Best Upgrade for Headlights

Lots of good info and pics. Thanks.

One thing that is key to the effective “brightness” of a particular light source (bulb) is how well the filament (or LED) aligns with the focal point of the reflector parabola.

(Disclaimer: Due to the miles on 4x Old Guy’s grey matter, the actual wattage numbers and bulb model numbers may be slightly skewed from reality. However, the following is an account of actual events and illustrates real technology.)

I’ve had a few Honda ST1100 and ST1300 motorcycles (over 200,000 miles ridden, completed Iron Butt Association 1,000 miles in 1 day and 2,000 miles in 2 days rides). The OEM halogen bulbs where decent, but Honda wanted $$$ for replacement bulbs (one for each of two headlights). These bulbs were 50w/50w (high and low filaments were the same wattage). I presumed low used one filament, and high used both. After the sticker shock of replacing the original bulbs, I did some research and found that the hot mod was to use a standard automotive H9 bulb and cut a tab so it would fit. The replacement bulb also had a higher wattage (75w) high beam filament than the OEM bulb (this should be great). However, to mydisappointment, the new, higher wattage bulbs, though much more affordable, performed worse than the OEM bulbs. Back to the drawing board.

After more research, I found an outfit that made adaptor rings that allowed the H9 bulb to be put in the housing without modifying the bulb while “maintaining focal alignment”. Hmmm. Interesting. I tried the rings and voila! Respectable, polite low beam, blazing high beam, and it only cost $!

What Honda had done with their OEM bulb was that the high beam filament (only used for high beam) was positioned exactly at the reflector’s focal point (the entire 50w of light went to one place) where the low beam filament (only used for low beam) was not at the focal point so it’s 50w of light was scattered over a much larger area (same idea as those flashlights where you twist the head to change from wide to narrow beam by moving the bulb in or out). The ring, in addition to allowing the H9 bulb to simply fit, it also re-aligned the bulb so that the high beam filament was again at the focal point of the headlight reflector.

The misalignment of the filament with the focal point of the reflector parabola could also account for the darker patches in the coverage area that some have reported. Food for thought as you pursue your ultimate lighting system.

 

Installed Baja fogs today. Forgot to post pictures of night time shots, will get some together tonight! With and without the fogs for whoever is interested in them.

 

Yes, please!

 

HID over stock halogen is a WORLDS difference.
First picture is headlights only, second is with Baja fogs on, and the last one is to show the cutoff of the projectors. Sorry if they’re a little blurry, road was a little bumpy so the lady was having a hard time snapping a picture.

 

Just a heads up, and you might already know this, but those aren't fog lights. They're offroad lights mounted in your fog buckets. Please be careful when using them, as they are not legal or safe to use on the road, especially with other drivers around.

A real fog light has a wide, low pattern meant to illuminate the road under the fog or inclement weather. It has a sharp, horizontal cutoff both to prevent light reflecting off the fog and back into your eyes, as well as to prevent blinding glare to oncoming traffic. You're illuminating telephone poles and street signs because they're just offroad flood lights. If you tried turning them on in heavy fog, you'd just blind yourself- similar to using high beams.

Lots of good info here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-led-sae-j583-fog-pod-fog-light-review.554813/

 

Just a quick note, because I just went through all this. Yes, the HIDs are the shizzle. They illuminate the area in front of you like nobody’s business. The beam will light up stuff you’ve never seen before. They’re absolutely stunning and luxurious. But...

It’s tough to tell from your photo since you’re really close to the garage door. But from that view, if yours is like mine was, your headlights appear to be aimed several inches too high. Oncoming drivers may not be too happy. I know they weren’t with me. Back up to 25 feet from the door and see where your cutoff is. Your garage door appears to be similar to mine. Assuming stock ride height, the cutoff should be about 1-2” below the second and third door seam. If not, measure from the ground to that little knob/bump in your headlight lens directly in front of the projector and then mark that height on your garage door. Then set the lamps 1-2” below that. That’s the DOT spec and it will keep oncoming drivers happy with you. Granted the throw won’t be as nice as it is now, but what’s in front of you will be amazingly well lit.

If you’ve done all this already, please forgive me and carry on smartly. Or tell me to get stuffed and carry on smartly. Providing another data point for those considering the same.

 

Check out these guys. https://headlightrevolution.com
They have great youtube videos and they post accurate information. They go through a lot of products and have great recommendations. Like I tell my Marines, I want to hear what you know, not what you think.

 

They also do all their headlight tests 20 feet from a wall, which doesn't show how quickly LED bulbs lose focus. This is done intentionally, to sell more lights. You need your headlights to illuminate out hundreds of feet, not twenty. You can see them wash out in intensity as the distance increases.

 

How would that be there intention when they sell both HID and LED.

 

Lots of people, myself included, don't want the hassle of dealing with ballasts, relays, modifying dust caps, etc. I went through the whole LED rigamarole before ultimately returning back to superior halogen bulbs.

The drop-in HID kits have their own problems, but focus is not one of them.

 

My 2 cents on it. I run HID in my bike and LED in the runner and I will never go back to halogen.

 

Have you made a recommendation on halogens previously? I may have to read backwards a bit. Just in case all this goes to heck.

 

H9 for lows and 9011 for highs. Both need small mounting tabs trimmed in order to fit. But their focal point is identical to stock bulbs, while nearly doubling output. They also only cost $7-15 each at any auto parts store. No need for large chunks of cash or downtime while you wait for replacement bulbs. I spent a month waiting for a Morimoto replacement from TRS.

 

Looks amazing! Much better than stock!!!

 

Any heat issues running H9 and 9011's? My 16 tacoma needs some new bulbs, I have a hard time seeing at night.

 

Just curious. The oem stock H11 has the glare caps. Is that why stock headlights are about useless?

 

Unsure of the exact answer to your question, but one possible purpose for the “glare cap” could be to focus the light back into the main reflector like the secondary reflector of a Gregorian radar antenna.

 

Thanks for the info. I just ordered a german set for 15 bucks. What 9011's in highs?

 

Here you go. I think there's also a link on this site that shows how to modify them to fit.

https://store.candlepower.com/9011.html

 

I missed this before, why German or SK? I've been running the Phillips from China problem free

 

Also (not saying that this is related) make sure you install halogen bulbs only while wearing gloves. The oils from your hands can cause the glass bulb to overheat and burst.

 

That's not a good thing.

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Dang internet

 

I would love to see that camry at the track!

 

Here you go:

 

What bulb are they using in it

 

I believe those are the decal sticker specials

 

Okay, final combination of lights for this guy with what’s out there before having to tear them apart and replace the entire projector. These products are all Xenon Depot Xtreme LED Pro. H11 low beam, 9005 high beam with DRL module, and H11 yellow on the fogs.

After removing the HIDs, I was really happy that I was able to get my high beam back after realigning the headlamps. You may recall that I had to really crank them down with the HIDs. This has come up in discussion before, and here it is again. . The Xtreme LED bulbs have the light source in the same location as the halogens they replaced (with limitations) so I was able to adjust the lights back up to normal. This really allowed the high beams to reach out to their normal trajectory.

Attached video shows a combination of all the lights on a dark, rolling back road. Not too shabby. Not HID awesome, but not too shabby. Just a guy and his cell phone camera.

 

Is the low beam cut off as pronounced in person as it is in the video?

 

Indeed it is.