LED Lighting Conversion

You are right, I can be dickish. But I call it as I see it. I am not attempting to attack anyones character or integrity or thinking any members are doing anything malicious. But factually speaking, as measured by science, and measuring actual output with the same tools Toyota uses for measuring light output, the XD LEDs put out far less light than Hikari, by a significant margin. Yet as soon as XD gives away lights the swing of recommendations is to XD. Even though by every measured quantity Hikari puts out more, Hikari has a better hot spot and Hikari has better distance projection. Then comes DeAutoLED giveaway, and all recommendations swing their way, even though Hikari still has better output, better hot spot and better distance projection.

Compare lux output between the recommended DeAutoLED vs Hikari



Feel sorry for me all you want. I feel pretty good for how many major lighting corporations contact me for lighting consultation for being able to cut through so much lighting BS and actually have the willingness to call people on it.

 

Sorry, but may I ask which deAutoLED bulb did you do this test with when comparing to Hikari LED and in what type of housing was the test performed??

Also, was this the bulb they sent to you and specificly asked you not to test cause they sent the wrong one and it wasn't designed for the application in which you tested?? Just curious.

It seemed that you are trying to discredit a company which is working very hard to test and provide quality lighting. I have a set of LEDs from @deAutoLED.com and I compared them to the Cree style and Phillips style Hikari and they were very superior to both. I've always been a fan of the Hikari brand, but I also call it like I see it. deAutoLED has some excellent products and when used in the correct housing as specified by the manufacturer, they work great. Hikari, Xenon Depot, Morimoto, and a few others all provide excellent products. deAutoLED is among that list hands down.

Your posts have some good information which I'm sure many have benefited from. It's your way of being negative and discrediting which rubs me the wrong way.

This is a forum and members are free to say whatever they want and if that's your goal and take pleasure in that, well that's unfortunate.

 

I am sure it’s in the 3000+ posts but what bulbs are recommended for the rear license plate holder?

 

Ohhhh man, there are so many. To be honest I've tested some from superbrightled.com and they arent bad, but cheap construction. Hikari makes one that i hear are good.

I got a set from deAutoLED and they are pretty awesome and great construction. Here is a picture of the bulbs these can also be used for the side marker bulb. Amber color on right and the white licence plate on left.

 

How did you test the different bulbs?

 

Wow me thinks there’s some fanboys in here.

 

Just basic comparisons. Compared each of them to the stock side by side, compared the different LED side by side, measured the projection pattern at close range on flat wall, then compared at a distance 20'. I compared the projection pattern to the stock halogen. Then checked thrown distance on a outdoor marked football field to see distance of throw. All of which performed very well when comparing to stock of course.

Final conclusion was based on how much better I could see over the last. I took into consideration also how close the projection pattern was to stock.

 

A couple. We've been up to these shenanigans for a little over a year. It's been a wild ride.

 

I'm only a fan of quality products and what provides great performance. In fact I can't say I even like only 1 specific brand at all.

Shoot ,I'm currently running variety of brands.

 

what is the bulb size for the license plate?

 

The particular ones I mentioned are a 194 wedge. That fits the LP lights and the side marker on my 17 Tacoma TRD Sport.

 

chef, you can also go to walmart and get the sylvia bulbs for the license plate if you dont wanna wait for something to ship. I had superbrightled ones and they flickered..replaced with ones from walmart and they have been good for 7+ months.

 

YESSS!! Man idk what's up with SBLED but I've had that problem constantly with them in different applications.

 

I appreciate both opinions of members reviews and the real testing. I do question member reviews with videos because a lot of them are getting free merchandise in return for the review.

Did you get any of the items for free to review them here?

 

This is a website that does some measured comparisons.

I have tested different LEDs in the Tacoma housing, and none have replicated the cutoff or light placement of the stock halogens in the 2nd gen so far, producing odd shadows or extraneous artifacts, however they have produced a good quantity of light for low beam application. Granted, many of test subjects were ebay equivalents where I was mostly focussed on the light source placement mimicing the filament position versus any other factors. Changes or improvements in these LED bulbs are progressing, from improved mechanical quality to the placement of the LED and fitment in the housing, higher light output, and thinner circuit boards with better thermal management putting the LED's light source as close as possible to the same position of a filament for a reflector design based on a filament bulb.

There is an additional specification of the Color Rendering Index (CRI) that you want to pay attention to, as not all LEDs are created equal.
On a scale of 0-100, with 100 represents the best lighting that shows 'true' colors as your eye would see in bright, even daylight. A CRI >90 is pretty much means the reflections coming back from objects lit up your headlights are going to look the same to you as they would in daylight. What it means to you is less strain on your eyes & brain trying to identify what the object you are seeing is, and its color.

LEDs, by their physical properties can be very good at producing distinct, and specific wavelengths (colors) with a narrow range of overlapping, neighboring colors. An incandescent / halogen bulb is very good at producing light over a broad spectrum of wavelengths (ie lots of colors within the light output) in order to produce a 'white' light. Not all LEDs are the same, and a white LED is typically a combination of several distinct wavelengths in strong proportions, but in essence is missing several other wavelengths. What this means is a reduced CRI, and what you find while driving, is a sense that the objects you are seeing reflected in your LED headlights are not all that they seem to be, making driving noticeably more difficult, even though at first glance your impression is they put out lots of light. Some of the earlier Phillips Luxeon bulbs from just a couple of years ago were like that. Chinese knockoff LED modules are also a challenge in producing the 'same as' specs of CREE or Phillips or other manufacturers.

For myself, I usually ignore the stated specs in the marketing, and research which LED manufacturer's chip set they use, and look up the part's specifications. Once it starts with a good LED chipset, then evaluate the actual bulb construction, to decide if I would want to take a chance on trying it out in a reflector housing. While I've changed my own headlights to Projector beam retrofits, I do get a few friends asking about LED bulb replacement, and explain the cautions around using them in reflector bowls designed for filament based bulbs.

 

Honestly, yes I was sent product to test and provide feedback to the manufacturer so that if needed they could improve the product.

I strickly told the manufacturers that I tested for, that I would not provide a biased review and that it would be my real honest opinion. They only asked that if there was a problem or an improvement needed I give them the opportunity to correct it first. I thought that was fair enough to ask.

It wasn't that they sent me free product to provide a review to get buyers, but more for me to test to see where improvements could be made if any were needed.

 

I have had great luck with Diode Dynamics led’s for things like interior and license plate bulbs. Quality and good price.

I am just sick of the constant advertising posts in here that’s all. I could care less if someone reviews a product that was provided for free because as soon as I hear that I quit reading it.

 

So what your saying is that if a company like diode dynamics, XenonDepot, or otherwise messaged you and said..."hey, we like some of the reviews you posted and we have a new product we'd like to test. Would you be interested in trying it out and letting us know what you think" you say "no thanks I don't like free product."?

 

Why would they message you and offer free stuff? Because you have a history of posting reviews of products? Have a youtube channel? They didn't randomly select you.

 

Amateur attempt to put words into my mouth. Any review where product was provided for free is biased period. It just is and no amount of lip service will ever change that. I would tell whatever company the same thing I have always told them, that I will provide feedback and pro’s and con’s back to the manufacturer but I won’t post a public review of something I didn’t pay for. It’s called integrity.