HID or LED

I have tinted black headlights and my led bulb is decent would a 5000k HID bulb be brighter than the LED?

 

Retrofit or nothing...

 

I would like that more than anything but can't pull 1000$ out of my hind end for headlights

 

Okay tinting your headlights was dumb. Running an HID bulb in a reflector housing is even more dumb.

Sorry not sorry.

If you're going for bro-bag douche-dozer look that is illegal and blinds old folks and people with sensitivity to light then go for the HID's.

If you're going for more light output then get non tinted headlights and keep the LEDs.

If you really feel the need for better output pay the money ($600+) and get a good set of retrofitted projector housings made for HID's that have the DOT legal cut off but please don't be a dick and drop HID bulbs in your stock reflector style buckets. It scatters the light and can cause accidents and people just think you're a dick for it.

 

That's the main reason I wanted to get some info on here first I don't want them to be to bright and like you said blind everyone. I'll probably end up getting a set of non tinted ones with the black trim on the inside, although I would love projectors

 

You need projectors regardless. It isn't about "too bright", mine are actually brighter. It is about control.

Read this, the same is true for HID:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/why-leds-should-not-be-run-in-halogen-reflectors.454371/

If you want significantly brighter lights without projectors:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-not-led-or-hid.398066/

 

Led all the way

 

If you can do the work yourself the cost of a retrofit is about $250-300.

 

ended up ordering a pair of projectors, I got theese just black instead of chrome.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-2011-T...d=301892644794&_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850

 

Where did you find them in black?

 

I have hid and about to toss them... I let my brother drive my truck and I was in his car leading. God damn I was blinded by my own lights . Now I know why I got the finger so much , what a dick I am

 

on protuninglab.com

 

Just FYI, LED's in a reflector housing blind others just as much as HID's in a reflector housing.

 

thats why im switching to projectors

 

Are they high and low beam projectors?

 

yes

 

Which unfortunately use low end cheap halogen projectors. You would have been better off retrofitting your stock housings with real HID projectors. And if you wanted the blacked out look, paint or plastidip the inside black while you have it open. Also, as long as you don't break (or paint) anything, a retrofit is completely reversible.

 

Generally I would agree with you, which is why I avoided going LED until I found this kit.

However these bulbs were designed specifically to have the same lighting characteristics in a reflector housing as a standard halogen bulb. They have a pronounced cut off at the same spot as the halogen bulbs and they do not scatter the light in the housings. The LED bulbs that I installed have only two chips, both facing up, and one sits higher than the other just like how halogen bulbs have two filaments with a cup underneath them so direct light doesn't shine down and one filiment is behind and above the other. The chips are also placed in the same spots as a halogen's filaments front to back and again only emit light up, this allows the bulb to retain high and low beams making use of the compound reflector's shape without flooding the housing with undirected scattered light.

Again most LED's are just chips on a stick and scatter light 360° like an HID bulb does, but these ones were engineered specifically for DOT reflector housing use.
I have never been flashed on the road for my LED lights unless I accidentally left the high beams on.



So stick that in your juice box and suck it.

 

What LEDs are you referring to?

 

Ones that wont fit in a 3rd gen, I oopsed into this thread from the front page a while back...

The ones in reference however are:
http://www.socalmotogear.com/HONDA-GOLD-WING-GL1500-LED-HEADLIGHT-SYSTEM-p/g15led.htm

I found them when I was looking for an upgrade for my 1200's pathetic excuse for a headlamp, seriously I know it's near on 40 year old tech but it was like a candle housed in muddy water.

On the 1200 I ended up with a GE branded "trucklight" DOT certified LED 7" round headlamp and couldn't be happier, but I couldn't get the idea of properly desgined LED lamps for my truck out of my head so eventually I bought the 1500 kit.

Only LED's I've had complaints about are my parking lights, which I have these installed:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...-led-tower-miniature-wedge-retrofit-car/1701/

Admittedly they are brighter than they probably should be but not blinding, and a non issue with my home made vynil eyelids now.

And I got pulled over by a cop in Georgia once for my "illegal" stock LED tail lights, that was fun trying to explain it came this way new. Saved from a ticket by the DOT stamp on the lense. He never said anything about my LED headlights though.