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Headlight Shootout

436K views 782 replies 153 participants last post by  Prot 
#1 ·
As many of you know, Truck-Lite was nice enough to send a set of their updated and improved LED headlights to 3 members of JEEPForum; I'll install mine tomorrow.

I've marked the exact location of the Jeep for reference. Please take note of what you can see off to the sides of the road as well as the FedEx boxes that I've used for markers. Our peripheral vision and the ability to see to the sides is what keeps Bambi off our hoods.

Round one in the war will feature the set of Cibie Z-Beams that I have now. They were purchased from Daniel Stern Lighting. The bulbs are Osram Rallye 70/65 and they are harnessed/relayed/plugged by Rallylights.

Markers are at 25yards L/R, 50 yards L/R, 75 yards L/R
Jeep is on the right side of a 2-lane road; camera on hood in front of driver

Ambient temperature 35 degrees F; lens temperature 157 degrees F at 6"

Lux readings Lowbeam/Highbeam:

25Right-65/ 49 * 25Left-11/ 5

50Right-4/ 29 * 50Left-3/ 4

75Right-1/ 17 * 75Left-0/ 5

25 feet dead center 583/ 970

Z-beams, lowbeam, with Osram bulbs.


Z-beams, highbeam, with Osram bulbs.
 
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#132 ·
I am glad that the deltas are going to be thrown into this mix...you are about the only guy that I trust on lights...but I can't swing the speakers no matter what...maybe the truck lites...so I keep watching...:)
 
#135 ·
The fan is within the housing and is superfluous to the cooling of the lamp itself; it's only there to heat the lens to keep it snow/ice-free. It's rated at a longer life than the light itself. The lamp has ample heat sinks in the rear to cool the LEDs.

I got them muddy and wet today but it was only 40 degrees; no ice test possible.

 
#137 ·
Yeah, trust me; I got them plenty wet yesterday. We were on the roads that the Rangers use for mountain survival training.
 
#138 ·
Hilldweller said:
The choices are hard, aren't they?

If you want the most light and don't mind replacing bulbs often, you go with the Dan Stern kit, either with Z-Beams or Marchals.

Want to spend a bit less and have pretty good results? Get the Rallylights kit.

If you love HID and want to do it legal, the Sylvania/Valeo is there for you. But you need a harness (hello Dan or Rallylights) and will have to trim the buckets.

Want LED? Okay, are you going to punish your rig or not. If you're hardcore, get the Truck-Lites and some supplemental lights. If you're easier on your equipment and have the bucks, those JW Speakers are the cat's pajammas...

It's only money, right?

I've pinged Rallylights and begged for an H13 to H13 harness and set of Xtreme Power bulbs. They can only say "no", right? :D
So can you tell me what the best way to go is if I don't want to have to replace bulbs every six months and I don't want to spend more than $400.00 but I want the best possible lighting. Will I be replacing bulbs with the rallylights kit like with the stern kit every 6 months? What makes the bulbs not last very long?
 
#139 ·
Hot filaments burn faster.

I don't know how long the Phillips Xtreme Power bulbs last but I tested them in a Hella reflector last night and they blew me away again; I think they're the best overall bulb for light and longevity together in one package.
Combine them with a Cibie reflector and good harness and you'll be able to see where you're going.
Maybe they'll last a year? Maybe two? How much do you use your lights? Bulb life is just too hard to predict; it's always good to have some spares with you in a secure box...

So, overall, the biggest nod goes to a complete Daniel Stern kit. I have some pics and stats to lay out about the Hella reflectors. They weren't horrible but the numbers confirmed what my eyes had been telling me ----- great hot spot down the middle, not a whole lot off to the sides (but not terrible), a little too much foreground light, and the highbeam is too high.
 
#140 ·
Some numbers for the Delta Blue H4 "Xenon" bulbs in a Hella H4 reflector; bulbs are harnessed/relayed for optimal power.

Lowbeam value in blue, high in red.

LUX at 25 feet, sensor moved to highest output spot. 339/653

25 yards Right: 20/33 * Left: 1/2

50 yards Right: 2/20 * Left: 1/2

75 yards Right: 1/9 * Left: 1/2

Pics:

Lowbeam


Highbeam


These bulbs yielded a very white light --- but not much of it. They also hurt our eyes when we did the "walk toward the Jeep" test, no matter if they were high or lowbeam.
Nobody wanted to take them home...
 
#141 ·
Some numbers for the Phillips Xtreme +80 H4 bulbs in a Hella H4 reflector; bulbs are harnessed/relayed for optimal power.

Lowbeam value in blue, high in red.

LUX at 25 feet, sensor moved to highest output spot. 695/1619

25 yards Right: 66/45 * Left: 2/2

50 yards Right: 10/30 * Left: 3/3

75 yards Right: 3/16 * Left: 2/2

And we measured 6 LUX dead center at 125 yards, unassisted by any supplemental driving lights. The Hella reflectors have a tremendous middle-of-the-road hot-spot, a little too much foreground light, and not enough off to the sides. But with a pair of supplemental lights to provide some light to the sides, they'd give you the most total light so far. The highbeams are a little too high as well ---- but a remarkable focus...

Pics:

Lowbeam


Highbeam


Yes; the lights lit up the rooftops in the neighborhood past the woods. You could see our shadows on the houses; about a quarter mile as the crow flies...
Boy howdy.
 
#153 ·
Some numbers for the Phillips Xtreme +80 H4 bulbs in a Hella H4 reflector; bulbs are harnessed/relayed for optimal power.

...

And we measured 6 LUX dead center at 125 yards, unassisted by any supplemental driving lights. The Hella reflectors have a tremendous middle-of-the-road hot-spot, a little too much foreground light, and not enough off to the sides. But with a pair of supplemental lights to provide some light to the sides, they'd give you the most total light so far. The highbeams are a little too high as well ---- but a remarkable focus...

...

Yes; the lights lit up the rooftops in the neighborhood past the woods. You could see our shadows on the houses; about a quarter mile as the crow flies...
Boy howdy.
In the end, that's how I adjusted my Hellas -- by aiming the highbeam pattern to hit the road at a reasonable distance that was still bright.

The low beams are aimed a little low/near, but not too bad.

And I usually end up running the fogs to fill in the edges a bit... at least on low beams.

Thanks for the good work HD and crew! :thumbsup:
 
#145 ·
A table of what has been tested thus far (I'm getting tired of shuffling to compare results) :p
 

Attachments

#146 ·
Hilldweller, do you have any tests from the stock housing and bulbs so we can compare those, and give me a little more inspiration to blow money on new housing and bulbs :laugh:
 
#148 ·
Yep, that is what it looks like and a huge thanks for the numbers chart.

Tell me if this is offbase at all:
Best bang-for-the-buck - Rallylights / Hellas + Phillips Extreme +80

Best overall - DS Kit w/ Osram bulbs (Looks like this provides the best 'balance')

Best if you really want to spend a lot of money - JW Speaker

I think I'm going to have to go w/ Rallylights and order them next paycheck. :thumbsup:
 
#149 ·
as a life long headlight freak, I appreciate this thread.

just a few things I noticed.

Would be nice to have comparison to stock housings with Sylvania, Hella, etc... bulbs.

I am running the Sylvania Silverstars now (headlight and fog), but just installed the Ultra's in a pick up and can't wait for them to produce this model for the JK. They were far superior to the silverstars. Both of these models are exceptional in blizzard and white out conditions and allow me to see where the road is without issue. I ski, and travel in the worst conditions 4 hours + to get there and I know my blizzard bulbs, trust me !

I have run blue bulbs in the past, do your selves a favour people and don't waste your money, they are horrible in snow conditions, but favourable in wet for some reason.

Noticed that there were no after adjusting the JK speaker bulb pics. would be interested to see these. very interesting bulb pattern.

great thread, thanks for the work into it.
 
#150 ·
Noticed that there were no after adjusting the JK speaker bulb pics. would be interested to see these. very interesting bulb pattern.
The new pics with the spots and floods are post-adjustment; I didn't use the light meter though.

Once again, the artifacts and pattern are really exaggerated by the camera; they're quite nice to drive with, even in downpours.





Chris did bring a set of OE lights with him and we planned to re-install them and compare.
But we had been grilling venison all day and had a few beers and, well, you know. Before we knew it, it was pretty late...
I'll get a stock JK out there eventually. I think the only bulb I'd compare the stocker to would be the Xtreme Power H13; don't want to waste time with also-rans and blue bulbs.

This was the tech crew on Saturday:
 
#156 ·
The Philips Extreme bulbs made a noticeable improvement over stock, IMHO. I still wanted more, so I ordered everything from DS.

I did not know about the Z-Beams at the time, but it sounds like the standard Cibie's are more than adequate and in a completely different league from OE.
 
#179 ·
I noticed a G55 G Class with Xenons the other day. Apparently the 2009-11 had these as an option.

It wouldn't be the cheapest conversion, but I wonder if these would work/fit?













I like even better than the JW's! Would love to see someone install them in a jk!
 
#161 ·
I could make'em fit...

But why? The Sylvania/Veleo product costs less and does the same thing.
I bet the fancy ones have self-levelers too and that would have to be dealt with.
 
#162 ·
Hilldweller said:
I could make'em fit...

But why? The Sylvania/Veleo product costs less and does the same thing.
I bet the fancy ones have self-levelers too and that would have to be dealt with.
I thought that I had read through this entire thread.... Does it have this combo listed somewhere and I missed it? If not can you please explain or just refer me to a page or something??

Sent from Mars
 
#163 ·
Sylvania/Valeo XE7 bi-xenon 7" headlights ---- the real deal. They have H4 pigtails and would need bucket modification just like the JW Speaker 8700.
Perfectly legal.
Don't be fooled into the other Sylvania product or other look-alikes, similar code numbers, etc. The rest are either junk or illegal.
These usually sell for under $700/pair from discount mail-order places.
 
#177 ·
Harley dealers, truckstops, or the factory. There are a few online vendors as well.
 
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