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If you frequently drive at night, you probably appreciate the importance of visibility and illumination. While your vehicle may have headlights that work just fine, when you switch to LED headlights, you'll wonder how you ever lived without them. Not only do LED lights offer brighter lights and project beams farther, they're also energy-efficient.
Believe it or not, it's easy for the average driver to install LED headlights with a conversion kit. In fact, many kits pride themselves in their plug-and-play designs, which take 20 minutes or less for installation.
Considerations when choosing LED headlight conversion kits
Vehicle compatibility
Begin your search for an LED headlight conversion kit by looking up compatible kits for the make and model of your vehicle. Most manufacturers and some online retailers (like Amazon) provide detailed, user-friendly compatibility guides for your convenience. If you can't find your vehicle in the chart, explore kits by a different manufacturer.
Power output
Power output refers to the brightness and evenness of a headlight's beam. This information is expressed in lumens (lm). To put power output in perspective when comparing regular headlights and LED headlights, a 100-watt light bulb puts out 1,600 lumens, while a 100-watt LED bulb puts out 8,000.
Features
Materials
LED headlights are made with high-quality materials to last under a variety of conditions. The shell casing and heat sink are usually made of aluminum alloys, while the cooling fans are typically made of stainless steel. As heat is an ongoing concern with LED headlights, it's recommended to steer clear of kits with non-metal components.
Cooling fans
LED headlights are equipped with cooling fans to keep heat under control. Their operation can be noisy to the point you can hear them in the car. Certain cooling fans may also cause interference with a vehicle's instrument panel. These issues are more prevalent in inexpensive kits, which is why some drivers decide to spend more on kits that advertise "quiet, no-interference" cooling fans.
Heat sinks
Heat sinks in LED headlights create a pathway for heat to pass from the light source to the outside elements. Some kits have advanced heat sinks that don't require cooling fans. While this sounds like a minor design feature, remember that cooling fans create noise and interference, and if you eliminate the cooling fan, you won't experience these issues.
COB LED headlights
COB, or Chip-On-Board, means an LED chip is installed onto the circuit board. This is an energy-efficient design feature, as it reduces overall heat output by as much as 25%. By operating more efficiently, these LEDs offer longer lifespans.
Price
If you're on a budget, you can pick up a decent LED headlight conversion kit for less than $30, but there may be some light flickering. More reliable kits with fewer performance quirks fall in the $30 to $70 range, and if you prefer LED headlights with brighter lights and advanced cooling systems, you can spend closer to $100.
FAQ
Q. What is the average lifespan of LED headlights?
A. Most LED headlight conversion kits include LEDs that last anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 hours. Keep in mind that price doesn't necessarily reflect the lifespan, as there are many budget-friendly kits with long-lasting LEDs.
Q. How expensive is an adapter set if I need to purchase it separately?
A. Most adapter sets cost a fraction of the price of their corresponding LED headlight conversion kits. On average, you can expect to pay between $6 and $20 per adapter set.
The vast majority of vehicles leave dealership lots these days with one of three headlight bulbs: halogen, HID, or LED. Halogen bulbs are the oldest of the three and are still very common. They’re extremely affordable and typically have a life of around 800 hours on average. When compared to HID or LED bulbs however, halogen bulbs are the worst performing of the three. They also require more energy than LED bulbs and are more prone to heat. At the end of the day however, halogen bulbs offer enough lighting for safe driving, but upgrading to LEDs will make a noticeable difference to your driving experience.
LED headlight bulbs are becoming more commonly used by luxury automakers such as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. You’ve also likely heard of LED bulbs for home use, which deliver equal or better lighting with lower power consumption and longer life. LED headlight bulbs are similar, offering better performance and longevity at a greater cost. Fortunately they’ve become so popular and common these days that they don’t cost significantly more than halogen bulbs.
Some will argue that LED headlight bulbs aren’t as bright as HIDs, but they are definitely brighter than halogen bulbs. They also don’t produce as much glare as HID headlights, and they don’t need a small period of time to charge up. Just as important, LED bulbs don’t use a filament that burns out or breaks, which allows them to last much longer than halogen bulbs.
The short answer to this question is yes. The aftermarket and the products in this list are designed to be retrofit kits for vehicles with halogen headlights. What’s important to know however is that some LED headlight kits may not be legal in your state. So make sure to check local state laws before upgrading to LED headlights.
There is actually no definitive answer to this question, but we recommend replacing both your headlight bulbs at the same time, even if only one goes out. That’s because swapping out just one headlight bulb could result in a difference in brightness between the two. Also, depending on your vehicle, changing out your headlight bulbs could be a cumbersome task—you’re better off doing it once and saving yourself time down the road.
If you’re trying to be frugal or more practical—if it’s not broken, why fix it—then make sure you keep a spare bulb handy for when the other one does eventually burn out.
Halogen, xenon, laser, and LED lighting systems are the four main types of bulbs available for use in automobiles. While halogen lights have been the standard for U.S. cars since the 1970s, a few carmakers are switching over to LED headlights for their products. LED lighting offers manufacturers a lot of flexibility in lighting design and more reliability in electric or hybrid cars.
Some car owners purchase after-market LED lights to replace their halogen bulbs. Each type of headlight bulb comes with pros and cons. If you plan on switching your halogen bulbs to LED bulbs, be aware of the upsides and the downsides. Here’s what you should know.
The Pros of LED Headlights
LED headlights are becoming more popular — and for good reason. They offer several benefits, as described below.
LED Headlamps Are More Energy-Efficient
One of the biggest reasons for the switch from halogen to LED lighting is the low power draw needed to run LED lights. LED headlights use only a fraction of the electricity necessary to run standard halogen headlights.
Less power strain on your system means less wear on your battery and alternator. If you accidentally leave the headlights on when the car is not running, your LED headlights may not draw enough electricity to kill your battery. Your halogen lights, on the other hand, will render your battery useless without a jump-start if the headlights are accidentally left on for too long.
LED Headlights Last Longer
Halogen headlights are far cheaper than LED lights, but they only have a life span between 1,000 and 6,000 hours. LED lights can give you 25,000 to 30,000 hours of uninterrupted vehicle lighting. The long life of the LED bulb is a serious plus for people who:
Changing out headlight bulbs is a complicated process in some vehicles. If you replace a halogen bulb, experts warn you not to touch the glass enclosure of the bulb. Grease and other debris on your hands can transfer to the bulb glass. When that greasy or oily coating heats up, it can damage the halogen bulb and reduce its life span.
LED lights aren’t as sensitive to the dirt on your hands. You don’t have to be delicate when changing LED headlight bulbs. This factor makes the onerous task of changing out bulbs far easier.
The Cons of LED Headlights
Despite their advantages, LED headlights are not without problems. Here are a few disadvantages to keep in mind.
LED Lights Are Not Omni-Directional
Halogen bulbs are omni-directional. This means they emit light from the front and sides of the bulb. They provide adequate illumination of the road ahead and the sides of the road at the same time.
LED lights emit light in a straight fashion from each diode. The light of an LED array is far more intense than the light produced by a standard halogen lamp, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into better illumination when driving. Unless you aim the LED bulbs properly, you end up with headlights that don’t show you as much of the road.
If you change the height of your vehicle with different-size tires or a new suspension, you must reorient the bulbs. Otherwise, the lights will aim too high or too low for the safety of you and other drivers on the road. LED lights aimed too high can blind other drivers, while LED headlights aimed too low don’t reveal enough of the highway ahead.
LED Lights Don’t Get Hot Enough
Standard halogen headlight bulbs heat up to around 4,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat they generate is effective at melting snow, ice, and freezing rain off the lenses of your headlights.
LED headlights emit some heat near the back end of their fixtures. Some models include fans or braided heat sinks to dissipate the heat. However, the bulbs themselves create very little heat when running. They aren’t designed to melt snow off your vehicle’s headlight lenses.
When you regularly drive in snowy or icy conditions, you end up with iced-over headlamp lenses while driving with LED fixtures installed. Automakers have created several designs to address this problem, but the fixes aren’t enough in many cases.
If you drive in frigid, wet weather with LED headlights, experts recommend that you keep all of your car’s running lights on while driving. Stop frequently to check your lenses for icing and snow covering. You should clear all snow from the car when possible to avoid having the snow slide over your hood and onto your headlights.
All headlights should be recalibrated by your body shop mechanic if you’re having trouble seeing the road. Some LED headlights need new lenses or specialty housing to reflect light properly on the road. Your mechanic can install these components without compromising the watertightness of the headlight assembly.
You should also be aware that LED headlights are not permitted in some areas. Your local auto shop can tell you if LED lights are street-legal in your location.
LED headlights are the biggest trend in automotive lighting and the second biggest trend in the industry after electric vehicles. The improved lighting, performance, and luxurious appearance have helped propel the popularity of LEDs.
An increasing amount of cars, trucks, and motorcycles are being built with stock LEDs and more drivers than ever are making the switch over from halogen to LED to replicate that look in their own vehicle using an LED headlight kit.
As a driver looking to upgrade your halogen headlights to LED or deciding whether you should spend the extra money buying your new vehicle with stock LEDs, you are probably wondering is it really worth it?
LED headlights offer many benefits over halogen and Xenon HIDs with respect to several different factors, which we will dive into in this article to help you understand the benefits of LED headlights and whether they are right for you and your vehicle.
The number one benefit of LED headlights is the dramatic improvement in nighttime visibility. LEDs are to halogens like a Ferrari is to a horse carriage.
Halogen headlights are weak and always come in a dim yellowish color. The clarity is poor and the light barely reaches 30 meters ahead. If you ask us, halogens should be made illegal!
When you switch to LED headlights, you benefit from an improved lighting quality, casting a much brighter light for the road ahead. This means you can see more of the road as you drive in the dark, which makes for a more pleasant and safe driving experience at night.
When it comes to better lighting, brightness is not the only factor to consider. You want a light that is dense, clear, focused, and far-reaching. Further, you want a light that is close to natural sunlight as the human eyes respond better to white light.
LED headlights offer all of the above, assuming a high-quality product, of course! An LED light is white, powerful and incredibly clear. The best part is that all these benefits do not come at the expense of blinding other drivers on the road.
The second most important benefit of LED headlights over other bulb technologies such as halogen and Xenon HIDs is their incredibly long lifespan.
Aftermarket LED headlights can last between 5 and 10 years while stock LED headlights on newer vehicles can last for up to 20 years. Imagine having to almost never change your headlight bulbs, wouldn’t that be a treat.
For comparison, halogen bulbs will need to be changed approximately once a year while Xenon HIDs last between 2 and 5 years, on average.
The incredible longevity of LED bulbs is closely related to their build as well as their energy efficiency, which is another benefit we touch on in the next section.
LEDs are solid-state, they don’t rely on multiple moving parts to produce their light - it is a single unit, or diode, that converts electricity into light.
When you consider halogen bulbs or other technologies, you have many moving parts and components. What happens is that this creates multiple points of failure and more opportunity for something to stop working.
Having a long lifespan will not only save you the trouble of getting new bulbs every year but will save you a lot of money in the long run and it’s more environmentally friendly.
Whenever you’re thinking about modifying your car, safety should always be a major factor. At XenonPro, we are dedicated to helping people drive safer and better.
Poor visibility at night is one of the leading causes of accidents. It leads to delayed reactions times, not seeing objects on the road, among other hazards.
One important benefit of LEDs is that they will not only produce brighter and better light in front of your vehicle, but they will also shine wider and farther than any other technology.
This helps improve response times, gives you more time to react to dangerous situations and helps you avoid hazardous objects on the road.
According to a study commissioned by CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, LEDs can help drivers identify objects on the road 1.4 seconds earlier when driving at 80 MPH. This extra time can be the difference between life and death.
The more you can see at night, the more time you have to make a potentially life-saving decision in the event of an accident or unforeseen development on the roads, meaning you’re likely to be much safer when driving with LED headlights as opposed to standard bulbs.
A major benefit of aftermarket LED headlights kits is that they are incredibly easy to install.
Our LED headlight kits, for example, consist of two bulbs that pop into your halogen assembly and connect to your car’s power harness just like regular halogen bulbs. You’ll need very basic tools and you won’t need a professional to install them.
Installation is easy, it consists of 5 simple steps:
When it comes to aftermarket LED assemblies, which is technically called a headlamp retrofit where the entire assembly is changed, the procedure requires professional installation and could cost over $1000.
Although a very good alternative to LED headlight kits, the price and installation difficulty make it not very worth it in our opinion.
LED headlights are more efficient than halogen bulbs, resulting in more light and less heat from the same energy used.
Compared to halogen headlight bulbs which convert only 20% of the power draw to light and 80% to wasted heat, LED convert over 80% to lights and under 20% to wasted heat.
This results in bulbs that are brighter, put less strain on your vehicle’s power supply and bulbs that last longer.
Although less important than seeing better, driving safer and saving money, having your car look good is very important to many drivers.
One of the benefits of LED headlights is that they give your car or truck a beautiful, high-end luxury car appearance.
Halogens are not particularly stylish. A weak, yellowish halogen beam is a great way to kill your car’s stylish appearance.
If you are interested in kitting out your car with a range of mods to improve performance and appearance, it goes without saying that the headlights are one area where significant improvements can be made.
Going with the trend (or being ahead of the trend) is sometimes the right thing to do, especially when it comes to automotive safety.
If you don’t want to take our word for it, then take it from the people who practically invented automotive lighting, Osram.
Osram-Continental estimates that LED penetration in the automotive market will grow at a whopping 33% over the next three years from 20% to 30%. If they see it in the future, you should definitely see it too.
Halogen is expected to decline sharply from over 80% to 60%, speaking loud and clear about their underperformance and their outdated technology.
Stay ahead of the trend by upgrading your halogens to one of our LED headlights today. Hopefully, your next car will come with LEDs right out of the dealership.
If you have halogen lights, it is likely very advantageous to switch to LED headlights. Whether you want high beams or low beams, or you want a specific color temperature, LED headlights will offer a superior experience.
Traditional car headlights will not have as strong a beam pattern, though fog light bulbs may provide better light output. Higher beam headlights will also usually have a high-intensity discharge, and brands like Cree make many different types of LED headlights.
You should also consider the possible warranty for any lights you purchase, as well as how long you expect the connectors and reflectors to last.
