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H11 LEDs for Low Beam

8K views 22 replies 10 participants last post by  wewlad 
#1 ·
After my saga with TRS hids, I decided to order a kit from trusty DDM. In the meantime, I wanted to try out some LED bulbs from Amazon. After driving tonight on pitch black roads, I may not go back to HIDs. They aren't as bright as hids, but much brighter than H11 or H9 bulbs. However, they trump hids by being completely plug'n'play, not requiring any harnesses and extra components under the hood. They fire up right away and the best part is there is virtually zero glare over stock bulbs. In one of the picture, you can see how stock fog lights glare more with phone camera than these LEDs. In real life I had my wife drive the car towards me and there is no way of telling these lights aren't factory. I just need to adjust the beam patter on the headlight a little.

here is the link for the bulbs
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Sirius-Direct-Error-2000lm-Light/dp/B00K61CG5U/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1429583897&sr=1-2&keywords=h11+led[/ame]
 

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#2 ·
interested to see your experience with the led's in different conditions...
rain,haze..

driving visibilty..?.. you would put these leds over the comparable stock halogens? (clarifying)
 
#3 ·
Which ones are they?

I have gone to H9s in my low beams and by God they are BRIGHT. You need to grind the key out of the electrical socket and on the peripheral ring. 30 seconds with a dremel takes care of it. NO GLARE whatsoever but a hell of a lot nicer than stock. I refuse to run headlights that blast oncoming traffic; not only is that asking for a ticket but it's dangerous. I drive at night a LOT and while I want to see I don't want to blind someone coming at me and cause them to hit me.

In the fogs and highs I went to 9011/HIRs; which are HB3 compatible on the fitment with a minor modification (none required to the plug.) Amazon.com: Wagner Lighting 9011 Halogen Capsule - Box of 1: Automotive

These are AMAZING; in the fogs I went with a yellow-tinted bulb for visibility reasons (in crap viz you want the yellow tint) but in the highs I used the ones referenced. They are DAYLIGHT, close to 1/4 mile visibility in decent conditions. Those are HIGH BEAMS though, and don't even think of running them with someone coming at you because you WILL blind them.

The nice thing about the H9s and 9011s is that they're inexpensive and require no modification. The downside is ~500 hour bulb life, about half of the stock bulbs. Then again, for the price I'll keep a spare set in the spare tire well; the highs/DRLs can be swapped without tools as you can get to both through the hood without a problem, and those are the most-likely to blow. I can also reach the pax side low without tools; the driver side requires going in through the wheel well so you need a screwdriver to pop the plastic retainers on the cover.
 
#5 ·
Which ones are they?

I have gone to H9s in my low beams and by God they are BRIGHT. You need to grind the key out of the electrical socket and on the peripheral ring. 30 seconds with a dremel takes care of it. NO GLARE whatsoever but a hell of a lot nicer than stock. I refuse to run headlights that blast oncoming traffic; not only is that asking for a ticket but it's dangerous. I drive at night a LOT and while I want to see I don't want to blind someone coming at me and cause them to hit me.

In the fogs and highs I went to 9011/HIRs; which are HB3 compatible on the fitment with a minor modification (none required to the plug.) Amazon.com: Wagner Lighting 9011 Halogen Capsule - Box of 1: Automotive

These are AMAZING; in the fogs I went with a yellow-tinted bulb for visibility reasons (in crap viz you want the yellow tint) but in the highs I used the ones referenced. They are DAYLIGHT, close to 1/4 mile visibility in decent conditions. Those are HIGH BEAMS though, and don't even think of running them with someone coming at you because you WILL blind them.

The nice thing about the H9s and 9011s is that they're inexpensive and require no modification. The downside is ~500 hour bulb life, about half of the stock bulbs. Then again, for the price I'll keep a spare set in the spare tire well; the highs/DRLs can be swapped without tools as you can get to both through the hood without a problem, and those are the most-likely to blow. I can also reach the pax side low without tools; the driver side requires going in through the wheel well so you need a screwdriver to pop the plastic retainers on the cover.
I don't understand your post, way to take a dump on my thread. 1) I clearly indicated which ones I bought 2) I said there is no glare, checked myself by having my wife drive towards me as I was in another car 3) I also said they are brighter than H9 so your entire post is irrelevant. Sorry but maybe re-read my original post??? :)






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#6 ·
I went back and found the link to what you bought..... but your pictures don't look brighter than the H9s I have in my lows. It's almost impossible to judge from pictures without a side-by-side though; photographs don't help except for gross differences even with a dSLR, sequential shots in the dark of night and the camera on manual for the reason that color temperature matters to exposure in a camera but for optimum human visibility you actually want a color temperature in the 3,500-4,000k range -- higher may look good but in terms of actual vision it's inferior.

That there is no glare is good; that's one of the bug-a-boos with HIDs in that getting the emitter right where the halogen filament was is critical to the beam pattern. Your pattern looks good on the garage door; that's a definite positive.

2000lms (their advertised brightness), if accurate, is almost exactly the same as H9s -- but those LED bulbs are damned expensive. They should, however, have very long life -- the life of the car, to be specific, provided the manufacturer managed to deal with getting heat out of the emitters appropriately.....
 
#7 ·
Yep, I know pics don't do them justice. I did compare all 3 bulbs (h11, h9 and led) back to back on the same road last night, I should have taken pics with all 3 to show comparison of road coverage.

Also, Batman, those Sylvania and any other bulbs that are literally colored blue to get the "hid effect" look nice but don't light up the road worth crap. I would only use something like that in fogs. They also don't last at all.

My only concern about these LEDs is the fan part. If fan burns out without my knowledge, the bulb and the entire metal enclosure can overheat and start melting crap in my headlight housing.


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#12 ·
Yep, I know pics don't do them justice. I did compare all 3 bulbs (h11, h9 and led) back to back on the same road last night, I should have taken pics with all 3 to show comparison of road coverage.

Also, Batman, those Sylvania and any other bulbs that are literally colored blue to get the "hid effect" look nice but don't light up the road worth crap. I would only use something like that in fogs. They also don't last at all.

My only concern about these LEDs is the fan part. If fan burns out without my knowledge, the bulb and the entire metal enclosure can overheat and start melting crap in my headlight housing.



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@cibersay, props on finding these! So what were your thoughts on the 3 different bulbs? I was hesitant on the HID kits and this sounds like a great option. I despise the DRL's on my touring, and haven't decided what to do with them yet either...I saw some people used these for the DRL's as well?
 
#8 ·
I would hope they thermally protected the emitter (so you'd know if the fan failed as the lights would go out, cool down, come back on, etc) but they might not have. If not then the question becomes "what is the fuse?" thermally; one hopes it's the bulb and not your headlight housing!
 
#15 ·
Yeah most of those Amazon reviews were fake. Inside the box was small card that said if I gave these LEDs 5 star review they would send me 10 free LEDs of my choice - and it had a list of 4-5 different small accent LEDs to chose from like 194, etc. You basically post a 5 star review then email then the link to review with you order info and they mail you free LEDs. It's not the first time I buy something off Amazon that comes with such crap. So clearly the herd mentality of most people will have them post a good, but fake, review so they can get free $hit.

But if you google xenon depot's LED reviews, there is a good thread on Focus forum with pictures and in-depth review. Bottom line they're awesome :) don't waste your money on Chinese Sirius brand from Amazon.


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#16 ·
Wow great insight, I'm glad you're sharing this useful info. After installation how hot do the copper heatsinks get? Are they touching any plastic parts/wires I know we have plenty of clearance behind the housings but usually heatsinks are attached to metal. Was just curious. Also you'd think with LED's requiring less voltage to not heat up as much, I'm not too knowledgable in this field maybe someone can explain this.
 
#18 ·
@cibersay, since it's been a few more days, are the bulbs still up to par? Have you had a chance to use them in bad weather? I've got the TRS HID kit (currently removed), but I am having problems with the igniter-to-bulb connectors not fitting properly and causing flickering (and smoking from the igniter!). I was interested in the XenonDepot or TRS Morimoto H11 LED bulbs for increased output (over halogen) with less complexity.
 
#20 ·
I too had by bad luck with TRS HIDs for quite a while. after a year and going thru 6 ballasts, I have finally gotten a reliable set, and they work amazing now with no misfires or flickers since I installed them. They had their share of QC issues thru last year. the SS model was recalled for misfires in the cold, then they rushed a replacement DSP model with had reliability problems from the start. Now they have landed on the XB series with an inline igniter and since i swapped to those they are flawless for me.

If I didn't go the HID route I would have gone to the led route, but LED retros are still kinda new and it still has some R&D before they get truly mainstream, mainly beam pattern, output and heat dissipation issues, but they are looking more promising now by the day
 
#21 ·
If I didn't go the HID route I would have gone to the led route, but LED retros are still kinda new and it still has some R&D before they get truly mainstream, mainly beam pattern, output and heat dissipation issues, but they are looking more promising now by the day
Agreed! The Phillips from XD are very promising, it delivers everything they promise basically. It's significantly more light than stock, plug'n'play, does not require the fan like the older generation (or cheap ebay/amazon LEDs). Just didn't have enough output for my liking.
 
#22 ·
After carefully considering all available options LED and HID, TRS and XenonDepot I went ahead and ordered the XenonDepot X-treme HID last night 15% off for $131 and some change exactly and free shipping. I bought the 5000K cause I like the cool white look, I like the 4300K as well.

I really liked the LED but the light output of the HID is way too good to pass up on. I will post pics after my install. Hope all goes well.
 
#23 · (Edited)
There are so many H11 LED light to choose from on Amazon and most seem like cheap mass manufactured and with questionable reviews. Looking to upgrade the stock H11's in my '16 Sport. Some of the products with 6,000 to 8,000 lumens seems ridiculous and waaay to bright. Why would anyone want their high beams on constantly anyways? Any recommendations for something in the 2,000 to 3,000 lumen range? Not looking to blind on coming drivers or cause accidents, just a basic upgrade to the halogens that is reliable and won't break the bank. Since this thread has been around for over a year, anyone have any good advice after some experience with the plug and play models?

OPT7 LED Headlight Bulbs w/ Clear Arc-Beam Kit - H11 (H8, H9) - 60w 7,000Lm 6K Cool White CREE - 2 Yr Warranty

People seem to love this one from OPT7
 
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