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My Lifetime LED Headlight Review

Discussion in 'Southeast Overland' started by loco, Feb 3, 2014.

  1. Feb 3, 2014 at 3:51 PM
    #1
    loco

    loco [OP] Who wants to ride my Brack Burrito???

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    Well its a land Cruiser with a diesel so I've got that going for me.
    First and foremost I would like to thank Steve and the crew at Southeast Overland for the great deal, fast shipping and top notch customer service! I have ordered many an item from SEO and have visted the shop in person. Steve gave me some great training on splicing winch line and walked me through a ton of techniques that I have stored in my noggin in case I ever need to do some trail surgery on a winch line! So please give them a shot! You won't be disappointed.

    So now onto the headlight kit. I already have a Lifetime LED light bar and think they make a good product at a good price. These headlights were no different! The fit and finish of the bulbs, driver and wiring were all very high quality. Lots of billet used and very nice black finish of everything.

    Package looks like this upon arrival.
    20140203_164916_9e1b53d1f81d8ecb6303d5b3cca726d97926902d.jpg

    Here is a side by side of the driver next to an old HID SLIM ballast I had to give a little perspective on size.
    20140203_165054_f0dd7878ee70db106ea736d59bccfc2e5637f235.jpg

    So install of these on the Tacoma is completely plug and play but is not what I would call a 5 minute job. A couple of folks here had stated that they just went right in and I think they either bypassed a few details or forced some stuff in place. To make this clear you MUST remove the washer fluid reservoir and slack the battery inboard to be able to get them in. If you disagree then you are a ham fister or didn't use the rubber covers.

    Those folks with dual batteries should just stop reading now...not going to work. The fans just stick way to far out. I will be swapping to a group 31 battery soon and think I am going to clear but it's going to be close.

    So the good: the light output is easily twice as much as halogen, the cutoff is clean and they aren't blue. I really appreciate these 3 goods. I'm not going for a rice burner fast and furious rock crawler so the color and light output are perfect for the real world. The fact that the cutoff is so clean is going to keep everyone else on the road happy too.

    And of course there is some bad: these bulbs are super heavy! While that may not seem like a problem it is. Basically these H4 bulbs are held in by a small swinging clip that puts a little tension on the back of the plate in the housing... this is where all the weight is supported and on a normal H4 halogen it works well. On these it acts as a fulcrum since there is so much wieght on either side and the bulbs are a bit bouncy inside the housing. ***UPDATE*** I was thinking I would have had a good amount of light bounce but I hit some pretty rouch roqds this morning on my way to work and there was none! They really surprised me when they stayed rock solid. So my only con is a non issue in my book now but worth mentioning.

    Bottom line- I am really happy with my purchase! I would absolutely buy these again and recommend them to anyone looking for more light without wanting a Retrofit. These are just what I was wanting. Don't want the hassles of a Retrofit and won't run HID on the street without a retrofit. These give me more light without having any side effects like water intrusion in my headlight, blinding oncoming traffic and being a weird blue color! I absolutely recommend them to anyone looking for more light without wanting a retrofit.

    Some photos of the lights with them on
    20140203_181443_593ae0914de1642a66c3673ec8fbc7c31a6e65d5.jpg
    20140203_181527_a8691e2e918e9538fe3040c2574b4b723f76f4bd.jpg

    And with my light bar on, note the color difference. The bar is very blue IMO.
    20140203_181455_437258e995957dbd401dab8a042476dec0bcc8cb.jpg
    20140203_181507_1647b9859bdb77ca348ab1281de6be8b5309ab33.jpg

    Hope this helps some folks that were on the fence about buying these just like I was. Feel free to ask questions.
     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2014
  2. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:00 PM
    #2
    bellassaiw10

    bellassaiw10 Formally afroman5015

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    One of my jeep buddies just ordered a set from a Facebook vendor, interesting concept, looks good though!
     
  3. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:00 PM
    #3
    rbraddock

    rbraddock Well-Known Member

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    So the all important question: given what you now know would you buy again?
     
  4. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:04 PM
    #4
    loco

    loco [OP] Who wants to ride my Brack Burrito???

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    Well its a land Cruiser with a diesel so I've got that going for me.
    Absolutely! In fact I have them locked to my radiator to keep you from stealing them while I'm down range!
     
  5. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:07 PM
    #5
    Pugga

    Pugga Pasti-Dip Free 1983 - 2015... It was a good run

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    Do they have high beams?
     
  6. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:09 PM
    #6
    rbraddock

    rbraddock Well-Known Member

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    But I'll have a battery tray and gas tank skif
     
  7. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:11 PM
    #7
    Mitch

    Mitch Somebody call for a Wambulance?

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    Finally a good/actual review. Thanks
     
  8. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:12 PM
    #8
    loco

    loco [OP] Who wants to ride my Brack Burrito???

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    Well its a land Cruiser with a diesel so I've got that going for me.
    Yes. It's lightning fast and bright too! Gonna make the next jerk who cuts off my tank really unhappy with life when these start flashing and the light bar go on...
     
  9. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:12 PM
    #9
    loco

    loco [OP] Who wants to ride my Brack Burrito???

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    Well its a land Cruiser with a diesel so I've got that going for me.
    Hahahaha!
     
  10. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:13 PM
    #10
    mh.meier

    mh.meier Not PB Mike

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    Thanks for the review. second good one so far. looks like ill be trying them.
     
  11. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:13 PM
    #11
    Pugga

    Pugga Pasti-Dip Free 1983 - 2015... It was a good run

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    What moves to create the high beam? :confused:
     
  12. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:16 PM
    #12
    loco

    loco [OP] Who wants to ride my Brack Burrito???

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    Well its a land Cruiser with a diesel so I've got that going for me.
    Thank you. I don't do a whole ton of product reviews/tech write ups but when I do I try my best to keep others from being confused or frustrated by conflicting info.
     
  13. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:18 PM
    #13
    loco

    loco [OP] Who wants to ride my Brack Burrito???

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    Well its a land Cruiser with a diesel so I've got that going for me.
    Nothing moves! There are 2 cree LEDs on each light. One is angled for low beam and the other for high beam. They work exactly like a halogen H4. No relays nothing. That driver box plugs right into the stock socket and then straight into the bulb. Much simpler than an HID setup!
     
  14. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:19 PM
    #14
    Pugga

    Pugga Pasti-Dip Free 1983 - 2015... It was a good run

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    Awesome! Thanks for the review :thumbsup:
     
  15. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:20 PM
    #15
    BamaToy1997

    BamaToy1997 Wheel Bearing Master

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    Good write up. The only thing I wish you had were some before shots of the factory headlights. Kind of a type of before and after. Good information though. Nice to see a good action shot.
     
  16. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:21 PM
    #16
    loco

    loco [OP] Who wants to ride my Brack Burrito???

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    Well its a land Cruiser with a diesel so I've got that going for me.
    Sorry about going !!! Crazy there. Hit the wrong button on my phone a few too many times.
     
  17. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:22 PM
    #17
    loco

    loco [OP] Who wants to ride my Brack Burrito???

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    Well its a land Cruiser with a diesel so I've got that going for me.
    I thought about doing that but I had already seen a photo with that on their website and didn't think to do it for everyone else...being selfish man sorry.
     
  18. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:25 PM
    #18
    mh.meier

    mh.meier Not PB Mike

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    Loadedtaco (pete) did a video review on youtube. It has the halogen vs the led in video and such. Good review if you need another one with more info.
     
  19. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:27 PM
    #19
    loco

    loco [OP] Who wants to ride my Brack Burrito???

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    Well its a land Cruiser with a diesel so I've got that going for me.
    Also if I can pull it off I'm going to try and get a truck with a retrofit and a stock halogen setup side by side with mine to do an against the wall comparison.
     
  20. Feb 3, 2014 at 4:28 PM
    #20
    Mitch

    Mitch Somebody call for a Wambulance?

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    Have you had a chance to run these for a couple hours yet? Worried about them getting hot on long trips and possibly doing damage to the headlights
     
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