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Why most LED upgrades don’t really work article.

11K views 100 replies 26 participants last post by  bearman1216 
#1 ·
I came across this article and found it interesting so I thought I would share. I really want better headlight performance but now I am having second thoughts about the $50 Katana solution.

 
#2 ·
Don't second-guess, just do them & make sure they're aligned properly. They're great, I've only been flashed once, and that may have been in error.
 
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#3 ·
Ha. Ordered my $50 Katanas last night, so will personally see what all the fuss is about. Short of spending HUNDREDS more for a full retrofit, whether DIY* or not, was not a path I want to go down just yet. Though, if I did do a LOT of night driving...then a full retrofit would absolutely be the way I'd go. JMHO

* - Baking open my headlight casings, dremeling the opening, gluing in the HIDs for PROPER alignment, then resealing & hoping they don't leak or have condensation...then needing to rebake them open to change a burned out bulb....well, this is an awfully involved process.
 
#6 ·
If I clean the yellow lense then stock works fine for me

I just wish stock lights worked as good as the old sealed beams my karmann ghia and bmws had. I never had a problem seeing with those but the new cars and their plastic lenses that fade to opaque yellow are horrible. I just want glass lenses again.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I came across this article and found it interesting so I thought I would share. I really want better headlight performance but now I am having second thoughts about the $50 Katana solution.

There is a lot of science involved in “correct” light distribution through design. Task lighting in manufacturing, correct lighting, is more than “just change the bulb” taught me that.
 
#11 ·
"Jalopnik” - The "Mother Jones" of car websites...
 
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#12 ·
90% of my driving is between 1 am and 9 am, it annoys the piss out of me the people who put LED in anon projector housing. You may think you have them adjusted, and think that because people don't flash you they are fine. You are wrong, a good portion of those who don't flash you, at this point, they are beyond annoyed at morons and have stopped flashing people.

We tried LED in my previous, 2015 Mack semi. Non projector, of course non exist. Sure, the light was great, covered a great area, but we could never get them adjusted properly, and then winter hit and completely iced over and became worthless. My new truck, 2021 Kenworth has projectors with halogen bulbs. We swapped in LED, light output and pattern is great, but, still not perfect, you can tell its not perfect.

Recently, I had the chance to drive 3 different Volvo semi tractors, halogen, HID, LED. This is a factory demo, and there's a world of difference in aim, output, etc., between each one, and it's obvious the difference.

If NHTSA ever wakes up and approves the Matrix LED technology used in Europe, it will be a night/day difference in what you see and how you drive at night. The matrix led lights on the Volvo semis is different than regular LED lights. Cadillac is the only US manufacturer who has the capability to run matrix LED lights, the new Escalade, XT6 and a couple other models have them installed, but deactivated, its a 10 minute computer program change.

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk
 
#62 ·
Amen! At this point, what good does it do to flash your brights? They know damn good and well they are blinding other drivers but just don't care. They look cool and that's all that matters. On a rare occasion when they're not paying attention to the road instead of playing on their phone, they might, just maybe see an obstacle in the road that could otherwise be easily avoided if they were just driving safely. I'm a truck driver now but I worked for DOT for over 20 years prior. I attended all the seminars and read all the traffics studies. The fraction of a second in reaction time you think you gain from these after market lights is insignificant to the hazard you put other drivers in.
As a trucker, I only wish I could flash my brights but it would probably melt your face and I'd end up in jail because truckers always lose in traffic court.
 
#14 ·
Not sure about LED headlamps BUT BUT BUT I have had nothing but trouble with LED brake,tail,turn, running light bulbs. I would suggest to steer clear and just use filament bulbs if your vehicle came with them. Not sure if LEDs draw more current, but they die out faster and me left rear tail lamp circuit burned out at the computer. I was hoping that I would never have to replace bulbs with the LEDs, but no joy.
 
#20 ·
Not sure about LED headlamps BUT BUT BUT I have had nothing but trouble with LED brake,tail,turn, running light bulbs. I would suggest to steer clear and just use filament bulbs if your vehicle came with them. Not sure if LEDs draw more current, but they die out faster and me left rear tail lamp circuit burned out at the computer. I was hoping that I would never have to replace bulbs with the LEDs, but no joy.
Aside from one Katana, I haven't had to replace any of the interior or exterior leds on my truck.
Sylvania Zevos and Philips Ultinons are the brands that have been on my truck for a few years now.

The #74 leds in my instrument cluster are from superbrightleds.com
 
#17 ·
Q - How many Real Men does it take to change a light bulb?
A - None. Real Men aren't afraid of the Dark
I'll happily side w/ not being a real man then. Anyone seen anyone killed by hitting a moose at speed? Yeah. The vehicle and the moose both lose. Moose eyes don't reflect at night and so you basically have a 1400 - 1800 pound shambling mound of meat and fur practically invisible in the dark, and then BOOOOM. My wife was in a car yrs ago, front seat passenger. By the Grace of God no one was killed but the car was completely destroyed, a Ford Taurus. Roof crushed in, both A-Pillars folder, all the glass blew out and the hood was mangled beyond recognition. You don't want to try this.
 
#18 ·
I think the article highlights a few good points that I did see pop up in the katana thread on this forum. Even the fact that the 05-08 truck's don't seem to benefit the same as the 09+ trucks do.

With that said, I do agree, the katanas are a "ok" upgrade from Incandescent bulbs, I did see where out in the middle of nowhere at night, I do get a bit of glare off the larger newer road signs. So, not ideal, but, I don't have the money to do a projector upgrade, So they will have to work.
 
#19 ·
I think the article highlights a few good points that I did see pop up in the katana thread on this forum. Even the fact that the 05-08 truck's don't seem to benefit the same as the 09+ trucks do.

With that said, I do agree, the katanas are a "ok" upgrade from Incandescent bulbs, I did see where out in the middle of nowhere at night, I do get a bit of glare off the larger newer road signs. So, not ideal, but, I don't have the money to do a projector upgrade, So they will have to work.
I see that glare as well, but I'm not sure that projectors will fix it. I think the road sign coating is more reactive to the LED wavelengths and so appears to "pop" more than the std bulbs do at a lower Kelvin output rating. Projectors w/ halogen bulbs may indeed be the total answer to the glare question but I just dropped $761.00 on Hefty chassis armour, it's gonna be a cold day before the boss'll approve $500.00+ headlamp assemblies. LOL
 
#21 ·
I just did the Katana switch about a week ago for my '16 pro4x.... definitely made a difference and had to adjust them up a bit... HAVEN'T gone to Tahoe yet which will be the final judgement as it's all black with no street lights where i go.... ONLY MAIN CONCERN i have about these is the winter with SNOW!!! Has anyone had issues running the Katanas and snow??? The led's don't produce much heat so wondering if the snow accumulation on them would be a concern while driving....
 
#29 ·
#30 ·
The katana's are great so those are all I can speak of other than whatever brand leds autozone sells for cargo replacements, which are way better than oem bulbs.

I replaced the stock headlight bulbs on my 2012 with some Sylvania's oem style like a year in, really just changed the color and not much brighter. Around 2016 I tried some generic leds that lasted all of 5 minutes because they looked so horrible and had less usable light than the crappy factory ones, and went to a phillips oem style or something that was pretty much a different color of oem again.

Then I read the katana thread around Christmas. I decided to give them a try. That was 7 months ago, lots of night driving on dark desert roads, and I'll never go back. I liked them so much I bought them for my ex's altima and did the frontiers driving lights with the matching katana h11's. So worth it. I've seen some full led swaps with no problems on frontiers when done right with the correct bulbs.

Honestly it's not just brighter, it really illuminates better and easier to distinguish shadows from objects at distance when adjusted properly. I don't use my light bar as often around the dark streets near my house anymore with the katanas installed. And with the light bar on with katanas dark desert has an incredible range. I will agree, road/street signs can get crazy reflection back at you from the katanas, same with reflectors on side of roads. I rarely notice it anymore unless it's a very brand new sign.

I hope to have my side marker and blinker switched out this week with leds. Going with a switchback white/amber on/amber off blinker/drl style.
 
#34 ·
and NOT just $700... but last time i checked they aren't even road legal.... i doubt you would get pulled over since they have a great cut off line and look really sharp....BUT all it takes is just one bad highway patrol to notice it and perhaps write a ticket...
 
#39 ·
I really want better headlight performance but now I am having second thoughts about the $50 Katana solution.

C'mon dude...

Exhibit 1: There's a super long, long informative and chock-full-of-knowledge and facts thread on a specific Nissan Frontier forum from actual users/owners of the LED bulbs that are using them in actual Nissan Frontier headlamps housings that we've found to work. thread that has been going on for over 2 years or so. Everything from multiple install how-to's to numerous positive experiences to aiming headlamps correctly after install for the best improvement is covered in that long thread. A thread that is 100% specific to Nissan Frontier headlamps. Hundereds of posts. So much information there. So much vetting. Pretty much every question answered.

Exhibit 2: ...and then you see a single, generalized article by some guy who isn't even talking about Nissan Frontiers and is making a generalized blanket statement about LEDs in reflector housings based on a couple examples (again - none of which are actual Nissan Frontiers)...

...and that one single article alone got you having second thoughts?

🤷‍♂️
 
#41 ·
C'mon dude...

Exhibit 1: There's a super long, long informative and chock-full-of-knowledge and facts thread on a specific Nissan Frontier forum from actual users/owners of the LED bulbs that are using them in actual Nissan Frontier headlamps housings that we've found to work. thread that has been going on for over 2 years or so. Everything from multiple install how-to's to numerous positive experiences to aiming headlamps correctly after install for the best improvement is covered in that long thread. A thread that is 100% specific to Nissan Frontier headlamps. Hundereds of posts. So much information there. So much vetting. Pretty much every question answered.

Exhibit 2: ...and then you see a single, generalized article by some guy who isn't even talking about Nissan Frontiers and is making a generalized blanket statement about LEDs in reflector housings based on a couple examples (again - none of which are actual Nissan Frontiers)...

...and that one single article alone got you having second thoughts?

🤷‍♂️
I don't think there is anything wrong with considering differing opinions. I am not saying that people shouldn't use Katana LEDs if they want to. If it makes you happy, go for it. And if you are going to, check out Raine's blog. Best write up on how to do it that I have found.


I look at it this way: I put an AVS bug deflector on my truck. I am not an expert in aerodynamics. I can't say I have any empirical evidence that the bug deflector actually prevents bugs on my windshield. I would like to think so because I spent money on it. But I like the way it looks. I am happy with it. And if someone wants one, I would recommend it. But my recommendation isn't based on science, its based on personal preference. And I am willing to admit I may recommend it because I am justifying to myself that I made the right decision in purchasing it.

So I could be part of a super long long forum post where a bunch of other people who aren't experts in aerodynamics post that they too like bug deflectors. But even if the post is super long and the contributors are well intentioned, that doesn't mean any of the opinions express therein are backed up by science.

The article contained information from an expert in the field of automotive lighting. I am not saying that makes him absolutely correct in everything he says, but I do think it should give an unbiased reader some food for thought.

If anyone has any information contradicting the opinions of the expert in the article, I would be happy to read that also and make that part of my informed decision making process. But saying that I "probably won't get flashed" or "I like them" doesn't challenge the statements of the article. Personally I would love it if someone shared some counterpoints to what the expert said. Opinions are great but so are statements backed by science.
 
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