HEADLIGHT HOUSING WITH LED's

[gaz]

Hello,

I am unsatisfied with all but the Sylvania Silverstar Halogen. Even then I want too be able to just swap bulbs instead of the old style sealed headlight/bulb combo.

So for both the 87 Ranger and BII I have been looking into replacement H4/HB2 type bulb housings. I see a couple on the the market that are DOT legal with halogen but not LED bulbs.

I have researched which LED bulbs have improved beam patterns that do not offend or affect oncoming traffic. It seems one thing many users don't understand is that when a new type of bulb is installed it may require adjustment/aiming.

Have any of you tried a replacement housing that permits the quick change of bulbs? Have any of you tried any LED bulbs?

 

[55trucker]

You are going to get a lot of varied opinions on the use of LED bulbs & the particular lamp housing to use & not to use them in.
The design of LED bulbs comes in a few different filament arrangements, some (not all) can be made use of in a regular housing without being a nuisance to oncoming traffic.
Unfortunately LED's can't be had in a varied kelvin temp range that is closer to what halogen bulbs are or for that matter what oem manufacturers are using in the latest oem HID's for off the line purchased vehicles, and that would be 4300 kelvin.

Most if not all LED's are either 6000k or 6500k, a little too white for my personal liking, if 5000 were available that would be a little more natural white.
I personally have a set of 6000k installed into my headlamps, I find that the regular halogens just don't have enough candlepower to light up a somewhat moderately lit road or damp road in front of me.
From my own experience if you're looking for LED's select the bulb that have a 3 filament board chip in a triangle arrangement. This design illuminates only 2 of the 3 filaments when on low (to prevent the light from reflecting off the lower portion of the reflector & aimed upward out thru the lens) so as not to harass oncoming traffic. These are the only arrangement that I have come across that does this. Two sided chip boards light up both sides all the time (not desirable).

In a dedicated aftermarket projector housing I suppose that this would not be an issue for either an LED or HID bulb.

 

[gaz]

Finally getting back to my headlights,

I have decided to use VisionX 5"x7" (VX57) replacement headlight housings with 80/100 H4 halogen bulbs. It is completely legal, lets me change just the bulb, is way more light than I currently have and a better beam pattern.