2015 LED Upgrade

J-Doc · October 15, 2015

Thanks for the help everyone.

I just placed my order from Xenon and got the Phillips LED headlight kit and the Volt HID foglight kit. Why mix? Because I do not want HID headlights. I've always hated driving down the road and seeing someone with bright blue lights for headlights and they always blinded me. I don't want to be "that guy" and I prefer the reliability and longevity of the LED's over HID anyway. I also wanted the simplest plug and play install. The LED's give me that. The HID kit for the fog lights will require routing wire to ground, power, etc. I wanted an LED kit for the fog lights also as I did not want to get into an installation type kit. However........I will not be using the fog lights unless they are needed. So the extra light output over LED's will be a nice upgrade.

Overall.......I think I will get just wanted a wanted.

Better light color for driver experience (not because of light color outside the truck, that I do not care about at all)
A little brighter light output or more powerful lighting
A lighting upgrade that will not require an LED light bar because I will not be offroading

I also got about $45 off my order by using the code X20 so I saved 20%!! That was a good buy!

irish4life8911 · October 15, 2015

I too just ordered the LED head light replacement kit for my GMC Sierra and LED bulbs for my fog lights.

I will post some before and after pics.

I'm also going to be ordering some LED Light Bars to put behind my All Terrain Grill that will be turned on with high beams. Will post pics of that too

sk · October 15, 2015

Thanks for the help everyone.

I just placed my order from Xenon and got the Phillips LED headlight kit and the Volt HID foglight kit. Why mix? Because I do not want HID headlights. I've always hated driving down the road and seeing someone with bright blue lights for headlights and they always blinded me. I don't want to be "that guy" and I prefer the reliability and longevity of the LED's over HID anyway.

Just for future reference -- just because a bulb is HID does not mean it is automatically blue. They come in different temperature scales rated by "Kelvin". The "warm white" or yellow color is usually around 3000K. A true "white" light is around 4500-5000K. Once you get around 6000K you get the "blue" light you are talking about and when you get around 8000K it's purple. You need to look at the Kelvin temperature range when you buy HID bulbs. Unfortunately almost all the cheap kits are around 6000K color so most of the ones you see on the road are blue.

The blinding you talk about comes from putting HID bulbs into halogen housings (which is 100% illegal per the DMV code). I won't go into the issue here since you can find a lot of debate about that on these boards and on most of the internet. Personally I'll just say "thank you" for not putting them in and blinding other drivers.

As a side note, my wife has a 2009 Buick Enclave. The headlights came from the factory with the correct housings, HID bulbs (4500K), and projectors that even move left and right when you go around a corner. They are the absolute BEST headlights I have ever had. They illuminate the road perfectly, they light up road signs and pedestrians better, and they do not blind other drivers. But again they were designed that way from the factory - not an aftermarket retrofit.

Good luck with the LED's. Make sure you post some pics

J-Doc · October 15, 2015

Just for future reference -- just because a bulb is HID does not mean it is automatically blue. They come in different temperature scales rated by "Kelvin". The "warm white" or yellow color is usually around 3000K. A true "white" light is around 4500-5000K. Once you get around 6000K you get the "blue" light you are talking about and when you get around 8000K it's purple. You need to look at the Kelvin temperature range when you buy HID bulbs. Unfortunately almost all the cheap kits are around 6000K color so most of the ones you see on the road are blue.

The blinding you talk about comes from putting HID bulbs into halogen housings (which is 100% illegal per the DMV code). I won't go into the issue here since you can find a lot of debate about that on these boards and on most of the internet. Personally I'll just say "thank you" for not putting them in and blinding other drivers.

As a side note, my wife has a 2009 Buick Enclave. The headlights came from the factory with the correct housings, HID bulbs (4500K), and projectors that even move left and right when you go around a corner. They are the absolute BEST headlights I have ever had. They illuminate the road perfectly, they light up road signs and pedestrians better, and they do not blind other drivers. But again they were designed that way from the factory - not an aftermarket retrofit.

Good luck with the LED's. Make sure you post some pics

I know about the Kelvin color temps. I was just never a fan of 6000 but that was the only color option on my LED kit. So I guess I will have to get used to it.

I was not aware of the legal issue of putting HID in halogen projectors. I will only run the fog lights when needed and only in very necessary conditions. Out of respect to others.

J-Doc · October 16, 2015

I just ordered the Xenon LED kit that uses 6,000 kelvin color. Which I’m afraid is too blue for my preference.

Can anyone share some images? I would like to see how the 6,000 compares to 5,000 or 4,500. Which is what I would have rather ordered but there was only one color (6000).

I’m having buyer’s remorse before it even arrives. They will not accept returns if the packages have been opened and “used”. So I don’t want to install them if I don’t think I’m going to like them.

What other LED options are there with 5,000 kelvin? I only found one other manufacturer and I did not want to deal with fans, etc.

irish4life8911 · October 16, 2015

I just ordered the Xenon LED kit that uses 6,000 kelvin color. Which Im afraid is too blue for my preference.

Can anyone share some images? I would like to see how the 6,000 compares to 5,000 or 4,500. Which is what I would have rather ordered but there was only one color (6000).

Im having buyers remorse before it even arrives. They will not accept returns if the packages have been opened and used. So I dont want to install them if I dont think Im going to like them.

What other LED options are there with 5,000 kelvin? I only found one other manufacturer and I did not want to deal with fans, etc.

To make you feel at ease:

If you ever want to do an LED light bar, light pods, etc..... They all are in the 6k range in color.

I ordered the same kit, with 6k led fog light bulb replacement to match. And plan on doing LED light bars behind the grill. All which will match worth the 6k color.

6k is bright white with hints of blue

Have you seen the new '15 jeep grand Cherokee headlights? They have 6k HID kits from factory

J-Doc · October 16, 2015

To make you feel at ease:

If you ever want to do an LED light bar, light pods, etc..... They all are in the 6k range in color.

I ordered the same kit, with 6k led fog light bulb replacement to match. And plan on doing LED light bars behind the grill. All which will match worth the 6k color.

Do you have any images showing your 6,000 kelvin lights? I've Googled 6000k lights and I've seen quite a wide range. One looks straight up blue, another looks good, another in between, etc. Nothing specific to new Sierras either.

irish4life8911 · October 16, 2015

Do you have any images showing your 6,000 kelvin lights? I've Googled 6000k lights and I've seen quite a wide range. One looks straight up blue, another looks good, another in between, etc. Nothing specific to new Sierras either.

I ordered my lights Wednesday night. They will be here on Monday. Will install shortly after

J-Doc · October 16, 2015

Lol!! Same here.

FishinJ · October 16, 2015

I just ordered the Xenon LED kit that uses 6,000 kelvin color. Which I’m afraid is too blue for my preference.

Can anyone share some images? I would like to see how the 6,000 compares to 5,000 or 4,500. Which is what I would have rather ordered but there was only one color (6000).

I’m having buyer’s remorse before it even arrives. They will not accept returns if the packages have been opened and “used”. So I don’t want to install them if I don’t think I’m going to like them.

What other LED options are there with 5,000 kelvin? I only found one other manufacturer and I did not want to deal with fans, etc.

Just to make you feel better, I don't think XD LED 6000k's look blue at all. They look very similar to the 5000k fogs that I got from XD. It's a very white light. Sorry no pics.

J-Doc · October 16, 2015

Thanks for the reassurances. It seems one manufacturer's 6000 will vary from another manufacturer. That or variations in auto manufacturers projectors are also a factor. Which can create various color renditions.

I just want a nice white light that's a little brighter than what I have as stock.

Should be simple. But life is never simple.

Coach Hill · October 16, 2015

Thanks for the reassurances. It seems one manufacturer's 6000 will vary from another manufacturer. That or variations in auto manufacturers projectors are also a factor. Which can create various color renditions.

I just want a nice white light that's a little brighter than what I have as stock.

Should be simple. But life is never simple.

I think that is a VERY true statement. To help ease your mind a little more. I have the XenonDepot LED kit in my truck. I also have VLED fog bulbs that were purchased months before the XD kit. The fogs are 5000k and I can't tell very much difference at all in the color of the two. In fact, at a distance, I can't tell ANY difference.

Oh and trust me! It will be significantly brighter than stock!

amc019 · October 16, 2015

Really interested in either the VLED / XD headlights, not sure which one is truly superior to the other. I would like to stay way from fans, but they are brighter than the XD's. Are there any other reputable companies that I haven't read about yet?

As for the fogs, are there any options such as the ones for the headlights from XD that will emit more than 800 lumens per light? I would like to stay away from fans here too, but it Seems like 850 lumen fog lights will be almost pointless besides color matching.

irish4life8911 · October 16, 2015

Really interested in either the VLED / XD headlights, not sure which one is truly superior to the other. I would like to stay way from fans, but they are brighter than the XD's. Are there any other reputable companies that I haven't read about yet?

As for the fogs, are there any options such as the ones for the headlights from XD that will emit more than 800 lumens per light? I would like to stay away from fans here too, but it Seems like 850 lumen fog lights will be almost pointless besides color matching.

850 lm is still brighter than stock halogen fog light bulbs.

Your next option would be the fog light set from rigid industries, but that will take some install work.

amc019 · October 16, 2015

850 lm is still brighter than stock halogen fog light bulbs.

Your next option would be the fog light set from rigid industries, but that will take some install work.

Ahh, I guess I over estimated the lumens on the stock bulbs. Fair enough.

Which LED's do you run, and would you change anything if you could go back?