LED headlights

Thomcat · May 17, 2020

Here's my .02 for what it is worth. Saw the greatly improved operation of the '19 Silverado LEDs over my previous '16s HID projectors. I wanted LEDs so that's why I paid the extra bucks for them stock on the upscale models of my Silverado and the and Traverse rather than jamming just any substitute in a lens housing not designed specifically for them.

Seems I have one advantage, because intuitively I don't know $hit about what's best for substituting a particular LED source in a generic housing designed for a different design halogen bulb. . But, I do know enough not to take the word of any marketer with a vested interest in selling them deferring to someone who doesn't have a dog in the fight with the ability and equipment to conduct and unbiased objective test.

The best video I've seen on the subject not only includes the theory but puts all then different brands and types of LEDs to measurable physical testing in multiple type automotive reflector housings. Worth a look at this video to answer all the above by an objective tester. Basically demonstrates that an intelligent choice is not based upon brand, specs or brightness, but strictly upon the LED's ability to duplicate the point source of the halogen filament designed for a reflector housing.

Here are some takeaways:

Fan or no fan doesn't mean crap. The newer COB (chip on board) LED designs run much cooler absent reduce the amount of heat generating support circuitry and generate much less heat.

Brightness of the LED has nothing to do with the amount of light exiting the Lens and available on the road.

A properly designed lower output LED will put more light on the road than a poorly designed higher output brighter LED.

A poorly designed lower output LED will cause more oncoming driver blindness than a higher output brighter LED.

The further the LED design in mimicking a point source the greater the chance of projecting a poorly focused beam.

Regardless of price and brand, the closer the design is to a single output LED in the thinnest heat sink carrier properly located at the same distance focus point as the filament of the halogen bulb it replaces.....the greatest the compatibility with the reflector housing in placing the maximum amount of light on the road with the proper focus to prevent blinding drivers.

J.H.2015LT · May 18, 2020

18 hours ago, Thomcat said:

Here's my .02 for what it is worth. Saw the greatly improved operation of the '19 Silverado LEDs over my previous '16s HID projectors. I wanted LEDs so that's why I paid the extra bucks for them stock on the upscale models of my Silverado and the and Traverse rather than jamming just any substitute in a lens housing not designed specifically for them.

Seems I have one advantage, because intuitively I don't know $hit about what's best for substituting a particular LED source in a generic housing designed for a different design halogen bulb. . But, I do know enough not to take the word of any marketer with a vested interest in selling them deferring to someone who doesn't have a dog in the fight with the ability and equipment to conduct and unbiased objective test.

The best video I've seen on the subject not only includes the theory but puts all then different brands and types of LEDs to measurable physical testing in multiple type automotive reflector housings. Worth a look at this video to answer all the above by an objective tester. Basically demonstrates that an intelligent choice is not based upon brand, specs or brightness, but strictly upon the LED's ability to duplicate the point source of the halogen filament designed for a reflector housing.

Here are some takeaways:

Fan or no fan doesn't mean crap. The newer COB (chip on board) LED designs run much cooler absent reduce the amount of heat generating support circuitry and generate much less heat.

Brightness of the LED has nothing to do with the amount of light exiting the Lens and available on the road.

A properly designed lower output LED will put more light on the road than a poorly designed higher output brighter LED.

A poorly designed lower output LED will cause more oncoming driver blindness than a higher output brighter LED.

The further the LED design in mimicking a point source the greater the chance of projecting a poorly focused beam.

Regardless of price and brand, the closer the design is to a single output LED in the thinnest heat sink carrier properly located at the same distance focus point as the filament of the halogen bulb it replaces.....the greatest the compatibility with the reflector housing in placing the maximum amount of light on the road with the proper focus to prevent blinding drivers.

That is a lot of good information. Also thanks for adding the video that helps explain what to look for. I appreciate the help.

newdude · May 18, 2020

On 5/17/2020 at 6:01 AM, J.H.2015LT said:

Good morning all, I'm looking to remove the halogen headlights and install LED lights. Does anyone know if the 2015 Silverado 1500 is a CANBUS system? If so what LED lights and defeaters did you use? Thanks

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VLEDs. I've used them in projector and reflector, they work great. They offer the Evolution and Evolution Extreme, but the Extreme is not recommended for reflector lamps. I'm sure you can throw them in the high beam and be fine, I'd do the regular Evolution for the low beam. Everything fits behind the dust covers too and the bulbs are barely any larger than the factory ones. You can clock the LED chip too so it casts light properly in the housing.

I've tried Morimoto, absolute crap. Paperweights in my garage.

Low beam:

https://www.vleds.com/shop-application/application-low-beam/h11-h8-h9/micro-evo-h11-h16-h8-h9.html

High beam:

https://www.vleds.com/shop-application/application-high-beam/9005-hb3/micro-evo-9005.html

Edited May 18, 2020 by newdude

J.H.2015LT · May 22, 2020

If it was me I would stay away from any LED that has a fan.
I like these. Best warranty, nice price and no fan.

I have been debating getting these LEsS for all my truck lights. High , low and fog.
Through emails with this company they say they design the LEDs for each application.

https://www.headlightexperts.com/carfinder/?find=2015-chevrolet-silverado-535429

Now I'm leaning toward and LED light bar. Great light output, less money.

[emoji4]

I ordered the low beam LED lights. Here is a comparison between LED and stock halogen. They have a very similar beam pattern and the low beam does have a fan. The part that was the deciding factor was the life time warranty.

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DominatorZ71 · May 22, 2020

5 minutes ago, J.H.2015LT said:

I ordered the low beam LED lights. Here is a comparison between LED and stock halogen. They have a very similar beam pattern and the low beam does have a fan. The part that was the deciding factor was the life time warranty.

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You ordered the wrong ones smh... going to be so much glare and useless light out of there

Mozzer · May 24, 2020

You ordered the wrong ones smh... going to be so much glare and useless light out of there

They look like the beam is similar & has a good cut off so shouldn't blind anyone so why 'wrong ones'.

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DominatorZ71 · May 25, 2020

1 hour ago, Mozzer said:

They look like the beam is similar & has a good cut off so shouldn't blind anyone so why 'wrong ones'.

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You could not be more incorrect. Ask any headlight expert or someone that regularly does retrofits. They would not be pleased. It is a piss poor beam and unfocused as can be. I tried to help but funny enough no one listens, even when actual photos of his truck was used in a quality product and used to show actual results vs the same crappy before and after shot used in every aftermarket LED out there. Why do I even bother? Provide path to quality and they dive for the cheap ****** every time...

DominatorZ71 · May 25, 2020

On 5/22/2020 at 7:34 PM, J.H.2015LT said:

I ordered the low beam LED lights. Here is a comparison between LED and stock halogen. They have a very similar beam pattern and the low beam does have a fan. The part that was the deciding factor was the life time warranty.

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The difference is night and day. The LED he chose is not focused and doesn’t have any “cutoff”. That’s why it has a bunch of bleeding light hanging out up top. The lux on the outside beam looks weak too. You would get the same results off $40 Auxbeams but you paid $60 more. I’m not going to sit here and argue but I am just trying to enlighten you on why they aren’t good.

diyer2 · May 25, 2020

Well after more checking around I learned some more.

First I learned if the LED light doesn't have an attached heat sink it has a fan.

Second if you watch Diode Dynamics video they talk about the LED chips being close together is better.

Well Morimoto 2 strokes looks like the LEDs are mounted the closest.

Third being able to index the light is a must.

Fourth the warranties vary considerably.

Still up in the air about lights or light bar.

Lights cost more.

Light bar should have correct beam pattern.

15BlueSilverado · May 27, 2020

From experience, with LED headlight bulbs, you definitely get what you pay for IMO. I bought some off ebay a while back that were pretty cheap but looked good, installed them on my 2015 with reflector lenses and they were brighter than the stock halogens but didn't last long at all. After a while, the driver side starting flickering every time I used the blinker and then the passenger side went out completely. I ended up taking them out and putting the halogens back in. I'm in the market again for some upgraded headlights but this time I'll be paying a little more for better quality bulbs when I find some.

J.H.2015LT · May 27, 2020

From experience, with LED headlight bulbs, you definitely get what you pay for IMO. I bought some off ebay a while back that were pretty cheap but looked good, installed them on my 2015 with reflector lenses and they were brighter than the stock halogens but didn't last long at all. After a while, the driver side starting flickering every time I used the blinker and then the passenger side went out completely. I ended up taking them out and putting the halogens back in. I'm in the market again for some upgraded headlights but this time I'll be paying a little more for better quality bulbs when I find some.

I have been following Headlight Revolution on YouTube. These guys do tons of testing on anything vehicle light related. Here is one link that may help you;

Here is a link where they test 25 LED light brands.

They even have some videos with popular year, make and model vehicles.

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DominatorZ71 · May 27, 2020

2 hours ago, J.H.2015LT said:

I have been following Headlight Revolution on YouTube. These guys do tons of testing on anything vehicle light related. Here is one link that may help you;

Here is a link where they test 25 LED light brands.

They even have some videos with popular year, make and model vehicles.

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Ironically Headlight revolution page is pretty awful too. Their brand is overpriced and it isn't even the best. They won't test the top dogs against theirs directly

Edited May 27, 2020 by DominatorZ71

spenpet · June 3, 2020

On 5/17/2020 at 1:02 PM, SWOYER said:

Putting led's into projector housings is generally a bad idea because most LEDs are not designed for that type of housing, they're often cheap sales gimmicky products that won't give you a good result.

Edited June 3, 2020 by spenpet
dont want to get involved in the debate

laughey · July 5, 2020

Hello everyone, I hope you don't mind me to taking over this post. I'm both interested and confused (at the same time)...lots of good information from previous responses, so I'm taking my shot!

I currently have an HID (35w Hylux ballast and Morimoto bulbs) setup and, for the most part, all was working fine for the past year. As of late, the passenger side (yeah, the one that's a PITA) has been in and out...more out than in as of late. OK, completely out for the last 2 days. I suspect it's a connection thing, but then again, who the heck knows at this point (I haven't looked into this as of yet). In preparation of what's to come, I figured I would do a bit of investigating my options should it be the bulb needs replacing. And then I see this post. Maybe, just maybe, it's time to explore LEDs? I see a number of "reviews" on numerous web sites suggesting LEDs make life easier (less wiring, mess, etc.) in terms of troubleshooting.

Now, before you all start stepping over one another in response to my questions, please know this:

I'm from the US, but my rig is from Canada. 2015 GMC Sierra SLE with projector headlights and DRLs are the headlights (no aux/secondary lighting within the housing that operates as DRL). Being that she's from Canada, the headlights are active 24/7 whenever in DRIVE with no way to turn them off (like in the US version). Apparently a few have suggested this can be corrected with a BCM re-program, but seeing how I'd have to remove and send it in to WAMS, being without a vehicle during this time isn't something I can easily manage at this juncture. Maybe someday.

OK, now that we're all up to speed, it seems the race is neck-and-neck between Diode Dynamics SL1 and GTR Lighting Ultra 2. Each appear to have CANBUS/PWM built-in (still don't know for sure if that's something I need to worry about, but...) and around the same price range-ish. My questions are:

1) What, if anything, do I need to know about DRL and headlight being one in the same? As I understand things, DRL/headlight combos push lower voltage in daylight hours and higher at night. Some details I've found suggest that using LEDs may result in the DRLs not working at all (fine with me) or that the headlight would simply push max voltage 24/7 (which is what I believe the HIDs do). I guess neither one would be a show stopper, but on to my next question...

2) Has anyone tried or is using either one of these?

3) What, if anything, is done/needed in terms of dust cover modifications (or does everything fit nicely inside the housing like they both suggest they would)?

3) Lastly, I just learned (apparently this is a thing, learning) that 9012 and 9006 bulbs are the same? Whaaaa?!?!? How can this be?!?!? Why?!?!?! I haven't been able to uncover the reason why the industry makes/markets/sells the same product over 2 different model numbers. Is it because the 9012 is low/high and a 9006 is simply low or high (but not both)? I get that my projectors use a shroud to remove the beam cutoff (which, BTW, has been problematic for me since day 1...doesn't always work) when switched from low to high. I would imagine the 9006 would accomplish the same thing, no?

OK, let the chaos begin!

Edited July 5, 2020 by laughey

Mozzer · July 5, 2020

There's a lot I can't help with but being in Canada I can say your right on the reduced voltage, my silverado showed 9 volts & it uses the low beam light so it didn't matter to me that would be on so I just looked for bulbs that were rated to run at 8 volts or more. They are probably full strength or close to it even at the lower voltage.

Definitely need to check yours doesn't use the high beam for DRLs, that is common on lots of vehicles.

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