LED Headlight Bulbs - NEED HELP!

Yes I've seen the AWESOME thread on headlight bulbs. That's actually what brought me here and gave me the ability to have these to choose from.

However I do have one on my list that I didn't see reviewed in his thread. Maybe I overlooked it?

I'm looking to hear from people who actually have and are running these maybe to help narrow down things even more for me.

My options are...
Morimoto 2stroke 3.0
Hikari Ultras
Diode Dynamics SL1

Also, it's probably more of an ocd thing but I just got some DD ss3 Sport white fogs and I'd like for the headlights to match those as much as possible. I believe they're supposed to be 6000k?

 

@crashnburn80 maybe you can help with a quick answer?

 

The way I read the AWESOME thread, this is not recommended unless you have reflectors made for LED. (Putting LED bulbs in a halogen housing is bad).

 

Agreed. But if you were to run the leds... then at least 2 of the options I listed were the reccomendation.

 

SL1 test review posted here. They are not recommended.

The Morimotos are the superior product in terms of design, quality and focus. They are the best replacement LED available. The Hikari are slightly higher in output, but their focus isn’t as good, meaning more foreground light than Morimoto, which isn’t good in a headlight, though they do a better job than most replacement LEDs. They are also much lower in quality than Morimoto and seem to fail after a couple years. The Morimotos use a innovate sealed fan cooling system cycling clean air from within the headlight assembly, keeping cooling components pristinely clean. Others like Hikari have thei microprocessor cooling fans exposed to the elements and grime of the engine bay, which isn’t good for longevity.

The color difference between the Morimotos and the SS3s is small. 300-400k less than the SS3s. The Hikari are 200-300k more than the SS3s. Between the two I wouldn’t consider it a deciding factor.

 

Thank you I must have missed the SL1 test. That sums it up for me then... Morimoto's it is! Thank you very much for your help!

 

I have the SL1 on my 2018. I'll say this....
I know not recommended this and that. I threw it on cause I already had it. And drove up and down different roads while my wife came oncoming walking and driving. She didn't seem bothered by whatever glare if any was present. I did a 500 mile road trip with not a single flash back.

I'm sure I'm losing light output with the reflectors. But damn these are a big improvement over the dim factory halogens. And that counts for something. That's how bad the stock headlamps are. Fwiw.

 

This is because your 2018 has projectors. Projectors have an internal light cut off shield to control glare. You could put any LED in there and the cut off will be the same and not bother other drivers with glare. It has nothing to do with the LED, it is the light assembly that is enforcing the cut off.

 

Not trying to me argumentative or assholey, but the AWESOME thread strongly recommends against doing this for a number of reasons. I was going to do it until I read it. It says an HID retrofit in a halogen reflector is doable, but HIDs have their own problems. I've got a '22 and the halogens are pretty good. I decided I'm going to do the H9-H11 conversion for the low beams and get some factory LED's if I want more.

 

I've been running the SL1 for almost three years. So much better than stock halogens. Don't think I've ever been flashed either.

 

Was not impressed with the Morimoto 2Stroke 3.0's on my 2021. Hikari's have been proven to be better in these projectors and half the price of Mori.

 

3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights | Tacoma World

 

The Audi video? Who cares?

 

Don't call me a short bus since you quoted my post linking to another thread. Sorry that's not what you were wanting a reply to...

I agree Morimoto makes a superior product. Hence.. why I bought them.. but as stated, I was unhappy with the performance of my 2Stroke's in THESE projectors. OP can do what he wants, he has the same information available that we all did. I'm not trying to choose for him, just putting in my $0.02. Calm down.

I've since swapped to the XB LED 2.0 housings and they're incredible for a full pnp setup.

 

I've had LED's since the first month of taking delivery of my 18. I'm not a fan of any LED manufacturer that uses fans for cooling as these are the weak link leading to failure. I installed Xenon Depot LED's 4 years ago and I've been impressed with the durability. They are also indexable (able to rotate the LED after installation to find the sweet spot then lock in place with the small allen wrench provided). I really like that they use numerous aluminum cooling fins that you can position out of the way as to not interfere with other componentry. I've been through the hot summers of Florida and snowy conditions in Indiana without issues.

 

Yeah I definitely agree there are better options... but as for the price point, budget, longevity, and hassle of changing them frequently, I opted for the Morimoto bulbs for now. My halogens were horrible, and I also want to get away from the cheap Amazon bulbs I've got in there now. Maybe one day I'll save up for the conversion, or be more particular when buying the next vehicle lol.

 

I had the h11 to h9 bulbs and the light output is huge, I didn’t like the color honestly. I wanted a more white light that felt easier on the eyes. Swapped to the hikari’s and my eyes can’t see much of a difference in output. The color is much better and with them aimed correctly I haven’t been flashed by other cars. I’m happy until I pony up the cash (more like the wife let’s me) for oem leds.

 

Ouch. Hard pass on the Xenon Depot product. They are a classic dated replacement LED that lacks any optical engineering, is huge LED with no focus, the hot spot projection is lost and becomes a short range flood light. Output is half of what is achievable with an H11 halogen bulb upgrade, and actually less than stock. Below is a wall shot comparing them to the GE/Tungsram +130s. The Tungsram +120s and Platinums do better than the +130s, but I did not have them at the time of this post. All the data is in the 3rd Gen headlight thread. But Xenon Depot LEDs are definitely ones to avoid.

H11 GE +130 vs XD Pro LED
Lux: GE 1086 vs XD 636

 

You sound like you’d be fun at parties lol

 

Invite sent! lol