*If you are about to suggest aiming the headlights lower,* you are not alone. 😄 A lot of viewers made that suggestion, so I gave it a shot and made a *follow-up video:* ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
Thank you for such a thorough and thoughtful review. It's rare to see someone who is considerate of other drivers and everyone's s safety. You're a good man.
I has so much to say. It has consumed me. Thank you for doing the right thing. I get migraines because they are so bright. I've been trying sunglasses over my prescription glasses. So bright yet people forget to turn them on and see just fine in the city.
You nailed this! I work at an auto parts store and try to explain why LED lights in halogen reflectors are a really bad idea because the light scatter pattern isn't safe for other drivers... Unfortunately, it seems that most of the people I talk to _simply don't care what their headlights do to other peoples vision!_ This is disheartening, to say the least.
driving my older model Ford for 2yrs with unsafe lighting. tried buffing the lens, replacing the Halogen bulb with the brightest best i could find with little success. in my city i am constantly being blinded from the front & rear view with full beam LEDs. i recently found LED replacements for my Halogen bulbs and it has made such a difference. now that i can safely drive at night i have zero empathy for those full beamers who blind me.
Seems like everyone always compaes/reviews LED bulbs from driver perspective and not from the viewpoint of oncoming traffic or how it looks from behind you. Glad to see this perspective in video. No one seems to care about the other drivers on the road.👍
People waste money going out and partying, out to eat, buying coffee instead of making it at home, buying lunch for work instead of packing it. Anyone who owns a car can at some point can afford to spend $35-70 to replace theirs but don't. I had a 2016 altima with the stock led and when i passed other led cars we could both see just fine. It's a dirt cheap safety upgrade and if they don't want to do it them F**k'em.
I’ve got led H4 replacements installed on my 04 Forester xt and they are a huge difference. Because of this glaring issue I made sure to get a LED shape and design as close as possible to the filament of the original H4 halogen light and I also went with a lower output than what everyone is advertising. I checked with a lux meter on a stand for both of the lights and the leds actually have less percentage of light outside of the correct light shape than the halogens. I also drove behind some friends just to see what they thought and it doesn’t seem to bother them. Bottom line, some LEDs can be good some not, IMO it’s really important to get a led that physically is as close as possible to the replacement halogen filament and also it’s ok to not go for super bright light output.
I have to congratulate you! This video, your video, is a perfect example of what a test should be! This is a responsible review, made by intelligent people, thought of with good sense and consideration for other people, and the safety of others. Your video (and you) deserve my 5 stars review! Sincere congratulations!
@Blind Squid halogens are your best option unless you go with hid projectors. Also you can upgrade your halogens to brighter bulbs example 9006 to 9012HIR.
@@zachknee9858 They definitely don't, they have the same issue as with LEDs, just not as bad. At least in my experience in arctic temperatures. LEDs are superb to both in many ways, if only the heat they produced could be conducted to the lens. Because they do produce it, around 75% of their total power. Or the lenses would have auxiliar heating, similar to heated windscreens.
I will admit I didn't know this was standard procedure. I suspect most people just put in new bulbs when they burn out. I have gone back, reset the height of my headlights, and retested the LEDs. Results here: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
Just watching this because of my own experiences with Lasfit Leds. I was running them for almost a year in my 2014 sentra. Brilliant light output, love how wide they are. But I couldn't stand the amount of cars that flashed me. Especially a few nights ago I decided to do a highway run after a long time not going on the highway. Now keep in mind, my car has a full led conversion for both the low and high beams. But I found myself struggling at highway speeds to see ahead, I feel as if the leds get washed out with less things to reflect off. I could see a bright spot clearly, but I just wanted a further extension of light. Going back to my halogens has shown me that the they spread the light evenly with the reflector unlike the leds. The leds have a very distinct bright spot, which I think affects your depth perception, as your eyes tend to focus on the area with the most light.
I don't want to seem lame because the content was great but the camera angles and story were really well done. It was really nice to watch while also providing great info. Just wanted to mention it, as you obviously took care in setting them up. Thanks!
Hats off to you sir! Congratulations on making the first excellent comprehensive video answering almost any and all questions I may have ever had in installing LEDs in my 2021 Honda CRV Special Edition. Guessing by the projector housing for low beams I could use H11 LEDs, and just brighter white bulbs (whiter halogens) for the high beams. Thanks so much!
The light output pattern is good, aiming them down and to the right just a touch should do the trick. Keep in mind the more weight in back, the higher the aim point of the headlights.
Great video! When I bought my 03 Santa Fe I was thinking LED would be the way to go, and luckily asked a friend for his recommendations. He pretty much told me everything you discovered and demonstrated in this video and talked me out of it. I hate being blinded by LED headlights, so I'm glad I'm not part of that problem myself.
Great review with real world results. I installed LED's in my 17' Colorado and to adjust them down a bit. I see better and I'm not getting flashed by oncoming drivers.
My daily is a 2016 Canyon (which was actually featured in one of his previous videos!) and that's exactly what I did. And did again after installing a leveling kit. The Chevy/ GMC projector housings do a much better job of creating a sharp cutoff versus these reflector housings.
Thank you for your honest and thoughtful review. I came across your channel when checking out the Forester as a new vehicle for my partner. Your thoughtful videos assured me the Forester is a good choice and as of last Thursday evening she is now driving a 2020 Forester and loving it. The quality of your videos compelled me to subscribe and enjoy many of your videos over the past weeks. Your good work is appreciated.
Thanks for being honest! Someone will send you a product because they want a honest opinion. Sometimes it hurts, but once people know you are honest, companies will want your backing if they think they are selling a good product. Think of it this way, you probably just got rid of 90 percent of junk to review! Good for you and good for honest/quality producers/products. George
Thanks for this great and fair review. Here in Germany it is not allowed to retrofit your halogens with aftermarket LED bulbs, because of all the reasons you mentioned. But I replaced all the indoor lights in my Forester SH with LEDs. It is legal and makes a big difference.
Thanks for the honest review and being a considerate human being. Most people ( sadly ) realize that LEDs do produce more usable light and could care less about other drivers. LEDs seem to be hit or miss on longevity.
The main problem at night is the blinding lights from each angle. Respectful review ! Thanks man, it should help people divert from buying LED to blinde other people when not design to have them in first place...
Very insightful, through, and most importantly unbiased and honest review of your observations. Blinding oncoming traffic is something you don't want to do. Most people don't give a hoot, glad you are considerate to fellow drivers. There are other options in LED headlights such as Diode Dynamics SL1, Morimoto Two Stoke 2.0, that have been tested and have a light output pattern similar to stock headlights.
I'm here because I'm researching videos about how to convert from halogen to led bulbs. After watching your video I'm not sure if I want to convert anymore. But I have an issue where my halogen bulbs are barely lasting me 90 to 120 days, and I'm getting sick and tired of the same bulb replacing routine. I understand that I drive a lot more miles per month than the average person, but this issue seems to be getting worst and even the best halogen bulbs aren't lasting. I'm a Lyft/Uber Driver here in the South West, and I can assure you the blinding effect has ridiculously increased in the last 3 years and consistently making it harder for me to do my job without having to strain my eyes "Charles Bronson" style so to avoid accidents several times during night driving, and my City is a small City compared to major cities such as Miami or Dallas where I've driven as well and the glare from oncoming traffic is just stupidly out of control on those major cities. I'm shocked that this hasn't become a National issue yet. But anyway, I like to thank you for your dedication on making such a detailed video. It helped me make a decision today.
I appreciate the honesty Donald! I too received LASfit LED lights for review but you're absolutely right, the housing has to be designed for them. My Honda Passport came with full LED lighting with the exception of the high beams, and as you said in your video, high beam LED's make for a worthy replacement since they're only used in certain situations when no one is in front. I absolutely love my OEM LED low beams and fog lights, there's no scatter, just a straight line of light. With that said, I think it may be worth finding a nice LED headlight housing with a proper reflection pattern
That makes perfect sense. I really wish I had known about this issue when LASFIT contacted me, I would've asked them to send me something other than a low beam replacement. Unfortunately my high beams use a different bulb. Too bad I can't make these fit into my Hellas which are woefully inadequate as offroad auxiliaries.
This was one of the things I was most worried about when I installed one of the better-reviewed aftermarket LED drop-ins in my 2012 Forester. I installed the lights at night and parked where I could compare where the LED's shine on a fence against the original halogens. I actually found that, when correctly clocked, the LEDs gave a sharper cutoff at the top of the field and didn't shine noticably higher. Based on my short time in stage lighting, I've seen how much of an effect can be had on a projected beam by slightly moving the filament of a lamp, and projector headlights are no different.
It’s refreshing to see people review sponsored products “honestly”. I have a 18 Crosstrek with horrible halogens and I upgraded the stocks with diode dynamics leds and even though these are considered high quality and top notch, they also redirect lights scattered everywhere. I think the issue is the reflector housing which is not meant for the led lights.
Thank you so much for taking your time and educating us. I hope this video creates a difference and urges people to think about other drivers when installing certain equipment in their vehicle. Thanks again for spending the time on this video.
Very thorough analysis… First off even “factory” vehicles with “factory” LEDs are blinding to on coming traffic… LEDs are just brighter and throw more light to the point that even designed by a manufacturer it still produces more light. Technology is coming in the way of the headlights being able to shut off the drivers side as another vehicle passes but we’re years away, plus we’re years behind what Great Britain has vs what we’re allowed here… Great video, just feel personally that I care more about what I can see vs what others see with me coming but I live in a country setting so my daily “light issues” vary greatly… Keep up the great work!
In germany its illegal to fit those to your car bacause led headlights need to self adjust instantly, like when youre going over a bump it instantly needs to react. And even then they sometimes blind others. Very thoughtful, honest and informative video, keep it up!
I love your attitude towards other road users and thinking about the safety of all traffic around you. I wish more people would consider others as much as you did in this case. I plan to install those in my wife's Lexus CT. It is also running H11 bulbs, but unlike your Subie, it does not have an open reflector. It is equipped with a reflector lens and I think it should be far less disturbing for oncomming traffic. We will see. Thanks for this film!
Thank you. This is very well thought out, useful information. LASFIT should be grateful for your feedback. I hope they accept it in the spirit you meant it to be and incorporate the information you provided them in their next design.
yup. been blinded by lots of people, trucks, SUV, sedans that have lights that are too bright. it sucks when they pull up behind you. thanks for taking that into consideration!
Amazing comparison video. The wise (safety) choice is to stick with halogens. I wonder if LEDs would blindingly reflect lights in fog and snow. Thank you for putting this video together!
Very good & interesting video here. I must say that you've really done long & arduous work here. Coincidently I also replaced the old and aging halogen in 2007 Ford Explorer with brand new LEDs. Yeah, 2 things that I noticed: 1 - I can see anything to everything. 2 - I do have the same fear just as you're saying that people might think that I've got the brights on but so far I haven't seen anyone flashing back at me. However just make things clearer my 2007 Ford Explorer also has the same umbrella in the light housing and likewise the light emission is actually reflected out on the road from the rear reflector wall, so this makes the bandwidth of light beam on the road quite even. Also, I have installed or replaced actually the halogen bulbs from the fog to the LEDs. So if any given time I have a fear that I'm a nuisance o the road with headlights on I switches on the Fogs only and have a comfortable field of vision. My second last point in this argument here is more important for me. My eyesight isn't good at all. after going with aftermarket LEDs I feel I am a more relaxed driver and can see much much better than before so the chances of me becoming a contributing factor of an accident on the road now considerably reduced. In my area almost every other car is brand new so either they're on HID or LED as OEM. So my last thought related to the last part: Almost all the new cars esp luxury cars they are now fitted with extremely high-end tech lighting system rather quite fancy in Audi so to speaks as they can project a movie on the road as well and any letter or word you can put in the program. These adaptive lightning systems are awfully expensive. That 2014 BMW i8 fancy Laser light system 1 - headlight cost incase of full replacement cost over $10000. Even though that example is one end of the extreme, however, newer the with the newest tech costing a lot more then some could easily catch up to them.
My car has LEDs from factory and I still get flashes because people think I drive with my high beam on. But I did appreciated your honest review. Keep it up!
LEDs can be installed in reflectors. But the cut off point where you are lighting the road below, and slight light leakage above needs to be BELOW a certain height -- you can research online about this. But generally you want that cut off point below an oncomings car windshield. That way you aren't blinding them. This is the same case for projector and reflector housings.
Thank you for your honest review of this product and your explanation in general of why LED bulbs aren’t right in halogen housings. I really wanted this to be a positive review because my wife’s Chevy Traverse low beams are awful. I was hopeful that this would be the fix!
If the headlamps don't have projectors, I think simple upgraded halogen bulbs are worth a shot. Not very expensive, maintain the beam pattern, and they did make a noticeable difference for me.
I have a 2017 Sonata with projector headlights. I decided to try LEDs everywhere on the car. I love the back up lights, plate lights, trunk, interior etc.. but the headlights are going back. Halogen lights just work better in halogen style housings. My leds were super bright, but had a strange focus, and no more hotspot which took away from how far they went out. I chose based off performance since the leds were definitely nicer looking.
Finally my doubts explained very well by you. No wonder after changing to LED on the reflector headlights, the lighting field and pattern totally unacceptable. I'm switching back to halogen. Tq.
I have found when adding LED headlight bulbs I can lower the beam height adjustment and it solves all issues for my applications. Perhaps if you lower the beam using your factory adjustment bolt it will allow you to enjoy them 🤷♂️
I have had LED’s in for about 3 months and haven’t been flashed once, they passed a UK MOT and I asked the MOT guy to adjust the height up to the legal limit. This was a bit bright due to the angle of the beam pattern but a slight adjustment of the headlight (in the housing) and it’s perfect now.
The glare is still there regardless and your hotspot would be pointing at the ground not down the road. Thus making your output worse than factory halogens. bUt ThE 6k CoLor LoOkS gOoD
Thanks for your honest review. I was considering these bulbs for my 2017 Tucson but was concerned about blinding oncoming traffic. After all I hate other people that put these darn bulbs in their POS cars and blind me. I don’t want to be one of ‘those’ people. I think I’ll look into other options. Thank you.
I know you weren't looking for lights, but if you are interested in others.. Diode Dynamics has done a lot of research and have plug and play headlights that work with housings properly. They actually have quite a few options available for the forester including reverse lights. I ran into similar issues with other "cheaper" LED lights with the beams just being too wide and not very focused. I didn't have that issue on my crosstrek with the SL1 lights from diode. Anyway, give them a shot if you're in the market. Appreciate the honest review and tests you setup to confirm things.
I have beamtech led from amazon in my 18 Forester with Reflector housing. Ive never been flashed or pulled over. Cut off is pretty clean for the most part. Theres a video showing beamtechs having a similiar beam to halogen bulb.
bahlowwings Beamtech in our Journey too. Cutoff isn’t perfect, but it’s adequate and they’re much less intense than other brands, we have never been flashed either. Of course I adjusted beam angle to compensate for the extra light output to match the halos. That helps too.
It's clear that not LEDs are created equal. I did try lowering my headlight aim as many people suggested and retested the Lasfits, if you're curious: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
I have hikari leds on my crosstrek. Those are adjustable and you can tune it so it doesn't glare. You can give them a try if you want. They were 37 dollars on amazon.
arent LED bulbs designed to imitate halogen bulbs? as in, they suppoced to reflect the light on the same important directions for it to be reflected into the... chrome mirrors whatever they called?
Perhaps some are, however these particular units were nothing like a halogen bulb. They had long arrays of LED chips on either side of a plastic tube, unlike a halogen filament which creates a much more pinpoint of light shining a full 360°. Like I said in the video, perhaps other LED headlight replacements work better than these. Also note this video is pretty old and perhaps they have since improved their design. The larger takeaway is that you can't necessarily just throw any LED into any headlamp housing...the LED design should be scrutinized for how well it will interact with any housing designed for halogen bulbs. I did ultimately make a follow-up video because numerous viewers felt I should have re-aimed the headlights lower and that would have helped: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
Great review and you bring up the important point they reflector housings tend to throw LED lighting all over the place as opposed to projectors. I did install KED’s as high beams on my Outback, as you said they aren’t used with incoming cars and it does a great job illuminating back roads frequented by deer at night. I use slightly upgraded halogens for low beams
I'm really not a an auto electrical expert at all, sorry. I don't understand how they could drain your battery though. When they're off, there should be no power at all going to them, and when they're on, usually LEDs draw less power than halogen bulbs. Are you sure it's because of the LED lamps?
You are such an educated and nice person. Thank you for you video. In my case I tried some cheap Chinese replacements with LEDs pointing in all directions. Long story short... They were a mess.
Great comparison video and review.... when I converted my car's halogen to LEDs, I made sure to adjust the headlight height (there are screws on the back of the headlight housing... one for up and down adjustment and another one for left and right adjustment) .... just lower the height accordingly so as not to blind oncoming traffic... there are a lot of YT videos that give a tutorial on this.
I've had LED's in my past two cars as both came with projector housings with basic halogens. Only reason I did the upgrade was because of how the housing was designed to focus the beam of light as opposed with reflector housing like yours that just casts it everywhere and floods the road up ahead. If you could get your hands on a set of projector headlight housings for your Forester(which I bet they make) You'd be able to get more light and not blind oncoming traffic. Just my thought on that.
I agree completely, LEDs make much more sense in a projector, and a projector retrofit would be necessary for me to run LEDs. Ultimately, given that I was happy enough with my halogen low-beams, it doesn't seem worth the trouble for me. More light on the trail when I can run high beams is probably where I would focus my next efforts. Thanks for watching!
As always you have shot another great video! I have mixed feelings because of where we live. When my Forester passed away I bought a used VW Golf to drive back and forth to work. Someone took the original housing for the car out and replaced them with ones from a 337 GTI. With STOCK bulbs I have no need to upgrade my bulbs or even use my high beams. I do need some fog lights though. We live IN the mountains and I work second shift so I don’t leave work until after 10pm. It’s DARK here there are no street lights near us, lots of deer, dogs, and other critters. My wife works on the other side of the pass, and it’s even darker for her to drive at night. When I find the Subaru I want I plan to check into some aftermarket headlight housing “ if there is such a thing.” If not then going to definitely find a brighter bulb than my old Subaru had. I agree with you about the interior lights though they are terrible.
Replacing the entire housing is a whole other ball game and addresses the problem of the LED/Halogen reflector mismatch. Though even without going to that expense, for me simply stepping up from the cheapest halogen to an upgraded halogen made a visible difference while causing no glare issues. Thanks for watching!
I recently put LED in my 2005 Toyota Avalon and it did the same thing. Other drivers thought I had my high beams on but what I did that helped a little to not blind drivers as much is I rotated the LED from facing side to side to up and down and it did lower it a little
I did fiddle with the rotation, but up and down was significantly worse with these in my headlights. These particular units are designed with a sort of baffle along the top to prevent too much light going upwards, and I found these definitely work best when installed with the emitters at 3:00 and 9:00 and the baffle at the top. I did recently try aiming my headlights down and retesting the LEDs...the aim adjustment did improve the oncoming driver experience. New video if you're curious: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
Thanks! Great review. I can't tell you how tiring to one's eye when the person behind you are blaring their LED in your rear view mirror for miles and miles down a one-lane road. It's like constantly on high beam. Yes… Better for the driver. But not necessary for everyone else. Especially in the urban and even suburban environment. It's great for your off-roading. You need all the lights.
Thanks for the Honest review ; Blue light from the led headlights is also blinding the other drivers. For the same reason that phones now have blue light filters. It simply kills your night vision, which is why most overhead street lights especially in urban areas are not bluish / white in color.
Down in southern Georgia these would be fine. People down here permanently leave there brights on anyway so I have grown used to driving around them. It doesn’t matter if they are in the middle of the city or not those suckers are always on.
Yeah, just adjust the LED’s down a bit. After having factory HID lights in my cars and then going to my current 2010 Nissan Titan with halogens......it was almost like I had NO headlights, they were so dim. I switched the bulbs to LED’s and I’m very happy. I was sure to adjust them down more than I would with halogens and HID’s and everything has been good. I did get flashed once though........in almost 4yrs since they’ve been installed.
It's just so amazing to see a review where the reviewer isn't pretending. Thanks for your honesty. You might not get more LED lights sent your way but you will definitely sleep better at night ;)
It's funny, I actually had three or four other companies ask to send me LED headlamps after I made this video, but no way was I going down that road again, haha.
I thought this was a very thoughtful and fair review. If a manufacturer thinks twice about sending you a product to review, the consumer should automatically think twice about buying it.
Thank you for the honest review. Your side by side (top over bottom) comparison was fantastic, very well done. Looks like Lasfit would be good for a "brights" option. I love light, LED everything! Purchased my H8/9/11 headlamps on headlight revolution's site w/lifetime warranty - they do have options. Great light, no one has flashed me in 30k miles. I drive with headlights on - day and night. Expensive, but you get what you pay for (unless you get free samples!) Yes, there are backup LEDs out there for us, and they are not expensive as they don't have to or need to meet any legal/considerate requirements. Inexpensive interior LED kits also out there. (SJ, 18')
Nice thoughtful through review, Lasfit should have been pleased you did such a good review of their product, and provided your honest thoughts and concerns. I appreciate the review and your impressions of their functionality; great observations!
Thank you for the honest review. Living in a big city, they are a few cars who have converted to LED's & they are indeed quite blinding when they are on coming or in the rear mirrors. It is worse when one or both lights are pointing higher...
I didn't realize it at the time, but my headlights were aimed on the high side (and one was completely whacked out). I have since adjusted my headlights and retested the LEDs. It seemed to improve the oncoming driver experience, although it didn't necessarily make everything better. New test here: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
Very well made video. You made up my mind, I'm good with my stock bulbs. I might just do the high beams, but the lows and fogs will stay halogen. Thank you, again, great video.
Great video. Thank you for being considerate about other drivers. I wonder why the manufacturers are making their led headlights so bright and luminous. They should have almost the same amount of lumens as halogen. Changing to led would still make sense. A nice white light + longetivity.
I haven't quite figured out where I stand with these. I've tested them with a small group of people and found that they only really pose a problem for people that for the most part admit that they shouldn't be on the road at night or at least are severely limited by their night vision. I have a car with factory LED bulbs and a truck that I've swapped them in. I've also installed a set on a Honda Pilot that had awful factory headlights. The car with the factory setup gets flashed all the time (probably 2-3x a week, maybe more), the truck maybe 2-3x in the last year (actually less than it did with regular halogen bulbs), the Pilot doesn't seem to but the driver once expressed concern about it. I've had the headlight alignment checked on both my car and truck, and the car is well-aligned with a very sharp cutoff pattern, much more than most other cars without premium factory HID headlights. Interestingly, the truck now has a MUCH better than factory top and side cutoff for the light beam, much like a decent new car (it's a 2004). The Pilot now has a cutoff pattern like a modern HID headlight, it's actually kind of disconcerting when in a neighborhood and as you pull up to a street sign you can see the cutoff move down the sign, when you're within a few feet of it there is almost no light at all at sign height (can make it tough to find an address). To me it's clear that none of these cars have their high beams on coming at me, they look like factory HID setups (and not like aftermarket conversions that can be blinding), the light is where it's supposed to be. Same from the back, when someone is behind you with high beams on you end up driving in your own shadow even with your headlights on. This is not the experience with the LED's. After talking and testing with friends and family with bad night vision I've come to the conclusion that the problem isn't the light pattern or the brightness overall, but that much light coming from a relatively small point. I suppose that there is some debate about the factory LED setup, but when it comes down to it I can't do anything about it. On the truck with the aftermarket LED's- that appears to be "just a big truck with the lights up higher than other cars" that just annoy some drivers. I've actually come to the conclusion that the more precise beam pattern is the reason why I get fewer people flashing me with the LED's installed, and some people are just going to be annoyed again, no matter what I do. On the Honda, they're a no brainer. They turn worthless headlights into usable headlights. With the bad night vision people, the factory LED's are the only ones that they identified as a problem. My mother being one of these people pointed out that this is why she doesn't drive at night at all anymore, and even old school sealed beams are too bright for her when coming at her, forget modern halogen lights (We tested it with one of my classic cars with '80's vintage sealed beams on it).
Wow. thoughtful review. I often had the same questions stirring around in my head as to improving my light output at the expense of oncoming traffic. Anyhow, thanks for the in depth review
Was wowed by another video regarding these bulbs, and was thinking of pulling the trigger. Thank you for giving me the information I needed to make a better decision. I live in Jersey, and have been blinded constantly by people running leds in light housings designed for halogen. Certainly don’t want to be one of those jerks.
Great review and very chilled one too. 👍 I've also concluded the same as you did and saw somewhere that to retrofit LEDs in a headlight not designed for LED is not recommended as seen in your video. However it is possible to retrofit LEDs in projector headlight as the light works different and the beam patters is shaped by a metal curtain between the bulb and the lens. I never tried LEDs as there's no space inside the housing for these (Volvo V50 with factory fit projector lens with H7 bild) soI recently got a pare of Osram Night breaker Laser H7 bulds and that made such a different compares to normal H7 bild. I also cleaned the projector lens itself which also made a difference 👍. Thank you for a great video.
right! even with the halogen lights this idiot has his lights running up so high on public roads! yea for off-road its fine, but this dude has his lights aimed wayyyyyy to high!
Jay K Not true. I used them for years on my 2010 WRX. You have to have the aimed Properly by a certified body shop person. Mine lasted for over six years never had to replace them once. Sold the car with them in it. I have tried four other very expensive pairs that did not impress me as much as these.
@@KuyaArbee Kuya Arbee is correct. This idiot did not realize his lights were aimed on the high side. No one had ever flashed their lights at me or commented on them being too high in 2½ years of ownership so it simply never occurred to me. But good news, this idiot has now aimed his headlights down and out of fairness, retested the LEDs! You can see the results here: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html I'm hoping this upgrades me from "idiot" to just "somewhat dumb." :-)
Really nice review! I pretty agree with what you say. That's a good idea and a good thing to talk about how these bulbs can blind other drivers. But, i got some precision about LED bulbs, from my personnal experience (and that's why i coment in english this time, for share with almost people who's see this video 😃). Blinding effect depending almost about which type of bulb you need to use. Maybe you already see that i got a daily DL650 Vstrom. Its reflectors headlight use H4 bulbs. I replaced OEM version by LED kit (no name). My goal was to be more visible during daytime. But i drive often during night with it (and i don't change bulbs 😆). I never get a lightcall (so, i think that mean i never blinded someone) with it. Why? Thanks to 2 thing: -H4 bulbs produce light only on the top in trafic light, no on the bottom. So, in reflector system, the bottom of the headlight is for light the top of the road. So, with only light on the top, we doesn't have light that come to high and can blind -I bought LED Bulbs with, approximately, have the 2 LED at the same emplacement that Halogen Filament So i think that blinding problem is only about H7, H1 and all bulbs that produce always light all around them. Maybe i'll try one day with the Foz (SF5 use H4 bulbs)... For the moment, i use premium bulbs and that make perfectly the job. And i guess, that's the best option for improve Halogen Headlight if you don't need to be more visible like a motobike! 👍
In my opinion motorcycles are a whole other category and have a legitimate need for an extra bright light. Already, there's only one light rather than two, and that light is further away from the center line than the driver's side headlight of a car. I've never felt blinded by a motorcycle. Plus, daytime visibility to other drivers is a matter of life and death. I agree, upgraded halogen bulbs for the car makes the low beams largely adequate.
I had led headlight bulbs in my old outback sport. I was getting flashed in broad daylight. Decided to switch back. Wasn’t worth the headache. Plus the lighter blue color glared really bad on wet roads and all visibility benefits went out the window.
Interesting...it didn't even occur to me that there might be a difference in different weather. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who decided not to keep them.
Most excellent review. Great that you looked at the glare problem from other drivers point of view. Here in New Zealand and many other countries it is illegal to fit LED or HID bulbs into halogen housings because of this. We do annual roadwork hybrid checks here and many have been caught out. It is legal to fit an entire LED or HID headlamp from another model in the same range. Ie Nissan Pathfinder here had factory HID lamps on their top model.
I ran SNGL adjustable beam focus units in my 2006 Legacy Wagon. Many many miles, no glare. I'm currently running Sealight adjustable beam focus units in my 2001 Honda Odyssey. Same thing. No glare... no pissed off drivers. The key is a set that you can adjust the focal beam length.... which means the LED's chip is centered exactly in the same spot as the filament in a standard halogen bulb....
Even the Halogens look aimed too high! Well designed LED's with chips sized and placed to the bulb specifications , aimed correctly, work very well without blinding others.
That's exactly what I thought: even in the before shots, they seem way too high for low beams! Look at the parked cars you're passing by, you're lighting them up to about the middle of the windshield in some cases. Other than that, the pattern looks similar to the halogens, so if they're properly adjusted they might be ok.
Unfortunately most LED "bulbs" do not replicate the single filament light source and as a result the beam pattern is pretty awful with too much scatter which affects oncoming traffic. Philips Ultinon LEDS are correctly designed but they are around £100/$130 a pair
@@spirov92 At the time I was unaware there was anything wrong with my headlight alignment. I have since adjusted them down and retested the LEDs. You can see the results here: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
@@busterrabbit Fully understand the cost of quality tested LED bulbs and have invested $300 in high and low beams. The better designed chips mimic the size and placement specified for use in headlight systems. This review use in my opinion inexpensive over large and poorly placed LED ships in the bulb, and I have seen them in displays. Very little mention of clocking the LED position in the housing, no indication of aiming the lights correctly. 6:22 in the video show a comparison against a 10 foot high shipping container (standard and common size). The top of the Halogen is over 5 feet above the ground. The LED shows the effect of an overlarge source of the chips used. Well designed bulbs aimed correctly do not do this. Compare the size of the Cree XP-G2 chip to the chip in the Philips Ultinon chip.
Nice to see both side of installing Led light, fed up of people installing them and blinding on coming traffic. I was thinking of installing some led bulbs but this video made up my mind, I should upgrade the lights an not just the bulbs. Thank you for sharing this video. Take care. R
It was nice to see oncoming traffic using only 2 headlights! Here in Canada new vehicles have 4,6,8 or more now. I used LED replacements too but found they don’t last due to heat trapping. They actually generate heat on the back & when enclosed like yours & mine are they fail.
Actually I was not even able to reinstall the rear covers on my headlight housings with these LEDs installed. A whole other can of worms that I opted not to open, heh. :-)
Thanks for being considerate and acknowledging that they are blinding other drivers. I've come across so many vehicles with "a-hole blue" (official colour) LEDs that were probably brighter than halogens on high beam. I'm sure there is some kind of app to measure lumen output 😁
I run Auxbeam LEDs in both my cars. I lowered the angle a little and haven’t had an issue. Also, make sure the leds are going horizontally, not vertically. My cars: 2002 Saturn SC2, 2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid.
I would suggest that you may have wanted to get your headlights reaimed. There are adjusters on them for this and I would bet that they reach out so much further that without angling them down just a little bit, you are catching people right in the eyes. I have switched to Morimoto LEDs in my GenX Civic but the lows are projectors so there is a hard cutoff that saves the oncoming traffic. As for the highs, yes, for sure a brighter LED bulb is the way to go. As you noted, if you need your highs on, then there should be no one in front of you anyhow. And all those other places you pointed to for LEDs? Yes, yes and yes. After I bought my Civic, I changed most of the secondary bulbs to LEDs. Liked it so much, I did the same thing to my wife's CRV. Better lighting all around. The only thing that I haven't changed yet are the signal lights where I need resistors for those to stop the inevitable hyperflashing so it is a lower priority to change them.
At the time I filmed this, I had no clue my headlights might've been aimed on the high side. In 2½ years of ownership, I could see fine, no one was flashing me, and no one had ever suggested anything was wrong with them. I have however since adjusted them and retested the LEDs: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html I would especially love to get some LEDs into my backup lights. Thanks for watching and for the thoughtful commentary! :-)
I've been thinking about switching to LEDs and have reviewed several channels comparing halogens and LEDs. The ones that stand out are the ones that talk about the brightness or lumens of the LEDs. There are LEDs that have lower lumens than others, but still has a higher lumen than halogens. These lower lumen LEDs could be used in halogen lamps is what I'm concluding.
I replaced my HID system with LED bulbs and they work quite well. I also replaced the headlight assemblies with aftermarket assemblies but the same design. It is important to orient the LEDs correctly and have the headlights aimed correctly. My only complaint is the heat factor. The LEDs run cold and do not melt snow/ice buildup. I need to run my halogen high beams more for heat.
Yes, it seems clear that LEDs perform better in projector housings. Heat for snow melting is something I didn't even consider. That's rarely an issue where I Iive, but I can see how that could be an important consideration in some areas. Thanks for watching.
When swapping LED into reflector housing designed for halogen you normally lose the focusing. Because the LEDs are not located at the focal point that the reflector housing was designed for. You transformed a focused light beam pattern into a more scattered one. Yes you can have brighter lights with LEDs, but it will be more scattered, thus creating more glare for oncoming traffic. You made a good point comparing a headlight designed for LED vs one that wasn't, since the one designed for LED has the focal point adjusted for it. Generally you cannot adjust the focal point much (especially forward/backward) so you shouldn't install LEDs, instead install halogen that are brighter.
I'm glad you went with the LED vs Halogen glare to oncoming drivers comparaison, because it was my main concern about this upgrade. I already had my own idea (that's why I never bought them) but you just comfirm that. Thanks ! And just like you, I'm not a scientist but I always heard that yellowish lights are better for eyes fatigue during long drives than the bright white/blueish ones, even if you see better with them.
I didn't know that about the light color...that is interesting. I was actually thinking maybe the blue-ish light would help your brain stay more in an alert "daytime" mode but that thought was just a guess on my part. Thanks Jordan and bon voyage au sud!
*If you are about to suggest aiming the headlights lower,* you are not alone. 😄 A lot of viewers made that suggestion, so I gave it a shot and made a *follow-up video:*
ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
Thank you for such a thorough and thoughtful review. It's rare to see someone who is considerate of other drivers and everyone's s safety. You're a good man.
I has so much to say. It has consumed me. Thank you for doing the right thing. I get migraines because they are so bright. I've been trying sunglasses over my prescription glasses. So bright yet people forget to turn them on and see just fine in the city.
You nailed this! I work at an auto parts store and try to explain why LED lights in halogen reflectors are a really bad idea because the light scatter pattern isn't safe for other drivers... Unfortunately, it seems that most of the people I talk to _simply don't care what their headlights do to other peoples vision!_
This is disheartening, to say the least.
Yea that “I don’t care” attitude has really increased immensely with this new generation, it’s truly unfortunate
@@wundo9372blame the ones who raised them
driving my older model Ford for 2yrs with unsafe lighting. tried buffing the lens, replacing the Halogen bulb with the brightest best i could find with little success.
in my city i am constantly being blinded from the front & rear view with full beam LEDs.
i recently found LED replacements for my Halogen bulbs and it has made such a difference. now that i can safely drive at night i have zero empathy for those full beamers who blind me.
And those same people get so made when you flash the high beams at them in return too
Seems like everyone always compaes/reviews LED bulbs from driver perspective and not from the viewpoint of oncoming traffic or how it looks from behind you.
Glad to see this perspective in video. No one seems to care about the other drivers on the road.👍
People waste money going out and partying, out to eat, buying coffee instead of making it at home, buying lunch for work instead of packing it. Anyone who owns a car can at some point can afford to spend $35-70 to replace theirs but don't. I had a 2016 altima with the stock led and when i passed other led cars we could both see just fine. It's a dirt cheap safety upgrade and if they don't want to do it them F**k'em.
@@flare78x31 😕
@@flare78x31 yeeeeahh well just get good LEDs that are not oversized and dont make a mess of a light pattern
@@flare78x31 Blinding other drivers with LED bulbs is neither safe or a upgrade....
I’ve got led H4 replacements installed on my 04 Forester xt and they are a huge difference. Because of this glaring issue I made sure to get a LED shape and design as close as possible to the filament of the original H4 halogen light and I also went with a lower output than what everyone is advertising. I checked with a lux meter on a stand for both of the lights and the leds actually have less percentage of light outside of the correct light shape than the halogens. I also drove behind some friends just to see what they thought and it doesn’t seem to bother them. Bottom line, some LEDs can be good some not, IMO it’s really important to get a led that physically is as close as possible to the replacement halogen filament and also it’s ok to not go for super bright light output.
I have to congratulate you! This video, your video, is a perfect example of what a test should be! This is a responsible review, made by intelligent people, thought of with good sense and consideration for other people, and the safety of others. Your video (and you) deserve my 5 stars review! Sincere congratulations!
for canada, halogen bulbs are good they keep the headlights warm and helps to keep away snow around headlights.
Osram night breaker laser hid bulbs in a g5r projector on 45watts would get you that warm color and the best output there is.
So are HIDs, i installed some in my car and it defogs and defrosts the glass pretty fast.
@Blind Squid halogens are your best option unless you go with hid projectors. Also you can upgrade your halogens to brighter bulbs example 9006 to 9012HIR.
@Holden Burke I misread the OP. Yes. Hids are warm in temperature and will defrost just as well as halogens.
@@zachknee9858 They definitely don't, they have the same issue as with LEDs, just not as bad. At least in my experience in arctic temperatures.
LEDs are superb to both in many ways, if only the heat they produced could be conducted to the lens. Because they do produce it, around 75% of their total power. Or the lenses would have auxiliar heating, similar to heated windscreens.
When you replace ANY headlight bulb. CHECK THE ALIGNMENT!!
Yours are about 2 degrees higher than they should be.
I will admit I didn't know this was standard procedure. I suspect most people just put in new bulbs when they burn out. I have gone back, reset the height of my headlights, and retested the LEDs. Results here: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
LEDs deliver the correct dip beam cut-off pattern but need to be set lower. Mine would not go low enough so had to go back to halogen.
Just watching this because of my own experiences with Lasfit Leds. I was running them for almost a year in my 2014 sentra. Brilliant light output, love how wide they are. But I couldn't stand the amount of cars that flashed me. Especially a few nights ago I decided to do a highway run after a long time not going on the highway. Now keep in mind, my car has a full led conversion for both the low and high beams. But I found myself struggling at highway speeds to see ahead, I feel as if the leds get washed out with less things to reflect off. I could see a bright spot clearly, but I just wanted a further extension of light. Going back to my halogens has shown me that the they spread the light evenly with the reflector unlike the leds. The leds have a very distinct bright spot, which I think affects your depth perception, as your eyes tend to focus on the area with the most light.
Thank you for being fair and saying the truth. Reflector housings were not designed for LEDs.
I don't want to seem lame because the content was great but the camera angles and story were really well done. It was really nice to watch while also providing great info. Just wanted to mention it, as you obviously took care in setting them up. Thanks!
There is something really relaxing about your content, so easy to watch!
Thanks for giving a honest review on the LASFIT brand LED lights & concerns that may come with the LED light conversion. Stay safe.
Ooooop[090000
This is hands down one of the best, if not the best, led review! What a legend.
Hats off to you sir! Congratulations on making the first excellent comprehensive video answering almost any and all questions I may have ever had in installing LEDs in my 2021 Honda CRV Special Edition. Guessing by the projector housing for low beams I could use H11 LEDs, and just brighter white bulbs (whiter halogens) for the high beams. Thanks so much!
The light output pattern is good, aiming them down and to the right just a touch should do the trick. Keep in mind the more weight in back, the higher the aim point of the headlights.
Great video! When I bought my 03 Santa Fe I was thinking LED would be the way to go, and luckily asked a friend for his recommendations. He pretty much told me everything you discovered and demonstrated in this video and talked me out of it. I hate being blinded by LED headlights, so I'm glad I'm not part of that problem myself.
Great review with real world results. I installed LED's in my 17' Colorado and to adjust them down a bit. I see better and I'm not getting flashed by oncoming drivers.
My daily is a 2016 Canyon (which was actually featured in one of his previous videos!) and that's exactly what I did. And did again after installing a leveling kit. The Chevy/ GMC projector housings do a much better job of creating a sharp cutoff versus these reflector housings.
I have aimed my headlights down and tried it again:
ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
Thank you for your honest and thoughtful review. I came across your channel when checking out the Forester as a new vehicle for my partner. Your thoughtful videos assured me the Forester is a good choice and as of last Thursday evening she is now driving a 2020 Forester and loving it. The quality of your videos compelled me to subscribe and enjoy many of your videos over the past weeks. Your good work is appreciated.
That's a solid choice ! You have a lucky partner ahaha
Thank you! Congrats on the new Forester and thanks for watching!
Thanks for being honest!
Someone will send you a product because they want a honest opinion.
Sometimes it hurts, but once people know you are honest, companies will want your backing if they think they are selling a good product. Think of it this way, you probably just got rid of 90 percent of junk to review! Good for you and good for honest/quality producers/products. George
Haha, good point! Thanks George!
Thanks for this great and fair review. Here in Germany it is not allowed to retrofit your halogens with aftermarket LED bulbs, because of all the reasons you mentioned. But I replaced all the indoor lights in my Forester SH with LEDs. It is legal and makes a big difference.
Thanks for the honest review and being a considerate human being. Most people ( sadly ) realize that LEDs do produce more usable light and could care less about other drivers.
LEDs seem to be hit or miss on longevity.
The main problem at night is the blinding lights from each angle. Respectful review ! Thanks man, it should help people divert from buying LED to blinde other people when not design to have them in first place...
Very insightful, through, and most importantly unbiased and honest review of your observations. Blinding oncoming traffic is something you don't want to do. Most people don't give a hoot, glad you are considerate to fellow drivers. There are other options in LED headlights such as Diode Dynamics SL1, Morimoto Two Stoke 2.0, that have been tested and have a light output pattern similar to stock headlights.
I'm here because I'm researching videos about how to convert from halogen to led bulbs. After watching your video I'm not sure if I want to convert anymore.
But I have an issue where my halogen bulbs are barely lasting me 90 to 120 days, and I'm getting sick and tired of the same bulb replacing routine. I understand that I drive a lot more miles per month than the average person, but this issue seems to be getting worst and even the best halogen bulbs aren't lasting.
I'm a Lyft/Uber Driver here in the South West, and I can assure you the blinding effect has ridiculously increased in the last 3 years and consistently making it harder for me to do my job without having to strain my eyes "Charles Bronson" style so to avoid accidents several times during night driving, and my City is a small City compared to major cities such as Miami or Dallas where I've driven as well and the glare from oncoming traffic is just stupidly out of control on those major cities.
I'm shocked that this hasn't become a National issue yet.
But anyway, I like to thank you for your dedication on making such a detailed video. It helped me make a decision today.
I appreciate the honesty Donald! I too received LASfit LED lights for review but you're absolutely right, the housing has to be designed for them. My Honda Passport came with full LED lighting with the exception of the high beams, and as you said in your video, high beam LED's make for a worthy replacement since they're only used in certain situations when no one is in front. I absolutely love my OEM LED low beams and fog lights, there's no scatter, just a straight line of light. With that said, I think it may be worth finding a nice LED headlight housing with a proper reflection pattern
That makes perfect sense. I really wish I had known about this issue when LASFIT contacted me, I would've asked them to send me something other than a low beam replacement. Unfortunately my high beams use a different bulb. Too bad I can't make these fit into my Hellas which are woefully inadequate as offroad auxiliaries.
Thank you for the honest review. I wish many people could be respectful like you. Many thanks.
This was one of the things I was most worried about when I installed one of the better-reviewed aftermarket LED drop-ins in my 2012 Forester. I installed the lights at night and parked where I could compare where the LED's shine on a fence against the original halogens. I actually found that, when correctly clocked, the LEDs gave a sharper cutoff at the top of the field and didn't shine noticably higher. Based on my short time in stage lighting, I've seen how much of an effect can be had on a projected beam by slightly moving the filament of a lamp, and projector headlights are no different.
It’s refreshing to see people review sponsored products “honestly”. I have a 18 Crosstrek with horrible halogens and I upgraded the stocks with diode dynamics leds and even though these are considered high quality and top notch, they also redirect lights scattered everywhere. I think the issue is the reflector housing which is not meant for the led lights.
Yes, exactly, the halogen reflectors just don't seem to play nicely with the LEDs. Thanks for watching!
softroadingthewest google H9 swap. You’ll be much happier with H9 halogens over LED crap. Especially the garbage LEDs you tried out.
Thank you so much for taking your time and educating us. I hope this video creates a difference and urges people to think about other drivers when installing certain equipment in their vehicle.
Thanks again for spending the time on this video.
Very thorough analysis… First off even “factory” vehicles with “factory” LEDs are blinding to on coming traffic… LEDs are just brighter and throw more light to the point that even designed by a manufacturer it still produces more light. Technology is coming in the way of the headlights being able to shut off the drivers side as another vehicle passes but we’re years away, plus we’re years behind what Great Britain has vs what we’re allowed here…
Great video, just feel personally that I care more about what I can see vs what others see with me coming but I live in a country setting so my daily “light issues” vary greatly…
Keep up the great work!
In germany its illegal to fit those to your car bacause led headlights need to self adjust instantly, like when youre going over a bump it instantly needs to react. And even then they sometimes blind others. Very thoughtful, honest and informative video, keep it up!
Great test and video. Thank you! Sounds like the best option is to just replace the whole headlight housing with one that is designed to run LEDs.
I love your attitude towards other road users and thinking about the safety of all traffic around you. I wish more people would consider others as much as you did in this case.
I plan to install those in my wife's Lexus CT. It is also running H11 bulbs, but unlike your Subie, it does not have an open reflector. It is equipped with a reflector lens and I think it should be far less disturbing for oncomming traffic. We will see.
Thanks for this film!
Thank you. This is very well thought out, useful information. LASFIT should be grateful for your feedback. I hope they accept it in the spirit you meant it to be and incorporate the information you provided them in their next design.
yup. been blinded by lots of people, trucks, SUV, sedans that have lights that are too bright. it sucks when they pull up behind you. thanks for taking that into consideration!
Amazing comparison video. The wise (safety) choice is to stick with halogens. I wonder if LEDs would blindingly reflect lights in fog and snow. Thank you for putting this video together!
Very good & interesting video here. I must say that you've really done long & arduous work here. Coincidently I also replaced the old and aging halogen in 2007 Ford Explorer with brand new LEDs. Yeah, 2 things that I noticed: 1 - I can see anything to everything. 2 - I do have the same fear just as you're saying that people might think that I've got the brights on but so far I haven't seen anyone flashing back at me. However just make things clearer my 2007 Ford Explorer also has the same umbrella in the light housing and likewise the light emission is actually reflected out on the road from the rear reflector wall, so this makes the bandwidth of light beam on the road quite even. Also, I have installed or replaced actually the halogen bulbs from the fog to the LEDs. So if any given time I have a fear that I'm a nuisance o the road with headlights on I switches on the Fogs only and have a comfortable field of vision.
My second last point in this argument here is more important for me. My eyesight isn't good at all. after going with aftermarket LEDs I feel I am a more relaxed driver and can see much much better than before so the chances of me becoming a contributing factor of an accident on the road now considerably reduced. In my area almost every other car is brand new so either they're on HID or LED as OEM.
So my last thought related to the last part: Almost all the new cars esp luxury cars they are now fitted with extremely high-end tech lighting system rather quite fancy in Audi so to speaks as they can project a movie on the road as well and any letter or word you can put in the program. These adaptive lightning systems are awfully expensive. That 2014 BMW i8 fancy Laser light system 1 - headlight cost incase of full replacement cost over $10000. Even though that example is one end of the extreme, however, newer the with the newest tech costing a lot more then some could easily catch up to them.
My car has LEDs from factory and I still get flashes because people think I drive with my high beam on. But I did appreciated your honest review. Keep it up!
LEDs can be installed in reflectors. But the cut off point where you are lighting the road below, and slight light leakage above needs to be BELOW a certain height -- you can research online about this. But generally you want that cut off point below an oncomings car windshield. That way you aren't blinding them. This is the same case for projector and reflector housings.
I did give it a try lowering the aim, and filmed a new test:
ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
Thank you for your honest review of this product and your explanation in general of why LED bulbs aren’t right in halogen housings. I really wanted this to be a positive review because my wife’s Chevy Traverse low beams are awful. I was hopeful that this would be the fix!
If the headlamps don't have projectors, I think simple upgraded halogen bulbs are worth a shot. Not very expensive, maintain the beam pattern, and they did make a noticeable difference for me.
I have a 2017 Sonata with projector headlights. I decided to try LEDs everywhere on the car. I love the back up lights, plate lights, trunk, interior etc.. but the headlights are going back. Halogen lights just work better in halogen style housings. My leds were super bright, but had a strange focus, and no more hotspot which took away from how far they went out. I chose based off performance since the leds were definitely nicer looking.
Finally my doubts explained very well by you. No wonder after changing to LED on the reflector headlights, the lighting field and pattern totally unacceptable. I'm switching back to halogen. Tq.
I have found when adding LED headlight bulbs I can lower the beam height adjustment and it solves all issues for my applications. Perhaps if you lower the beam using your factory adjustment bolt it will allow you to enjoy them 🤷♂️
You can also turn the led bulb to focus the light.
I have had LED’s in for about 3 months and haven’t been flashed once, they passed a UK MOT and I asked the MOT guy to adjust the height up to the legal limit. This was a bit bright due to the angle of the beam pattern but a slight adjustment of the headlight (in the housing) and it’s perfect now.
The glare is still there regardless and your hotspot would be pointing at the ground not down the road. Thus making your output worse than factory halogens. bUt ThE 6k CoLor LoOkS gOoD
I have since tried lowering the beam height adjustment and filmed a new test. Here are the results: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
My H4 LEDs still dazzled at maximum down angle. Sad because the LED emitters were no bigger than halogen filament coils.
I appreciate an honest review, I sincerely hope that it is not your last.
You can always adjust your headlight housings to help pinpoint the beams away from oncoming traffic.
Thanks for your honest review. I was considering these bulbs for my 2017 Tucson but was concerned about blinding oncoming traffic. After all I hate other people that put these darn bulbs in their POS cars and blind me. I don’t want to be one of ‘those’ people. I think I’ll look into other options.
Thank you.
I know you weren't looking for lights, but if you are interested in others.. Diode Dynamics has done a lot of research and have plug and play headlights that work with housings properly. They actually have quite a few options available for the forester including reverse lights. I ran into similar issues with other "cheaper" LED lights with the beams just being too wide and not very focused. I didn't have that issue on my crosstrek with the SL1 lights from diode. Anyway, give them a shot if you're in the market. Appreciate the honest review and tests you setup to confirm things.
Great impartial review I've now decided upgrading is not a good idea. Thanks!
I have beamtech led from amazon in my 18 Forester with Reflector housing.
Ive never been flashed or pulled over.
Cut off is pretty clean for the most part. Theres a video showing beamtechs having a similiar beam to halogen bulb.
bahlowwings Beamtech in our Journey too. Cutoff isn’t perfect, but it’s adequate and they’re much less intense than other brands, we have never been flashed either. Of course I adjusted beam angle to compensate for the extra light output to match the halos. That helps too.
It's clear that not LEDs are created equal. I did try lowering my headlight aim as many people suggested and retested the Lasfits, if you're curious:
ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
I have hikari leds on my crosstrek. Those are adjustable and you can tune it so it doesn't glare. You can give them a try if you want. They were 37 dollars on amazon.
I too am running adjustable beam focus units... no glare or pissed off drivers.
David M hikari is the way to go. They’re dim compared to my Philips Racing Vision, but they’re much more white.
arent LED bulbs designed to imitate halogen bulbs? as in, they suppoced to reflect the light on the same important directions for it to be reflected into the... chrome mirrors whatever they called?
Perhaps some are, however these particular units were nothing like a halogen bulb. They had long arrays of LED chips on either side of a plastic tube, unlike a halogen filament which creates a much more pinpoint of light shining a full 360°. Like I said in the video, perhaps other LED headlight replacements work better than these. Also note this video is pretty old and perhaps they have since improved their design. The larger takeaway is that you can't necessarily just throw any LED into any headlamp housing...the LED design should be scrutinized for how well it will interact with any housing designed for halogen bulbs. I did ultimately make a follow-up video because numerous viewers felt I should have re-aimed the headlights lower and that would have helped:
ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
Great review and you bring up the important point they reflector housings tend to throw LED lighting all over the place as opposed to projectors. I did install KED’s as high beams on my Outback, as you said they aren’t used with incoming cars and it does a great job illuminating back roads frequented by deer at night. I use slightly upgraded halogens for low beams
Hello I got my low beams replaced with LEd but it's draining my battery. It's a brand new battery. Do you have any suggestions?
I'm really not a an auto electrical expert at all, sorry. I don't understand how they could drain your battery though. When they're off, there should be no power at all going to them, and when they're on, usually LEDs draw less power than halogen bulbs. Are you sure it's because of the LED lamps?
You are such an educated and nice person. Thank you for you video. In my case I tried some cheap Chinese replacements with LEDs pointing in all directions. Long story short... They were a mess.
Great comparison video and review.... when I converted my car's halogen to LEDs, I made sure to adjust the headlight height (there are screws on the back of the headlight housing... one for up and down adjustment and another one for left and right adjustment) .... just lower the height accordingly so as not to blind oncoming traffic... there are a lot of YT videos that give a tutorial on this.
I tried that. Here's the results: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
I've had LED's in my past two cars as both came with projector housings with basic halogens. Only reason I did the upgrade was because of how the housing was designed to focus the beam of light as opposed with reflector housing like yours that just casts it everywhere and floods the road up ahead. If you could get your hands on a set of projector headlight housings for your Forester(which I bet they make) You'd be able to get more light and not blind oncoming traffic. Just my thought on that.
I agree completely, LEDs make much more sense in a projector, and a projector retrofit would be necessary for me to run LEDs. Ultimately, given that I was happy enough with my halogen low-beams, it doesn't seem worth the trouble for me. More light on the trail when I can run high beams is probably where I would focus my next efforts. Thanks for watching!
As always you have shot another great video!
I have mixed feelings because of where we live. When my Forester passed away I bought a used VW Golf to drive back and forth to work. Someone took the original housing for the car out and replaced them with ones from a 337 GTI. With STOCK bulbs I have no need to upgrade my bulbs or even use my high beams. I do need some fog lights though.
We live IN the mountains and I work second shift so I don’t leave work until after 10pm.
It’s DARK here there are no street lights near us, lots of deer, dogs, and other critters.
My wife works on the other side of the pass, and it’s even darker for her to drive at night.
When I find the Subaru I want I plan to check into some aftermarket headlight housing “ if there is such a thing.” If not then going to definitely find a brighter bulb than my old Subaru had.
I agree with you about the interior lights though they are terrible.
Replacing the entire housing is a whole other ball game and addresses the problem of the LED/Halogen reflector mismatch. Though even without going to that expense, for me simply stepping up from the cheapest halogen to an upgraded halogen made a visible difference while causing no glare issues. Thanks for watching!
I recently put LED in my 2005 Toyota Avalon and it did the same thing. Other drivers thought I had my high beams on but what I did that helped a little to not blind drivers as much is I rotated the LED from facing side to side to up and down and it did lower it a little
I did fiddle with the rotation, but up and down was significantly worse with these in my headlights. These particular units are designed with a sort of baffle along the top to prevent too much light going upwards, and I found these definitely work best when installed with the emitters at 3:00 and 9:00 and the baffle at the top. I did recently try aiming my headlights down and retesting the LEDs...the aim adjustment did improve the oncoming driver experience. New video if you're curious: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
Thanks! Great review. I can't tell you how tiring to one's eye when the person behind you are blaring their LED in your rear view mirror for miles and miles down a one-lane road. It's like constantly on high beam. Yes… Better for the driver. But not necessary for everyone else. Especially in the urban and even suburban environment. It's great for your off-roading. You need all the lights.
Thanks for the Honest review ; Blue light from the led headlights is also blinding the other drivers.
For the same reason that phones now have blue light filters.
It simply kills your night vision, which is why most overhead street lights especially in urban areas are not bluish / white in color.
Down in southern Georgia these would be fine. People down here permanently leave there brights on anyway so I have grown used to driving around them. It doesn’t matter if they are in the middle of the city or not those suckers are always on.
Yeah, just adjust the LED’s down a bit. After having factory HID lights in my cars and then going to my current 2010 Nissan Titan with halogens......it was almost like I had NO headlights, they were so dim. I switched the bulbs to LED’s and I’m very happy. I was sure to adjust them down more than I would with halogens and HID’s and everything has been good. I did get flashed once though........in almost 4yrs since they’ve been installed.
I've adjusted the LEDs down and tried it again: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
It's just so amazing to see a review where the reviewer isn't pretending. Thanks for your honesty. You might not get more LED lights sent your way but you will definitely sleep better at night ;)
It's funny, I actually had three or four other companies ask to send me LED headlamps after I made this video, but no way was I going down that road again, haha.
@@softroadingthewest thumbs up! :D
I thought this was a very thoughtful and fair review. If a manufacturer thinks twice about sending you a product to review, the consumer should automatically think twice about buying it.
Thank you for the honest review. Your side by side (top over bottom) comparison was fantastic, very well done. Looks like Lasfit would be good for a "brights" option. I love light, LED everything! Purchased my H8/9/11 headlamps on headlight revolution's site w/lifetime warranty - they do have options. Great light, no one has flashed me in 30k miles. I drive with headlights on - day and night. Expensive, but you get what you pay for (unless you get free samples!)
Yes, there are backup LEDs out there for us, and they are not expensive as they don't have to or need to meet any legal/considerate requirements. Inexpensive interior LED kits also out there. (SJ, 18')
Nice thoughtful through review, Lasfit should have been pleased you did such a good review of their product, and provided your honest thoughts and concerns. I appreciate the review and your impressions of their functionality; great observations!
Thank you for the honest review. Living in a big city, they are a few cars who have converted to LED's & they are indeed quite blinding when they are on coming or in the rear mirrors. It is worse when one or both lights are pointing higher...
I didn't realize it at the time, but my headlights were aimed on the high side (and one was completely whacked out). I have since adjusted my headlights and retested the LEDs. It seemed to improve the oncoming driver experience, although it didn't necessarily make everything better.
New test here: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
@@softroadingthewest Nice!!!
Very well made video. You made up my mind, I'm good with my stock bulbs. I might just do the high beams, but the lows and fogs will stay halogen. Thank you, again, great video.
Great video. Thank you for being considerate about other drivers.
I wonder why the manufacturers are making their led headlights so bright and luminous.
They should have almost the same amount of lumens as halogen.
Changing to led would still make sense. A nice white light + longetivity.
I haven't quite figured out where I stand with these. I've tested them with a small group of people and found that they only really pose a problem for people that for the most part admit that they shouldn't be on the road at night or at least are severely limited by their night vision.
I have a car with factory LED bulbs and a truck that I've swapped them in. I've also installed a set on a Honda Pilot that had awful factory headlights.
The car with the factory setup gets flashed all the time (probably 2-3x a week, maybe more), the truck maybe 2-3x in the last year (actually less than it did with regular halogen bulbs), the Pilot doesn't seem to but the driver once expressed concern about it. I've had the headlight alignment checked on both my car and truck, and the car is well-aligned with a very sharp cutoff pattern, much more than most other cars without premium factory HID headlights. Interestingly, the truck now has a MUCH better than factory top and side cutoff for the light beam, much like a decent new car (it's a 2004). The Pilot now has a cutoff pattern like a modern HID headlight, it's actually kind of disconcerting when in a neighborhood and as you pull up to a street sign you can see the cutoff move down the sign, when you're within a few feet of it there is almost no light at all at sign height (can make it tough to find an address).
To me it's clear that none of these cars have their high beams on coming at me, they look like factory HID setups (and not like aftermarket conversions that can be blinding), the light is where it's supposed to be. Same from the back, when someone is behind you with high beams on you end up driving in your own shadow even with your headlights on. This is not the experience with the LED's.
After talking and testing with friends and family with bad night vision I've come to the conclusion that the problem isn't the light pattern or the brightness overall, but that much light coming from a relatively small point. I suppose that there is some debate about the factory LED setup, but when it comes down to it I can't do anything about it. On the truck with the aftermarket LED's- that appears to be "just a big truck with the lights up higher than other cars" that just annoy some drivers. I've actually come to the conclusion that the more precise beam pattern is the reason why I get fewer people flashing me with the LED's installed, and some people are just going to be annoyed again, no matter what I do. On the Honda, they're a no brainer. They turn worthless headlights into usable headlights.
With the bad night vision people, the factory LED's are the only ones that they identified as a problem. My mother being one of these people pointed out that this is why she doesn't drive at night at all anymore, and even old school sealed beams are too bright for her when coming at her, forget modern halogen lights (We tested it with one of my classic cars with '80's vintage sealed beams on it).
Wow, great in-depth discussion on the application of LED's in Halogen reflectors. Good points. Thanks!!!
Wow. thoughtful review. I often had the same questions stirring around in my head as to improving my light output at the expense of oncoming traffic. Anyhow, thanks for the in depth review
Was wowed by another video regarding these bulbs, and was thinking of pulling the trigger.
Thank you for giving me the information I needed to make a better decision.
I live in Jersey, and have been blinded constantly by people running leds in light housings designed for halogen.
Certainly don’t want to be one of those jerks.
Great review and very chilled one too. 👍 I've also concluded the same as you did and saw somewhere that to retrofit LEDs in a headlight not designed for LED is not recommended as seen in your video. However it is possible to retrofit LEDs in projector headlight as the light works different and the beam patters is shaped by a metal curtain between the bulb and the lens.
I never tried LEDs as there's no space inside the housing for these (Volvo V50 with factory fit projector lens with H7 bild) soI recently got a pare of Osram Night breaker Laser H7 bulds and that made such a different compares to normal H7 bild. I also cleaned the projector lens itself which also made a difference 👍.
Thank you for a great video.
Thanks for the thorough thought put into this. I hadn't even considered some things. VERY helpful and made my decision easy!
You could probably adjust your headlights downwards a bit.
right! even with the halogen lights this idiot has his lights running up so high on public roads! yea for off-road its fine, but this dude has his lights aimed wayyyyyy to high!
Jay K Not true. I used them for years on my 2010 WRX. You have to have the aimed Properly by a certified body shop person. Mine lasted for over six years never had to replace them once. Sold the car with them in it. I have tried four other very expensive pairs that did not impress me as much as these.
@@KuyaArbee Kuya Arbee is correct. This idiot did not realize his lights were aimed on the high side. No one had ever flashed their lights at me or commented on them being too high in 2½ years of ownership so it simply never occurred to me. But good news, this idiot has now aimed his headlights down and out of fairness, retested the LEDs! You can see the results here: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html I'm hoping this upgrades me from "idiot" to just "somewhat dumb." :-)
Really nice review! I pretty agree with what you say. That's a good idea and a good thing to talk about how these bulbs can blind other drivers.
But, i got some precision about LED bulbs, from my personnal experience (and that's why i coment in english this time, for share with almost people who's see this video 😃). Blinding effect depending almost about which type of bulb you need to use.
Maybe you already see that i got a daily DL650 Vstrom. Its reflectors headlight use H4 bulbs. I replaced OEM version by LED kit (no name). My goal was to be more visible during daytime. But i drive often during night with it (and i don't change bulbs 😆). I never get a lightcall (so, i think that mean i never blinded someone) with it. Why? Thanks to 2 thing:
-H4 bulbs produce light only on the top in trafic light, no on the bottom. So, in reflector system, the bottom of the headlight is for light the top of the road. So, with only light on the top, we doesn't have light that come to high and can blind
-I bought LED Bulbs with, approximately, have the 2 LED at the same emplacement that Halogen Filament
So i think that blinding problem is only about H7, H1 and all bulbs that produce always light all around them.
Maybe i'll try one day with the Foz (SF5 use H4 bulbs)... For the moment, i use premium bulbs and that make perfectly the job. And i guess, that's the best option for improve Halogen Headlight if you don't need to be more visible like a motobike! 👍
In my opinion motorcycles are a whole other category and have a legitimate need for an extra bright light. Already, there's only one light rather than two, and that light is further away from the center line than the driver's side headlight of a car. I've never felt blinded by a motorcycle. Plus, daytime visibility to other drivers is a matter of life and death. I agree, upgraded halogen bulbs for the car makes the low beams largely adequate.
I had led headlight bulbs in my old outback sport. I was getting flashed in broad daylight. Decided to switch back. Wasn’t worth the headache. Plus the lighter blue color glared really bad on wet roads and all visibility benefits went out the window.
Interesting...it didn't even occur to me that there might be a difference in different weather. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who decided not to keep them.
Hey, thanks.
Looking forward to the fire truck video!
bruceyyyyy...what are you doing here? I *told* you not to watch my next video! 8^D
Agree with what you said and in many occasions I did experience myself. Well-done mate!
Well you just saved me $100. Appreciate the honest review.
Most excellent review. Great that you looked at the glare problem from other drivers point of view. Here in New Zealand and many other countries it is illegal to fit LED or HID bulbs into halogen housings because of this. We do annual roadwork hybrid checks here and many have been caught out. It is legal to fit an entire LED or HID headlamp from another model in the same range. Ie Nissan Pathfinder here had factory HID lamps on their top model.
I ran SNGL adjustable beam focus units in my 2006 Legacy Wagon. Many many miles, no glare. I'm currently running Sealight adjustable beam focus units in my 2001 Honda Odyssey. Same thing. No glare... no pissed off drivers.
The key is a set that you can adjust the focal beam length.... which means the LED's chip is centered exactly in the same spot as the filament in a standard halogen bulb....
Even the Halogens look aimed too high! Well designed LED's with chips sized and placed to the bulb specifications , aimed correctly, work very well without blinding others.
That's exactly what I thought: even in the before shots, they seem way too high for low beams! Look at the parked cars you're passing by, you're lighting them up to about the middle of the windshield in some cases. Other than that, the pattern looks similar to the halogens, so if they're properly adjusted they might be ok.
Unfortunately most LED "bulbs" do not replicate the single filament light source and as a result the beam pattern is pretty awful with too much scatter which affects oncoming traffic. Philips Ultinon LEDS are correctly designed but they are around £100/$130 a pair
@@spirov92 At the time I was unaware there was anything wrong with my headlight alignment. I have since adjusted them down and retested the LEDs. You can see the results here: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
@@busterrabbit Fully understand the cost of quality tested LED bulbs and have invested $300 in high and low beams. The better designed chips mimic the size and placement specified for use in headlight systems. This review use in my opinion inexpensive over large and poorly placed LED ships in the bulb, and I have seen them in displays. Very little mention of clocking the LED position in the housing, no indication of aiming the lights correctly. 6:22 in the video show a comparison against a 10 foot high shipping container (standard and common size). The top of the Halogen is over 5 feet above the ground. The LED shows the effect of an overlarge source of the chips used. Well designed bulbs aimed correctly do not do this. Compare the size of the Cree XP-G2 chip to the chip in the Philips Ultinon chip.
Nice to see both side of installing Led light,
fed up of people installing them and blinding on coming traffic.
I was thinking of installing some led bulbs but this video made up my mind,
I should upgrade the lights an not just the bulbs.
Thank you for sharing this video.
Take care. R
It was nice to see oncoming traffic using only 2 headlights! Here in Canada new vehicles have 4,6,8 or more now. I used LED replacements too but found they don’t last due to heat trapping. They actually generate heat on the back & when enclosed like yours & mine are they fail.
Actually I was not even able to reinstall the rear covers on my headlight housings with these LEDs installed. A whole other can of worms that I opted not to open, heh. :-)
Very informative and honest review. Hope more people are considerate like you do.
Thank you for your honesty, It would be nice if this information fell into the right hands, thank you again
Good unbiased review; and the free form jazz is great.
Gotta go with a better led bulb like the perfect fit or supernova which mimic the halogen filament. I never get flashed with my led headlights.
Thanks for being considerate and acknowledging that they are blinding other drivers. I've come across so many vehicles with "a-hole blue" (official colour) LEDs that were probably brighter than halogens on high beam. I'm sure there is some kind of app to measure lumen output 😁
I run Auxbeam LEDs in both my cars. I lowered the angle a little and haven’t had an issue. Also, make sure the leds are going horizontally, not vertically. My cars: 2002 Saturn SC2, 2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid.
I would suggest that you may have wanted to get your headlights reaimed. There are adjusters on them for this and I would bet that they reach out so much further that without angling them down just a little bit, you are catching people right in the eyes. I have switched to Morimoto LEDs in my GenX Civic but the lows are projectors so there is a hard cutoff that saves the oncoming traffic. As for the highs, yes, for sure a brighter LED bulb is the way to go. As you noted, if you need your highs on, then there should be no one in front of you anyhow.
And all those other places you pointed to for LEDs? Yes, yes and yes. After I bought my Civic, I changed most of the secondary bulbs to LEDs. Liked it so much, I did the same thing to my wife's CRV. Better lighting all around. The only thing that I haven't changed yet are the signal lights where I need resistors for those to stop the inevitable hyperflashing so it is a lower priority to change them.
At the time I filmed this, I had no clue my headlights might've been aimed on the high side. In 2½ years of ownership, I could see fine, no one was flashing me, and no one had ever suggested anything was wrong with them. I have however since adjusted them and retested the LEDs: ruclips.net/video/DmKrg3aZxfM/видео.html
I would especially love to get some LEDs into my backup lights. Thanks for watching and for the thoughtful commentary! :-)
1:29 before you start installing you should clean the engine bay of that dust so nothing gets inside the light fixture.
I've been thinking about switching to LEDs and have reviewed several channels comparing halogens and LEDs. The ones that stand out are the ones that talk about the brightness or lumens of the LEDs. There are LEDs that have lower lumens than others, but still has a higher lumen than halogens. These lower lumen LEDs could be used in halogen lamps is what I'm concluding.
Thank you for a thoughtful and nicely balanced review.
I replaced my HID system with LED bulbs and they work quite well. I also replaced the headlight assemblies with aftermarket assemblies but the same design. It is important to orient the LEDs correctly and have the headlights aimed correctly.
My only complaint is the heat factor. The LEDs run cold and do not melt snow/ice buildup. I need to run my halogen high beams more for heat.
Yes, it seems clear that LEDs perform better in projector housings. Heat for snow melting is something I didn't even consider. That's rarely an issue where I Iive, but I can see how that could be an important consideration in some areas. Thanks for watching.
When swapping LED into reflector housing designed for halogen you normally lose the focusing. Because the LEDs are not located at the focal point that the reflector housing was designed for. You transformed a focused light beam pattern into a more scattered one. Yes you can have brighter lights with LEDs, but it will be more scattered, thus creating more glare for oncoming traffic. You made a good point comparing a headlight designed for LED vs one that wasn't, since the one designed for LED has the focal point adjusted for it. Generally you cannot adjust the focal point much (especially forward/backward) so you shouldn't install LEDs, instead install halogen that are brighter.
I'm glad you went with the LED vs Halogen glare to oncoming drivers comparaison, because it was my main concern about this upgrade. I already had my own idea (that's why I never bought them) but you just comfirm that. Thanks !
And just like you, I'm not a scientist but I always heard that yellowish lights are better for eyes fatigue during long drives than the bright white/blueish ones, even if you see better with them.
I didn't know that about the light color...that is interesting. I was actually thinking maybe the blue-ish light would help your brain stay more in an alert "daytime" mode but that thought was just a guess on my part. Thanks Jordan and bon voyage au sud!
I run Lasfit LED low and high beams in my Subaru Crosstrek and Chevy Tahoe, excellent lights. I highly recommend them.