

10x the life, at 4x the power, with 6.4x the output for 14% of the price.

I doubt those are legit Philips LEDs, or that their performance claims are legit. I've not yet seen an 55w LED kit that is passively cooled, much less an 80w LED that doesn't need fans.

And while the knock off cut offs are shown for right hand drive beam cut offs, if you "rotate" the LED in the headlight assembly to try and correct it, you are likely get some weird undesirable optics from hitting significantly different areas of the reflector housing.

I'd put the money toward the Philips.

 

heres the best review about Philips x treme ultinon leds ive read so far http://www.tundratalk.net/forums/7553482-post1.html

 

Yeah thats a pretty good review... I'm going the LED route. XenonDepot has 20% off using code VD20. Ebay is cheaper but shipped from Japan or China, and if you have a warranty issue down the line I think it would be better to deal with XDepot.

I still feel a burning desire to try to harness the power of the sun within my headlights though.... I do like the 6200K look and the longevity with a 60% increase over stock. Ok do it! Whose coming with me @Mush Mouse ?!

 

Anyone know the difference? Same seller, different box, one is listed as "upgraded"

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Upgraded-GE...ash=item25ca9b77fd:g:uPcAAOSw5cNYSTah&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-Genuin...bcb3a52&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=1&sd=162312976381

 

They look the same, in one the specs list it at 23w other at 16w. The actual Philips LEDs are 23w.

 

that sellers profile has 67 negative comments/reviews, something seems a little off that the seller offers 2 of the same at considerable different prices, also these LEDs are for right hand drive vehicles and are non adjustable to make the beams compatable with US left hand drives more light will be thrown into the face of oncoming drivers, something to be aware of with these.

 

Wanted to followup with you guys here - did anybody pull the trigger on these? How do you like them and how are they holding up?

 

Sold mine to @kukimonsta. Note these are calibrated for left hand drive vehicles, so the cut off is reversed of what it should be for right hand drive vehicles.

 

I think you meant RHD vehicles, but yeah I saw that bit in the post.

So what are you running now?

 

You are correct on my RHD/LHD mix up.

I'm still running the high power halogens. I plan on testing some more led headlights in the future that supposedly have correct cutoffs.

 

I've tried to read up on all of your info. As an engineer myself, I love reading it!

do you plan to test Hikari brand LED bulbs? they *seem* to have a very good pattern from the reviews and posts I've seen. I tend to go into pictures/videos posted ready to roast for putting LED in a reflector but everything I have seen from the Hikari's is hard to argue... from a 3rd person position. I'd love to see some first trust worthy first hand info.

I am running KC Gravity LED aux/fog lights and HID projector low beams and trying to find a color matching and high performing solution for the yellow sheep of the lighting family, my high beam 9005 projectors.

 

I’ve tested the latest Hikari H11 in 3rd Gen and the previous Gen Hikari H4 in 2nd Gen. LEDs shouldn’t be run in a halogen reflector like 2nd Gens as they will cause significant blinding glare, but what isn’t talked about as much is how badly they lack focus and distance projection. Diode Dynamics is widely recognized as building some of the best designed LEDs, check out this comparison in my 3rd Gen thread, since 3rd gens run projectors glare isn’t as much of an issue:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ector-headlights.589465/page-65#post-20916590

As you can see, glare aside, the LED is flawed in projection.

Just for some fun apples to oranges:
Tested at 18’ (benefits Hikari)
Not tested at higher voltage to simulate harness (benifits Hikari)
Not run at even higher voltage to simulate the voltage booster (benifits Hikari)

2nd Gen H4 vs 3rd Gen Hikari:

 

So it looks like there is finally an LED H4 that for Halogen replacement that works pretty well. This thread ends a couple years ago so I am wondering if there has been any more tests or information about other brands that work well (and perhaps be right weighted for LHD cars.)

I have an '04 Tacoma and was thinking about switching to LED headlight bulbs, something fanless and hopefully longer life than stock Halogen bulbs. I don't need high performance lighting, I bet the high beams have less than 1 hour of use over the last 17 years. I also don't want to blind oncoming drivers. This is a city truck, I almost always have streetlights. I like to drive with the headlights on all the time as a silver truck seems to blend into the roads (and half the drivers on the road are of below average intelligence.)