3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

I’m gonna say (anecdotally) that the GE probably projects further, but it’s super focused right down the middle of the road. And the “hotspot” is further away from the front of the vehicle. The Sylvania lays down more light closer to the vehicle. Additionally, the Sylvania lights the sides better. That’s about all I can tell ya.

overall, I’m liking the beam pattern with the Sylvania a Lot better (even though it’s not quite as bright). It’s still got plenty of reach.

as crash mentioned, the Philips H9 mod will get you the best of both worlds and will be brighter everywhere. But you have to modify the bulb base and run a 65w bulb instead of a 55w bulb. Some Are apprehensive to do so (but many are not and have not reported any problems).

 

Wow, those arent bright at all!

 

Hmm If it’s really that easy then maybe I should just get the H9’s. You say that they last longer too than the GE 130 H11’s?

I already get all kinds of people flashing. Their lights at me thinking I have high beams on and that’s just with stock setup, with the h9’s I’m really going to piss people off unfortunately. Is it just the way the cut offs work in these projectors that cause that? Cause I haven’t touched anything from the factory and always turn my low beams on when I see other cars

Edit: there is no issue with running a 65w bulb with stock setup right?

 

I’d put the Philips +100 right between the GE130 and the Sylvania XtraVision; when looking at them from a compromise standpoint.

 

Are you running with some added weight in the back? You’d probably have to lower your beams with H9’s if you already get flashed a lot.

 

No weight in the back, no towing. Stock 2020 TRD sport DCLB

 

You should not be getting flashed in stock form, projectors have good strong cut offs. Your lights must either be aimed too high, or the truck is angled higher up than stock by being nose high/rear low. There is no electrical issue running a 65w bulb in place of the 55w H11. H9s do have a longer rated life than the GEs, but they are said to degrade over time more than the GEs which maintain closer to their initial output over their lifespan. It isn’t uncommon for bulbs to lose 20% over their lifespan. I believe the GEs are spec’d to only lose 10% over their lifespan.

 

Again purely subjective, But after 7-8 months of running the GE’s, I think I can tell that they’re not performing like they did when they were new.

 

I agree with that

 

Based on my use, I estimate those bulbs would last 9 months. So if you used your lights like I do, they’d be near end of life. If going with them again, it would be interesting to preemptively swap a new one in on one side to compare.

 

All halogen lights degrade in terms of output over time and is one reason to replace them long before they actually burn out. There are too many variables for a person to be able to tell visually how much the output is diminished. You'd have to put an accurate meter on it, say, every ten hours until the bulb burned out and graph that to get an idea of when the optimal replacement time is. Of course, if you're driving around a well lit city - pretty much any modern city - none of this really matters that much as you get more light from streetlights than from headlights. And don't forget that there's an allowable 15% variability in output from any bulb sold, so there's one more variable that is virtually impossible to factor in without buying and testing dozens or more individual samples.

 

I have a post with test measured data and pics on the subject below, but these are rather exotic performance bulbs that may be outside the norm of a standard bulb. This is from my 2nd Gen headlight thread:

Halogens dim over time
Halogen bulbs dim over time, typically loosing ~20% of their output by the bulbs end of life. You can see my post covering this with measured data on the Hyper bulbs in post #1465. Which is one of the reasons bulbs should be replaced in pairs.

 

For philips H9 this is the only bulb I can find in halogen?
Philips H9 Standard Halogen Replacement Headlight Bulb

$11 Philips 12361B1 H9 Standard Halogen Replacement Headlight Bulb, 1 Pack

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003YMPN3A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_14aXDbWP1847K

Is this $7 bulb actually that much better than all the high performance h11’s due just due to the nature of the design differences?

 

Yep, thats it.

 

Those are the same bulbs that I have been using since April. They are noticeably brighter than the stock bulbs. I am very satisfied with them. Thanks Crash for pointing them out to us.

 

Are they both drop-ins, or something fancy?

Truly better in what way? If you've taken one single thing from this thread, I would think it's that there is no one stop, winner takes all better all around bulb. In our specific application, The high end H11 bulbs have great distance, but sacrifice peripheral light (supposedly. I'll get into my thoughts on that below), and have a ridiculously short life span. The H9 is cheap, has great distance AND peripheral light, but has illegal levels of glare (50% brighter to oncoming traffic. Not safe), and moves the peak beam intensity away from it's intended location (probably debatable). The LED (specifically the Hikari Ultra) has good distance, color (subjective), and theoretically the longest life. However, they cost the most, have awful signage lighting, and the long life is in question due to unknown build quality. Some other LEDs have a known build quality, but they aren't as bright because they they sacrifice output for glare compliance in various housing types. Every single light in this thread has compromises. It's up to the individual to decide which aspects are worth sacrificing because there is no better all around bulb. There is only better bulbs for your specific needs and/or desires.

While not as hot as halogens, LED light does indeed put out quite a bit of energy. I have a little 900lm LED flashlight that I carry daily, and if you shine it at your lips you can feel the heat of the beam from a good 5 feet away. I used my bigger flashlight (Cree XHP70 emitter) as a little stove to re-melt my boot polish when it started crumbling in the can. If you don't clear your lights before you leave (which you should do no matter what type of bulb you have) it might take a little longer for the ice/snow to melt off, but it will still melt. However, unless you're in some freakishly arctic conditions, you shouldn't be too concerned with snow buildup as long as the lights are running. I never had a problem in my stock LED equipped Fusion.

I don't have them, so this is just my hypothesis, but:

I'm not 100% convinced the peripheral light on those is actually reduced like we've been saying. The focal increase is logical due to the decrease in overall filament dimensions. However, the decrease in size would normally lower the resistance if the filament were the same gauge, but the lower amperage indicates a higher resistance caused by a smaller gauge filament wire. Therefore, I think there is in fact an increase in overall brightness due to it "burning" hotter, thus brighter. This also explains the higher color temp and shorter life. I suspect the perceived decrease in side lighting is a result of the brighter hot spot. I forget biological terminology, but you know what I'm talking about. Of course, this is all assuming the filaments are made of the same metal.

My thoughts are also reinforced by evo77's tests on HIDPlanet

 

@crashnburn80, if you have access to this, or know somebody that does, I'm really curious to see what it says. Just not $30 curious.

https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/2019-01-0850/

 

They are both drop ins, one being the Morimoto 2-stroke.

Ahh who doesn’t enjoy a good FVMSS test!

LED headlights without heaters can be a problem in snowy environments. I’ve witnessed this first hand. While they may feel slightly warm standing still, the air cooling effect of the vehicle in motion and below freezing temps are typically too much for the LEDs to overcome. I’ve got a great photo of this on a Tacoma somewhere. One of the things I was going to add to this thread is the temp comparisons between LED vs HID vs Halogen in the Tacoma headlights.

I have access, I’ll check to see if it is a newer version of the technical paper I’ve already read on the subject. The publication date looks newer than the one I recall.

 

Amazon sent me an email that the H11 harness extension is backordered with no ship date. Any other suggestions? Can I mod the bulb, install it, then mod the harness and use it with the modded bulb?

$8 iJDMTOY H11 H8 H9 Extension Wiring Harness Sockets Wires Compatible with High/Low Beam or Fog Lights Use

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TXRWOPA

 

I just mod the bulbs. Takes 5 seconds per bulb, harness adds resistance and is another corrosion point.