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Updated my HID low beam to LEDs. Happy with the result.
HID on left, LED on right
Excellent comparison!!!
Im not a lighting expert but throwing HID kits in halogen projector headlights is the worst. The light dispersement is horrible. LED bulbs will give you brighter than OEM light output and OEM cutoff.
Im not a lighting expert but throwing HID kits in halogen projector headlights is the worst. The light dispersement is horrible. LED bulbs will give you brighter than OEM light output and OEM cutoff.
You really must not be a lighting expert, lol.
The projectors focus the HID light output exactly where it should be, it's not like slapping an HID kit in a halogen bulb fluted lense housing! It's the projectors that focus the light and provide the cutoff, the fact the GX470 has factory projectors makes it the perfect platform to retrofit an HID kit into.
Im not a lighting expert but throwing HID kits in halogen projector headlights is the worst. The light dispersement is horrible. LED bulbs will give you brighter than OEM light output and OEM cutoff.
You have this wrong. You'd want HIDs in your projectors. You do not want HIDs in halogen reflector lens housing where light is thrown all over the place.
LOL. Calm down guys. I see you listed HID kits in your mods and I know they mean a lot to you.
Originally Posted by IanB2
You really must not be a lighting expert, lol.
The projectors focus the HID light output exactly where it should be, it's not like slapping an HID kit in a halogen bulb fluted lense housing! It's the projectors that focus the light and provide the cutoff, the fact the GX470 has factory projectors makes it the perfect platform to retrofit an HID kit into.
Originally Posted by NTH
You have this wrong. You'd want HIDs in your projectors. You do not want HIDs in halogen reflector lens housing where light is thrown all over the place.
You can do your own research. There is a lens difference from a halogen projector versus an ACTUAL HID projector. Simply plugging a HID kit into your halogen projector lens doesn't mean you are getting the projected focus you think you are. This is why people do retrofit kits. You're using the term retrofit incorrectly. True retrofit kits swap out the entire lens hardware to an HID projected lens. Simply putting a kit in the OEM halogen projector isn't a retrofit.
What makes plug n play HID kit in halogen projector headlights not suitable/uncomfortable is not the cut-off but the beam pattern, it may appear to be ok. Judging a headlight by its cutoff is meaningless. It's the distribution of light under the cutoff that counts. Most halogen projectors are not designed to spread the beam, so installing an HID will result in a lot of foreground lighting. It's the incompatibility of the light produced by the HID burner and the light required by the halogen projector.
LOL. Calm down guys. I see you listed HID kits in your mods and I know they mean a lot to you.
You can do your own research. There is a lens difference from a halogen projector versus an ACTUAL HID projector. Simply plugging a HID kit into your halogen projector lens doesn't mean you are getting the projected focus you think you are. This is why people do retrofit kits. You're using the term retrofit incorrectly. True retrofit kits swap out the entire lens hardware to an HID projected lens. Simply putting a kit in the OEM halogen projector isn't a retrofit.
What makes plug n play HID kit in halogen projector headlights not suitable/uncomfortable is not the cut-off but the beam pattern, it may appear to be ok. Judging a headlight by its cutoff is meaningless. It's the distribution of light under the cutoff that counts. Most halogen projectors are not designed to spread the beam, so installing an HID will result in a lot of foreground lighting. It's the incompatibility of the light produced by the HID burner and the light required by the halogen projector.
That's just marketing. The difference of a "halogen projector" to an actual "HID projector" is very minimal, and most of the time it does not make any difference at all. For the most part, the placing of the electrode wire on the bulb, sometimes blocks the light output, but not in all projectors. A bad quality xenon gas in an HID bulb can fade fast and decrease the light output. We've had all kinds of experience working with HIDs for the past 10 years we've been doing this. Some of the very prominent and well known brands have sometimes been the most unreliable and most problematic, and some of the cheapest (price wise) have been the most reliable and consistent. There's really no way to generalize them. So if we're comparing a, let's say a few years old HID kit to a brand new LED kit, chances are, it will look brighter.
One thing's for sure about this issue is LED plug n play bulbs are not better than HIDs in any way. Projectors and even reflectors, are both designed to have a light source that produces light 360ş at a certain distance to the base. And if you look at the LED bulbs design, its got bulbs at the top and bottom, which projects light the brightest in front of each, and decreases brightness to the sides. Which just leads us back to my last statement why it would look brighter. A real HID projector look nothing like the plug n play bulbs, and still does not compare to similar HID projectors. Here's a comparison output of an LED projector to a an HID projector. Notice how wide and even the light output of HID while the LED is fully focused only in the middle and fades to the sides.
Morimoto MLED Projector
Morimoto D2S Projector
OEM projector lenses are fresnel lenses, which has surface texture to produce a much softer light output:
And here is our work on a halogen projector with upgraded projector lens:
I appreciate you chiming in. I don’t have the experience you have in lighting but I disagree about the projectors. I do agree quality is an issue with most after market HID kits because of the xenon gas.
Being in the lighting business I don’t see how you can say that’s just “marketing” and then say that most the time it isn’t an issue. Halogen projectors are made for halogen bulbs. HID projectors are made for HIDs. No matter how minimal the differences are. You’d never retrofit a halogen projector with the intent to run an HID bulb.
I’ve had retrofits done on my Armada and a quad projector setup on my E46 M3 and morimoto HID projectors were used.
I can only speak from my experiences with halogen projectors. I’ve tried to run hid kits in both my IS250 and CT200h. Both had OEM halogen projectors and the hid kits had horrible light output. The LED bulbs just have better visibility and more evenly dispersed lighting. Again, from what I have seen. Similar to the post on the previous page which shows a typical hid kit in a halogen projector vs the LED bulb. Maybe it’s just a quality issue with the HID kits and LEDs have less variability because they don’t require gas and a ballast.
Is an LED bulb better than a true HID system, no. The ideal retrofit is to have an actual HID projector installed to run an HID system. I’m sure you guys do great work.
Originally Posted by Organized Garage Status
That's just marketing. The difference of a "halogen projector" to an actual "HID projector" is very minimal, and most of the time it does not make any difference at all. For the most part, the placing of the electrode wire on the bulb, sometimes blocks the light output, but not in all projectors. A bad quality xenon gas in an HID bulb can fade fast and decrease the light output. We've had all kinds of experience working with HIDs for the past 10 years we've been doing this. Some of the very prominent and well known brands have sometimes been the most unreliable and most problematic, and some of the cheapest (price wise) have been the most reliable and consistent. There's really no way to generalize them. So if we're comparing a, let's say a few years old HID kit to a brand new LED kit, chances are, it will look brighter.
One thing's for sure about this issue is LED plug n play bulbs are not better than HIDs in any way. Projectors and even reflectors, are both designed to have a light source that produces light 360ş at a certain distance to the base. And if you look at the LED bulbs design, its got bulbs at the top and bottom, which projects light the brightest in front of each, and decreases brightness to the sides. Which just leads us back to my last statement why it would look brighter. A real HID projector look nothing like the plug n play bulbs, and still does not compare to similar HID projectors. Here's a comparison output of an LED projector to a an HID projector. Notice how wide and even the light output of HID while the LED is fully focused only in the middle and fades to the sides.
Morimoto MLED Projector
Morimoto D2S Projector
OEM projector lenses are fresnel lenses, which has surface texture to produce a much softer light output:
And here is our work on a halogen projector with upgraded projector lens:
How's the ride, and what shocks are you using? What else have you got planned for it?
I was thinking, next, is probably some new shoes. I need something beefier, but currently I still have tread. After wheels, I need a new front bumper (bought the truck with some damage on the bumper/fender). Then I plan on taking my soccer-mom running boards off and put on some custom sliders. When all is said and done, a rooftop tent, some armour, a snorkel, and a new roof rack should finish up the build along with routine maintenance. Just about 115k miles on her. I know my waterpump and timingbelt are getting old too.
I was thinking, next, is probably some new shoes. I need something beefier, but currently I still have tread. After wheels, I need a new front bumper (bought the truck with some damage on the bumper/fender). Then I plan on taking my soccer-mom running boards off and put on some custom sliders. When all is said and done, a rooftop tent, some armour, a snorkel, and a new roof rack should finish up the build along with routine maintenance. Just about 115k miles on her. I know my waterpump and timingbelt are getting old too.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! Your truck looks so clean and beautiful. Like you just bought it brand new yesterday. To me it's perfect the way you have it, but it's your car.
Did some work on the GX lately. When I did the rear coil conversion I noticed the rear fuel tank strap had rusted through, so I changed that out. They use road salt where I live, so I soaked all the bolts with PB Blaster a couple times in the week leading up to the work, all the bolts came out nice except the final, most important one that holds the actual strap in on the one side, snapped it right off, doh. Last night a buddy came by and helped me drill it out, I'll be using a J-clip in place of the welded nut which was destroyed in the process.
I also deleted the roof rack last night, I really like the look without better.
A few years back I had to replace the rear wiper arm (don't pull out on it!), and must have got it one tooth off as it sat just below horizontal at rest and drove me nuts. I got a nice front end service set of tools the other day, so I used the 2-jaw puller to pull and reset the wiper arm, much better now! I did manage to break the bolt cover in the process though...Partsouq to the rescue I guess, lol.
My GX470's rear end was harsh. Upon repair I learned one airbag held no air. Back was very harsh on any bumps. It seemed like a low-rider, too--see picture. Passengers complained. The kit from MetalTech worked out great, despite their keeping me in the dark regarding order status for 1-2 weeks. I bought the assembled front radflos (part of the kit) 2.5 inch lift (in a kit with rear shocks and springs), and the $279 dolllar rear conversion kit with Prado stops. Installing the front was a PITA. I could do it again in half the time. Case in point, I installed a similar system on my mom's the next week (just the back, converting her airbags to springs with 2" lift--it took me 2.5 hours on hers for just the rear--I had previously done the front on hers).
Before. One dead airbag in back. Rear shocks were done.
After. 285/70/r17 Pathfinders from Discount Tire. 2.5 lift front and back. 2.5 inch radflo kit from MetalTech4x4. Converted airbags to springs with 2.5 inch lift.
Total Chaos UCA’s
Radflo 2.5 extended travel front and rear
Dobinsons progressive long travel rear springs
metal tech upper and lower links
OEM replacement lower control arms.
33” Falken Wildpeaks which were quickly replaced by 33” Nitto Terra Grapplers after the Falkens wouldn’t balance after 5 attempts.
12-06-17, 07:55 AM
