Halogen & LED Headlight Bulb Upgrades

Anisuri · March 15, 2016

LEDs are pretty nice, I have to say. I just got a small LED light bar from Ledoutfitters website, and use it as a license plate light. It works and looks pretty nice, from my point of view. I want to change other lights to LEDs too now

electroflier · March 21, 2016

First post. I've been reading a lot about options for the crap headlights on my '14 Sierra SLE. I tried an LED bulb from ledheadlightspro and was very disappointed. First, the bulb is not anywhere close to the configuration shown on the website... instead of the two Cree-style LED's there are 12 small LEDs on 4 sides. They are situated around a central shaft about 1/2" in diameter. This means that they are very far away from the location of the stock halogen filament. Second, while near distance and side distance lighting is improved, there a fuzzy cutoff line and very poor distance. Having brighter light only to lose distance is bad... Effectively, the new bulb is out of focus in the projector.

I've ordered a set of Xenondepot bulbs to replace the ones from ledheadlightspro.

While I'm waiting for them, I'm getting a set of Rigid DOT-approved fog lights installed. My SLE didn't come with factory fogs, so I also had to order the correct light bezels to replace the blanks in my truck. (part numbers 22902334 and 22902335). Without the correct bezels, the mounting kit from Rigid won't work.

Hopefully this (mostly) street legal combination will work.

I installed the Xenondepot lights on the weekend. They're definitely better than the sh#t I got from ledheadlightspro, and brighter than stock but haven't had the opportunity to try then on a dark road, only city driving.

The Rigid SAE fogs are AWESOME. Definitely worth it.

I also did some digging into the one of the 7th generation, 4000 lumen LEDs based on the Philips LEDs. Being from Canada, I ordered a set of them from bpsperformance (http://www.bpsperformance.com/#!product/prd1/4447710611/led-kit-g7-philips-lumileds-9012). I'm going to try out these and keep the one I like the best, and sell the other

Edited March 21, 2016 by electroflier

Sierra Jon · March 28, 2016

I installed the Xenondepot lights on the weekend. They're definitely better than the sh#t I got from ledheadlightspro, and brighter than stock but haven't had the opportunity to try then on a dark road, only city driving.

The Rigid SAE fogs are AWESOME. Definitely worth it.

I also did some digging into the one of the 7th generation, 4000 lumen LEDs based on the Philips LEDs. Being from Canada, I ordered a set of them from bpsperformance (http://www.bpsperformance.com/#!product/prd1/4447710611/led-kit-g7-philips-lumileds-9012). I'm going to try out these and keep the one I like the best, and sell the other

Any update on night driving?

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Sierra Jon · March 28, 2016

PartsSquare LED Headlight Conversion Kit - High Power Philips Luxeon LED - 5000 Lumen - Copper Belt Heatsink - 9006 (HB4) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X74YCQY/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_NEA-wbPNQTMMR

These look a lot like the xenondepot bulbs. Same Philips Luxeon chips... Anyone try these?

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electroflier · March 29, 2016

Any update on night driving?

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The Xenondepot lights are definitely brighter than stock, and 1000% better than the ones I got from ledheatlightspro. I wouldn't say that they're blow your socks off better than stock, but a definite improvement. There is a slight softening of the cutoff line, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I really like the combination with the Rigid fogs.

Last night my Lumens 4000 lumen lights came in (see my post above for a link to one distributor). I switched out the Xenondepot bulb with them. The 6500k color is a little higher than I would like (I'd prefer 5000-6000k) but there's only the slightest hint of blue. The one thing I really like with these new bulbs (besides been 1500 lumens brighter) is that the bulb angle can be adjusted to get the LEDs in the correct 3-9 o'clock position and still have the socket fully locked. This alone is a huge improvement over the xenondepot bulbs, which can only be tightened slightly to get close to a good orientation.

One thing I found as I removed the Xenondepot light from the passenger side is that the cooling braids are not physically attached to the copper core. I accidentally ended up with a handful of braid and the bulb still in the socket. It's not a big deal if you don't have to change/adjust/remove the bulbe frequently, but it's something to keep in mind.

Sierra Jon · March 29, 2016

The Xenondepot lights are definitely brighter than stock, and 1000% better than the ones I got from ledheatlightspro. I wouldn't say that they're blow your socks off better than stock, but a definite improvement. There is a slight softening of the cutoff line, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I really like the combination with the Rigid fogs.

Last night my Lumens 4000 lumen lights came in (see my post above for a link to one distributor). I switched out the Xenondepot bulb with them. The 6500k color is a little higher than I would like (I'd prefer 5000-6000k) but there's only the slightest hint of blue. The one thing I really like with these new bulbs (besides been 1500 lumens brighter) is that the bulb angle can be adjusted to get the LEDs in the correct 3-9 o'clock position and still have the socket fully locked. This alone is a huge improvement over the xenondepot bulbs, which can only be tightened slightly to get close to a good orientation.

One thing I found as I removed the Xenondepot light from the passenger side is that the cooling braids are not physically attached to the copper core. I accidentally ended up with a handful of braid and the bulb still in the socket. It's not a big deal if you don't have to change/adjust/remove the bulbe frequently, but it's something to keep in mind.

So you prefer the BPS bulbs then... interesting.

Do the heat sinks fit behind the caps?

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Edited March 29, 2016 by Sierra Jon

electroflier · March 29, 2016

Yes, the heat sinks fit behind the caps without issue.

And the short answer is yes, I prefer the Lumens bulbs over the xenondepot ones, being a bit brighter and having adjustment capabilities. They are also more or less the same price (about $105-$110 US)

Sierra Jon · March 30, 2016

Yes, the heat sinks fit behind the caps without issue.

And the short answer is yes, I prefer the Lumens bulbs over the xenondepot ones, being a bit brighter and having adjustment capabilities. They are also more or less the same price (about $105-$110 US)

Cool thanks man, I think I'm going to try those. These are then right?

LED Headlight Bulbs Kit 9012 Philips 8000 Lumens https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ANYJEOA/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_h0Z-wbW8TRXEP

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electroflier · March 30, 2016

Yes. Those are the ones. Don't forget the CANBUS to avoid possible errors. I had them from my xenon depot purchase.

electroflier · March 30, 2016

One hint as well... if you are finding it hard to adjust the LED angle (hard to move the bracket even though the set screw is loose) try loosening the other set screw holding on the heat sink and loosen it. The heat sink and bracket are both threaded and act like lock bolts. Loosening the heat sink a bit "unlocks" the bracket. If you're curious and unthread the heat sink all the way, you'll also see what looks like white grease on the threads. DON'T clean this off! It's a special heat transfer compound.

Edited March 30, 2016 by electroflier

Sierra Jon · March 30, 2016

One hint as well... if you are finding it hard to adjust the LED angle (hard to move the bracket even though the set screw is loose) try loosening the other set screw holding on the heat sink and loosen it. The heat sink and bracket are both threaded and act like lock bolts. Loosening the heat sink a bit "unlocks" the bracket. If you're curious and unthread the heat sink all the way, you'll also see what looks like white grease on the threads. DON'T clean this off! It's a special heat transfer compound.

Nice. I'm going for it. Do you have an SLT with LED DRL's? I was under the impression that only people with no LED's and headlight DRL's needed the CANBUS.

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electroflier · March 30, 2016

Nice. I'm going for it. Do you have an SLT with LED DRL's? I was under the impression that only people with no LED's and headlight DRL's needed the CANBUS.

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I have the SLE without LED drl's. So now my headlights are effectively on 100% of the time (no reduced output drl)

Sierra Jon · March 30, 2016

I have the SLE without LED drl's. So now my headlights are effectively on 100% of the time (no reduced output drl)

Cool man thanks for your help!

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Redriverled · March 31, 2016

I installed the Xenondepot lights on the weekend. They're definitely better than the sh#t I got from ledheadlightspro, and brighter than stock but haven't had the opportunity to try then on a dark road, only city driving.

The Rigid SAE fogs are AWESOME. Definitely worth it.

I also did some digging into the one of the 7th generation, 4000 lumen LEDs based on the Philips LEDs. Being from Canada, I ordered a set of them from bpsperformance (http://www.bpsperformance.com/#!product/prd1/4447710611/led-kit-g7-philips-lumileds-9012). I'm going to try out these and keep the one I like the best, and sell the other

did you get your phillips luxeon leds installed? if you had problems with them you may need to use a HID relay harness and load resistors to get them to work properly. just wanted to help as I have istalled several and they can be a pain to research

electroflier · March 31, 2016

Yes I got the Philips bulbs installed without issue. I did not need a relay harness. The Philips bulbs are definitely brighter than the xenondepot ones but the light pattern is a little less even. I'm going to fiddle around with the orientation to see if that makes a difference. Right now they're at the 3 and 9 o'clock position. It might also be due to the presence of the "cap" at the end that is causing some sort of interference pattern.

The uneven light can be seen as brighter inverted "V" pattern buried within the main beam when pointed at a wall. This results in spotty distribution in the mid-distance part of the beam when driving. It's noticeable but not too annoying.

Edited March 31, 2016 by electroflier