3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

I like to run white in the summer, yellow in the winter for snow/snowing conditions.

RI has state vehicle inspections, so it would be a no go for me there.

 

Thanks for the reply @crashnburn80 . Will be ordering both this time, hopefully...

 

The kapton should peel off nicely even after several month of exposure, based on my experience with it. It's definitely a very obvious thing even with the vehicle off, but its quick and easy to remove if you get a fix it ticket or warning.

 

You have lots of time.

 

Thanks for the help with pointing. Read some information how to point but was somewhat blurred in practice...

"Fog lights should also be positioned approximately 24 inches apart and aimed so the cut-off line of the beams is about the middle of the low-beam headlights’ pattern.

The best way to aim the lights is to park the truck on a level surface 25 feet from a wall.

Measure the distance between the center of the fog light and the ground. Then place a horizontal mark on the wall at that height.

Now adjust the lights so the top of the fog beam pattern is about 4 inches below the lamp center at 25 feet with the lamp facing straight forward."

When 25 feet away the fogs blur into the wall with the blur of headlights, even switching between fogs and headlights can not provide a clean cut off measurement.

There is a happy medium where you are far enough away from the wall to get a clear cut off measurement without blur. Finding the level surface without curb is tricky as most areas are designed for slope away from a building. I thought the picture was pretty cool for an example of cut off with the headlights and fogs. When I first installed my DD SS3 sports, I marked the height of the white cut off of the OEM fogs on the garage doors. The SS3's when installed flush with the trim are pointed higher than the OEM fogs and must be lowered to project at a long distance without rising. Adjusting to have a small gap at the bottom of the fog light is also provided in the DD SS3 installation instructions. Any angle below level should not blind on coming traffic. Perhaps a 1" drop at 6 feet from a wall would be similar to 4" at 25 feet as mentioned above.

 

Correct, measurements from further distances are just more accurate, you could also do a 2" drop at 12.5 ft. But finding a perfectly flat area near a wall 25ft + the length of the vehicle can be a real challenge.

 

Parking garage, depending on the architecture of it?

 

I did mine behind a nearby strip mall.

 

Certainly could work if the deck is flat, might not be the most convenient to find depending on where one lives.

 

Should work good in a parking garage. Most outside walls have sidewalks and for measuring you need a clear 90 degrees.

 

Found it. These are the only yellow H9 bulbs I've tested, they are Xencn "+80" (not really) Golden Eyes. These use a diffraction coating for a golden color appearance vs a filtering coating. Normally a diffraction bulb would cause blue light above the cut off, but the glare shield in the projector seems to do a good job in only allowing the yellow light through. You can see the Xencn bulbs are about 30% lower in output than the Philips H9s. Xencn from China isn't a quality bulb manufacture and publishes a lot of outright lies in their specs. This is not a "+80" H9 as advertised. These bulbs are not available in the US, meaning you need to order them on ebay out of China or China AliExpress. The Xencn bulbs H9 metal tab base is larger than a standard H9, it will not fit into an H11 socket without trimming. In somewhat ironic timing, I threw this pair of bulbs away last week in a garage cleanout, or I'd offer them to you to try. I believe these are the only diffraction coated H9s available, for other yellow H9 options you'd want to look at the Nokya Hyper Yellow.

 

Can we have the supernova sv.4 on this thread too?

 

If someone wants to lend me a set, sure.

 

Hi 3rd gen headlight experts.

I replaced my Odyssey high beam bulbs with Toshiba's last night, including a tab modification to fit the 9005 socket (thanks for the idea Crash!) In the process of doing this, I lost one grey plastic dust cover on the back as pictured. It fell into the engine bay. I rooted around for it for quite some time, removed some lower splash guard panels, shone my light, can't seem to find it anywhere, also not on the ground. At this point I probably need to assume it's lost for good.

What would be the best course of action given that the bulb is brand new and not super cheap so throwing it out to buy a new one seems wasteful? Though I might be able to buy a new one and swap the plastic dust cover for now, then have a spare ready. Just that as high beams, these should have a long life and I already have the OEM's if a bulb burns out, plus it's high beams so there aren't many emergencies where they would be essential for safety.

I'll try to get a photo of the back with the missing dust cover, it looks like what you'd expect, two terminals about 1cm apart, in a bed of clear (vendor says high temp silicone) sealant.

Options I've considered:

1. Coat with hot glue (worried that my regular hot glue won't do well in extreme heat)
2. Coat with high temp silicone sealant ($8 ish investment)
3. Coat with jb weld (is this safe for 65w and high temperatures?)
4. Leave as-is since it's fairly well protected from accidental contact and high beams won't normally be energized except while driving with the hood closed so worst case a short blows a fuse or destroys the bulb.

Any other good ideas?

 

Output photos from the knock off 3rd Gen LED reflector headlights in post #44 here. Spoiler alert, they are not good.

 

I think I'd go the epoxy route. Just make sure the epoxy doesn't have any reinforcing metallic fibers which would be conductive.

 

Plus the non-supernova S-V.4 from headlight revolution.

I'll be giving my own review of them vs stock soon, although mine probably won't be as technical as OP's current thread.

 

It’s a crappy photo but yellow lows in halogen H11s. Actually a much bigger fan of these than I thought. I might just keep them year round.

 

Thanks for the vote. That reminded me to take a photo. It is quite the tight space in there.

 

Warmer color light is easier on the eyes, it is hard to explain but definitely nice to drive with. What bulbs are you running?