Safe aftermarket LED headlight bulb info, finds and discussion

[danbfree]

so the 2stroke 2.0s get a thumbs up from you? anything special with the install? i was waiting to see what your experience with them were before i pulled the trigger.

They are very small and easily fit our housings, but long enough that if I had to guess wouldn't quite fit the stock rear covers, I just leave them off after experimenting anyway, so they are very easy to install and should result in a perfect 9/3 LED arrangement without having to adjust anything... it REALLY depends on what your exact goals are, but if any of them are to stay as pure white as possible, then these would easily be the best choice... If you want the best bang for the buck, then the TechMax, one step up from there then the Nineo, absolute 100% perfect beam pattern, then Hikari... BUT, so far the Morimoto with a 9/10 on performance while staying pure white are my favorite so far.

 

[jfv302]

cost isnt really important as long as its sub $300. basically i want something thats plug and play with no modding, as little work as possible, and will be easy to go back to stock, while being a upgrade over halogens (i love night driving). i generally prefer light around 4500k-5000k, but that seems to be hard to get in the led market while also being quality.

 

[FLORIDAST]

Well, got the Morimoto 2Stroke 2.0's in, they arrived on Christmas Eve. Again, thanks to Blaise, owner of BulbFacts.com for literally gifting them to me. I love the color temp, which is rated at 5500k but tested out at 5150k, which is a nice pure white. I don't notice any brightness differences from the TechMax so far, but the color temp makes a big difference between looking a little blue and looking more pure white. I'll try to grab a photo shot tonight. These definitely live up to their high ratings and are probably one of the brightest sets we can use with the North America reflector housings before they generate the crazy scattered beam pattern like I saw with the DeAutoLED's... Speaking of housings, I found a site where we can order Euro projectors for under $315 a pair shipped, I think I'm going to definitely consider those in the future, having projectors lens will make a big difference in low beam performance!

What's the site url?

 

[danbfree]

cost isnt really important as long as its sub $300. basically i want something thats plug and play with no modding, as little work as possible, and will be easy to go back to stock, while being a upgrade over halogens (i love night driving). i generally prefer light around 4500k-5000k, but that seems to be hard to get in the led market while also being quality.

Then the Morimoto are there way to go for sure. But if can really afford $300 you could get the TYC projector headlights and the Nineo set actually... But the Morimoto and TechMax are both very small without any trimming or anything, in fact, most H11 LED's now made all easily fit. Check out bulbfacts.com LED charts and they have the top five of budget and premium sets as well complete charts to see testing results.

 

[jfv302]

Then the Morimoto are there way to go for sure. But if can really afford $300 you could get the TYC projector headlights and the Nineo set actually... But the Morimoto and TechMax are both very small without any trimming or anything, in fact, most H11 LED's now made all easily fit. Check out bulbfacts.com LED charts and they have the top five of budget and premium sets as well complete charts to see testing results.

so im planning on going with euro headlight housings (i like going with oem parts) with a 55w hid kit, eventually. but i currently have a badly sprained ankle and am avoiding unnecessary standing/walking, and dont want to do the install in the cold.

im fairly familiar with the bulbfacts site. but ive only been using them as a guideline when it comes to color temp, beam pattern and brightness. ive been trying to relay on first hand reviews in the fiesta st. i like the 2stroke over the other led bulbs mainly because of its lower color temp. if it also happens to be in the running for one of the best reflector housing replacements, then its a win in my book.

 

[danbfree]

so im planning on going with euro headlight housings (i like going with oem parts) with a 55w hid kit, eventually. but i currently have a badly sprained ankle and am avoiding unnecessary standing/walking, and dont want to do the install in the cold.

im fairly familiar with the bulbfacts site. but ive only been using them as a guideline when it comes to color temp, beam pattern and brightness. ive been trying to relay on first hand reviews in the fiesta st. i like the 2stroke over the other led bulbs mainly because of its lower color temp. if it also happens to be in the running for one of the best reflector housing replacements, then its a win in my book.

I'd be careful about 55w HID, they really have only minor brightness increases over 35w at a much higher temp and likely would overwhelm the housings designed for 35w... But yeah, I heartily recommend the Morimoto 2stroke 2.0 as being the brightest our factory halogen reflector housing can handle and I can see myself not bothering with the TYC Euro's and start saving for a turbo upgrade

Another housing option is Hella, if you are interested in brand-name aftermarket, they have units at $300 each side, so about the same price as the Ford Euro OEM but look even higher quality

Now, if you are really going to go with the OEM housings then I'd recommend even the TechMax as a temporary solution for $35, they are 90%+ as good as the Morimoto while also being simpler with no external driver module and extra adapter pigtail to tuck away like on the Morimoto, or maybe even the Nineo at $50, it just depends on how much you want to spend now and then spend again on H7 bulbs for the new housings later... I originally started this thread as I was tired of all the crappy, glaring sets that people rate 5 stars on Amazon so I was happy to find a real review site, and now we have proof pics to share with each other instead of no-photo 5 star reviews on Amazon to go along with real testing!

 

[jfv302]

I'd be careful about 55w HID, they really have only minor brightness increases over 35w at a much higher temp and likely would overwhelm the housings designed for 35w... But yeah, I heartily recommend the Morimoto 2stroke 2.0 as being the brightest our factory halogen reflector housing can handle and I can see myself not bothering with the TYC Euro's and start saving for a turbo upgrade

Another housing option is Hella, if you are interested in brand-name aftermarket, they have units at $300 each side, so about the same price as the Ford Euro OEM but look even higher quality

Now, if you are really going to go with the OEM housings then I'd recommend even the TechMax as a temporary solution for $35, they are 90%+ as good as the Morimoto while also being simpler with no external driver module and extra adapter pigtail to tuck away like on the Morimoto, or maybe even the Nineo at $50, it just depends on how much you want to spend now and then spend again on H7 bulbs for the new housings later... I originally started this thread as I was tired of all the crappy, glaring sets that people rate 5 stars on Amazon so I was happy to find a real review site, and now we have proof pics to share with each other instead of no-photo 5 star reviews on Amazon to go along with real testing!

i know watts dont necessarily equal how much heat will be generated, but its a fairly good estimation. so the factory h11 bulbs are rated 55w, so wouldnt the housing be able to handle a 55w hid?

i went ahead and ordered the 2stroke. cost isnt nearly as important to me as color temp.

 

[danbfree]

i know watts dont necessarily equal how much heat will be generated, but its a fairly good estimation. so the factory h11 bulbs are rated 55w, so wouldnt the housing be able to handle a 55w hid?

i went ahead and ordered the 2stroke. cost isnt nearly as important to me as color temp.

You're right in general, 55w is the halogen standard whether H7 in projectors or H11 in reflectors, but with HID and LED, they are so much more efficient that more watts will just add far more heat than is worth just a little added brightness that leads to lower bulb and ballast life... Blaise has some good info HERE in the HID section and towards the bottom too...

Great choice on the Morimoto's, very high quality, great color temp, I'm liking mine more everyday... Now I've noticed at times they give a bit of kaleidoscope effect from the reflectors and sometimes they look perfectly clean, not sure if it's the voltage or temps varying, just keep in mind using good bright bulbs brings out the worst in the reflectors too, but FAR better than dim halogens for sure.

 

[jfv302]

You're right in general, 55w is the halogen standard whether H7 in projectors or H11 in reflectors, but with HID and LED, they are so much more efficient that more watts will just add far more heat than is worth just a little added brightness that leads to lower bulb and ballast life... Blaise has some good info HERE in the HID section and towards the bottom too...

Great choice on the Morimoto's, very high quality, great color temp, I'm liking mine more everyday... Now I've noticed at times they give a bit of kaleidoscope effect from the reflectors and sometimes they look perfectly clean, not sure if it's the voltage or temps varying, just keep in mind using good bright bulbs brings out the worst in the reflectors too, but FAR better than dim halogens for sure.

well ill cross that bridge when i get to it. im halfway hoping that these morimotos will be good enough to satisfy me. this fist is my first car without hid, so making that switch to a halogen was quite drastic.

did you get the anti flicker harness with your set? i ordered the anti flicker harness with the bulbs, so if its a voltage hopefully they take care of that issue, if its a voltage thing.

 

[danbfree]

well ill cross that bridge when i get to it. im halfway hoping that these morimotos will be good enough to satisfy me. this fist is my first car without hid, so making that switch to a halogen was quite drastic.

did you get the anti flicker harness with your set? i ordered the anti flicker harness with the bulbs, so if its a voltage hopefully they take care of that issue, if its a voltage thing.

I've never needed any anti-flicker kits on this car... What it appears is that sometime the reflectors show more un-even shadows and shapes from the reflector housing while other times seems to be more even. If that kind of makes sense... I'm sure you'like them, just report back on your thoughts of course...

 

[stapleTR0N]

Pulled the trigger on the Nineo bulbs and got them installed last night. My enclosures did require some trimming in order to fit the bulbs, the passenger side is pictured below.



And the beam pattern. The tape marks the stock cutoff from about 10 feet back.



Good cutoff, barely different than stock bulbs and no aiming needed. There is a spot directly beside the car as seems common with LEDs, but it's minimal. I've got switchback turn signals from Diode Dynamics that are 6000k and these bulbs are just slightly cooler in color than they are but it's a good match overall. I'm impressed and happy to finally have some upgraded lighting on this car!

 

[FST BMP]

Pulled the trigger on the Nineo bulbs and got them installed last night. My enclosures did require some trimming in order to fit the bulbs, the passenger side is pictured below.

View attachment 19322

And the beam pattern. The tape marks the stock cutoff from about 10 feet back.

View attachment 19323

Good cutoff, barely different than stock bulbs and no aiming needed. There is a spot directly beside the car as seems common with LEDs, but it's minimal. I've got switchback turn signals from Diode Dynamics that are 6000k and these bulbs are just slightly cooler in color than they are but it's a good match overall. I'm impressed and happy to finally have some upgraded lighting on this car!

Sweet deal! I've been meaning to try these out so your post definitely helped! Which DD SB (brightness) do you have and can you try to get a picture to compare color temps between the LEDs and SB? I can understand if you can't. Can to get good pictures of lights.

As far as trimming, you trimmed the inner plastic border?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[stapleTR0N]

These are the switchbacks I've got:

https://www.diodedynamics.com/3157-hp24-switchback-dual-color-led.html

I think they used to offer them in different color temps but by the time I ordered them they only offered 6000k. They should all be the same brightness no matter when they were made. I'll get you a pic of the front of the car when I get off work.

Yes, I trimmed the inner ring off around where the bulbs sits. The passenger side is a few mm tighter than the driver's so I had to keep shaving until the bulb fit. The plastic is somewhat soft so it wasn't too difficult to do. I'm probably going to modify the stock protective caps to allow for airflow, right now I've got them off completely.

Edit: here's a picture of the lights and switchbacks together

 

[ROCKYFiestta]

I have to ask what are you guys running for high beams and is there an led option worth doing for the high beams I got regular halogen for high beams and would like to upgrade to the whiter light. any thoughts and pics even more appreciated thanks.

 

[danbfree]

I have to ask what are you guys running for high beams and is there an led option worth doing for the high beams I got regular halogen for high beams and would like to upgrade to the whiter light. any thoughts and pics even more appreciated thanks.

They take a little slot cartridge-like H1 bulb and LED's wouldn't really fit, I was considering the Flosser's as recommended on BulbFacts HERE.

 

[ROCKYFiestta]

ty sir definitely going for the flossers then.

 

[ROCKYFiestta]

this the one for our car ??

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Flosser-H1...=item25f9ae53a0:g:2B4AAOSwaZdZyENS:rk:15:pf:0

lol 100 watts am I going to melt something with that type of power???

 

[danbfree]

this the one for our car ??

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Flosser-H1...=item25f9ae53a0:g:2B4AAOSwaZdZyENS:rk:15:pf:0

lol 100 watts am I going to melt something with that type of power???

Yep, that would be it, and I've had my thoughts too, on the heat generated, so I was also considering just getting Sylvania SilverStar Ultra for the highest rated regular wattage.

 

[Ford ST]

Please don't throw a 100 watt high beam bulb in. Not only are you going to blind somebody unless you're always perfect about cutting your high beams off. You also stand a chance of melting your wiring harness, and damaging the assembly.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

 

[jfv302]

I'm sure you'like them, just report back on your thoughts of course...

so in a word yes, i like them.

TL;DR

so im not happy with the 2stroke 2.0. they are better then the factory halogen in just about every measurable way, but something isnt quite right.

pros
theyre small. easily fit in the housings with no modding. ive made them fit with the factory dust covers, the wire slightly pushes against it.
the bulbs also throw light much wider then the halogens. its wider, farther down range as well.
color temp (imo). on dry nights theyre obviously bluer vs hids, but on the rainy night that i did the initial install, i swore they were the same color as my mustang.
brighter then the factory halogens, when you can use the light.

cons
the hot spot isnt as focused, and "pokes" above the general light cutoff, when compared with the halogen. to compensate ive aimed the lights down a little, so the hot spot is level with the cutoff of the halogens (~2 inches at 25 feet). the effect is that the range of the light, on road, is about the same as with the halogens.
the beam pattern is more scattered. not just in the hot spot, but you can see the reflections on the road (which ultimately reduces the usable light imo).
obviously cost

im not happy with them, especially at $120. i plan to order the HIKARI Ultra and techmax led bulbs to see if i like them more, or if my complaints seem to be an led thing.