Headlight upgrades for a base model, 2015 Genesis Sedan 3.8

[mjourney]

I bought my 2015 base model Genesis with 30k miles a little over a year ago and I love the car. However, since I don't often drive at night, the dim headlights didn't bother me much. When I drove it tonight, the headlights seemed to be REALLY dim and they don't seem to project out very far. I'd like to upgrade to HID or LED and would like to know how complicated the process is and how much it would cost. I am not mechanically minded at all and would have to pay someone to make the switch for me. If a member could help with my questions, I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance for any assistance you can lend.

 

[StarPower]

HID and LED drop-ins aren't really a solution. Your headlights are designed to project the light in a very specific beam pattern. Changing the shape and/or position of the light source (i.e., changing from a filament to HID or LED) changes the shape of the beam pattern and can make the lights less effective (e.g., less light down the road where you need it) or unsafe (e.g., excessive glare).

There are a couple of things you can try to improve your headlights:

• When these cars came out in 2015, several people noticed that their lights were aimed too low. You can check your headlight aim using the procedure here. It's a long writeup, but it's not hard. You'll need a long, thin screwdriver to turn the adjusting screw. I used one of the flat blade screwdrivers in this set.
• Upgraded bulbs may make a slight difference. There are some premium clear-glass halogen bulbs on the market, often sold as +xx%. These bulbs don't actually produce xx% more light, but they are more precisely crafted with tighter tolerances to place the filament in the optimal position to put +xx% of the light down the road where it can be most effective. Avoid any bulb with the entirety of the glass tinted (a small blue band is OK). Tinting can never add light, only remove it. At best, blue tinted bulbs compensate by using a hotter burning filament that produces more light so that the result is about as bright as a standard bulb, but the hotter burning filament has much shorter lifespan. Since bulbs on this car are a PITA to replace, you don't want a shorter lifespan.
• You can also replace the H11 bulbs with H9 by trimming a tab on the H9 bulb. H9 bulbs are significantly brighter (2100 lumens vs. 1350 for the H11), but have a shorter lifespan. The filament is in the same place as the H11, so they should produce the same beam pattern as the H11 bulbs, but since they produce more light they may cause some glare.
• If you want HIDs or LEDs, you could replace the entire headlamp assembly with factory HID or LED assemblies. There are some people on here who have done it, and you should be able to find a writeup if you search. The LED assemblies are rated much higher by the IIHS. Brand new assemblies, however, are not cheap. Also, the curve-adaptive features of the LED assemblies will not work, and you may need to make some wiring changes to get the turn signals to work correctly.

 

[Andyj]

First thing is to confirm the headlights are properly directed. My 2015 Ultimate headlights were pointed dangerously low so I adjusted them up within reason. Simple fix. Not worth upgrading light assemblies.

 

[mjourney]

HID and LED drop-ins aren't really a solution. Your headlights are designed to project the light in a very specific beam pattern. Changing the shape and/or position of the light source (i.e., changing from a filament to HID or LED) changes the shape of the beam pattern and can make the lights less effective (e.g., less light down the road where you need it) or unsafe (e.g., excessive glare).

There are a couple of things you can try to improve your headlights:

• When these cars came out in 2015, several people noticed that their lights were aimed too low. You can check your headlight aim using the procedure here. It's a long writeup, but it's not hard. You'll need a long, thin screwdriver to turn the adjusting screw. I used one of the flat blade screwdrivers in this set.
• Upgraded bulbs may make a slight difference. There are some premium clear-glass halogen bulbs on the market, often sold as +xx%. These bulbs don't actually produce xx% more light, but they are more precisely crafted with tighter tolerances to place the filament in the optimal position to put +xx% of the light down the road where it can be most effective. Avoid any bulb with the entirety of the glass tinted (a small blue band is OK). Tinting can never add light, only remove it. At best, blue tinted bulbs compensate by using a hotter burning filament that produces more light so that the result is about as bright as a standard bulb, but the hotter burning filament has much shorter lifespan. Since bulbs on this car are a PITA to replace, you don't want a shorter lifespan.
• You can also replace the H11 bulbs with H9 by trimming a tab on the H9 bulb. H9 bulbs are significantly brighter (2100 lumens vs. 1350 for the H11), but have a shorter lifespan. The filament is in the same place as the H11, so they should produce the same beam pattern as the H11 bulbs, but since they produce more light they may cause some glare.
• If you want HIDs or LEDs, you could replace the entire headlamp assembly with factory HID or LED assemblies. There are some people on here who have done it, and you should be able to find a writeup if you search. The LED assemblies are rated much higher by the IIHS. Brand new assemblies, however, are not cheap. Also, the curve-adaptive features of the LED assemblies will not work, and you may need to make some wiring changes to get the turn signals to work correctly.

Wow! Thanks for all your suggestions. I think I’ll try the adjustment method first.