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Should You Swap Your Headlight Bulbs For LEDs?
What I Liked About The LED Headlights
- I could make out every pebble on the road for ten meters and more ahead of the truck. As long as you’re not falling asleep at the wheel, your days of running over things “because nighttime” are over.
- That “instant-on” effect is sexy as hell.
- The housing itself became ultra-visible from the outside, this would be great for keeping track of where my truck’s at in the desert. Especially from far away.
- Love the idea of “surplus power” in my truck’s electrical system, I’m gonna need it when that fridge goes in.
- Did I mention these lights look cool?
What I Didn’t Like About The LED Headlights
- Borderline dangerously bright for oncoming traffic. Blinding other cars is no better than not being able to see yourself.
- Just how hot the heat-sinks got was a little disconcerting. Even with all the safety guarantees from the purveyor, I’d want to be extremely wary of how they were positioned.
- Throw-distance felt shorter than halogens; a big disadvantage for high-speed driving. But what’s more, the LEDs had a very tight flood pattern. I like the way traditional lights bleed into the woods a bit; the LEDs didn’t do that as much.
- LED headlight retrofits from SuperBright and anybody else I know of are technically not street legal. Truth is, a lot of aftermarket light bulbs aren’t actually DOT certified. You’re probably never going to get in trouble and I bet you’d pass a state vehicle inspection just fine; the only thing that’d scare me would be the lawsuit potential if you’re involved in an accident. Imagine you hit somebody and their attorney finds out your headlights weren’t legal for road use? Seems like substantial headache potential there.