Silverstars, LEDs or HIDs

[DonM]

One of the guys at work is a part-time lighting installer at a local shop. I told him my stock headlights suck and he said he could get me into either LED headlights or HID headlights for under $100.

Which path should I take?

[sspade]

Interested in this as well. Have thought about swapping out my bulbs for silverstars... seems like the easiest, most cost effective thing to do. I think you can get a pair for about 50$

Definitely interested to hear other people's thoughts... HID's would definitely require more work and cost hundreds of dollars... Not sure about LED's ?

[DonM]

Originally Posted by sspade

Interested in this as well. Have thought about swapping out my bulbs for silverstars... seems like the easiest, most cost effective thing to do. I think you can get a pair for about 50$

Definitely interested to hear other people's thoughts... HID's would definitely require more work and cost hundreds of dollars... Not sure about LED's ?

The guy that is going to do my lights had LEDs for his low/beams (4 headlight system, Chevrolet pickup) and I can tell you they are BRIGHT as hell, and make his high/beams (halogen) look dim, especially compared to my stock bulbs looking at them side by side.

The kits he gets are also plug-n-play

[TheFlyingBananaSS]

Most hid are plug and play and only cost around $50. If you don't have an RS with projectors, go with hid not led. Led will only blind everyone coming at you. The hid made a big difference in mine but it wasn't enough so I changed to projectors, I can finally see.

[sspade]

What HID kit are you talking about for $50?

Cant be that great of quality for that number?

Please share examples... Im interested in upgrading my lights...

[TheFlyingBananaSS]

I installed an opt7 hid kit. $54. It came with capacitors too. I expect to get at least a year out of it before I need bulb changes. I had the same brand on my Monte for years.
I really like their bullet hid kits because the ballast that's used.
I bought it off Amazon.

[DonM]

Originally Posted by TheFlyingBananaSS

Most hid are plug and play and only cost around $50. If you don't have an RS with projectors, go with hid not led. Led will only blind everyone coming at you. The hid made a big difference in mine but it wasn't enough so I changed to projectors, I can finally see.

I'm not sure ... he said that my headlight 'buckets' are tightly focused so that there won't be much of a spread, it will be a tighter beam pattern. *I'm* also worried about durability, so I'm kind of leaning toward the LEDs

[TheFlyingBananaSS]

The leds will light up everything except the road. They are kind of like flood lights. Unless they are used in a projector headlight, it's actually worse, and dangerous for on coming drivers.

Leds are designed for projectors only. The hids will give a more focused beam because it's closer bulb type to a halogen. Therefore it uses your "headlight bucket" to its potential. A simple 35 or 55w hid kit will do the job.

[davesnever]

Yup got agree with that! LED's look really bright when you get out of the car and look at them but from the driver's seat you will notice the difference for sure. The light is not focused on the road in front of you. I'll also put my good word in for the OPT 7 kits, had 4 years of flawless lighting from my last set on my Monte and 3 in my Camaro.

[1Coopgt]

Originally Posted by TheFlyingBananaSS

The leds will light up everything except the road. They are kind of like flood lights. Unless they are used in a projector headlight, it's actually worse, and dangerous for on coming drivers.

Leds are designed for projectors only. The hids will give a more focused beam because it's closer bulb type to a halogen. Therefore it uses your "headlight bucket" to its potential. A simple 35 or 55w hid kit will do the job.

I'm not sure but I think you may have that backwards. Hids are designed for projector headlights . I have Hids 6000K 35W on my K3 Gsxr which wasn't designed for them. They are very bright but there is no cutoff so they can be bad for on coming traffic . The reflector has to be designed for them and usually its a projector . I have to make sure that if I'm riding at night I have the high beams off if not it won't be good .

I have a feeling LEDs would work better in the non-HID lights. SilverStars are just Halogens like what I have now but brighter.

[DonM]

Now I'm getting confused ... is there a "Bob Is The Oil Guy" site for automotive lighting????

.... I know, I know ... GOOGLE IT

[TheFlyingBananaSS]

Led are for projector type headlights only, go ahead Google it....I'll wait.

Ino fact hid are only supposed to be for projectors too but they give a 360° light spread just like a halogen so they work in other types too. Led don't do that.

[DonM]

Originally Posted by TheFlyingBananaSS

Led are for projector type headlights only, go ahead Google it....I'll wait.

Ino fact hid are only supposed to be for projectors too but they give a 360° light spread just like a halogen so they work in other types too. Led don't do that.

I found a few sites (obviously pro-LED) that gave the strengths & weaknesses of the two. OF COURSE the LED lights came out on top, but they did raise a few good points - HIDs can be fragile and not very shock resistant, so being bounced around by our suspensions might not lead to a very long bulb life.

Also, in my headlights, there is a 'cover' that the bulb 'hides' behind so there is no light coming directly from the bulb that actually shines outward, it's all reflected light from the sides of the bulbs.

I will probably have to see both "in real life" at night to make a decision.

[davesnever]

Originally Posted by DonM

I found a few sites (obviously pro-LED) that gave the strengths & weaknesses of the two. OF COURSE the LED lights came out on top, but they did raise a few good points - HIDs can be fragile and not very shock resistant, so being bounced around by our suspensions might not lead to a very long bulb life.

Also, in my headlights, there is a 'cover' that the bulb 'hides' behind so there is no light coming directly from the bulb that actually shines outward, it's all reflected light from the sides of the bulbs.

I will probably have to see both "in real life" at night to make a decision.

Neither LED or HID were designed to be put in our cars as 1Coopgt mentioned. The HID's will probably give you brighter light per dollar as I know the LED's that are intended to be true replacement bulbs are very expensive. Usually the LED bulbs that are similar in cost to the HID's are too weak to light up the road properly. And as far as cutoff goes, some of the higher end LED bulbs can be found with adjustments to correct but you will also notice that some of those bulbs are so big they will not fit in our housings without running into the back of that cover you mentioned. Some of the cheaper LED's have light emitting directly out the front of the bulb as well which would be useless to us lol. I guess you just have to ask others to see what their experiences are. I do remember by first set of cheap HID's I bought from China didn't last me a full year and people were flashing their high beams at me all the time lol, but that was going back quite a few years now so maybe designs have progressed as well. Whatever makes you feel is safest and fits your budget is what matters.