LED Headlight Replacement?
- Thread starter Donald Lowrey
- Start date
I rode in front of a guy in Tennessee during the week of teh Solar Eclipse, who had installed a set of LED lights into the factory GEN II housings and they were unbearably bright in my mirrors. I'll try to get in touch with him to find out what brand they were but he said, iirc, that they were a simple plug and play install.
Thank you Doug,
I learned recently that there is an issue with LED headlight bulbs that have a hood or shroud, and those that don't. The hood provides a cut-off that prevents dazzling other drivers. Even with a hood, I understand that the user has to re-aim the housing so the cut off is the same as the OEM bulbs..
I learned recently that there is an issue with LED headlight bulbs that have a hood or shroud, and those that don't. The hood provides a cut-off that prevents dazzling other drivers. Even with a hood, I understand that the user has to re-aim the housing so the cut off is the same as the OEM bulbs..
I think the problem you are faced with is that your factory headlight reflectors are designed to scavenge as much of light as possible from the extremely under powered halogen bulbs. Where as when you upgrade to hid or led it becomes a matter of focusing you new found light. My personal experience says that if you stay in the 5k to 6k range it will be a beautiful problem
Although it's not a Yamaha - here's my experience with a Cyclops headlight:
https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthrea...S-LED-Headlight-Upgrade-with-comparison-shots
https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthrea...S-LED-Headlight-Upgrade-with-comparison-shots
recently bought some ebay H4 LED bulbs. I've been running them for a month, and am still not sure if I like them or not.
If you buy some, make sure you buy the first style you posted and not the second style. You want the LED elements to be arranged as close as possible to where the filaments would be in a normal H4 bulb. You also need the little reflectors on the low beam elements to maintain the vertical cut off properly. Also, the first bulbs you posted have three elements in each position. However you can find the same bulb style with four elements in each position, which are rated much brighter. I ended up buying bulbs with fans, but obviously it would be better buying bulbs with passive coolers instead.
So far here are my thoughts on them:
Positives:
- Use less power from the electrical system (LEDs are more efficient, less heat more light).
- Great low beam light output/pattern
- The LEDs are regulated, which means your lights don't get dimmer if your alternator output drops a bit at idle. The light output is always the same regardless of the power input.
- Look more modern.
Negatives:
- When we got snow, there was not enough heat from the bulbs to melt the snow off my H4 housings. So I quickly lost light output as my housings covered in snow.
- The high beam does not project as well as my old Halogen H4's. It's wider, but not as far.
- I don't really like the narrow light spectrum/color. Even though there is more light, it is almost harder to see. A halogen has a wider spectrum, so is easier to see.
- The bulbs I bought seem to create electrical noise that interferes with my radio. The result of buying something from China that doesn't adhere to electronic emissions requirements.
- Can't fit the rubber boots over the bulbs I bought.
I bought bulbs on the cheaper end of the spectrum. There is certainly potential with this technology, it's just a matter of picking the right bulb design I think. For example, Philips makes LED bulbs. They are expensive as heck, but I bet they are good. Most of the Chinese bulbs are knock-offs of the Philips ones.
These are the ones I bought:
2x H4 160W 16000LM LED Headlight PHILIPS Chip Kit High Low Beam Bulb 6000K White
If I were to try another pair, I'd probably try something more like these ones. I like how they are flatter, with less aluminum cupped around the LEDs blocking light:
https://10carbest.com/led-headlights-bulbs
If you buy some, make sure you buy the first style you posted and not the second style. You want the LED elements to be arranged as close as possible to where the filaments would be in a normal H4 bulb. You also need the little reflectors on the low beam elements to maintain the vertical cut off properly. Also, the first bulbs you posted have three elements in each position. However you can find the same bulb style with four elements in each position, which are rated much brighter. I ended up buying bulbs with fans, but obviously it would be better buying bulbs with passive coolers instead.
So far here are my thoughts on them:
Positives:
- Use less power from the electrical system (LEDs are more efficient, less heat more light).
- Great low beam light output/pattern
- The LEDs are regulated, which means your lights don't get dimmer if your alternator output drops a bit at idle. The light output is always the same regardless of the power input.
- Look more modern.
Negatives:
- When we got snow, there was not enough heat from the bulbs to melt the snow off my H4 housings. So I quickly lost light output as my housings covered in snow.
- The high beam does not project as well as my old Halogen H4's. It's wider, but not as far.
- I don't really like the narrow light spectrum/color. Even though there is more light, it is almost harder to see. A halogen has a wider spectrum, so is easier to see.
- The bulbs I bought seem to create electrical noise that interferes with my radio. The result of buying something from China that doesn't adhere to electronic emissions requirements.
- Can't fit the rubber boots over the bulbs I bought.
I bought bulbs on the cheaper end of the spectrum. There is certainly potential with this technology, it's just a matter of picking the right bulb design I think. For example, Philips makes LED bulbs. They are expensive as heck, but I bet they are good. Most of the Chinese bulbs are knock-offs of the Philips ones.
These are the ones I bought:
2x H4 160W 16000LM LED Headlight PHILIPS Chip Kit High Low Beam Bulb 6000K White
If I were to try another pair, I'd probably try something more like these ones. I like how they are flatter, with less aluminum cupped around the LEDs blocking light:
https://10carbest.com/led-headlights-bulbs
I like these quality H4 From NAOEVO S4 Series, with 3 colors and can with stand a high temperature
https://www.naoevo.com/collections/s4-pro-series/products/mini-s4-pro-h4-led-headlight-bulb
https://www.naoevo.com/collections/s4-pro-series/products/mini-s4-pro-h4-led-headlight-bulb