LED Headlight Upgrade vs LED Light Bar

[rawtoxic]

I am considering upping my lighting game for arriving in dispersed areas at night we always struggle with our stock lights. Either seeing roadway or spots well.

At first I thought I was going to put a led light bar above my front mount spare tire carrier bumper (approx. headlight height) for our 2005 2500hd chevy tiger rv now I am considering just upgrading the high beams to 6500 lumen led headlights. I will probably keep my low beams stock so I don't create a safety hazard on the roadways at night.
I was considering a 30" Rough Country single row LED light bar from scratch & dent Rough Country on ebay it's about 12,000 lumen $90

I was going to try Sealight LED headlights someone I work with has them in there Xterra and speaks highly of them. 2 high beams is around $25-$30 all 4 bulbs is $40.

Or should I get some lower mounted lighting option going?

Do all the above? I've never done any lighting upgrades in my life other than adding rear facing work lights on my work trucks.

Any ideas, opinions, advice or thoughts?

 

[Mike McMullen]

Everybody will look at this differently. I went with Baja Designs XL lights a single powerful long-range and 2 mid range mounted on the front bumper. They were the brightest available at the time. They are slaved off the high beams, they go off when I turn the highs. They work great. I am playing with the idea of replacing the incandesce with LED's. Baja Designs are expensive, after going with a lesser brand I will always be going with Baja Designs.

 

[carleton]

My philosophy is similar to Mike's. I'm a buy once/cry once kind of guy.

I got a pair of Baja Designs XL80 in the driving/combo pattern. Had them on my Ford Transit in the ditch light position. They lit up the Alaska night, and had them wired to my highbeams so they could go on/off in a second.

When I sold that van, I sold it complete.....except for the Lights! I ripped them off and put them into the Tiger. They are well made, durable, and I intend to use them on multiple vehicles.

 

[rawtoxic]

My philosophy is similar to Mike's. I'm a buy once/cry once kind of guy.

I got a pair of Baja Designs XL80 in the driving/combo pattern. Had them on my Ford Transit in the ditch light position. They lit up the Alaska night, and had them wired to my highbeams so they could go on/off in a second.

When I sold that van, I sold it complete.....except for the Lights! I ripped them off and put them into the Tiger. They are well made, durable, and I intend to use them on multiple vehicles.

I am looking at BD XL80 - might be more than I want to spend but I see BD has a good lifetime warranty which I like and I could move to our next overland vehicle.

Where did you mount them on Tiger? Ditch mount again? I heard on a podcast that mounting lower is better but not sure I understand why. I could see it working very well upgrading the OEM headlights and then doing the ditch lights to help widen the spectrum.

 

[IdaSHO]

No reason to not do both.

Just be sure when buying LED bulbs to do your homework and buy proper bulbs that are designed to mimic an incandescent.
Otherwise all you will do is annoy oncoming traffic, with very little gained.

Check out bulbfacts.com

Ive got a set of legit led’s in my superduty, and the beam pattern is exactly the same as the standard bulbs they replaced, only brighter. Which is what you want.

 

[carleton]

I am looking at BD XL80 - might be more than I want to spend but I see BD has a good lifetime warranty which I like and I could move to our next overland vehicle.

Where did you mount them on Tiger? Ditch mount again? I heard on a podcast that mounting lower is better but not sure I understand why. I could see it working very well upgrading the OEM headlights and then doing the ditch lights to help widen the spectrum.

I've got the Aluminess bumper (so that doesn't help out your situation), so I've currently got the XL80s in the Fog Light Position.
The only thing with the XL80s (in the Driving/combo) is that it is a lot of light. A-Pillar/Ditch light height was nice on the van because the higher the lights are, the further down the road (over dips/etc) they would shine. In AK this is common for on-pavement use (probably still illegal) so that you can drive 65mph in the dark and see moose/whatever. Truckers would mount their driving lights to the top of their cabs, and they literally can light up a mile of road.

On a truck, however, I'd worry about the long hood when mounting bright lights to the A-Pillar. You don't want any of that light hitting the hood and reflecting back at you, then creating a glare and destroying your night vision. Vans have a steep hood, so that is not an issue.

Down low fog lights are nice for dust/snow, they reflect less back at you. But if you want bright lights for finding campsites, I'd think higher would be better

 

[Dansale]

Hi rawtoxic

Echoing one of the posters above, I am also budget sensitive. Yes lights down low are ideal in fog, but not ideal for long distance vision or fast driving. I always leave the factory lights alone.
I prefer a (cheap china ebay) spot beam light bar at license plate height for long distance visability and a (again cheap china ebay) flood beam light bar on the roof for lighting the side of the road, mounted far enough back so for zero reflection on the vehicle hood.
Both switched on and off with high beams of course.

Daniel

 

[SPF40plus]

Regardless of what you end up getting, placement is key. Take note of all the posts above about keeping the light off the hood. It's really annoying. I put a light bar on my roof rack years ago and spent time getting the placement so it didn't shine on the bonnet. Then first trip out we took the truck down on the beach and turned on the bar. We couldn't see anything because the salt spray lit up right in front of the windscreen, and reflected the light onto the bonnet too.

Next day I moved it onto the bull bar, and we had about 200m or 600ft of visibility in the same conditions. In clear conditions the light reaches to about 500m or 1500ft.

IHTH

 

[Hilldweller]

No reason to not do both.

Just be sure when buying LED bulbs to do your homework and buy proper bulbs that are designed to mimic an incandescent.
Otherwise all you will do is annoy oncoming traffic, with very little gained.

Check out bulbfacts.com

Ive got a set of legit led’s in my superduty, and the beam pattern is exactly the same as the standard bulbs they replaced, only brighter. Which is what you want.

Curious what you've got for drop-ins. AFAIK there aren't any yet that are compliant with FMVSS-108. Phillips was close, and I think they had a compliant H4 for Europe, but only marking/signaling bulbs so far.

 

[IdaSHO]

Curious what you've got for drop-ins. AFAIK there aren't any yet that are compliant with FMVSS-108. Phillips was close, and I think they had a compliant H4 for Europe, but only marking/signaling bulbs so far.

I highly doubt they are compliant with any lighting regs.
But they do perform as claimed. I've had they since 2016, and nothing but good stuff to report.

They were the recommended bulb with regard to beam pattern within reflector housings on bulbfacts.com back then.
Our superduty runs a 9008 (h13) bulb. They were about $50 back then. Just $33 now, I may have to pick up a spare set being so cheap!



Bulbfacts ranks LED replacements by reflector or projector housings, and other criteria

BulbFacts | Best Recommended LED Headlight Kits

Bulb Facts, Lab testing on automotive headlight & foglight bulbs, comparison chart before you buy.

www.bulbfacts.com

 

[Hilldweller]

I highly doubt they are compliant with any lighting regs.
But they do perform as claimed. I've had they since 2016, and nothing but good stuff to report.

They were the recommended bulb with regard to beam pattern within reflector housings on bulbfacts.com back then.
Our superduty runs a 9008 (h13) bulb. They were about $50 back then. Just $33 now, I may have to pick up a spare set being so cheap!



Bulbfacts ranks LED replacements by reflector or projector housings, and other criteria

BulbFacts | Best Recommended LED Headlight Kits

Bulb Facts, Lab testing on automotive headlight & foglight bulbs, comparison chart before you buy.

www.bulbfacts.com

I don't blame you for wanting to replace the H13 --- the single worst bulb foisted upon motorists in the modern era. Engineered (intentionally) to minimally compliant and enhance profits.

They'll make a compliant LED drop-in eventually.

Wish you were closer. I'd love to test those...

 

[rawtoxic]

OK guys I wanted to give an update. I spent time on bulbfacts.com researched more and kept to the 'budget' column and ended up with also the Katana LED bulbs 9005 / 9006 (before even seeing these updated posts! - mentioning them specifically - so great minds think alike - also limited options with CANBUS and good statistics) . $38.99. I had to modify the dust shield or whatever plastic crap is behind the light assy to get LED's to fit 2005 2500HD Chevy -
They came yesterday and had a chance to install tonight between snowstorms here in the high rockies. I did a test drive with the old halogens on one side and led on the other it is an improvement for sure! I did have to aim up slightly the new LED's to get the alignment right - is that normal? They claim these headlights are 4000 lumen each (I think 3800 on bulbfacts). My lady and I did a test drive - while we appreciate the improvement we want more light. Just like garlic never enough lol.

So now the next move is the light bar(s) or other lights. I have attached a picture of our rig to show front bumper setup and possible spot for an upper light. I have about 31 1/2 inches on the bar above spare tire for a light bar but also have some lower spots below brush guard that would be good for more of a fog light setup (may end up with both). For an upper light bar we could mount below the windows on the Tiger (would that clear the hood?) Keep in mind our original objective here was to be able to find good dispersed spots when we roll in late (which happens usually first night of all our trips - I usually work until quitting time and we head out that night to extend trips long as possible). So I am thinking light bar next... But how many lumens and what size? Do you guys think a 30" filling most that area above the spare would be good? I don't know if I want go ultra cheap ebay stuff but Baja Designs maybe not my price point either - we have lotsa projects on this old girl. Any brands? I was drawn to rough country before they have good deals on ebay on other peoples returned lights and guaranteed complete no warranty however.



Thanks again everyone!

 

[IdaSHO]

Alignment changing to LEDs will vary based upon housing. For my superduty, I chose to lower them a a bit. They were 100% a drop in, I simply thought the high beams wasted less light lowered a touch.

But compared to stock, the output and broad coverage is incredible.

 

[Dansale]

The spot above the spare can work well, a cheap 30" combination beam light bar will be excellent.

 

[rawtoxic]

So I thought I would give you guys an update. I stayed budget since our Tiger is not really our forever rig but more a starter and for me to learn these projects. Spent about $100 on Nilight stuff on Amazon Warehouse Deals (other peoples returns or damaged boxes). Spent about $40 on the headlight bulb upgrades. Arrived at a lake well past dark last Thursday and had no trouble finding a great spot no more squinting or pointing flashlight out the window.

Build list:
26" light bar 50k lumens (540w) $53
6.5" amber fog lights 12k lumen (120w) $31 for pair
4 light switch panel nilight (plan to add reverse lights with new bumper and scene lights on top later) $16
Katana Led Bulbs - $40