Safe aftermarket LED headlight bulb info, finds and discussion

[danbfree]

Are these the proper bulbs for low beams? Also, which are the recommended fog lights? Are there any yellow fogs that are preferred? https://www.amazon.com/TECHMAX-Head...ed+h11&qid=1579864004&sprefix=techmax+&sr=8-3

Those are absolutely recommended specifically for low beams... for stock fog light, which are reflectors that scatter everywhere, I can't really recommend much brighter or only a 2 side design any more. There are very good 360 degree tip LED's now in 4,6, and 8 sides. I wouldn't go too bright there because of no cutoff, so I'd go with something like THIS for best chance at proper reflection, but they could be pretty bright and are if you definitely want regular bluish tinted white LED light... If you want yellow then you'd have to take your chances with glare using simple 2 sided bulbs that you can find randomly in a 2700k color. I eventually just got the complete replacement housing fogs for only $72 that are dual color and have their own LED's built in.... But long story short, the factory fogs take any size H11, there are zero clearance issues of any kind, but the bowl reflector design is very cheap and only meant to handle a dim halogen, to be honest... So for now try the TechMax as fogs and see how you like it, you don't need anything to mod it, they go right in and don't have the external driver module, so you don't have to zip tie or sticky tape down anything back there.

 

[danbfree]

I'm thinking for you guys who want yellow fogs but just want to throw some bulbs into the factory fog housings... Don't want too, too bright and these are exact halogen type bulb connection design, no heat sink, so they can't be too bright/ran a ttoo many actual watts without a heatsink, these only use 8.5 actual watts each side while most H11 for headlights use 24-30w actual each side, some even more... So even if room is not an issue, you want to keep them a good color and just the right brightness, so these look good for stock fog housing for sure! If you click the link and check out the pics, they look pretty damn bright for only 8.5w so they will stay cool for sure.. If you can afford $72 and can handle removing headlights to go down from there to remove stock fog housings then I still recommend that route for sure, they are prob 95% as good as the $160+ options at least...

https://www.amazon.com/Alla-Lighting-H11-Illumination-Replacement/dp/B07GTC42CL/

 

[TyphoonFiST]

Been eyeing these... If they don't work that great I can put them in my BAEs cx3 and take her Techmax H11s out and keep them as my exra set....Bhuwahahaha!

https://www.amazon.com/Headlight-Up...8170&sprefix=,aps,180&sr=8-10#customerReviews

 

[firestang70]

Homie, fogs bulbs seal right on the back of the fog housing itself, there is no open rear... you can put as huge of a heat sink H11 as you want there, there is zero fitment issue or open back to worry about at all!

Awesome thanks just got the car and haven’t looked underneath till this weekend.

 

[danbfree]

Been eyeing these... If they don't work that great I can put them in my BAEs cx3 and take her Techmax H11s out and keep them as my exra set....Bhuwahahaha!

https://www.amazon.com/Headlight-Upgraded-Lighting-12000LM-Conversion/dp/B07RTSR691/ref=sr_1_10?crid=1TZ77BYR1I65M&keywords=h11+led+4+sided&qid=1580358170&sprefix=,aps,180&sr=8-10#customerReviews

Those look sweet, I just got a set of H7 and H11 in the Audew 6 sided HERE free for review and the H7 is awesome in my Euro projectors so far! I am going to try the H11's in my step-son's Escape with reflectors next... I saw yours too previously and with 8 sides they look great! But I can say the Audew are insanely nice quality, the heatsink is heavy and all very sturdy made. I was trying to make an edit of my main post but I keep clicking links and losing my edits but these new 6/8 tip designs are REALLY promising!

 

[EnthusiaST]

Thanks Guys! Ordered some! I'm sure i'll be happy with them.

 

[danbfree]

Thanks Guys! Ordered some! I'm sure i'll be happy with them.

Which ones did you go with? For fog?

 

[EnthusiaST]

Which ones did you go with? For fog?

The ones you suggested. https://www.amazon.com/Alla-Lighting-H11-Illumination-Replacement/dp/B07GTC42CL/?tag=vglnkc7277-20


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[EnthusiaST]

Which ones did you go with? For fog?

The ones you suggested. https://www.amazon.com/Alla-Lighting-H11-Illumination-Replacement/dp/B07GTC42CL/?tag=vglnkc7277-20


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[danbfree]

The ones you suggested. https://www.amazon.com/Alla-Lighting-H11-Illumination-Replacement/dp/B07GTC42CL/?tag=vglnkc7277-20

Ah, yes, very solid choice for yellow at a good price and won't blind people... be sure to post a wall/garage door and street shot with them on, I'm curious how well they turn out for you! Keep in mind, since you jumped right in, Amazon has a generous return policy just in case they truly suck, LOL.

 

[danbfree]

OK, so update on the Audew 6 sided 360 degree bulbs I mentioned earlier... They are fantastic for only $40 with discount right now! Very white and clean output! There are actually some good reviews and pics at the Amazon link HERE



And quick output pic of the H7's in my Euro projectors but the H11 above for reflectors will look great too!

 

[firestang70]

What discount did you receive?

 

[danbfree]

What discount did you receive?

I did not receive a discount because they were sent to me for free for review... They are so good, they beat out the $50 Katana's I did a lot of research and paid for that now they're just sitting! LOL

 

[Remi]

@danbfree I have a question for you, as the resident lighting expert. I live in the States, but my car was originally a Canadian spec model. As you've noted in the first post of this thread, my car has DRLs that keep the low beams on all the time at a lower voltage. If I wanted to upgrade to LED low beams, would the TechMax Gen2 work? Honestly I'm not crazy about the DRLs, so I wouldn't mind losing that feature. I haven't found a way to turn it off.
Eventually, I would like to upgrade to Euro projectors. But in the meantime, I'm looking for something that will give me better performance and nicer aesthetics. Thanks in advance!

 

[danbfree]

@danbfree I have a question for you, as the resident lighting expert. I live in the States, but my car was originally a Canadian spec model. As you've noted in the first post of this thread, my car has DRLs that keep the low beams on all the time at a lower voltage. If I wanted to upgrade to LED low beams, would the TechMax Gen2 work? Honestly I'm not crazy about the DRLs, so I wouldn't mind losing that feature. I haven't found a way to turn it off.
Eventually, I would like to upgrade to Euro projectors. But in the meantime, I'm looking for something that will give me better performance and nicer aesthetics. Thanks in advance!

Good question, most of the LED's are incompatible so they wouldn't fire up at all at lower DRL voltage, so it would indeed effectively kill the DRL's for you here in the states if that's what you wanted. On the Bulb Facts chart that feature is called "Dimmable" and most are "No"....

 

[Remi]

Good question, most of the LED's are incompatible so they wouldn't fire up at all at lower DRL voltage, so it would indeed effectively kill the DRL's for you here in the states if that's what you wanted. On the Bulb Facts chart that feature is called "Dimmable" and most are "No"....

Awesome, that's what assumed. But I wanted to ask to see if maybe you had a solid answer. I did take a look at BulbFacts.com and it seems that if I install the TechMax, they'll operate just like a US spec FiST. 👍🏽👍🏽

 

[danbfree]

Awesome, that's what assumed. But I wanted to ask to see if maybe you had a solid answer. I did take a look at BulbFacts.com and it seems that if I install the TechMax, they'll operate just like a US spec FiST. 👍🏽👍🏽

That's correct, the DRL won't come on, just leave your lights on Auto and you're good to go... Keep in mind that they are plug and play but you will just have to tuck the external driver module down and away outside the housing.

 

[Remi]

That's correct, the DRL won't come on, just leave your lights on Auto and you're good to go... Keep in mind that they are plug and play but you will just have to tuck the external driver module down and away outside the housing.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Skadeush]

OK, so update on the Audew 6 sided 360 degree bulbs I mentioned earlier... They are fantastic for only $40 with discount right now! Very white and clean output! There are actually some good reviews and pics at the Amazon link HERE

View attachment 28095

And quick output pic of the H7's in my Euro projectors but the H11 above for reflectors will look great too!

View attachment 28096

So these are the way to go now for stock reflector housings? Or are TechMax still king?

 

[danbfree]

So these are the way to go now for stock reflector housings? Or are TechMax still king?

I'm gonna be honest and say that I can't say for sure, I don't have a working set in H11 to try in reflectors, BUT going off how well the tip is designed, I would definitely feel they are worth trying, I truly think they will be even better as far as glare control over the 2 sided... The thing is with LED bulb headlights, because of the exaggerated specs, it is always very easy to send back for free on Amazon by selecting "did not meet expectations" and give text reason as "claimed to be 10,000 lumen, is not even close to that.." and it will be approved for full refund everytime if you don't like them.

But seriously, I would love to see someone try these in H11 in reflectors, I'm sure they will be good... How about this... if you don't like them I'll send you a set of other H11 for free... Just can't guarantee how good they are, but they will at least be serviceable as an upgrade to the factory fogs.