3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

I bought the new connectors and did the whole re-pin thing only to figure out that all I *really* needed to do was swap the green and yellow caps inside the plugs.

:shagrin:

 

I re-did my connectors since I had them. Nice to have fresh plastic. Since mine was a 2016 the connectors on the truck didn't fit the yellow replacements quite as perfectly as the new ones did, they were just a tiny bit loose.

 

Think maybe you could use your pull and convince them that there are 100s of 1000s of 15-20 f150 owners that need these?

 

I'll drop the suggestion but it sounds like due to the very high cost of tooling for the headlights they are going to first focus on popular models in current production before evaluating older out of production models.

 

Winter is coming.

 

So after 4 years, my HID kit (redacted vendor name) has finally begun to give me some issues. Phillips 4300K bulbs will fire off, but the passenger side will, after X time, go dark, attempt to reignite, flicker, then stop trying.

My question is, what's the current best bang / buck in terms of luminosity for a given wattage. 2018 Taco, projector housings.

Are LED's no longer a desired bulb setup for low beams?

 

PnP replacement LEDs have never been a desired or well performing option, though that is what many vendors will try to push. The best setup by far is an OEM LED assembly swap. It has higher output in low and high beam than the best performing replacement bulbs for the halogen assemblies and it is a high quality OEM grade component. Best pnp option in the halogen assemblies is a basic Philips H9 swap into the low beam. While the H9 swap is a massive improvement from stock, you might not be satisfied with the output coming from HID. If set on wanting pnp LEDs, Morimoto 2 stroke 3.0s are the best ones out there, they are however easily outperformed by a pair of Philips H9s for less than $20.

 

I have to do this in my wife's JGC. There's actually an H9 inside her headlamp assembly between the assembly opening and the bulb opening. The only way to get at the bulb to replace it is through the fender well and dislocating your wrist. I'm astonished the H9s haven't burnt out yet, TBH.

 

Isn't it fun when manufactures engineer convoluted ways to do basic maintenance tasks? Just to change the turn signal bulb and a 168 parking light on my Escape involves a few circus moves...for those with long and thin arms. For me, the only plausible way is to remove the wheel and fender liner as shown in this video.
https://youtu.be/9m7X32x0R9k

Or remove the bumper...
https://youtu.be/iJFrcRdCtRc

Tangent over...

 

Thats good ol Ford for you..

 

Isn't much better on my 4Runner for the side marker bulbs.

 

I just got those from my local parts supplier, really happy with the easy upgrade

 

My commuter is a 2013 VW Passat TDI. The DRL's are burnt out. My arm needs to bend in three places. They're still burnt out.

 

God this thread is awesome. I just got some philips H9s delivered and installed them, no metal trimming and they fit pretty easily. Huge upgrade and i'm stoked on it. So much so that I may delay this LED purchase indefinitely. My question is - is there any downside to removing the green caps? What purpose do they serve? Feels weird taking them out and just not replacing them with anything

 

They serve the purpose of making sure you install an H11 bulb into the H11 plug. Remove them, run the H9s and never look back.

 

Anyone had any issues trying align the headlights? Seems like I’m always off and I don’t want to turn it too much where it breaks.

 

You have a level spot 25' from a wall to perform the procedure? The OEM units should not break from adjustment, they are not low quality Morimoto products.

 

Yes I had it spot level at 25 but on the Morimoto headlight it says do not rotate clockwise/counterclockwise no more than 3 times or it will break.

 

Oh... Didn't realize you were trying to adjust the Morimoto units, yes breakage is a real risk on those as per the warning on the headlights.