3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

Thanks buddy

 

You're welcome.

 

Define "free." They [H9] perform great and are inexpensive, but they also have brighter uplight/more glare, require modifications to fit, and have a shorter life. So many people here are bashing on LEDs because they may cause glare in some reflectors, but the LEDs I put in my projectors have nearly zero glare if any at all (as Crash, the master himself, has testified is due to the way projectors work), as well as nearly zero uplight at all because they don't even send light to the part of the housing that creates uplight. Granted, no uplight is a bad thing because my overhead sign visibility is trash, but it's certainly not blinding anyone like all you critics are claiming. It's hilarious that so many of you falsely bash away at LEDs for "blinding people;" then you promote a bulb that has no glare cap which would absolutely blind the shit out of people in many reflector housings (sound familiar?), and even exceeds the legal glare limit in OUR projectors. The hypocrisy here is unreal!

It's understandable to have a grudge against people that buy aftermarket lights that have absurd amounts of glare, but bashing ALL LEDs (and the people that buy them) is childish and trollish. Especially considering most of the blinding lights on the road are (most likely) the old bulky LEDs or HIDs, not the newer LEDs. If you have actual PROOF via RECENT tests conducted using the newer bulb types (specifically bulbs that we're talking about would be ideal) then I'm more than willing to reconsider my stance. However, if all you have is baseless trolling or conjecture based on old bulbs or unknown bulbs (which is what I suspect is the case more often than not), then stay out of it. Hell, if you even have personal testimony related to one of these bulbs that have been discussed in this thread, I'd be happy to take that into consideration. The most recent (and only) tests that I've seen using the Hikari Ultra shows that it outperforms the stock bulb by a significant margin, does not show worse glare than stock, and DOES show LESS glare than the highest recommended bulb in this thread (which only slightly outperforms the Hikari). There is also personal testimony from multiple users that have read this thread, are familiar with, or at least aware of the concepts being talked about here, that speak favorably about the newer LED bulbs. I have personally rode my bike in front of my Tacoma. I have had another police officer ride his bike in front of my bike. I have had my girlfriend drive my Tacoma in front of my bike. In all instances, there have been no complaints about glare. In all instances, I have been very happy with the light output. Unfortunately, I don't have any personal testimony regarding the LEDs I put in Mustang, as I haven't had it out with anyone else. However, I can say with confidence that it probably has worse glare than stock, but not as bad as it would be if I had an old LED design, a drop-in HID, or even just a brighter halogen bulb.

I'm not saying LEDs are perfect, obviously. However, they aren't the retina searing, demon semen a lot of you seem to claim they are.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NYFq7ZJg4c


Here's you some laughs !

 

I think that the main point here, & what has been proven by OP's testing, is that a halogen bulb in a halogen projector will out perform an LED bulb in a halogen projector, even if the halogen bulb "only slightly outperforms" the LED bulb, as you've stated. Slightly better is still better... & it really makes sense that the halogen bulb would out perform the LED bulb in a halogen projector since it was designed as & even called a halogen projector. Seems simple enough to me.

 

For simple clarification, LEDs in halogen projections like the 3rd Gen headlight low beams do not cause glare because of the projector, the issue at hand is focus. Focus affects having the light distribution correct in the pattern and distance projection performance. As pointed out by @TACO_ROCKET LEDs in the projector actually produce significantly less uplight because the LED does not produce omni-directional light as the assembly was designed for, and using an uncapped bulb does produce more up-light. Reflectors and projectors are different style lighting assemblies with different characteristics.

I've got two more LED sets coming this week to test and add to the thread, which should be interesting.

And since I have to mod my Rigid pre-release fog mounts and let them set overnight, I should have time to test out the amber Pro6 covers for the high beam project this evening.

 

Well she was
Blinded by the light
Revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night

 

I see on the Amazon site it says, it will not fit a Tacoma. Is there any extra wiring or was it just plug and play?

 

plug and play. They are 25 w a piece and I know there are some with higher wattage like 30 per bulb that I’m sure are even brighter but these are good for the money. I don’t think they are anywhere close to what @crashnburn80 tests with the halogens but they are at least brighter than stock with that nice led color if your looking for that.

I’ll switch them out when I notice something with more watts and tons of good reviews for the money in the future also but for now I’m satisfied.

also I noticed it said it wouldn’t fit either and I have no clue why. Could be An Amazon glitch as it used to say it fit and if you check the reviews and questions others with Tacomas use also.

 

I think Distance is the prime word here.
Focus and distance is what I'm always looking for.

 

Bingo. I could careless about color. I’d rather have truly a better all around light. Even if I have to change them more frequently.

 

Pro6 SAE aux high beam test

Single Pro6 - 3104 lux


Single Pro6 w/amber cover - 1840 lux






With amber cover


The yellow color is a very impressive true yellow which should perform very well in poor weather conditions, but at a 31% loss is a little harder on the output than I was hoping for. The Rigid selective yellow by comparison is a bit more green in color, but also has less filtration losses. It may be great if swapping lenses was easy, but since these are going behind the grill it won’t be.

Edit for side-by-side pic. Tried to reduce the intensity in this photo to better capture color comparison.

 

@Kidwidataco @AssQuake If you guys were curious on the performance numbers.

 

Are these the kcs?

 

I think the angle of the light is going to effect the amount of glare back with the driving lights more than the color.
Leaving the house tonight to head to a wine tasting:

Xencn H9 yellow fogs in TRD OR housings only


Phillips h9 lows and fogs


hella 700ff with 100w Hella h3


Turning on the high beams is jumping to light speed!

 

I’ve been running the GE130’s for about 6 months. Much brighter than stock, obvs. But I wasn’t crazy about losing some of the light to the sides. It seemed really focused right down the middle.

I was looking at the Sylvania Xtra vision H11’s this week and realized how much further down the glare cap goes on the GE’s.



for comparison, here is the Sylvania...


I installed the Sylvania and was pleasantly surprised by the regaining of the light to the sides. Overall, I like the Sylvania better for this reason.

is the shorter glare cap the reason for the better light to the sides?

also- WHY does the glare cap come so far down on the GE’s?

 

So you obviously prefer the sylvania over the GE’s, are they comparable for distance projection?

My main reason for wanting to replace the bulbs is for greater distance than stock, but I also don’t want to lose side light as you were saying.

Was looking at 2020 pro LED headlights but I’m worried about snow build up in the winter time so I think I’ll stay with halogens. Would like to keep them plug and play so H11’s is my go to I guess.
What is the best all around performing Halogen for a 2020 TRD Sport?

 

Yep! The ones I put on while you guys were over. I’ll update the post to add a product pic.

You are also running all halogens, vs the higher color temp of the Pro6 LEDs.

Good observation on the GEs, I also think the GEs glare cap seems a bit aggressive. The primary reason for less light on the sides though is focus. The GEs do not create more light than stock, and may in fact produce slightly less as they consume less current than stock. The high efficiency bulbs are brighter by using a smaller light source to focus more of the light to the hot spot of the beam. Think of one of the old adjustable focus style Maglight flashlights. If you have a fixed amount of light being produced and you are placing more into the hotspot for higher intensity to extend the distance projection, you end up essentially taking it from the outer edges of the beam. The bulk of the output is reflected off the back of the projector bowl, so the extended glare cap does not interrupt as much of the the output as one might first think, though the extended cap doesn’t help. This is the benefit of the Philips H9 swap that isn’t reflected in hotspot lux, since the bulbs produce more light, not just higher intensity focus, you get greater output throughout the pattern vs shifting focus to the hotspot to get the higher intensity.

 

The Philips H9 swap gives you higher peak intensity at the hotspot than the GEs, meaning greater distance projection, while also giving you more light through the rest of the pattern. All you have to do to make them plug and play is notch off the inside plastic tab. Takes less than a minute with a small knife per bulb.

If you want off the shelf plug and play, it is a balance. The best performing H11 is the GE Xenon +120, but that is best as defined by best in class hotspot, highest intensity and best distance projection. The higher the +xxx rating, the higher the focus intensity meaning better distance projection output, but that isn’t free, you are just enhancing focus to move more light from elsewhere to the hotspot. You can choose a lower efficiency bulb like Philips Xtreme +100 that doesn’t have the extreme focus, and have a less intense hotspot but more consistent light output throughout the pattern. It is a spectrum of how you want to balance your lighting performance.

In Canada I definitely would stay with halogens. H9s will provide even better resistance to icing over than H11s.