replace headlights with LED

[gsbutton]

Has anyone tried to replace their headlights with LED's? I have been debating whether to go with LED or HID as a replacement for my Halogen driving lights. Thoughts? Querys? Ideas?

[Ben Lo]

My friend's Prius goes through Xenons like crazy, so I decided not to mess with the halogens until one blows.

[hdave]

Lots of people have installed HID kits.
Stay away from DDM, a general consensus is that Kensun kits seem to work well except when the temperature is VERY cold.

[brian_237]

Glad that you’re getting the interior/exterior light settings resolved. It would have been better if more of the settings could be reviewed and changed without going back to the dealer. Some of the default settings in the US may be different than in Europe.

I found the same issue with the dip lights (low mode). There is a dark area that makes it difficult to see without the fog lights. My wife drives the ct200h and is prone to hit things with or without lights. She has said that the headlights are not bright enough. Actually they are fairly good but they use the longer life halogens that are closer to 3200 Kelvin and lower luminance.

The options are to get a higher Kelvin replacement halogen, H11. PIAA will give higher lumens and gets closer to a white light, 3800 Kelvin. That is about the limit for Halogens. (they won’t last as long as the OEM bulbs) It will not fix everything like hitting the neighbors recycle bins as the dark area will not completely go away.

So go HID, the LED running lights are 4300 Kelvin. There are good retrofit kits that are 4300 to 5000 Kelvin, (very white). The lumens (output) is much higher and they are close to daylight.
I’ve done a lot of conversions/retrofits to HID. Just be careful about where the light cutoff is and only install in projector headlights, HID is ok for the CT200h dip projector. The good kits aren’t the $80. kits that are sold on eBay or Amazon. You can get a high quality HID kit that will light every time for about $150. They are very easy to install on the CT200h.

Not sure what vendors are in the UK but here are a few places in the US that have information about what to look for. Also some of the Extreme Halogen H11's that are direct replacements for the dip bulbs. You can PM me if you have any questions like why it is better to get the CAN-BUS cable even though CT200h doesn't need it.

Better Halogens
PIAA Extreme White Halogen
PIAA

Sylvania Halogens zXe
Sylvania aims its zXe headlights at the tuner set | SEMA show - CNET Reviews

High quality HID upgrade and retrofit products
The Retrofit Source online: headlight upgrades for all applications

Great reference place and why HID upgrade kits aren’t legal, (but we still do them),
Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

[audi4t]

Has anyone tried to replace their headlights with LED's? I have been debating whether to go with LED or HID as a replacement for my Halogen driving lights. Thoughts? Querys? Ideas?

LED Headlights and bulb are $1750 EACH from Sewell.

Plus you need the controller for each side $366 each and a leveling motor for each side $98 each

Thats over $4000 in material minimum.

You could be better off trading your car and ordering a new Ct with the LED option

You also need to check a wiring diagram to see if there are any differences in the wiring harness before committing to this mod.

You can convert to HID's for less than $100 complete

81108

8110747240 COMPUTER SUB-ASSEMBLY, HEADLAMP LIGHT CONTROL, (LH - LEFT / DRIVER SIDE) HEADLAMP-LED

01

Ships 24-48 hrs

$600.30

$499.25

$366.18

81110

8111076070 HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY, (RH - RIGHT / PASSENGER SIDE) HEADLAMP-LED

01

Ships 24-48 hrs

$2804.70

$2332.61

$1710.87

81110B

9098113084 BULB (FOR HEADLAMP, NO.1) 12V 65W

02

In Stock

$68.24

$56.76

$41.63

85662

8566112020 MOTOR, MOTOR, HEADLAMP LEVE HEADLAMP LEVELING, (LH - LEFT / DRIVER SIDE) HEADLAMP-LED

02

Ships 24-48 hrs

$161.96

$134.70

$98.80

BTW the DDM HID's haven't misfired in my wifes car in weeks - mysterious ??????

[tyr3s3]

I think LED lights for cars are fantastic aftermarket options for your stock headlights, taillights, or side markers.