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Thoughts on HID vs LED headlights

H

howeywowey

2️⃣ Bronze
Looking into upgrading the headlights for my 2019 TRD Off Road dcsb. Any thoughts on going Morimoto LED vs Morimoto HID kit? From what I saw on theretrofitsource.com, the kits are about the same in price give or take $20. I just can't stand the yellow bulb lights that are stock. looking for a whiter light and better cutoff.

Open to all opinions and ideas!
 
If you're looking for a better/sharper cutoff you'll need to retrofit projectors into the housings.

If you're just looking for brighter white HIDs will have a better 'throw' than LEDs in general but I know there's some LED models that claim they beat HIDs but I haven't tested them to confirm this claim.
 
I have the Xenon Depot Extreme LEDs. I'm very happy with them. Much brighter, good throw, straight cutoff. I now have them in my highs and lows.

I've never been high beamed back or had someone in a car in front of me at a stop light move their mirror, give me the finger, or anything like that.
 
A big question is where you live. If you live, or you frequently travel to, somewhere that experiences cold and wet conditions, you need to plan on that.
Unless running an aftermarket housing that has a built in lense heater, LED lights won’t heat the housing enough to keep ice from building on the outside and results in loss of output/visibility.
On the flip, a bad housing can warp or melt with HID as they can (depends on the set) get real hot.
Housing is just as, if not more important than the light itself, imho.
 
Mr. Nobody said:
I have the Xenon Depot Extreme LEDs. I'm very happy with them. Much brighter, good throw, straight cutoff. I now have them in my highs and lows.

I've never been high beamed back or had someone in a car in front of me at a stop light move their mirror, give me the finger, or anything like that.
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I'll check these out!
 
WarFabArmor said:
A big question is where you live. If you live, or you frequently travel to, somewhere that experiences cold and wet conditions, you need to plan on that.
Unless running an aftermarket housing that has a built in lense heater, LED lights won’t heat the housing enough to keep ice from building on the outside and results in loss of output/visibility.
On the flip, a bad housing can warp or melt with HID as they can (depends on the set) get real hot.
Housing is just as, if not more important than the light itself, imho.
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I live in Southern California so rain is maybe a couple of weeks out of the year and snow is only if you choose to go... haha
Thanks for the input! Helps a ton
 
Id like some light feedback from you guys. I appreciate the reviews but I have a couple concerns with available lighting. Past experience I have had HID's in 2 Infinitis an 05 G35 and a 08 FX 35. Both had (albeit factory) HID's have always worked well and in 10 years never had to replace a bulb, and never had to use low beams. So perhaps this is a poor indication of the rest of the world HID's.
I have a Lexus with factory LED's and IMO they have no depth or light throw, so this has me skeptical of going with LED.
Would I be impressed with the X D Extreme as far as light throw or is the Morimoto HID's a good prospect?
Thanks
 
Bagman said:
Id like some light feedback from you guys. I appreciate the reviews but I have a couple concerns with available lighting. Past experience I have had HID's in 2 Infinitis an 05 G35 and a 08 FX 35. Both had (albeit factory) HID's have always worked well and in 10 years never had to replace a bulb, and never had to use low beams. So perhaps this is a poor indication of the rest of the world HID's.
I have a Lexus with factory LED's and IMO they have no depth or light throw, so this has me skeptical of going with LED.
Would I be impressed with the X D Extreme as far as light throw or is the Morimoto HID's a good prospect?
Thanks
Click to expand...
We love our morimoto hid setup. Going on almost 4 years with them in the truck and zero issues.
Led make great lights, but just like hid it’s a matter of what led. Bear in mind, it all factory led are the same. Friends Acura with the jewel eye led setup is stupid stupid bright. If I wasn’t in a truck and he was behind me I’d be pissed. Great crisp light with awesome cutoff.
But anyway. Depends on the led and housing for sure.
 
Bagman said:
Id like some light feedback from you guys. I appreciate the reviews but I have a couple concerns with available lighting. Past experience I have had HID's in 2 Infinitis an 05 G35 and a 08 FX 35. Both had (albeit factory) HID's have always worked well and in 10 years never had to replace a bulb, and never had to use low beams. So perhaps this is a poor indication of the rest of the world HID's.
I have a Lexus with factory LED's and IMO they have no depth or light throw, so this has me skeptical of going with LED.
Would I be impressed with the X D Extreme as far as light throw or is the Morimoto HID's a good prospect?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Toyota factory halogen projectors your best pairing would be hids I and many use the morimoto .
5000k and up is bright , but you lose throw
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. I just ordered a set of Xenon XTR HID with Phillips 4300k color, they were a little brighter than the regular 5k. . They had a 10% off sale this week. I looked into Morimotos also but Xenon Depot was responsive with info and answered my questions first.
 
Depending how the color looks with the high beams, I may look into H9 LEDs for the highs. Im going to go with BD Squadrons Amber fogs eventually.
 
Bagman said:
Depending how the color looks with the high beams, I may look into H9 LEDs for the highs. Im going to go with BD Squadrons Amber fogs eventually.
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Make sure if you replace fogs with an aftermarket light you intend to use on the street you actually replace it with a fog. Too many people put pod lights in that are spot or flood pattern instead of fog, then run them on the street and wonder why everyone is mad at them or they suck in conditions which a fog light would be ideal.
 
Definitely, will use the wide angle fog lights, not pencil beams. I will actually adjust the lights when I do a lift too.
 
Bagman said:
Thanks for the replies everyone. I just ordered a set of Xenon XTR HID with Phillips 4300k color, they were a little brighter than the regular 5k. . They had a 10% off sale this week. I looked into Morimotos also but Xenon Depot was responsive with info and answered my questions first.
Click to expand...
Bringing this back up since I am now in your previous predicament! How are you liking these so far?
 
For those interested in LED headlights, let me offer my experiences: Purchased the Auxbeam F16 during a black Friday/Monday/something sale and put 'em in my 2017. What a difference in lighting. The 'whiter' light really had me impressed, however, I realized soon that I didn't get nearly the same amount of distance as I did with the stock bulbs. Sure, they looked brighter, but they really fell short. I watched a ton of Headlight Revolution youtube videos on LED comparisons, and decided on the Supernova V4 LEDs. I'll tell you, these are fantastic for brightness AND distance. It was really noticeable coming from the Auxbeams, and I'm recommending to all my Tacoma friends around here to look into the Supernovas.

Have 4 Auxbeams for sale...
 
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