9005 headlight upgrade question

[Jvan]

I need to replace my driver's side (will do both sides) low beam and want to upgrade to the 9005 mod. But I want to know if I should stay with the normal HID upgrade or is there a better advantage in useing one of the new LED bulbs. The LED bulbs are cheaper but they come in several configurations and I don't know the advantages/disadvantages. Some are 13LEDS and other can be 18/63/128 SMD. I do know that the LEDs draw less current and suppose to last longer but what about range and brightness/intensity/color? Anyone have any experience/recommendations and what is the difference between LED and SMD except, I assume, size?

[92snowmachine]

my only experience with the led bulbs is from replacing them at work. i know not to buy the cheapo ones or they won't last. have many civics come in a month after customer put in some ebay leds and they don't work. most of the ones i take out look like somebody hot glued them together in a dimly lit basement.

[kwren]

Originally Posted by 92snowmachine

my only experience with the led bulbs is from replacing them at work. i know not to buy the cheapo ones or they won't last. have many civics come in a month after customer put in some ebay leds and they don't work. most of the ones i take out look like somebody hot glued them together in a dimly lit basement.

China has basements



Keith

[immortal_suby]

If you are upgrading to an HID lighting kit for your low beams you should just stick with a 9006 HID kit. A 35w kit will be more than bright enough. There is no need for a 9005 bulb in there if it's a true HID. If you are just getting those HID lookalike fake blue regular bulbs, a 9005 mod would help.

[BoxerFanatic]

Originally Posted by immortal_suby

If you are upgrading to an HID lighting kit for your low beams you should just stick with a 9006 HID kit. A 35w kit will be more than bright enough. There is no need for a 9005 bulb in there if it's a true HID. If you are just getting those HID lookalike fake blue regular bulbs, a 9005 mod would help.

Agreed.

The big difference between 9005 and 9006, functionally, is that the 9006 is paint-capped to prohibit light output axially forward.


Without the paint cap, the light can emit forward directly, instead of only from the sides, for the parabolic reflector to manage.

HID capsules, including 9006, have no such paint cap, and radiate light forward, and laterally.

[ensteele]

The advantage of our low beams are that they are projector lenses and can use the 9005 bulbs without blinding on comming trafic.

[BoxerFanatic]

Originally Posted by Jvan

I need to replace my driver's side (will do both sides) low beam and want to upgrade to the 9005 mod. But I want to know if I should stay with the normal HID upgrade or is there a better advantage in useing one of the new LED bulbs. The LED bulbs are cheaper but they come in several configurations and I don't know the advantages/disadvantages. Some are 13LEDS and other can be 18/63/128 SMD. I do know that the LEDs draw less current and suppose to last longer but what about range and brightness/intensity/color? Anyone have any experience/recommendations and what is the difference between LED and SMD except, I assume, size?

I may be wrong, but SMD I believe stands for Silicon-mounted Diode. Basically a light emitting diode mounted on a silicon chip. (shown below... the yellow squares are the SMDs. Silicon chips, with blue-frequency LEDs on them, covered by a yellow phosphor layers and a plastic encapsulating coating. The yellow phosphors excited by the blue light output combine to approximate white light of varying color temperature, depending on the blue intensity, and the number of phosphor layers.

SMDs tend to be brighter versions of light emitting diodes... sort of like a supercharged LED. I don't know much about the actual technology, but I think I remember reading that it is some sort of pulse-modulation amplification so that it pushes more current through the diode than it would normally pass, and that results in more light output.

Someone with more knowledge on the subject might have more accurate information.

The issue not only becomes about lumen output, but focus. halogen reflectors focus on a filament. HID reflectors focus on a sustained electric arc, and some halogen reflectors don't focus correctly on an arc, some do a passable job.

LEDs are in arrays, and there are many individual focus points, each emitting narrow relatively narrower fields of light. a halogen or HID oriented reflector really won't focus properly on them.


I like LEDs as technology, but they are a different animal than a a spherically radiant source like incandescent/halogen, or HID/arc lighting.

LEDs are starting to encroach on Halogen/HID in purpose-built light fixtures that are designed for LED output patterns. But they are different enough that I am not sure that just putting an LED replacement bulb will perform as well, for something as high-output as a headlight. Signals and other lights that are for recognition, rather than projection, are easier to retrofit with effective results.