LED Lighting Conversion

LOL wow that's pretty funny. Awesome man, well go for it. They look good in his pics

 

Just ordered those along with the ones you mentioned! Added an extra dome because why not and 15% off for the 4th so that was a nice bonus!

 

Nice!! Try and stay on top of the MeSo thread though cause you will love those ultimate map and domes

 

Those fuse types are the right ones for the vanity. Even after telling them the ones they recommend for are trucks are wrong they still list the wrong ones. There diameter is to big to fit in there.

 

Good to hear! Ordered mine earlier, thanks for the heads up

 

Just briefly, for the headlights (Low Beam & High Beam) the Hikari Philips ruled, then Xenon Depot came along and became the new go to for some guys.

What's different? In a nut shell:

Hikari vs Xenon Depot
6000 k vs 5500 k
Fans vs Heat Sinks
Non Adjustable (sort of) vs Easily Adjustable
Customer Support via Email vs Phone

Prices and availability for the Xenon Depot bulbs are better too.

Here's a comparison of the two from the drivers seat:

Hikari (with DRL on):



Xenon Depot (No DRL):



So why the switch and endorsement? Well, for me, I am not confident to adjust the Hikari LEDs like others did so that the diodes were at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock like they should be in the High Beam sockets. The other reason and I am sure what everyone says about fans in these bulbs never being an issue is true. For me though, and my luck, I just figured why chance it. I don't off road now but I would like to some day. That includes sitting still sometimes in muddy water up to the hood. I just felt like that even though the fan design bulbs say water proof and show examples of them in glasses of water, with my luck muddy water would be an issue. I'm also a big customer service fan kind of guy. Being able to pick up the phone and talk to someone in plain english if there is a problem is how I like to do business.

Trust me, I am not saying the Hikari are bad, I am saying for me the Xenon Depot are better for me.

You can put either in the fog light assembly too and some have very successfully. I run Morimotos. I liked that blacked out look when they are off. The work very well. Others can help you on the fogs. Unless you want to know about the Morimotos.

Hope this helps.

Edit - Don't let the color temp or intensity difference of the two fool you. These photos were taking at two completely different times of the year. Naturally with no foliage and the stone drive being treated with salt in the top, winter shot, things are going to look more intense. In real life, my personal opinion, the Xenon Depot bulbs were a tad bit brighter. I think the light is better distributed making the coverage more uniform. I attribute this to the fact that the diodes in both the LB & HB are at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock thanks to the adjustibilty feature. How can you tell then? Look all the way to the end of the drive. Look how much more the trees at the end are illuminated.

 

Ok Brett, I'm finally getting around to responding to this post Bro, sorry for the delay. I definitely understand being insanely busy!

First! WEDDING!!!!!! ? So glad to hear it is happening for you Man! Like I said before, you are a lucky man, she is definitely your soul mate!

Second, it's good to be busy with work. Idle hands are the devils playground I always say. Look at me now as I type this during work hours LOL.

Ok, now to the next post I am slacking on..........

 

Still no Fog Pod install. I'll cut you some slack since you said the Magic W word in your previous post.
Don't listen to Drew, he's been carvin wood for so log it is second nature to him. The pizza thing was a hoax initiated by me though. LOL

 

Great job man! looks fantastic!

Hey, you might want to check those drivers to be sure that 3M tape is not coming loose. They get warm, not hot, and I am sure you will be good but better safe than sorry. Mine are still just hanging loose, or as they say on the Islands, Shaka!

 

Will do. I was wondering about that. Thanks

 

Funny, I saw this after I just posted the brief summary of the differences. I am still really liking the 5500 k over the 6000 k with the Xenon Depot Extreme Pros. Steve at @XenonDepot knows his shit (I haven't talked to Danny yet but I would have to assume he is just as knowledgeable) and was describing how after LEDs heat up to the max temps that the diodes can suffer and actually lower the output. He was saying how that is not the case with the Xenon Depot bulbs. @crashnburn80 would be more the expert to substantiate this because you all know I am more a seat of your pants user, not so much the engineer with these. But I have driven a bunch of times, and the longest has been just about an hour and I see no difference from the time they come on to the time they go off.

What sux a little is, even driving home from work the few times (when the weather is nice my hybrid becomes the commuter vehicle and the truck sits) we have in the truck lately, unless I am at work past 8 pm it is still light out now on the drive home so I can't get any really good full darkness data. Not enough for me to make an assessment. There have been a couple times but it is usually when I am preoccupied with chores or something else. I like to be completely devoted when I am collecting data becuase that is how you, and others here taught me and that is what the rest of the guys on here deserve.

One major thing I noticed right away was how the Xenon Depot bulbs produced those lighter intensity boxes above the cutoff line that @crashnburn80 offered a sound explanation for a long time ago, before the Hikari days, when I brought up how I saw those with the $200 GTR bulbs.



Here are two photos that are also impressive showing the throw of these Xenon Depot bulbs



That is just the low beam. No DRL and no Fogs.

Here is the Low Beam and the High Beam only



That curve in the road is a generous football field away. I can see deer the day before they think about walking across the roadway now. Again, the Hikari's were comparable, but I honestly like this more.

I did a cost comparison too and based on te full price of the Hikari's on Amazon, no sale, the Xenon Depot bulbs (which are always on sale), with free shipping, are less money.

Obviously the installation took a little longer making sure the heat sink fins were spaced out as evenly as possible but Steve from Xenon Depot said it helps but is not critical. I found it relaxing. Normally I am in a hurry to do things but was forced to slow down a little.

So, that is my assessment and my opinions on these new bulbs. I like and endorse them 100%.

 

I do know I'd take the Hikari over the Xenon Depot with that comparison above. Looks a lot brighter to me. Plus you took those pic in two different seasons one with vegetation and one without.

 

That information is correct. When an LED has reached operating temperature the output is often referred to as 'stable output'. When cold, LEDs basically have more cooling available to them as the heat sinks and components are all cold, providing a larger temperature difference to cool with then when those components heat up. Once everything gets up to operating temperature some LEDs may suffer from reduced output. The time to reach operating temperature will vary between designs and conditions, but 10-15 min should be more than enough to get to stable output.

 

@RobP62

Holy Shit!!! WTF man....Those are aweomse!! Ok well great lol

I need these, but I cant really spend a ton of money right now. Who do I talk to about these and is there any chances of a discount at all? What do they go for?

 

I'm really confused by your post, man. I have the Hikari and these Xenon Depot's look way brighter than the Hikari. 2nd... the pictures he posted are identical in location and vegetation.

 

Post 3161 one has leaves and one doesn't.

 

True, the Hikari vs Xenon Depot comparison almost leads you to believe the Xenon Depot bulbs are not as bright and even I would agree with that just looking at the pictures. I almost never posted these because of the vegetation absorbs so much of the available light but forget the gravel, forget the vegetation and look at the tree trunks at the end of the lane here:
Hikari



Xenon Depot



Now look at the trees I am pointing too. Also look beyond the tree to the end of the lane. Is is 200% more light? No. Is it more light? Yes. Only @crashnburn80 has the instruments needed to measure exactly how much light. But clearly the tree I am pointing to in the Xenon Depot phot is definitely more illuminated and farther up the tree too.

Yes I did adjust my headlights higher but both of these pictures were taken after that occured. As a matter of fact this is not a fair comparison because I have the DRLs on with the Hikari and not with the Xenon Depot.

I mean, again, these were my thoughts and my right hand to God, when I installed these Xenon Depot bulbs I thought I was going to have to lower the headlights back down because to my eyes, they seemed a lot brighter to me, out in the country in total darkness. I figured I would see what other drivers thought and if I started to get flashed from them I would lower them. I did not. As a matter of fact, I was taking pics of the truck after installing my N-Fab Light Bar Mounting System and I was crouching to get a straight on shot. I was surprised how low I had to get before the light was in my eyes.

Here:



The camera is about 3.5' off the ground at this point.

Now I am standing and I am only 5'-8" so the camera is at about 5'-4"



If I had the time I would do a seriously comprehensive "comparison" review and start with the OEMs, put them back in, sit at this spot and take some pics. Switch to the Hikari's and shoot. Then the Xenon Depot bulbs. I am that kind of perfectionist and very much a skeptic myself. When I spend my money I want to be damn sure no one is trying to pull the wool over my eyes. The problem is, that ain't happening until winter time. Why? Well you see these woods. Every mosquito in Harford County lives in these woods and if they even hear you put your shoes on to come outside at night they are waiting for you. So, for now you'll have to take my word for it.

 

Ok, then this is more ammunition. I know I took that lane pic with the Hikari's right after I started the truck and before I went oout on the road to do my tests. The Xenon Depot on the other hand was at the end of the drive when I got back home.

 

Based on some educated speculation and number estimates, bear with me:

I tested the Hikaris against a Volsa H9 below. The H9 has a known standard output of 2100 lumens. The H9s were 30% brighter, or in other words the Hikaris were 70% the output of an H9. If you take the known 2100 lumen output and multiply it by the 70%, you get:

2100 lumens x 0.7 = 1470 lumens

So the Hikaris are approximately 1470 lumens. Compared to the stock H11 at about 1250 lumens, it is about an 18% increase in intensity over stock. Now comparing the stats for Xenon Depots H11 LED, they list is at 1750 stable lumens. (Xenon Depot actually does a great job on spec-ing real lumen output compared to most that oversell it to increase sales.) So if you take that 1750 lumens and divide it by the 1470:

1750 lumens /1470 lumens = 1.19

Meaning the Xenon Depot lights are approximately 19% brighter than the Hikaris. Of course this is all paper napkin style math without actually testing the product or seeing real world performance in the housing. But just some food for thought.

 

Much like I decided it was easier to buy the TRD Pro Rigid fogs and rack mount them in a simulated Tacoma front end rather than borrow a truck for an evening, the rack's next purpose will be 3rd Gen headlights. I've purchased OEM 3rd Gen assemblies and will be rack mounting to compare LED/HID/Halogen performance.