Post an output picture of what it looks like (not one standing in front of the headlights as that doesn't show anything but glare). I've yet to see a drop in LED bulb perform better than the correct optics in a headlight... Most people think brighter is better and 90% of the time these bulbs still scatter light whether you think you are blinding oncoming traffic or not...

-Nigel

 

I've done it successfully at least 10 times. How many LED bulbs have you tried? (I have a pile of them from experimenting)
How do you know what the % of success is? You're operating on norms that were true 5+ years ago.

Brighter with the same beam pattern is always better. Light output of a halogen bulb is comically bad.

 

I don't do it because it's not the correct bulb for the housing. The optics as much as you'd like to think is great, they aren't. There's tons of information out there showing actual numbers in terms of where the light is going, how many lumens, and how most claims of the LED bulbs are a fraction of what they say they output, not to metion as they get warmer/hotter the output is greatly reduced..etc.

It's not nearly as bad in a projector housing but it's still not designed for it. If that was the case manufactures would not invest millions of dollars into lighting and just use drop in bulbs. Right? Speaking of most of those LED bulbs are not DOT so again they aren't right. If you've had good luck, great. But no one posts output shots of light to show the beam patterrn, where the light is going..etc. Where are your output shots?

Check out any headlight group. HIDPlanet, Headlight Junkies...etc. There's tons of actual tests/numbers to show the drop in led bulbs are pretty much not superior like everyone thinks. The proper way to do it is a actual projector retrofit. Not using a different bulb in a halogen projector housing or hid projector housing...etc.

IE: What I'm doing on my CT. Everyone dropping in led bulbs in the projector housing designed for a halogen bulb but they aren't getting output like this. RX350 bixenon OEM projector.
Don't mind the crap above the cut off. I'm holding a bare projector that I just tweaked. There is no shroud..etc.



-Nigel

 

Yep.

Have to take pics of the beam on a wall 25 ft away as per manufacturer procedure. Good bulbs should give a beam pattern like above.

Unless the bulbs can deliver a focused beam with 2 solid bright spots in the middle and below the cut off line, and a dark field above, the beam will be scattered and dim, not as bright and focused as Halogen bulbs.

Most LED bulbs have these problems..