LED headlight DIY install
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I've been planning to make the switch as well. Looks great! What specific model led's did you use and what was the price?
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Headlights are these. I've had the blue ones for a while now.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XBLHMM9/ref=ya_st_dp_summary?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Your bulbs do not have 6000 lumens each, despite what the box says or the seller. And quite frankly the amount of lumens a LED bulb produces is the most irrelevant feature.
You should care about the light pattern it produces and if it mimics the original halogen bulb. A bunch of foreground illumination gives the illusion your lights are "brighter" or better. And the glare it produces is also very unsafe for other drivers on the road.
You should care about the light pattern it produces and if it mimics the original halogen bulb. A bunch of foreground illumination gives the illusion your lights are "brighter" or better. And the glare it produces is also very unsafe for other drivers on the road.
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I picked up a set of these and installed them tonight. The color is nice, but the pattern is terrible. It says they are adjustable but doesn't say how in the instructions?? Overall far less light output than the hid's I have in my 98 Silverado. How did you get them to give such a good pattern?
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I had to adjust them. At the base of the bulb is a series of holes. In one of those holes is a screw. It requires a fairly small Allen key to remove, but has to be completely removed to allow the base to be adjusted. Once it is removed, the base can be adjusted 360 degrees. Just be careful about how you adjust them because it took me several attempts to get them right. The original Halogen bulbs were nowhere near as bright and had a nasty tendency of being washed out by even the older-model street lights. Also, with the 1st-gen Cruze headlight assemblies, the beam tends to go out in a wide-arc pattern, with a cut-off at a certain height that can be adjusted.
The big reason HIDs tend to appear brighter than LEDs overall is because of the light itself. LEDs tend to be around 6500K or higher, the so-called "daylight spectrum" while most HIDs tend to be 4800K to 5600K. Our eyes tend to perceive 5000K color temperature as brighter than 6500K even though 6500K color temperature is the closest to natural sunlight.
The big reason HIDs tend to appear brighter than LEDs overall is because of the light itself. LEDs tend to be around 6500K or higher, the so-called "daylight spectrum" while most HIDs tend to be 4800K to 5600K. Our eyes tend to perceive 5000K color temperature as brighter than 6500K even though 6500K color temperature is the closest to natural sunlight.
For those who have a complete hatred for LED headlights in general, stay away from cars like the Acura TL and Acura TLX and others on this list that come with LED headlights. Even if adjusted properly, wet roads and fog can cause blinding glare, not just to the driver of those cars, but to everyone else around them. https://www.autobytel.com/car-buyin...-lights-that-outshine-the-competition-130697/
Verified with a light meter at 5 feet. 6700 Lux output on the LEDs in my car. Also, my prescription eyeglasses have an anti-reflective, anti-glare coating on them, so the light doesn't bother me as much as people think it does.
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Lux and lumens are not the same. So I hope you know that 6700 lux does not validate that your bulb is 6000 lumens. Your lux reading is meaningless unless it is compared directly to halogen. And while I have NO doubt the reading will be higher it still is the most irrelevant.
See this photo below of a Cruze headlamp. The top is a halogen bulb. The bottom two are LED. The LEDs measure significantly higher lux however the light patterns are horrific.
This photo below represents a much better LED bulb. Although it is only slightly brighter over halogen the light pattern is nearly an identical match.
Looking at the bulb you have chosen I suspect, by its design, will not produce a suitable light pattern. Any bulb utilizing a domed LED chip will distort the beam. This is what I have concluded with my testing.
Evo, actually, the beam pattern is fine. It illuminates the areas I need to illuminate and doesn't blind people in the process. Here's another picture showing the beam pattern up close. I don't know what some of you consider a good beam pattern, but these pictures show how the ones in my car shine. Take it for what it is, but I don't have any problems with visibility now.
![Light Sky Automotive exterior Floor Automotive lighting]()
![Asphalt Lighting Night Sky Road surface]()
The whole point of getting LEDs is because they're supposed to be brighter. I see no point in paying for the halogen-like LEDs if they're not going to be any brighter than standard Halogens. If I wanted to do something like that, I'd just get a set of Xenon-fueled Halogens like the Sylvania Silverstar zXe.Lux and lumens are not the same. So I hope you know that 6700 lux does not validate that your bulb is 6000 lumens. Your lux reading is meaningless unless it is compared directly to halogen. And while I have NO doubt the reading will be higher it still is the most irrelevant.
See this photo below of a Cruze headlamp. The top is a halogen bulb. The bottom two are LED. The LEDs measure significantly higher lux however the light patterns are horrific.
![]()
This photo below represents a much better LED bulb. Although it is only slightly brighter over halogen the light pattern is nearly an identical match.
![]()
Looking at the bulb you have chosen I suspect, by its design, will not produce a suitable light pattern. Any bulb utilizing a domed LED chip will distort the beam. This is what I have concluded with my testing.
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Yes, brighter is better but NOT at the cost of sacrificing a proper beam pattern.
Unfortunately your eyes and my eyes are the poorest instruments to determine what is considered a "fine" beam pattern. In fact the majority of people who try to upgrade their lights believe they have improved their forward lighting simply because there is more light shining everywhere. But that does not mean the light is better. There are key photometric points to a light beam that must be adhered to for safety reasons. For your sake and the sake of other drivers. This is why the FMVSS 108 standard is in place to regulate lighting. The light pattern you see shined on a wall with the original halogen bulb is the exact pattern you should see when you replace it with an a LED. Because this shape adheres to all standards as set by FMVSS 108.
Now with that being said, how do you improve that beam? Well the hot spot (the center most brightest point of the beam) can be more intense but must retain its shape. The more intense it is the farther down the road you will see. Too narrow and you'll lose width. Too tall and you'll add more foreground light which dialates your pupils and causes you to see less at a farther distance. There is a happy medium for the shape of the hot spot.
Next is width. No brainer right? Wider wings translates into improved shoulder illumination.
And finally one of the most important -- GLARE. Stock halogens glare a little. In fact it's on purpose. In order to see that important road sign coming up yonder you need to illuminate it. That's what that little bit of leaking light above the cutoff does. And this light won't be disruptive to oncoming drivers. But what happens when you pop in those LEDs? Well you will most likely increase that glare to levels that ARE disruptive. Take your lux meter and measure a before/after of the light above the cutoff. You will see double or triple the amount of lux. Some people will walk in front of their car and stare at their lights and say "hmm, don't look bad to me". And that is their scientific way to determine that it won't bother other drivers.
Your photo against the wall isn't really good. Hard to make out the light pattern against the brick. I will admit it's not horrible like the examples I showed. The hot spots appear to have good shape. There looks to be some streakiness but again hard to make out.
Perhaps I can find these bulbs for cheap and do a full comparison test against halogen.
Unfortunately your eyes and my eyes are the poorest instruments to determine what is considered a "fine" beam pattern. In fact the majority of people who try to upgrade their lights believe they have improved their forward lighting simply because there is more light shining everywhere. But that does not mean the light is better. There are key photometric points to a light beam that must be adhered to for safety reasons. For your sake and the sake of other drivers. This is why the FMVSS 108 standard is in place to regulate lighting. The light pattern you see shined on a wall with the original halogen bulb is the exact pattern you should see when you replace it with an a LED. Because this shape adheres to all standards as set by FMVSS 108.
Now with that being said, how do you improve that beam? Well the hot spot (the center most brightest point of the beam) can be more intense but must retain its shape. The more intense it is the farther down the road you will see. Too narrow and you'll lose width. Too tall and you'll add more foreground light which dialates your pupils and causes you to see less at a farther distance. There is a happy medium for the shape of the hot spot.
Next is width. No brainer right? Wider wings translates into improved shoulder illumination.
And finally one of the most important -- GLARE. Stock halogens glare a little. In fact it's on purpose. In order to see that important road sign coming up yonder you need to illuminate it. That's what that little bit of leaking light above the cutoff does. And this light won't be disruptive to oncoming drivers. But what happens when you pop in those LEDs? Well you will most likely increase that glare to levels that ARE disruptive. Take your lux meter and measure a before/after of the light above the cutoff. You will see double or triple the amount of lux. Some people will walk in front of their car and stare at their lights and say "hmm, don't look bad to me". And that is their scientific way to determine that it won't bother other drivers.
Your photo against the wall isn't really good. Hard to make out the light pattern against the brick. I will admit it's not horrible like the examples I showed. The hot spots appear to have good shape. There looks to be some streakiness but again hard to make out.
Perhaps I can find these bulbs for cheap and do a full comparison test against halogen.
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