1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

LifeTime LED Headlights??

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by Chris24, Nov 27, 2013.

  1. Nov 28, 2013 at 7:13 PM
    #21
    =JSG=

    =JSG= Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2010
    Member:
    #41475
    Messages:
    681
    Gender:
    Male
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    2006 OR to 2021 DC TRD OR 4x4 SB
    Morimoto 2 Stroke 3.0 lows, Squadron-R Sport , Method NVs, Bilstein 6112/5160
  2. Nov 28, 2013 at 7:21 PM
    #22
    jtav2002

    jtav2002 Kenny Fuckin Powers

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2009
    Member:
    #19074
    Messages:
    4,460
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Josh
    Reading, PA
    Vehicle:
    2013 Tundra DBL Cab TRD OR
    I tried LED's in fog lights before. While the color/look was nice, the actual light output was absolutely atrocious. Similiar bulbs in the headlights would have been downright dangerous. And sure while any judgement should be reserved til you actually see these in person, I question how good any drop in LED bulb for a halogen housing will be when LED headlights in vehicles stock is a pretty new thing with only a handful of vehicles using them.
     
  3. Nov 28, 2013 at 7:22 PM
    #23
    kd8bao

    kd8bao Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2011
    Member:
    #53990
    Messages:
    507
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Henry
    Cleveland
    Vehicle:
    2000 Excursion 7.3L - Ex '11 Taco DCSB
    We just became a dealer for lifetime LEDs. We have lights on our site and my headlight bulbs will be here in a few days. Will get a write up done asap
     
  4. Nov 28, 2013 at 7:35 PM
    #24
    KenLyns

    KenLyns 8.75" Third Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2010
    Member:
    #37674
    Messages:
    29,365
    Gender:
    Male
    Belly of the Beast
    Vehicle:
    4x4 TRD Off-Road Full-Auto
    LED Headlights, Volant CAI, 32" Duratracs
    Technology has a habit of advancing every now and then. You can get bright output out of small LED enclosures (think ADV Monster). And if they mount the LED on the bulb base so the focal point lines up with where the filament would be on a halogen bulb, it's possible to get good output on the OE reflector housing.

    Interesting comment on the IH8Mud thread:
     
  5. Nov 28, 2013 at 7:40 PM
    #25
    skidooman

    skidooman I'm your huckleberry

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2011
    Member:
    #54438
    Messages:
    5,603
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    TJ
    Northern Nevada
    Vehicle:
    19 Taco
    Kings, JBA, BAMF, C4, Deaver, Prinsu, TJM, SnugTop, 5.29s
  6. Nov 28, 2013 at 7:46 PM
    #26
    Hogtownchris

    Hogtownchris Member

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2013
    Member:
    #115869
    Messages:
    14
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Chris
    GTA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Tacoma trd sport
    For what it's worth, the short answer is LEDs are better. The issue is understanding how light works. The indeed do last a lifetime. The actual LED is a phosphor that cannot burn out. There is nothing to burn out. What makes an led seem to burn out is the electronics to make the phosphor glow. The brightness of an LED or rather the appearance of brightness has nothing to do with intensity. All phosphor glows at the exact intensity. What makes it "brighter" is the square footage of an LED (the square that you can actually see) the size and shape of the lens on top of the led , and how much phosphor coating is on that square piece (the thickness and quality). The drop off of light from an LED is less than that of HID or tungsten. In other words it looks great up close but tungsten bulbs and his bulbs throw light better and longer. This is why the quality of the lens on top of the LED makes up for the inadequacies of the phosphor throw. It's expensive now but the prices continue to come down every year. Next year you will see technology even better and at half the price. I am currently changing all my film sets to LED. The movie industry is changing over to LED at a pretty good rate right now. For a example a single LED source on a PRG light has 100 times the intensity of a similar tungsten light consuming the same amount of power. This is where LED is better. More and more cars are using LED in the lighting because it is really cheap to do and engineers can be far more creative at a quarter of the cost. Personally I'm not sold yet on headlight LEDs because the automotive industry is not yet where the film industry is. That being said, when they do catch up and perfect the phosphor it will blow the doors off of any hid or tungsten light. This is my 2cw but I have been in the design and engineering side of LEDs for about 10 years now. I have priced out automotive LEDs like the various off road lights and although they may seem expensive, for what you get they are really cheap. Off roads lights are pretty good but not really sure about headlights.
     
  7. Nov 28, 2013 at 7:55 PM
    #27
    jtav2002

    jtav2002 Kenny Fuckin Powers

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2009
    Member:
    #19074
    Messages:
    4,460
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Josh
    Reading, PA
    Vehicle:
    2013 Tundra DBL Cab TRD OR
    I'm not questioning the output of LED's in general. I think LED lightning technology is great and is obviously where the future of lighting is moving. I'm sure there will be bulbs that will have far superiour output than the bulbs I messed around with. Granted then you may end up with the issue that throwing HID's in halogen housings has with scattering light all over the place and blinding people. I'd be all for an aftermarket LED solution akin to what doing a proper HID retrofit provides. The same way vehicles with HID's don't simply have an HID bulb stuffed in a housing not designed for it, vehicles with LED's have a different setup as well. Something that a simple bulb replacement doesn't address.
     
  8. Nov 28, 2013 at 8:18 PM
    #28
    Sandman614

    Sandman614 Ex-Snarky TWSS elf, Travis #hotsavannahdotcom

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2010
    Member:
    #45273
    Messages:
    35,538
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Tim
    Garner, NC/Boone, NC
    Vehicle:
    '06 SR5 Off Road
    ARB Front Bumper, Projector Headlights w/Slimcubby 4300K HID's, Oznium LED's, LED taillights, DIY Washable Cabin Moose Filter, Sockmonkey SR5 Off Road, Aux Audio plug, OME 886x, OME Nitrochargers, Wheelers 3 Leaf Progressive AAL, ImMrYo Rear-View Mirror Lift Bracket, Dodge D-Rings
    This is key, IFF.

    Do you have any input on this? Thinking along the same lines as HIDs dropped in halogen reflector housings. What's the proper housing for these leds? Will they throw bad scatter/blinding light? Will you cover these in your write up?
     
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2013
  9. Nov 28, 2013 at 8:19 PM
    #29
    KenLyns

    KenLyns 8.75" Third Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2010
    Member:
    #37674
    Messages:
    29,365
    Gender:
    Male
    Belly of the Beast
    Vehicle:
    4x4 TRD Off-Road Full-Auto
    LED Headlights, Volant CAI, 32" Duratracs
    The situation with HID kits is not quite the same. An HID drop-in kit maker is stuck with mounting a pre-manufactured standard D1 or D2 bulb on a halogen base, so they can't locate the arc center precisely in the same spot as the halogen bulb's filament. An LED bulb maker has more freedom in designing the bulb.
     
  10. Nov 28, 2013 at 8:33 PM
    #30
    jtav2002

    jtav2002 Kenny Fuckin Powers

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2009
    Member:
    #19074
    Messages:
    4,460
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Josh
    Reading, PA
    Vehicle:
    2013 Tundra DBL Cab TRD OR
    I will certainly be interested in seeing the results if great output can be achieved without any negative effects.
     
  11. Nov 28, 2013 at 8:44 PM
    #31
    AzogSS

    AzogSS Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 26, 2009
    Member:
    #21829
    Messages:
    2,971
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Andy
    Soda City, SC
    Vehicle:
    2008 Tacoma / 2011 FJC
    Subbed
     
  12. Nov 29, 2013 at 9:38 PM
    #32
    kd8bao

    kd8bao Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2011
    Member:
    #53990
    Messages:
    507
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Henry
    Cleveland
    Vehicle:
    2000 Excursion 7.3L - Ex '11 Taco DCSB
    Yes this will all get covered. And as stated below the original quote, HID have a different focal point than halogen. These LEDs seem to have a similar if not identical focal. They should be here Tuesday or Wednesday so I will get pics and comparisons
     
  13. Nov 29, 2013 at 9:40 PM
    #33
    Konaborne

    Konaborne Pineapples on pizza Hawaiian does not it make.

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2010
    Member:
    #46536
    Messages:
    31,906
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Cody
    Kealakekua, Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    Lifted 00 TRD Off-Road
    fox extended travel remote resivoir coilovers, 14" eibach 600lb coils, All Pro tubular chromoly 1" uniball upper control arms, All Pro expedition leaf packs, 10" bilstein 5150 piggyback reservoir shocks 265/75r16 Goodyear wrangler MT/R kevlars wrapped around 16" Helo 791 gloss black, Mini H1 retrofits with 6000k bulbs, 18" magnaflow w/custom exhaust reroute various decals, Sockmonkey retro hood stripes
    keep me in the loop here..I'd be interested...
     
  14. Nov 30, 2013 at 10:36 AM
    #34
    ae111black

    ae111black Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2012
    Member:
    #77004
    Messages:
    821
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Kimo
    Hilo Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    2013 Trd Sport
    plenty
    I saw tons of these @ SEMA nobody could produce a beamshot or a working sample.....
     
  15. Nov 30, 2013 at 10:41 AM
    #35
    Delmarva

    Delmarva Mayor of TW

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2008
    Member:
    #10148
    Messages:
    36,628
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Mike
    Tucson, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2013 4runner Limited Looking for a Taco
    It's the wife's T4R so it's stock
    Subbing
     
  16. Dec 2, 2013 at 6:32 PM
    #36
    rican taco

    rican taco Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 21, 2010
    Member:
    #43608
    Messages:
    48
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Eddie
    Jacksonville, FL
    Vehicle:
    XSP-X
    AS MANY AS THE WIFE WILL LET ME DO.
    Any pics of these on a truck?

    20130805_181703.jpg
     
  17. Dec 2, 2013 at 7:32 PM
    #37
    Konaborne

    Konaborne Pineapples on pizza Hawaiian does not it make.

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2010
    Member:
    #46536
    Messages:
    31,906
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Cody
    Kealakekua, Hawaii
    Vehicle:
    Lifted 00 TRD Off-Road
    fox extended travel remote resivoir coilovers, 14" eibach 600lb coils, All Pro tubular chromoly 1" uniball upper control arms, All Pro expedition leaf packs, 10" bilstein 5150 piggyback reservoir shocks 265/75r16 Goodyear wrangler MT/R kevlars wrapped around 16" Helo 791 gloss black, Mini H1 retrofits with 6000k bulbs, 18" magnaflow w/custom exhaust reroute various decals, Sockmonkey retro hood stripes
    I'd be interested in a h1 config to throw into my projectors, think that'd be awesome
     
  18. Dec 2, 2013 at 7:42 PM
    #38
    Pistol Pete

    Pistol Pete Go Pokes!

    Joined:
    May 29, 2013
    Member:
    #105142
    Messages:
    4,056
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Eric
    Oklahoma
    Vehicle:
    2016 MGM DCSB OR 4x4
    Clazzio leather seat covers, CBI T3 front, SOS sliders, SCS Ray10s, 285/75/16 Duratracs, debadged, extra bed D-ring tiedowns, Advantage TorzaTop, OEM bed mat, custom center console organizer, Husky liners, remote start.
  19. Dec 2, 2013 at 8:05 PM
    #39
    Sandman614

    Sandman614 Ex-Snarky TWSS elf, Travis #hotsavannahdotcom

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2010
    Member:
    #45273
    Messages:
    35,538
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Tim
    Garner, NC/Boone, NC
    Vehicle:
    '06 SR5 Off Road
    ARB Front Bumper, Projector Headlights w/Slimcubby 4300K HID's, Oznium LED's, LED taillights, DIY Washable Cabin Moose Filter, Sockmonkey SR5 Off Road, Aux Audio plug, OME 886x, OME Nitrochargers, Wheelers 3 Leaf Progressive AAL, ImMrYo Rear-View Mirror Lift Bracket, Dodge D-Rings
    Whatcha looking for?
     
  20. Dec 2, 2013 at 9:28 PM
    #40
    colbyrainey

    colbyrainey Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2013
    Member:
    #113049
    Messages:
    324
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Colby
    KC
    Vehicle:
    '11 Dbl TRD Sport
    TSB Leafs, Bilstein 5100's @ 1.75", K&N Filter, Kenwood DNX 6180, BFG Rugged Terrain T/A's, ImMrYo Rearview Mirror Bracket, Extra D-Rings, Gloss Black Stock Wheels, Grillcraft Grille

Products Discussed in

To Top