2011 Frontier King Cab SV LED head Lamp Kit
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
Joined
·
122 Posts
Don't do it. Retrofit projectors instead. You'll get better usable light output with projectors and HID or LED bulbs. No LED bulb in the stock housing is going to give you good usable light output that doesn't scatter and glare into oncoming drivers' eyes. I too tried LED bulbs and learned my lesson even after others warned me not to do it. You won't be disappointed with a proper retrofit.
Joined
·
1,050 Posts
ditto ! here is why: lighting is based on optical measures and specifications. the
light source needs to be individually calibrated to the headlight housing. if you change
the light source from, e.g. halogen bulb to LED or HID kit bulb, the focal length is
nearly always out of calibration.
if you remember in your youth, using a magnifying glass to start a fire, how tricky it
was to hold the glass just right in order for the light to converge to the sweet spot
and for the light to focus? that is pretty much what is happening with the headlight.
Much R&D is spent designing and calibrating the headlight design to fit the bulb. if
you change the bulb, all bets are off. you may get strong lighting but the focus will
be scattered and glare invariably ensues.
don't fool yourself into believing that light scatter isn't a concern. it is to opposing
drivers or those in front of you.
the projector retrofit will nearly always be calibrated to the bulb since the majority
are 'take offs' of the OEM design. so use their R&D, use their projector and fit the
projector and bulb into your headlight assembly. yes, there is labor involved and
more costly than a simple LED or HID plug in. but the quality of the output will be
appreciated, even coverage, minimum glare and safe for other drivers on the road.
light source needs to be individually calibrated to the headlight housing. if you change
the light source from, e.g. halogen bulb to LED or HID kit bulb, the focal length is
nearly always out of calibration.
if you remember in your youth, using a magnifying glass to start a fire, how tricky it
was to hold the glass just right in order for the light to converge to the sweet spot
and for the light to focus? that is pretty much what is happening with the headlight.
Much R&D is spent designing and calibrating the headlight design to fit the bulb. if
you change the bulb, all bets are off. you may get strong lighting but the focus will
be scattered and glare invariably ensues.
don't fool yourself into believing that light scatter isn't a concern. it is to opposing
drivers or those in front of you.
the projector retrofit will nearly always be calibrated to the bulb since the majority
are 'take offs' of the OEM design. so use their R&D, use their projector and fit the
projector and bulb into your headlight assembly. yes, there is labor involved and
more costly than a simple LED or HID plug in. but the quality of the output will be
appreciated, even coverage, minimum glare and safe for other drivers on the road.
Joined
·
552 Posts
I ran into more trouble with blinding truckers as I was passing them... Quickly realized that the LED light scatter was striking them through their side windows and mirrors....
Joined
·
73 Posts
i agree with everyone. I went with 5000k hids for the headlights and then changed the foglights to led pods. It is damn bright and because the hid has the same light dispersion as the regular bulbs I angled them down and don't get to many people upset while driving
Joined
·
122 Posts
You just put HID bulbs in or did you retrofit projectors?
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
