Nothing will grant more of a sense of stability and safety when you’re driving in the night than a good set of bright headlights. With enough nighttime illumination, you’ll be aware of road hazards like potholes and bumps, pedestrians, and animals that wander into the road at the wrong times. Today, many cars are coming fresh off the lot with brand new LED headlights. These headlights last long and are very efficient. On top of these features, they also have a bright light output that can save you from an unfortunate situation.
Headlights have been posted on cars since the Ford Model T, which debuted more than a hundred years ago, and the technology has come quite far in those long years. LED headlights have all but replaced the halogen headlight, which debuted more than 50 years ago. LEDs provide illumination through the usage of light emitting diodes that project multiple colors of light, which combine and provide some of the whitest light possible.
What Makes LEDs So Great
LED headlights have a lot of great advantages that you simply don’t have with traditional halogen headlights. Let’s take a look at a few:
Efficiency – LED is pound-for-pound the most efficient headlight lighting system for your car. As a result, there less of a power draw from your car’s key systems when you use LED headlights.
Response Time – LED headlights also have the fastest response time of all of the headlight options. Halogen lights have to electrically heat a tungsten filament to produce light, whereas the LED illumination process is near instant. This means that you’ll be able to much more quickly turn your headlights on and off or adjust their intensity level.
Longer Life Span – As a result of this efficiency, there is very little wasted power and the average LED bulb can last up to 100,000 hours.
Cleaner Light – Since the produced light is so clean with LEDs, a driver should be able to see the road much better than with a Halogen or a xenon headlight system. Just about all LEDs are 6000k white light, which creates perfect white light.
Color Options – If it’s legal in your area, you can select from a wide variety of LED colors on your LED headlights.
Everybody’s Getting in on the Deal
LED headlights are showing up on just about every new model of car. With this level of adoption, the other systems of lighting may soon be completely phased out. To add to this, many vehicle owners are investing in LED headlights in the aftermarket. This means that even for older cars that came with factory supplied halogen headlights, their owners are installing LED-based headlight systems.
Considerations with LED Headlights
Expense – As with any relatively new technology, LED headlight systems cost a pretty penny. You can find relatively inexpensive ones, but if you are planning on purchasing a new set of aftermarket LED headlights, you can expect to spend much more than you would spend for a halogen pair.
Legality – This new technology isn’t street legal in every jurisdiction, so before you decide to upgrade your 99 Corolla with LED headlights, find out if they are allowed in your area first.
Brightness – While there are many LED headlights on the market that offer truly high levels of brightness, there are many out there that have a light output that’s much less than standard incandescent headlights. As a general rule, for brighter LED headlights, you are going to have to spend more money.
Heat – Whereas halogens get very hot, LED headlights can get even hotter and will need a dedicated cooling system so that the components aren’t damaged.
Item
Best Design Feature
Price
Rating
Vplus X Series LED Headlight Bulbs w/ Clear Arc-Beam Kit
Since LEDs run hot, it’s good that this over-performing product has an excellent cooling system.
$55.95
Stars 4.6/5
OPT7 LED Headlight Bulbs w/ Clear Arc-Beam Kit – H11 (H8, H9) – 60w 7,000Lm 6K Cool White CREE
These are amazingly bright and clear. The white light generated by these bulbs is 6000k light.
$99.99
Stars 4.3/5
Ediors Super Brights Three Sides 360 Degrees Emitting LED Headlight Conversion Kit
These bulbs have an excellent response time for quick operation.
$66.88
Stars 4.4/5
SNGL Super Bright LED Headlight Bulbs – Adjustable Focus Length Conversion Kit
These are very bright; each bulb is 5,200 lumens for a combined effect of 10,400 lumens.
$158.99
Stars 4.8/5
JDM ASTAR G1 8000 Lumens Extremely Bright H11 H8 COB LED Headlights, Xenon White
These are easy to install; as a matter of fact, they are some of the easiest to plug and play install on the market.
$49.99
Stars 4.3/5
ECCPP LED Headlight Bulbs Conversion Kit High Power Bright
These bulbs aren’t just water resistant, they are actually waterproof.
$84.99
Stars 4.6/5
Aokland 4000LM Super Bright LED Headlight Conversion Kit
These use a stable-drive system that keeps the bulbs stable, even during rough road conditions.
$32.99
Stars 4.7/5
1) Vplus X Series LED Headlight Bulbs w/ Clear Arc-Beam Kit
Our first product does a great job at providing quality and a high level of performance for your lighting needs. Firstly, this product produces a 6,500k white light; this light is extremely white so that you have excellent visibility on the road. This light illuminates everything that you will need to avoid, including potholes, bumps, and even black ice. When we tested the product, we really loved the fact that the light produced made everything so clear. As a matter of fact, we dare say that the white light that these bulbs project is intense.
Outside of this pure white performance, the bulbs themselves have a really high level of lumens. For those that don’t know, lumens are the brightness output of a light source. Each bulb on the Vplus X Series has a lumen output of 4,000, which means that when fully installed, your car will have 8,000 lumens to navigate by.To Buy this product online on Amazon Click Here
2) OPT7 LED Headlight Bulbs w/ Clear Arc-Beam Kit – H11 (H8, H9) – 60w 7,000Lm 6K Cool White CREE
The OPT7 LED Headlight Bulbs w/ Clear Arc-Beam Kit is a rugged LED bulb entry that provides a lot of raw output. As a matter of fact, these are some of the most durable LED headlights that we’ll be featuring here in this guide. We really liked that these are rated to be tough; the bulbs themselves will even work underwater. Additionally, they will also put out 6,000k white light; this level of white light is much whiter than the majority of halogen bulbs, which tend to top out around 5,000k.
Lastingness is a major concern for many drivers, and with this product, we were suitably impressed that the manufacturer rated these bulbs to last over 50,000 hours. Additionally, OPT7 also offers a two-year warranty and lifetime support as well on this product. This is perfect, especially considering that these bulbs are relatively easy to install. If you do need help, it’s nice to know that qualified techs are on-call.To Buy this product online on Amazon Click Here
3) Ediors Super Brights Three Sides 360 Degrees Emitting LED Headlight Conversion Kit
Our third entry doesn’t cost a lot of money and provides a four-cornered LED approach that is relatively unique. These extra LED projection surfaces will provide 360 degrees of illumination so that you will be able to see a wider angle. In addition to this, these Ediors products also emit a pure 6,000k white light so that you’ll be able to see clearly. The company states that the product has a faster on and off response than traditional LED headlights. This feature is a key reason why many value LED headlights in general, and in our tests, these did seem a bit faster than the rest when it comes to response.
Since LED lights are a little more complex than standard halogen or HID headlights, it’s important that LED emitters should have shielding to protect the bulbs from any vibration from the road or any bumps. These LED bulbs have several key protections including high shock, vibration, and overheat defenses.To Buy this product online on Amazon Click Here
4) SNGL Super Bright LED Headlight Bulbs – Adjustable Focus Length Conversion Kit
Simply put, these LED headlights are the brightest headlights in our guide. Each of the two bulbs will emit a clear 6,000k white light that displays at a brightness of 5,200 lumens. This means that your car will have a lighting profile that amounts to 10,400 lumens. When we tested this car’s brightness, we were blown away by exactly how bright these bulbs were. As a matter of fact, it almost feels like they turn night into day.
We also liked that these are long-lasting bulbs. The manufacturer states that they should have about 50,000 hours of life, which is a relatively long lifespan for this type of LED. As an IP67 product, these bulbs are also completely rainproof; in fact, they can be completely submerged. SNGL even offers a two-year warranty on these bulbs so that you can have a relatively worry-free experience.To Buy this product online on Amazon Click Here
5) JDM ASTAR G1 8000 Lumens Extremely Bright H11 H8 COB LED Headlights, Xenon White
These LED headlights are some of the most versatile available on the market today. First, their level of brightness is very strong; each lamp has 4,000 lumens worth of overall brightness, which has a great ability to light up a path. During our test drives, we used these on a darkened forest road with little illumination. With these, we were actually able to clearly see some deer along the side of the road. This really illustrates that this degree of brightness can help you avoid some truly dangerous road hazards.
This product uses a COB LED, which has a little bit of a blue tint to it. The majority of the light will appear white, but along the edges, you’ll notice a little blue. While these aren’t CSP LEDs, which are clearer in an overall sense, these provide a high amount of clarity for the road. One of the reasons that these are so versatile is because of how well they interact with your car’s CPU; we found that installation was noticeably fast when we installed ours.To Buy this product online on Amazon Click Here
6) ECCPP LED Headlight Bulbs Conversion Kit High Power Bright
These LED headlights are the second brightest of the products that we’ve featured here. Each of the headlights has an output of 4800 lumens, which provides a combined brightness of 9800 lumens. Since these are so noticeably bright, ECCPP incorporated an excellent fan that cools the hot lights very quickly so that they don’t get damaged.
These also have a great degree of clarity; the bulbs produces 6000k white light, which is perfect for helping you see everything that you’ll have to contend with on the road. Combine this with the 360-degree beam angle, and you’ve got a really good set of LED headlights. These have been rated to last about 50,000 hours, which according to our testing, really provides overall value.To Buy this product online on Amazon Click Here
7) Aokland 4000LM Super Bright LED Headlight Conversion Kit
LEDs have a tendency to cost a lot of money. This is one of the reasons that many halogen headlight owners hesitate to make the upgrade. Fortunately, Aokland produces these excellently inexpensive products. In our tests, these bulbs performed excellently, they have a moderately long 30,000-hour lifespan, they produce 4,000 lumens per bulb, and they even have a crystal clear 6,000k white light. For all of these features, you’ll only spend about $33.
In addition to this, these really install quickly and easily, which really adds to the overall value of the product, since LED headlights have traditionally been a hassle to install in cars that were designed with halogen lamps. It should only take about 20 minutes to fully install these headlights in your car.To Buy this product online on Amazon Click Here
Conclusion
It’s amazing how well LED headlights work when you need a clear bright light so that you can deal with adverse road conditions. These headlights are reliable, long-lasting, and also look excellent on most vehicles. The products that we’ve reviewed in this guide are all excellent devices that’ll easily light your way in dark conditions, so take a look at our reviews and decide which works best for you and your vehicle.
Based on our research, we found that the SNGL Super Bright LED Headlight Bulbs – Adjustable Focus Length Conversion Kit is the best of the bunch. Its high lumen output really provides a startling amount of light on dark roads. Add to this the fact that its output is pure white 6000k light, and you have a great bulb that is adaptable to any driving situation.
Even though LEDs are a bit expensive these days, it’s still possible to get some great value. The best bang for your buck item from our guide, in our opinion, is the Aokland 4000LM Super Bright LED Headlight Conversion Kit. For about $30 you get some bright output with perfectly white light. As a matter of fact, at 4k lumens per bulb, it’s amazing that these LED headlight bulbs cost so little.