New LED headlights

[awhite4557]

Custom Classic Trucks had a new item in the Market Place of the magazine.... LED headlights. They are DOT approved, heres the link http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs...0001&langId=-1

[bigguy69]

how much are they? they look neat.

[Naterman35]

good question... anyone know?

[purewhitemp5]

I want to see them installed...need some pics of beam pattern on the road at night.

[Longhorn Man]

very cool, and a very good idea, however, those in the rust belt need to know, in the winter, you'll have to wipe them off all the time when driving in the snow. They won't make enouh heat to melt the snow that lands on them, nor the sslushy spray from the cars in front of you.
Otherwise... an outstanding idea, and that is the company to expect a quality LED product, they have been making lights for big trucks for years.

[mrein3]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

very cool, and a very good idea, however, those in the rust belt need to know, in the winter, you'll have to wipe them off all the time when driving in the snow. They won't make enouh heat to melt the snow that lands on them, nor the sslushy spray from the cars in front of you.
Otherwise... an outstanding idea, and that is the company to expect a quality LED product, they have been making lights for big trucks for years.

Good point. Unintended cosequences. The good people of MNDoT and various cities and counties up here (Minnesota) read the reports on how long LEDs last verses regular lights in their stoplights. So they started changing them all out for LEDs to save money. Then winter rolled around and nobody can see any stop lights because the blowing snow that gets caught up there no longer melts.

He!! when I'm driving out to the fish house in the winter when it is twenty below or so even my sealed beams start to get snow/ice stuck to them. Not that I ever end up screwing around out there, spinning around, busting through snowdrifts and exploding powder all over my rig.

Another thing - and the reason why I don't run anything but standard sealed beam halogens - though the trick LED lights may never in the life of the vehicle burn out, a rock will take them out like any other headlight. If a rock takes out your sealed beam headlight you are as close as ANY auto parts store or Wal*Mart away from getting a replacement. If you bust a trick LED that you bought from "Bob's Fly By Night Ebay Store" you can't probably buy just one and if you can it probably won't match. Then you're screwed and you have to buy another pair for $300-$500.

Save your money. Keep your sealed beams and upgrade your headlight wiring to use relays, then use that $500 for a new set of heads or something that is useful to a truck.

[Werewolf]

Originally Posted by mrein3

Another thing - and the reason why I don't run anything but standard sealed beam halogens - though the trick LED lights may never in the life of the vehicle burn out, a rock will take them out like any other headlight. If a rock takes out your sealed beam headlight you are as close as ANY auto parts store or Wal*Mart away from getting a replacement. If you bust a trick LED that you bought from "Bob's Fly By Night Ebay Store" you can't probably buy just one and if you can it probably won't match. Then you're screwed and you have to buy another pair for $300-$500.

At least the people on that website had the sense to make the headlight polycarbonate, rather than glass. That's the stuff most glasses are made of, these days. It'd take a lot more to break them.

All your other points are accurate. And, I found out the hard way to never buy any first generation LED product, especially if it's High Output.

They usually have overheating problems, and heat is an LED's worst enemy. They will burn out, just not all at once. Worse, they might flicker and flash for a while instead of actually just dying.

I'd want to see these in use for a few years, and go through some updates before buying. Plus, by that time, they'll be a lot cheaper, too! These bulbs seem to have a warranty. That's a plus that I'd like to put into use on my job - 90% nighttime driving. I go through a set of headlights every few months.

LEDs are the light of the future, though. Incandescent bulbs will be going away in time. Perhaps not first in vehicle applications, but street and home lights will all go LED. I can almost see manufacturers that choose to use LED headlights also putting some kind of heater circuit in the 'glass' of the lens, like rear defrost for your headlights.

One thing that's always confused me in some advertisements about vehicle LEDs is the "power savings." They take less power. So what? The alternator may last a little longer (probably not) and it means you can use lower gauge wire to run your lights. Other than that, it's not like you'll see any significant MPG increase by removing headlight "drag" from the alternator... Although, in these trucks, yeah. LEDs would be a great way to get modern light from old wiring.

[1969InSeattle]

https://www.ledheadlamps.com/tsMall/...PartNumber=679

This page shows them being back-ordered (not produced or shipped most likely) until 9/1/09.

I hope the $348 price tag is for the pair!

[MonteSS454]

I'll stick with my halos unless you can see like miles ahead of yourself with these.

[Jacfourteen]

are they just for chevys or do they have them for us 4 eyed guys?

[Bugsy_malonn]

here are some $500
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jeep-...Q5fAccessories

[MonteSS454]

Originally Posted by Jacfourteen

are they just for chevys or do they have them for us 4 eyed guys?

Those are 7 inchers, I didn't see any 5 3/4 inchers.

[ARKSTEPSIDE]

I HAVE BEEN BOTH A PARTS MANAGER AND GENERAL MANAGER FOR YEARS AT TRUCK DEALERSHIPS AND YOU WANT TO GO TO ONE OF THEM TO PRICE THESE. MOST OTHER SOURCES ARE VERY HIGH AND DO NOT BUY VOLUME FROM TRUCK LITE. MOST TRUCK PARTS DISTRIBUTORS ARE TRUCK LITE DEALERS AND WILL TREAT YOU RIGHT.

[70GMCer]

I can think of a lot better things to buy than a pair of $300 to $500 blings......

[72BlckButy]

Yikes... high on the price, but not a bad idea. Give it sometime and the price will come down.

[Naterman35]

Originally Posted by 72BlckButy

Yikes... high on the price, but not a bad idea. Give it sometime and the price will come down.

yeah look at the taillights... when L.E.D lights first became popular they were real expensive... now they've come down alot. You can build them your self to.
There was an awesome write up on thirdgen.org about a guy building a set of tails.

[C20-67_N_MO]

Expensive sucker huh?

I will stick to my sealed beams I got from LMC.

[Sammy]

Those are expensive. But no doubt in my mind LED tails are the way to go as you can see them much better than the standard bulbs.

[Longhorn Man]

on the reduced power comment...
on some cars.... esp small cars like in the 80's... when you'd turn on the headlights, the idle would drop for a moment and then recover. This was due to the amps. Power wise, and MPG wise, you are right, you'd never see the .0001 % gain. However, when selling 200,000 or more cars, the CAFE requirements that are required, that .ooo1$ may be all that's needed.
However, the comment still holds water.
With all major makers working on, or already selling electric powered, or electric hybrids, this is a very important feature. No need to even explain why.
On our old school stuff, you increase the amp load on the headlight wires when you install halogon lamps... which, I think is all you can get. This increaed load burns out switches, and even harnesses. A decreased load will prevent this.
It is benificial to reduce the electrical load used on your vehicle. It just isn't as obviouse as it is in your home.