Lifetime LED Install and Review In Progress

"A" up and down

"B" side to side





Don't fuck with side to side too much.

​

 

I'm pretty happy with the up/down, I'd just like it a littttttle more to the right on both of them. Is that screw behind the rubber boot or is it outside the boot? I don't remember seeing anything quite like that when I put them into today.

 

You have to remove the rubber / plastic? tab. Then turn to get your desired projection. In all seriousness.... do not move those too much. You will run the risk of blinding on coming drivers if moved in the wrong direction. If you have any doubts take it to a professional that will be able to line up your lights exactly like you need them. Up and down is risky enough.... side to side can be down right dangerous.

 

Understand. I definitely don't want them up any more. I just want a littttttle more to the right. I found a PDF on here that outlines drawing lines and centering, etc I may use that as a guide. I certainly don't want to endanger anyone!

 

The up down is behind a black plastic boot near the top of the housing, hard to miss.
The side to side is a metal wheel that fits a size 10mm socket if I recall. Its halfway down as shown in the pic and is hard to reach.
Aiming headlights is about as tough as doing your oil. There's many online guides for doing it, but I have found this one to be the best

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

My truck has US VOL spec headlights, so they are able to be aimed using the above guide. I assume nothing changed with newer models.

 

Some interesting things learned in this thread.

It would see that it's a crap shoot with other LED retro kits that one would see on fleabay or Amazon and that these units except for a few isolated instances, have a good quality control. Issues with advertised brightness, R/F interference, noisy fans if any.

Whenever they changed the headlight design from I don't know 05'-10' or 11' , the newer style seem to work better in terms of beam control, but with others graciously posting pics of their results the earlier style of headlight does ok, but not great.

The external rubber boot is a PITA. Use a little bit of grease and possibly drop in in hot water and quickly dry or warm it with hair dryer to soften before fitting.

Removal of the washer bottle and battery makes things a lot easier. I pulled the washer bottle when I did the HID's last time for a little more working room.

Aiming is crucial. High beams may not meet expectations if low beams are correctly aimed for elevation. I never use a wall myself, I use the street method and have been for years for the gross aiming, then maybe a wall for final evenness.

Im always in the habit of looking around at my choices when it comes to upgrades such as this. I spend a couple of idle hours looking online at various places trying to find factual reviews. I think that if I do go this route, I will spend the little extra to have the peace of mind that customer service is as good as it is. Well, as good as it can be online at least.

I looked forward with great anticipation when I swapped out my OEM headlights (I had one with a broken reflector and a intact lens so I had it swapped when I had a tiny bit of paint work done) and whatever brand I got did have a different light pattern than the stockers, but I was also running a different brand of HID's, and it was the lamps that I attributed it to. Either or, it was better than stock. Now that my 3 year old aftermarket units are beginning to fog INSIDE the plastic lens ( not condensation but the plastic lens beginning to turn white'ish grey from exposure to S.Florida strong sun not on the surface but within the plastic itself of the lens ) I had been reading for a while searching threads for the best bang for the buck with aftermarket OEM style headlights and found some Depot units at a good number.

I'm going to have to change my set up out within the next couple months either or and I'm not looking forward to having to pop off the front bumper to do this. I didn't do this the last time so it will be a first for me. I'll read the sticky thread very closely as I go along. I'm mechanically inclined but hate dealing with body panels.

 

Just order a set from wired. Am hopeful I get the desired results!

 

I removed the lights out today the trimmed the rubber boot a bit. Also the top alignment tab on one of the bulbs was bent so i straightened it. I also looked at the mounting plate and it was not straight like some of the other pics. I corrected that and after putting the lights back in with less pressure from the rubber boots the results are MUCH better for the low beams. the high beams are still nothing to write home about, however after readjusting them the cuttoff line is back. I think the 2012 and up do a little better job of focusing the light I am completely happy with the end result in my truck being a 2008. I will probably end up putting some in my wife's Corolla as well in the next month or so as she is pretty impressed with the light output on the truck.

low beams:



High beams:



Cuttoff line:

 

Based on specifications, its not that surprising. Stock beams at best are 910 lumens low, 1580(?) high. So, you add 600 lumens when going to high beams.
If specs are true, these are 2000 low, 2600 high. You get the same jump-up when going to high beams, but think this way: now, your low beams are like having a second bulb running, and is already better than standard bulb high beams.

Just be grateful for the light you are getting, because they are either in a very grey area or completely illegal to be putting out that much light in that size if I'm reading this guys post correctly where it talks about bulb regulation

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...Lumen-output&p=2873861&viewfull=1#post2873861

 

Whew... Lot of words in that forum lol.

I've had mine in for 2 weeks now with no negative effects that I can tell. Drove in the dark in the fog and rain the other morning to work with no issues. Just pure "white" light.

 

What do you mean exactly by you cut the boot.....cut it how....where??

 

The part of the boot that fits around the light i took off just a very little bit of the tip. It was taking so much force to push the light into position so i could turn and lock it that one of the alignment tabs was bent.

 

Did anyone happen to take a pic of the boot trimming that is needed or is it pretty obvious what needs to happen once its apart?

 

It was a very small amount that I took off, you may not need to take any at all. I'm not even sure that it was entirely necessary, I think I gained more by correcting the bent mounting base really. I had already trimmed it slightly before I noticed the bent mounting base or I may not have even messed with the boot.

 

I agree, at the most you would need to trim is 1/8" I didn't need to trim my boots but others can if they feel so.

 

Just a little update. The H4 bulbs are still currently on backorder. Hipe for just a little bit more. Also it was brought to my attention that some color temps are off. I will be adjusting the descriptions this evening when I get some time. To verify color temp in the meantime please visit lifetimeledlights.com

Once they brought out the fog versions they must have changed the headlights to match.

Thanks to everyone and if you have any issues outstanding that I have not responded to please pm me so I can help you out.

Henry

 

Are they still expected to come in May 2?

 

Yes they are still expected then

 

There have been a couple issues, but those are out of the box issues. Guys have contacted me right away and I relay the info and lifetime is very quick to get new parts out. Sometimes within hours.

I will keep a log of failures

I personally have had these lights running since November. My headlights run when the truck runs. If I had to guess I would figure about 750 hours of burn time so far.

 

I just got my lights yesterday. I'm really impressed with the manufacturing quality. I'm planning to install them this weekend, and I'll let ya'll know how they work out.