[Dunky_CT]

Ok I'll be the guinea pig.

I just ordered the LED 7" rounds. Distributor is very nice and working with me on a mounting solution. I will be removing the current headlight assemblies and drop in a basket mount that will secure the sealed beam LEDs with a retaining ring.

I'm expecting delivery at the end of the week, and am working on the mounts until they arrive.

This mod will not be quick; I'm a perfectionist and if it doesn't go right, I'll scrap the mod and go back to the OEM.

I will post a detailed step-by-step guide and if successful will furnish it to the forum along with purchase info.

Be patient, this may take a few weeks. I am committed though because I did go ahead and purchase a set.

-J

 

[FJNewb]

Are these the same ones which were posted in a few other threads? Just wondering cause I was interested until I saw the conversion on a jeep and it actually produced less light with less spread then OEM halogens.

Good luck with the conversion!

 

[Dunky_CT]

They are manufactured by Truck-Lite. They are DOT approved so I'm sure they'll be good enough for me. I'm more interested in the quality of light than quantity in this case.

 

[WESBC]

I guess it's just personal preference, but I prefer the quality of light produced by a incandescent over LED. LED's typically have a whitish/bluish tint to them giving less color rendition especially when outdoors when compared to incans.

This might be an issue when you are driving in an area with lots of vegetation around. The colors of the plant's won't "pop" as well with the led and might be a a little "hazy"

Just be sure to take lots of pics

 

[thetoyotatonka]

Definitely interested to see how it turns out. I was looking at an HID conversion kit for a while but decided that money would be better spent elsewhere. Most of the kits available are no-name stuff and if I'm not too familiar with it, I don't want to run it on my FJ. Unique mods are great but my luck I'd foobar the headlight assembly with nowhere to get new ones.

 

[christianmotox]

Cool deal, let us know how it turns out.

 

[FJNewb]

Here is a comparison. Not really sure what you mean about quality light vs. quantity? Imo safety is heavily dependent upon what you can see on the road which is tied to both quantity of light and quality. A quality light should provide sufficient illumination of the road.

Good luck with the install and I look forward to seeing pics for additional comparisons.

Low

High

Low

High

The halogen light that was pictured was a Hella E-code

 

[WESBC]

Not really sure what you mean about quality light vs. quantity? Imo safety is heavily dependent upon what you can see on the road which is tied to both quantity of light and quality. A quality light should provide sufficient illumination of the road.

Quantity and quality differ in lights. While both is needed, you need the right balance of the two.

Quantity, kind of obvious, compare a led key chain light to these headlights. The output of the LED headlight is quantitatively more than that of the key chain.

Quality, the color and the beam pattern is what matters. Let's compare a light with the color temp of 8000K (bluish white) vs 4300K(yellowish white). Take that light outdoors and see the difference. The higher the color temp, the lower the lumen rating. But most importantly, is that higher color temps change our perception of the natural color of objects.

 

[FJNewb]

Quantity and quality differ in lights. While both is needed, you need the right balance of the two.

Quantity, kind of obvious, compare a led key chain light to these headlights. The output of the LED headlight is quantitatively more than that of the key chain.

Quality, the color and the beam pattern is what matters. Let's compare a light with the color temp of 8000K (bluish white) vs 4300K(yellowish white). Take that light outdoors and see the difference. The higher the color temp, the lower the lumen rating. But most importantly, is that higher color temps change our perception of the natural color of objects.

I concur that you need the right balance of the two which was my original point. However, an 8000k light isn't any better than a 4300k in all situations nor are either better than a yellow hallogen in some cases (Rain, fog, snow). All three can be quality lights.

The LED could be considered a quality light, but look at the pictures above and the hot spots that it generates compared to an OEM headlight which may not be considered a quality light. The LED may have a greater distance/throw, but it does not offer as much light horizontally which is essential as well. Overall a balance is needed.

I look forward to seeing Dunky_CT's conversion and how it turns out.

 

[VT_RainMan]

Can you give us a ball park figure on the cost? I'm interested in the outcome too... but, the oem lights with halogens are good enough, that it would have to be cost effective and make a real difference. BTW, someone mentioned in another forum about ice build up because led's run so much cooler. Do you have any concerns? Maybe the light output alone will be sufficient. But, living where we do, made me think twice about this mod.

 

[Dunky_CT]

Everyone has raised some very good points. I'm a graphic designer by trade. There are essentially two schools of thought out there as to which K-temp of light is the best for rendering color. 5000K and 6500K. From my experiences, 5000K light provides a good CRI (color rendering index). What this means is more light from a 5000K lamp will be reflected back to it's source across the entire color spectrum, than say a 3200K yellow fog lamp.

These are rated at 5000K and use Luxeon emitters (high quality stuff).

While I still hold concerns over the light distribution pattern (no data seems to be available), I'm confident they are safe because of their DOT approval. They have also been in use as a 24V version on some military vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2007.

Glad to see people other than me are interested in these.

-J

 

[Dunky_CT]

To answer the other post, ice buildup should not be an issue. These are high-output LEDs; not your basic Christmas tree type LED.

They run a little over $300 EACH, so it is not the cheapest of mods.

One other thing I just thought of. Photography of this kind of stuff is tricky. When I do take photos they will probably look much different than what you've seen on here because it's part of my everyday job.

 

[Gottagetone]

Any updates?

 

[Toledo FJ]

Can you give us a ball park figure on the cost? I'm interested in the outcome too... but, the oem lights with halogens are good enough, that it would have to be cost effective and make a real difference. BTW, someone mentioned in another forum about ice build up because led's run so much cooler. Do you have any concerns? Maybe the light output alone will be sufficient. But, living where we do, made me think twice about this mod.

These exact headlights are reviewed at length in the October 2009 edition of Petersen's 4Wheel & Off-Road. Page 74 of the magazine gives a good review. Their conclusion is that these lights are awesome. At time of print, the mag lists the price at $298 each. I'm getting a set fo sho.

 

[DEMOJOE]

I installed these lights in my fj I will post pics tomorrow they are just the first stages so dont judge to much but they are in and they do work so be prepared they are a bit crude but it was a rush job

 

[ramoine]

So what's the status on this mod ?

 

[FJ&TJ_Dude]

Re: 7" Round LED Headlight Mod - Here We Go!

I have a similar kit in my jeep and it was less than $50. The light was only better because the bulbs were better. I ended up adding a HID 8000 bulb kit and it is incredible now. Total cost was under $200. Not sure what it will be on the FJ but a HID kit 6000 is probably the best option with the stock housing. My 2 cents.

I can't wait to see your mod pics because I love cool mods.

I just saw this was LED OOOPss on my part SORRY!!

 

[WESBC]

Kind of confused from your post. The original post is about LED headlights from what I understand are total housing replacements. I don't see how you can toss HID plug play kits into a LED headlight. Probably you meant going back to your stock set up and using HID's in your stock housing.

As for color temps as stated earlier, the higher the K temp rating, the bluer the tint. Remember our sun produces a yellowish white light, I would say more close to 4000K or a little lower. When a light with a bluish tint is used in comparison with a similar output yellowish white tinted light, you can see that the colors seen are quite different. Example, grab a typical (non-high CRI) LED flashlight and grab an incandescent light. Ignoring the lumen output, take turns shining the light at your skin. A typical LED light produces a CRI of about 70-80 while a incandescent produces a CRI very close to 100 (sun light has a CRI of 100). Notice that when you shine the LED light on your skin, your skin tone looks more "dead". Its lacking in color and everything has a hint of blue washing out the true color of the skin. With the incandescent light you can see the reds/yellows/ everything else and your skin looks more "alive" and natural. This also applies HID's when used in headlight applications. When outside higher K tint (lower CRI) lights produce a bluish light that washes out greens, browns, and other natural colors.

Like I said earlier in this thread it's not about shear output but rather a balance of quality and quantity. Of course it's up to the user to find what balance is right for them, but it's commonly mistaken that the more light the better.

 

[NBFJCruz]

As to the icing aspect. I will be really interested on the outcome. We used to use high output LEDs(Hella) for work lights around big trucks (Freightliner) and they made awesome light. 6 emmiters in each. Flood type reflectors. Spot beams use a different reflector shape, sort of a tighter parabola. (I work with kids and I love teaching them the word "parabola"...lol).

The lights were mounted high on the bunk sides to be used over the fifth wheel but we also used them for "Moose lights" (aimed forward but toward the ditch). Loved them.

BUT

They iced up at the drop of a hat. They barely generated enough heat to even feel. maybe the spot/driving beam will generate more heat. That all being said I would love to set a 10inch emitter bar under my lightbar.... But I am not sure I would want LED as my primary headlight. Just my 2 pennies.... I would love to see a comparison test.

Neat idea though. I didn't think there were DOT approved versions of these. LED is coming for us all.....lol. And here I thought projector beams would be all the rage by now.lol

 

[ramoine]

I was hoping that someone had done this and posted some pics .

Thanks WESBC, NBFJCRUZ for some more insight , always good to here opinions on this subject .