3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

So @crashnburn80 , how long did it take to get the Hellas drop shipped ? And , how were they shipped ? Thanks

 

Apparently Hella USA was switching to a new shipping system and lost my order placed by Rallylights to be dropshipped. So after not receiving them for the 2nd week I contacted Rallylights who contacted Hella who identified the mishap, apologized and rushed the bulbs out for me. I’ve purchased so many bulbs lately I do not recall how those specific ones were shipped. Needless to say I don’t think my experience was typical.

 

I guess there's always Tomorrow. Lol

 

Waiting every day for the final few "high performance" H9s to show up at my desk before declaring what is scientifically the best performing bulb.

 

So I’ve visually tested the VLED Micro 5K and now the GE +130. I’m still aimed a little low, but I’m really not seeing a further projection. I’m going to aim up a little more, but I wouldn’t figure it will make *that* significant of a change .. but maybe I’m (probably) wrong.

H9s won’t do us lazy folk any good until they make that harness

 

The Micros provide far too much foreground and side lighting. They might project as far but the amount of foreground doesn’t allow your eyes to focus on the distance lighting.

For me, the GE Megalight provided the best mix of ease of install, cost, and down range lighting.

 

Depends on your distance comparison point, as demonstrated LED intensity drops off very quickly. Using the correct style bulb in the housing it is designed for will project further than using the wrong one. As @MCDavis mentions and as demonstrated in the thread you are going to shift the pattern toward the vehicle with significantly increased foreground light, which is going to make a visual comparison very difficult because your eyes are going to initially tell you a foreground light source is brighter than a distance one, because the brighter part of the pattern is closer. The increased foreground light also reduces your ability to see beyond it.

For the H9s many have made their own jumper harnesses. The HD harness will just add a bit more additional output. I’ve ordered some connectors to convert my HD H11 harness into an H9 one. Should have them next week.

 

I’m not disagreeing with the science, just saying I probably have more adjustments to do on my side.

 

I got my GE+130's installed today. Just waiting for nightfall to try them out!

 

Bummed . No H9s in mail. Somebody is getting a Monday Morning wake up call

 

Update: These bulbs are excellent. They have a much better color temperature, more white and not nearly as warm. The light output it very noticeable i almost feel like I'm driving with my high beams on. I drove down dark desert roads tonight and tried the high beams, they just added more coverage in the periphery and vertically. The change in noticeable distance from the high beams wasn't as apparent as compared with the stock bulbs. Overall I am very satisfied with these GE +130 bulbs and will be ordering a second set for replacements when the time comes. As I had mentioned before I was looking to convert to HID but these have definitely quelled that desire for now. @crashnburn80 thank for for recommendations and all the hard work you have put into this. And I hope you know you're putting a lot of smiles on people's faces!

 

Looks like they are shipped from Amazon .

 

Looks like XD has the Philips bulbs again .

 

I've been using the XD Phillips kit for a while now, I'm currently trying out the GE +130's. I loved the Phillips hid in color and brightness but it seems like its on the side of too damn bright. I know on particular hilly roads I see that cut off line go way up sometimes 10 feet in the air. Since the cutoff isn't so exterme with the GE's the Squirrel spotters seem to be more pronounced and I see road signs a bit better. Since the hotspot is directly in front of the truck when coming over hills its not in the oncoming traffics field of view. The peripheral light though is greatly reduced, probably more so since I have gotten used to the gobs of light the XD's put out. I may try the H9 option after the GE's burn out to see if I can get the best of both worlds. Also I can try raising the aim a slight bit with these as I think its down about an inch where it could be, I don't have a lot of down road light even with the XD's. I couldn't possibly think about doing that with the XD's

 

The Philips bulbs should be 3200 lumens, but since the XD ballast are over driven to 41-42w instead of spec 35w, I’d estimate that puts output at ~3600+lumens. That is with guesstimating a 75% efficiency on the increased power. So yes, very very bright.

 

What's the difference between these


And these

 

That’s what my research shows, too.

Sort of like flash lights. I got a small Streamlight and it came in possible two product numbers. One was an easy to open cardboard box, and one required a torch.

 

Yep, agreed. Googling the part number differences shows the same thing, packaging difference.

 

The top photo is the newest packaging.

 

25% off at powerbulbs. However, the GE’s are still out of stock ha