Sealed beam vs. halogen vs. HID vs. LED headlamps

[12,000 RPM]

Blue lights are even dimmer than white though. If output is the goal.

[MrH]

Please, nobody just put HID bulbs in reflector headlights.  That looks turrrrrrible.

[Madman]

I vote for carbide (acetylene gas) headlamps for maximum brass-era awesomeness! 

[georgedavis]

 I bought some led lights last week from http://www.panaceaco.com .. I am going to install it in my car on tomorrow.. I wanted to know whether i can use blue led lights anywhere in the car??

[Catman]

I bought some led lights last week from http://www.panaceaco.com .. I am going to install it in my car on tomorrow.. I wanted to know whether i can use blue led lights anywhere in the car??

Welcome man. Most states require a permit for blue lights. You'd need to check with your states laws.

[Raza]

I bought some led lights last week from http://www.panaceaco.com .. I am going to install it in my car on tomorrow.. I wanted to know whether i can use blue led lights anywhere in the car??

It can apparently vary from state to state, but my guess would be no.

Welcome to forums. It's an okay place around here.

[Mustangfan2003]

I got a feeling that George Davis is working for panaceaso.com 

[Soup DeVille]

I got a feeling that George Davis is working for panaceaso.com 

Which is apparently a forklift parts place.

[280Z Turbo]

lol you guys are dumb

[Xer0]

When I get an Element, I'm probably going to do an HID projector retrofit.

Go with The Retrofit Source. They have some pretty easy kits. I have one in my bike, works really well and took about an hour to install (not counting taking the headlight off the bike).

The Si has halogens and I kind of want to replace them with HIDs.  Is it easy, safe, etc?  I don't want to burn anything or screw something up, and I don't want to blind every other driver out there either.

[Mustangfan2003]

Which is apparently a forklift parts place.

LOL. I never even clicked the link

[MrH]

The Si has halogens and I kind of want to replace them with HIDs.  Is it easy, safe, etc?  I don't want to burn anything or screw something up, and I don't want to blind every other driver out there either.

Something like an Si should be really easy.  I'm sure a ton of people have done it.  Just get all your equipment from the retrofit source.  You can likely get a projector that fits in place of your bulb.  Then it's just a matter of mounting ballast and aiming them.  Should look pretty close to stock.

[Soup DeVille]

LOL. I never even clicked the link

Neither did I; just not a good practice for questionable sources.

I did however cut and paste it into the google search bar.

[MrH]

Anyways, back to headlights.

Has anyone driven something with LED headlights yet?  They're popping up in reasonably priced cars now (new STI has LED headlights I think).  Just wanted to see what everyone thought of them compared to xenons.

[68_427]

I've been in a Corolla.  They seemed even brighter than hids to me.

[georgedavis]

I got a feeling that George Davis is working for panaceaso.com

Nope.. I was searching for the led lights and I got this with the help of Google..

Thanks to all for your suggestions.. I will check the laws for blue lights..

[r0tor]

I had a 7er behind me the other day with LED headlights and it was horrifically retina burning

[NomisR]

You guys were being hostile, now he may never return!

[mzziaz]

Gee, wonder why we never get new members?

[Rupert]

I dunno, when I post on a new forum, there aren't any links to commercial sites in my very first post ever.

[Byteme]

The two good things about sealed beams was that they were inexpensive and consistent.  I guess a third benefit would be that you didn't blind other drivers or get blinded by them if the lights were aimed properly.

You could buy a replacement unit darn near anywhere for a few bucks and it would fit your car and the lighting was predictable; decent but not great. 

Catch a rock and you were out 5-10 bucks.  Break a modern lighting unit and you are out 200-1,000 bucks, or more.

[Lebowski]

Anyways, back to headlights.

Has anyone driven something with LED headlights yet?  They're popping up in reasonably priced cars now (new STI has LED headlights I think).  Just wanted to see what everyone thought of them compared to xenons.

I am curious as well.

Is it worth paying for as an option?

[SJ_GTI]

I am curious as well.

Is it worth paying for as an option?

I am vaguely curious as well. Not in the market for a new car, but I do like HIDs so will be interesting to see if LED is significantly (or any) better.

[mzziaz]

There are actually LED´s available for the Mustang, but for $350x4 I guess I´ll wait. They do look awesome, though.

http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/headlights/#product=100160

[MrH]

I am curious as well.

Is it worth paying for as an option?

They're usually paired with turning headlights or auto high beams too.  So I guess you're paying for more than just the bulb difference.

[Raza]

I just want lights that turn on when I hit the on switch and turn off when I hit the off switch.  If they light the road up too, that's a plus. 

[12,000 RPM]

The Si has halogens and I kind of want to replace them with HIDs.  Is it easy, safe, etc?  I don't want to burn anything or screw something up, and I don't want to blind every other driver out there either.

You should try the Morimoto Mini D2S 3.0s. I have one on my bike. Very good for an aftermarket projector and easy to install. Hardest parts of installation will be taking the headlight apart and cutting the bulb hole to fit the projector mount.

If you are willing to pay a little more, you can get someone to do the retrofitting for you. If you do that, I would go with RX330 low beam projectors. Great value, small, easy, but the install is a little more advanced.