Safe aftermarket LED headlight bulb info, finds and discussion

[danbfree]

That actually looks really good. I may look into getting those TechMax

Seriously, with our reflectors we can't go TOO bright anyway, I think that these may be that perfect balance compared to the ones I've tried that all seem not quite bright enough or too bright... Mine were supposed to come yesterday but actually Prime shipping is a day late! How dare them! LOL... Anyway, they arrived today and when I get off work I'll throw them in when I get home and update with a new pic of my results, but for only $34 or whatever, they look great! No wonder BulbFacts rates them as best value and 3rd best regardless of cost out of 34 they have tested off Amazon.

 

[Peter H]

So here's what happens when you put top of the line, brightest LED's available from DeAutoLED, you overpower the crappy reflector housings and get diamond dazzling effect... Lesson learned, stick to the Morimoto 2 Stroke 2.0 if you want the best but not too bright...

I've had my set of 2Stroke 2.0's a couple weeks now and am pretty happy. I had a few drivers flash me when I first installed them but none since adjusting the headlight aim.

This past weekend I installed a set of Morimoto X.DRL 5 daytime running lights and required XChange LED Drivers. The install into the sides of the intercooler grill was fairly straightforward. The lights are quite bright and have a yellow cast on the beam edges and bright white straight ahead. I've been wanting a DRL solution so I could leave my headlight switch in auto and not worry about oncoming drivers not seeing me.

 

[Business6]

My Techmax are holding up well. I've had them in for a few months and not once have I been flashed. I probably still have them aimed too low but there's a fine line between too low and staring into the sun

 

[danbfree]

I've had my set of 2Stroke 2.0's a couple weeks now and am pretty happy. I had a few drivers flash me when I first installed them but none since adjusting the headlight aim.

My Techmax are holding up well. I've had them in for a few months and not once have I been flashed. I probably still have them aimed too low but there's a fine line between too low and staring into the sun

Yep, gotta watch where the cutoff is and adjust in comparison to a modern vehicle with LED or HID, in my case I used the wife's X3 with HID to get a good look at where stock cutoff should be at... I also just watched other cars on the road too, in the case of the overpowering LED pic above, it clearly was actually aimed TOO low at that time, that's how bright those things were... anyway, headed home to throw the TechMax in, can't wait to be DONE with my experiements, but at least I've learned a lot!

 

[ROCKYFiestta]

has anybody tried the diode dynamics h11 led bulbs i have their fogs and just saw these headlights was wondering if anybody gave those a try yet?
https://headlightrevolution.com/diode-dynamics-h8-h9-h11-sl1-led-headlight-pair/

 

[danbfree]

has anybody tried the diode dynamics h11 led bulbs i have their fogs and just saw these headlights was wondering if anybody gave those a try yet?
https://headlightrevolution.com/diode-dynamics-h8-h9-h11-sl1-led-headlight-pair/

Those almost certainly wouldn't fit... The best ones that for SURE are the Morimoto 2 Stroke 2.0... AND they just went off-sale for $96, oh well...

 

[danbfree]

OK, got the TechMax in and they are definitely good. Still would like a bit more brightness, but nice output with no strange side glare. I cut down the pass-through covers and got some decent protection. At an actual 30w used (middle of the road for LED's) they also run nice and cool compared to all the other budget ones, so very good sign!

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

 

[cxwrench]

Just ordered the Techmax bulbs and covers from Amazon. Nothing like being bored to death (or bored to the point I go shopping online) after some minor oral surgery yesterday! They should be here Friday, I'll report back after installing them. I'm sure they'll be great after the reviews I've seen.

 

[cxwrench]

Thanks to [MENTION=9500]danbfree[/MENTION] and everyone else that's contributed to this thread. Lots of great info, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how these work out!

 

[danbfree]

Just ordered the Techmax bulbs and covers from Amazon. Nothing like being bored to death (or bored to the point I go shopping online) after some minor oral surgery yesterday! They should be here Friday, I'll report back after installing them. I'm sure they'll be great after the reviews I've seen.

So some advice on these... First, have you changed any bulbs out on these yet? The passenger side is a BEAR and I recommend removing the headlight... also, I rushed it a bit, depending which exact rear covers you got, if it has the opening that is wide already then just cut off the outer most ring of the accordion and no need to trim the inside ring... if you got the ones that look just like mine above, then you may want to visually line up the cover with the bulb in and cut more accurately for the inside ring, I personally am not too considered with an EXACT fit, since our headlights aren't sealed anyway and is also impossible unless you want to cut out your actual housing opening more, which I actually did on the passenger side for the previously returned DeAutoLED's... Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[cxwrench]

So some advice on these... First, have you changed any bulbs out on these yet? The passenger side is a BEAR and I recommend removing the headlight... also, I rushed it a bit, depending which exact rear covers you got, if it has the opening that is wide already then just cut off the outer most ring of the accordion and no need to trim the inside ring... if you got the ones that look just like mine above, then you may want to visually line up the cover with the bulb in and cut more accurately for the inside ring, I personally am not too considered with an EXACT fit, since our headlights aren't sealed anyway and is also impossible unless you want to cut out your actual housing opening more, which I actually did on the passenger side for the previously returned DeAutoLED's... Let me know if you have any questions!

I've pulled the headlights out a couple of times and changed bulbs so that should be no problem. Thanks for the advice on fitting the covers, I'll let you know if I have any problems...thanks!

 

[FST BMP]

Why can't life just be simple and the LEDs fit perfectly [emoji20][emoji24] lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[danbfree]

Why can't life just be simple and the LEDs fit perfectly [emoji20][emoji24] lol

Well, there are THESE that are LED that fit just like regular halogen and are at least somewhat better than halogen too.. BUT, we want the best for the best price so hence, here we are!

 

[cxwrench]

Bulbs arrived yesterday, covers today. Got them installed...now just waiting for it to be dark enough that I can see how they work! Update in about an hour and half

Had Super Stars before...

The Tech Max are definitely brighter and more 'white', seems like the cut-off is still good.

They look good from the front, need to go for a drive now and see how they are on the road. Liking them a bunch at this point.

 

[Bonesaw]

Just looking at the photos and I'm not exactly happy. I think I'll try putting my Osrams back in for comparison.

Makes me realize how poor our housing are compared to some other designs and projectors.

1st photo is Auxbeam outside driver side door.
2nd photo is the same with Mazda 5 projectors (not accurate as light is far more yellow and dim) also her fogs were on
3rd photo is Auxbeam in car ( i did lower and even them out in this photo as it was taken before photo #1)
4th photo is Mazda 5 projectors in car
5th photo driving in car with Auxbeam (brightness of the headlights created more contrast and you can tell via surroundings being darker)
6th photo is in Mazda 5

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

Are you still running the Auxbeam F26s? How did these pan out over time?

 

[Intuit]

Two things:
1) When that plastic piece beneath the rear of the headlamp housing breaks, more can be ordered here https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FZM5BPW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. (as for the price )

2) This is what is beneath the front headlamp.
(I cleaned-up the area before taking the photo.)
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AhsZJDCN8kMMgaQU-vZDdLWI65-pGg
Water and road salt get beneath the headlamp, and sit.
So there is already a fair amount of rust underneath and next to that white plastic headlamp clamp-down piece.
I greased it down with a heavy bearing grease, to help reduce corrosion.

That's not the worst part though. See the wire harness behind it? Imagine having salt-water sitting in each of those holes.
Bearing grease would probably break down the seals and plastics. Silicon is safe to use but won't really stick around.

The only thing I did there was shield the front/top part of it using a rubber glove. Covering it in a way that will trap humidity, water, will do more harm than good.

Slathering a ton of dielectric grease should help.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

Two things:
1) When that plastic piece beneath the rear of the headlamp housing breaks, more can be ordered here https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FZM5BPW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. (as for the price )

2) This is what is beneath the front headlamp.
(I cleaned-up the area before taking the photo.)
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AhsZJDCN8kMMgaQU-vZDdLWI65-pGg
Water and road salt get beneath the headlamp, and sit.
So there is already a fair amount of rust underneath and next to that white plastic headlamp clamp-down piece.
I greased it down with a heavy bearing grease, to help reduce corrosion.

That's not the worst part though. See the wire harness behind it? Imagine having salt-water sitting in each of those holes.
Bearing grease would probably break down the seals and plastics. Silicon is safe to use but won't really stick around.

The only thing I did there was shield the front/top part of it using a rubber glove. Covering it in a way that will trap humidity, water, will do more harm than good.

Slathering a ton of dielectric grease should help.

Could use this stuff....first time I'd seen it was at Vatozone.....

https://lucasoil.com/products/grease/red-n-tacky-grease

Or


https://www.fluid-film.com/spraying-fluid-film/

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk

 

[alexrex20]

Followup on the MAX GTRS: idk when I installed them but you can scroll up and find my post if you care. One of them is already acting funny. It randomly goes to a low output/dim then back to normal. It doesn't flicker and doesn't seem wiring related. It doesn't seem temperature related either. I will probably put my Silverstar ZXE back in.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Intuit]

Could use this stuff....first time I'd seen it was at Vatozone.....

https://lucasoil.com/products/grease/red-n-tacky-grease

Or


https://www.fluid-film.com/spraying-fluid-film/

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Tapatalk

I'll keep the can option of the tacky stuff in mind.

Not safe for rubber, seals, this is what I used on the metal... I mean rust.

 

[danbfree]

Followup on the MAX GTRS: idk when I installed them but you can scroll up and find my post if you care. One of them is already acting funny. It randomly goes to a low output/dim then back to normal. It doesn't flicker and doesn't seem wiring related. It doesn't seem temperature related either. I will probably put my Silverstar ZXE back in.

Go with the TechMax, same exact design as MAXGTRS but better quality and US based warranty... You won't want to go back to the lousy halogens that burn out quickly... Then again, the AliExpress companies actually are pretty good about warranty, you can send them a video of it doing it and they will send you out a replacement, and just use your halogens temporarily until a replacement arrives.