New LEDs. Wow! Bright!
10-15-2008 | 12:00 AM
#1
New LEDs. Wow! Bright!
So I ended up getting two pairs of VLEDS Micro bulbs (head and fog lights) and got them installed. I'll try to get pictures this weekend, but as LEDs get brighter than HIDs, it's increasingly difficult to get pictures.
First impressions:
The light output is totally even, crisp and very bright. I was using Morimoto XB HID bulbs which are pretty high quality and the LEDs are maybe 10-20% brighter (I didn't do a ton of testing with one of each installed). The 6000K color matches my parking 194 and the V3 Tritons that I'm using for DRLs very well. My previous high end LED fog lights (SMZs - no longer sold) were 6000K, but appeared a bit whiter and closer to 5000K, so this is good news. It all looks very modern from a distance... like a Tesla or something. Love it! VLEDS also makes their H11 and H9 bulbs interchangeable, so those old SMZ are now my high beams. I'm now officially fully LED converted... like everything!
A few quick notes:
-HID to LED conversion is a bit complex and permanent. The D2S kit comes with a pass-through kit that is supposed to allow you to go through the dust cap. It unfortunately requires the driver and quite a bit of cable to remain inside the headlight housing. It won't fit. I ended up cutting large square holes in the caps so the driver could be outside the housing, then taped up the hole with 3M double sided and duct tape (been raining non-stop and no condensation inside, so I think it's good). The bulb itself is an amazing design, very easy to install and fits easily within the housing.
-The stock HID cable and socket that connects to the ballast (big metal socket and cloth sheathed cable) would require baking the headlights and taking apart to actually remove, so I was forced to cut the cable to remove the D2S socket. That makes this install permanent. I will have to buy new housings if I want to go back to HID.
-A few technical details on the HID to LED conversion: the power you are tapping into is in the wiring harness running to the headlight. Cut the sheath and find the violet/white wire on the driver side and the black/white wire on the passenger side (the ground is black on both sides). Cut the power wire (you don't want the ballast powering up any more) and connect it to the power for the LED. Tap into the ground as the same ground is used for parking, signal, high beam too, so you don't want that one cut.
-For halogen headlight people, this is a no-brainer. Maybe a bit more expensive than ebay HID kits, but it will be much easier to install, brighter, and more reliable.
-The fog light bulb install is much easier. The only issue there is that the bulb sits at a 45° angle because of how the sockets on the housing are. VLEDS recommends not having the bulb sit at 45°. They are adjustable, BUT (and this is going to be hard to explain) one of the 45° adjustment point allows you to take the collar off all together so you can't use that notch. The end result is that you can't adjust both to sit in the housings in the same position (either vertical or horizontal). You can have one vertical and one horizontal (asymmetric) or both at 45°. I chose both at 45°. I don't think it's as big of a deal with the fogs.
TL;DR: HID to LED is hard but worth it. Halogen to LED install should be easy. Fog light install is easy (bulbs sit at 45° but doesn't matter). Micro bulbs are amazing and highly recommended whether you currently have HID or halogen.
First impressions:
The light output is totally even, crisp and very bright. I was using Morimoto XB HID bulbs which are pretty high quality and the LEDs are maybe 10-20% brighter (I didn't do a ton of testing with one of each installed). The 6000K color matches my parking 194 and the V3 Tritons that I'm using for DRLs very well. My previous high end LED fog lights (SMZs - no longer sold) were 6000K, but appeared a bit whiter and closer to 5000K, so this is good news. It all looks very modern from a distance... like a Tesla or something. Love it! VLEDS also makes their H11 and H9 bulbs interchangeable, so those old SMZ are now my high beams. I'm now officially fully LED converted... like everything!
A few quick notes:
-HID to LED conversion is a bit complex and permanent. The D2S kit comes with a pass-through kit that is supposed to allow you to go through the dust cap. It unfortunately requires the driver and quite a bit of cable to remain inside the headlight housing. It won't fit. I ended up cutting large square holes in the caps so the driver could be outside the housing, then taped up the hole with 3M double sided and duct tape (been raining non-stop and no condensation inside, so I think it's good). The bulb itself is an amazing design, very easy to install and fits easily within the housing.
-The stock HID cable and socket that connects to the ballast (big metal socket and cloth sheathed cable) would require baking the headlights and taking apart to actually remove, so I was forced to cut the cable to remove the D2S socket. That makes this install permanent. I will have to buy new housings if I want to go back to HID.
-A few technical details on the HID to LED conversion: the power you are tapping into is in the wiring harness running to the headlight. Cut the sheath and find the violet/white wire on the driver side and the black/white wire on the passenger side (the ground is black on both sides). Cut the power wire (you don't want the ballast powering up any more) and connect it to the power for the LED. Tap into the ground as the same ground is used for parking, signal, high beam too, so you don't want that one cut.
-For halogen headlight people, this is a no-brainer. Maybe a bit more expensive than ebay HID kits, but it will be much easier to install, brighter, and more reliable.
-The fog light bulb install is much easier. The only issue there is that the bulb sits at a 45° angle because of how the sockets on the housing are. VLEDS recommends not having the bulb sit at 45°. They are adjustable, BUT (and this is going to be hard to explain) one of the 45° adjustment point allows you to take the collar off all together so you can't use that notch. The end result is that you can't adjust both to sit in the housings in the same position (either vertical or horizontal). You can have one vertical and one horizontal (asymmetric) or both at 45°. I chose both at 45°. I don't think it's as big of a deal with the fogs.
TL;DR: HID to LED is hard but worth it. Halogen to LED install should be easy. Fog light install is easy (bulbs sit at 45° but doesn't matter). Micro bulbs are amazing and highly recommended whether you currently have HID or halogen.
Last edited by Aipex8; 11-17-2017 at 01:42 PM.
10-15-2008 | 02:01 AM
#16
http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/P...id/0/SFV/32481
part number: 194_4_HP_W
Corner lights:
http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/P...id/0/SFV/32481
part number: 194_4_HPF_W
Fog lights:
http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/P...id/0/SFV/32481
part number: H11_68_W
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Kamal El (10-27-2018)
10-15-2008 | 02:08 AM
#18
Yeah, I'm a little worried about that also. I had a few sets of parking lights go out before I started running resistors on them. I'm not worried about the parking or corner lights at all now, the resistors really help. The fogs are unprotected though, so we'll see.
10-15-2008 | 11:26 AM
#23
No, they don't get warm. They don't use the same .5 watt LEDs that the 194s use (and they do get quite warm), but make up for lack of brightness with volume. The oil coolers get hot, but they don't seem to radiate much towards the foglights. I can reach my hand up there right after driving and the oil coolers are red hot but the back of the fogs are cool to the touch. I'm more worried about voltage spikes than heat.
