I started this to prove a point to a couple of roommates of mine that thought LEDs would work great as a bulb used to be able to see either forward or backwards, whether that's a headlight or reverse light.

After one of them claimed that they had an LED flashlight that was brighter than some 'Stock HID Headlights in a 2012 Silverado', I decided to take some pictures and see what results I came up with.

LED Low Beams:



10000k HID Low Beams:



Stock Halogen High Beams:



An LED Flashlight:



An LED strip about 1.5' from the ground:



2 LED strips about 6" from the ground:



You can see how big of a difference a foot makes in light output. This is a strip on the underbody of the car, point somewhat outwards, not the best output for 24 different LEDs, although decent for backing up... (I can't see where I'm going down my driveway with these, I could with the stock bulbs in stock housings)

Conclusion:

LEDs are great for a low light area. They are very bright, but the projection is not the greatest, so they work well for turn signals, brake lights, interior lights, underglow... etc...



-HIDs (even with the low output of 10000k HIDs) are clearly brighter than the LEDs and even the halogen high beam. Clearly the best choice for light output, but i would recommend projector housings.

-Halogen bulbs are right in the middle, they have good output for a stock housing. They're not as good as HIDs (even with the low output of 10000k HIDs) but clearly project more light than the LED bulbs.

-LED bulbs are great for small areas, they are very bright lights, but do not project the light as well as a Halogen or HID light. Again, they are very good for tasks such as interior lighting, turn signals, tail lights and underglow. All of which don't usually have to project light further than 6", they just have to be seen, which is basically what LEDs are used for, to be seen.

If anyone has any questions, anything to add or any opinions please feel free to share!

 

Audi uses leds for headlights now & they project very well, way better than what u used but i still prefer hids

 

Audi uses an array of LEDs within their headlight. That works better because they're probably over 20W LEDs. I made this thread more-so based on what we could do with our Montes.

 

I think its 12 leds for a low beam, but yeah for now the technology isnt there for normal lights but in a few years i think it will be

 

Excellent thread. Great pics too. Nice work Mitch

 

for sure, I think there will be an upgraded version of LEDs, hopefully something that isn't really an LED but similar brightness with increased light output... less glare, etc.