Installed LED instead of HID for Low Beam

[sacchoe]

So, I was reading the forum here about HID upgrades and was about to pull the trigger on a Morimoto HID system (The Retrofit Source) when I happened to call a local HID shop regarding cost of installing the HID.

The shop said, he has been installing LED system manufactured in Korea (much higher quality than mostly chinese LEDs) for low beam headlights. According to the shop, the LED bulb is more reliable than the HID and beats the Halogen in terms of the light output (not bright as HID though). I was bit skeptical at first but the owner of the shop seemed to know what he was talking about so I took a chance.

Got it installed, and it looks great (see the attached pictures). He showed me with one LED bulb installed with old halogens and I could see that LED indeed was much brighter than the stock halogen bulb. LED bulb was plug and play with no modification needed.

While he was at it, I had him swap out the foglight bulb too with LED bulb but foglight bulb is mostly decoration (only 700 lumens). I am happy with result and LED works great with instant on/off and no flickering like HIDs.

 

[Lawjo1978]

Those are indeed very bright. And super white. That is why I went with the Morimoto's because there was no flicker.... How much was this install if you mind me asking?

 

[sacchoe]

The LED bulb and install was $200 for headlight. He charged $60 for the foglamp bulbs and install. It comes with 1 year warranty on parts and labor if it goes out.

 

[radicaltimes]

Can you give us hint of who the manufacture in case we are interested?

 

[ShadowZ]

Yes, I am very interested in the LED bulb manufacturer too!

 

[sacchoe]

Can you give us hint of who the manufacture in case we are interested?

I am not sure what the name of the company was. It was not like Samsung I would recognize. However, the owner of the shop was Korean and claimed that he visited the factory where these were made. He also said, the company made lot of LED parts for Korean cars.

There are CREE bulbs that are out there (you can find them on E-bay) http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/281147857874?lpid=82 that can be used for Lowbeam too which the shop owner showed me but they require a fan to be attached to the bulb to cool them and require bulky ballast looking things, while the bulbs I got in my car do not have fans and looked to have better quality heatsink and no bulky ballast.

I liked the fact that shop was local and in case I do have have the problems with them he would warranty them for 1 year parts and labor.

 

[brfatal]

Ouch. $260 for bulbs and install? You got taken pretty hard. LED bulbs are relatively inexpensive and installation total I wouldn't have asked more a half hour of labor ($50-60) from a shop perspective.

 

[ShadowZ]

On VLEDS.COM they have LED headlight kits, these have built in fans.

I have heard that they do not work well with projector style lenses as opposed to reflector style which work better. Won't know til I try, but I am not spending $120 to try.

 

[sacchoe]

On VLEDS.COM they have LED headlight kits, these have built in fans.

I have heard that they do not work well with projector style lenses as opposed to reflector style which work better. Won't know til I try, but I am not spending $120 to try.

I had that concern too but at least the LEDs I put on seem to work well. When he showed me the demo with halogens on one side and my LEDs on other it clearly showed light to be sharp focused and brighter.

 

[shagnat]

I don't understand the big interest in changing to LEDs anyway. I'll admit the DRL and one or two other minor LEDs looks cool, but, the HIDs look fine to me...... or maybe I need to see a comparison with HID vs LED side by side.........*shrug*

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[sacchoe]

I don't understand the big interest in changing to LEDs anyway. I'll admit the DRL and one or two other minor LEDs looks cool, but, the HIDs look fine to me...... or maybe I need to see a comparison with HID vs LED side by side.........*shrug*

If you already have HID from factory, I see no reason to change anything. But if you have the base model like I do which do not come with HID and comes with ugly yellow halogens then you are left with getting aftermarket HIDs (which for most part are not so reliable) or LEDs (which are newer technologies when it comes to using it for headlights) and supposedly more reliable.

It's a big step up from ugly halogens in looks and performance as my pictures shows.

 

[shagnat]

If you already have HID from factory, I see no reason to change anything. But if you have the base model like I do which do not come with HID and comes with ugly yellow halogens then you are left with getting aftermarket HIDs (which for most part are not so reliable) or LEDs (which are newer technologies when it comes to using it for headlights) and supposedly more reliable.

It's a big step up from ugly halogens in looks and performance as my pictures shows.

Ok. Thanks for the explanation. I had the opportunity to drive a base V6 as a loaner for a couple of weeks. Now it makes perfect sense because those standard lights on the base model totally suck!!! I didn't do much night driving because of the terrible halogen headlights.

Happy for me, sad for you guys. I'd do the same thing some of y'all are doing and try to find an affordable option to get something besides the halogen lights. IMO they're dangerous!

 

[ShadowZ]

dangerous? if you truly are 65 years old then maybe you are what is dangerous. HIDs have been around for a mere fraction of your driving life,

 

[Giant Robo]

So, I was reading the forum here about HID upgrades and was about to pull the trigger on a Morimoto HID system (The Retrofit Source) when I happened to call a local HID shop regarding cost of installing the HID.

The shop said, he has been installing LED system manufactured in Korea (much higher quality than mostly chinese LEDs) for low beam headlights. According to the shop, the LED bulb is more reliable than the HID and beats the Halogen in terms of the light output (not bright as HID though). I was bit skeptical at first but the owner of the shop seemed to know what he was talking about so I took a chance.

Got it installed, and it looks great (see the attached pictures). He showed me with one LED bulb installed with old halogens and I could see that LED indeed was much brighter than the stock halogen bulb. LED bulb was plug and play with no modification needed.

While he was at it, I had him swap out the foglight bulb too with LED bulb but foglight bulb is mostly decoration (only 700 lumens). I am happy with result and LED works great with instant on/off and no flickering like HIDs.

sacchoe

Do you have any images of the bulbs before installation, I ask because I have a set of CREE LED bulbs that I was not able to install on my 2010. The "head" of the bulbs are to big and do not pass into the headlight assembly.

 

[sacchoe]

sacchoe

Do you have any images of the bulbs before installation, I ask because I have a set of CREE LED bulbs that I was not able to install on my 2010. The "head" of the bulbs are to big and do not pass into the headlight assembly.

Unfortunately no, I got the bulb installed at a shop and did not get chance to take photo. My bulb were not CREE brand and was much smaller than I see on CREE brand. The shop had no problem installing into my 2013 Genesis.

 

[blackgenesis81]

Where did you get these done? Where can I purchase these led lights?

 

[sacchoe]

Where did you get these done? Where can I purchase these led lights?

I purchased from a local shop in Sacramento, Ca. According to the shop owner he is the only one that carries those LED lamps. They are Korean made and I was not able to find them online.

 

[NJTom]

I've been wanting to upgrade my 2009 Halogen headlights but I know HID isn't the direction I wanted to go. Before this thread I didn't know that LED could be a possibility. I'm not ready to make that jump just yet but I did a little searching and found:
http://store.ijdmtoy.com/High-Power-LED-Conversion-Kit-For-Fog-Headlights-p/20w-led-hl.htm
I wonder if these could be a viable option for our cars?

 

[blackgenesis81]

What is the name of the shop? Do you have there contact number?

 

[genesis r spec]

I purchased from a local shop in Sacramento, Ca. According to the shop owner he is the only one that carries those LED lamps. They are Korean made and I was not able to find them online.

pm sent