Hi all from tropical Townsville.

I have a 2014 Colorado ute and want to get a brighter headlight instead of the dull original. So I was thinking changing to LED but was just told by a auto elec not to because mine and later models are not suited to LED headlights without major expense unless they came as original. Instead change originals to Phillips +100 globes. I will end up with double the brightness.

Has anyone done this and what say you?

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

The only thing I found wrong with the uprated Halogen bulbs is they don't seem to last as long. Confirmed by a local auto electrician that this is the case. In in our Suzuki Kizashi, the only real way to change the bulbs without getting dislocated finger joints and barked knuckles is to drop the front fascia off the car. What originally took me half the day now takes me half an hour. Practice makes perfect.  

Expect them to last about 12 months.

I don't know why manufacturers of modern vehicles don't think through the simple maintenance tasks like this so they're not such a pain in the bum.

HI
MAJOR Caution.

Some headlight conversions and bulb replacements are for offroad only .
2 things are likely to occur
suddenly u will have broken headlights
OR
U will have a head on collision with another vehicle

Think about all the blazing startling headlights u see on low beam that are not characteristic of the vehicle .

Upgraded standard bulbs can have a shorter life .

Better off with a combo light bar [spread and spot ] and polish the headlight lenses if they are the plastic variety

I wanted to upgrade my 4x4's parking and indicator lights to LED. Read that it was not legal. Thought that was a bit odd. So I checked with my state Vehicle Standards.

Turns out that in some states it is illegal to go non-standard, while in others it is o.k. to upgrade, but not to degrade/go away from the manufacturers positioning, angle, function.

Local guy said any improvement is a worthwhile move, just maintain the functionality and identifying characteristics re location etc. I asked about extra high-mount tail light assemblies on a Defender. He said fine, just make sure originals are still there and functioning at the same time.

So, it depends on where you live.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Do you do a lot of night driving?  Do you really need them?

Think of me coming the other way and squinting because your lights are so bright

Get a lightbar so you can turn it on when needed

Cheers

From another forum I posted:

Not a lot of difference.

The globes I pulled out of the car were: Philips HB3 LL 12V 60W(E1) 22S 9005 LL 12V 65W DOT

The New globe is a Philips 12V 65W +100% X-tremeVision 3350K

The photo was 3 averaged photos each globe, white PVC Forex sheet background, battery 12.2 volts & the car was last used 24 hours earlier, lights off in the car & garage door closed. Manual F8 1/100 second on a desktop tripod sitting in the engine bay, right head light, RAW file, colour temp set to 3400K for processing from RAW to Tiff 16bit.

So "technically" speaking a smidgen brighter, probably not worth the effort changing. The original globes have barely been used as I don't really drive at night. But if you want to squeeze a little bit more light out of the headlamps without spending too much money it's probably ok. Not too many cappuccinos one would have to sacrifice!

The 3350K globes are cheaper than the higher colour temperature globes. You will also get more light because they don't have a blue filter. I have blue filter gel for photography & the amount to light it swallows up is staggering. 

I also prefer standard Halogen colour temperature due to the better CRI (colour rendering index) to the high colour temperature being used these days if using LED. LED globes may seem brighter but it is actually a whiter light with a poor CRI.

For those who have globes that have done 2000 hours of work I think it would be worth replacing as they will not be as bright.

It is about improving low beam. That is what I was trying to do as well.

Hi Doug,


not sure of the low beam set up on the Colly if it's a projector or a reflector.
I did the swap over to LED getting close to 1 year now . I did the write up below if you want to view the thread and or video results of the change 

https://thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t64931967/led-headlight-swap-your-old-eyes-will-thank-you/

You will also see similar feedback to that which you have already received above.  

Based on my experience and use case scenario, I'd say if you have a reflector type low beam, whilst these will make things brighter, you will be dazzling the oncoming traffic and getting flashed regularly due to the scattered light they will be throwing out. 

If you have a projector, like I do on the Pajero, then I'd say go for it, but consider the feedback others have provided above and then make your own decision. 

With that said, with around 1 year of driving, I've not been flashed once and the application of the LED globes, did not change the beam pattern on the Paj one little bit. 

Only cost me around 30 bucks too. 

I believe in the video I included shots on the front of the caravan when setting them up and you can see a very distinct cut off. 

On the road, this cut off sits below the window line of other vehicles but gives me much more usable light. 

As you know, switching from a light bar to low halogens is almost like turning the lights off all together. 

This makes it much safer in that regard and if you have the right lenses, I'd highly recommend it. 

cheers Brett 

P.s before settling on the LEDs, I tried 3 or 4 other 'brighter'  +30 etc type lights with only very mild improvement but not what I would call success or worth the money

Make sure there is enough clearance at the rear. On my car all the LED H3 globes will not fit as the rear of the light fitting is fully enclosed. Just enough clearance for a halogen globe.

Fortunately I have leveling adjustment next to the steering wheel.

There are too many cars driving around towing with their lights up in the air. I only drive during the day but it is still very irritating & quite blinding with the LED replacements.

If towing please adjust your lights!

It is handy to be able to lower the lights to the minimum for dirt tracks at low speed to really see the foreground without having an excess of glare.

Or at a campsite lower the lights to avoid irritating others.

Head light alignment was once part of rego check. Important for vision . Strong lights are useless pointing in wrong direction. Is the plastic headlight clean ? Try cleaning or cutting with
Toothpaste ., Be aware of load on circuit wiring ,  going higher wattage . Fit a relay ., My GM
Workhorse motorhome has terrible low beam . When I dip
Lights it seems they have gone out ., Polished reflector and cover fitted relay has helped .,