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Truck-Lite 5x7 LED headlight review
#1
Truck-Lite 5x7 LED headlight review
Well I finally pulled the trigger and ordered them last week and received them last friday. I have been contemplating these for a while now while also thinking about all the other options such as HID's with new housings and projector retro-fit kits.
After going through all my options these seemed to be the best option just due to the fact that a nice retro projector kit with the HID's and the housings would put me in the same ballpark as far as cash goes and with a lot more work and mods to get what I wanted.
So first thing I noticed when I opened up the box they are very solid and built very well, even the plug to fit in the factory harness seemed beefy and well made.
I didn't do a write up on the install as they are just the same as swapping the headlights While putting them in about the only thing I did a little different from my usual headlight replacement was use some dielectric goop on the plugs to stop corrosion. The male plug to go in the female headlight plug plugged in perfectly and was a very tight fit which was good compared to the plugs on my old headlight which seemed almost loose.
Well after spending 430 shipped for the lights I was a little worried I wouldn't be impressed due to I have had HID's in most of my previous rigs.
Well I am impressed with them to say the least!!!!! They have a very bright white light and the light is wonderfully directed with a great beam pattern.
So here is a list of the good so far.
1) Very well made, the housing is very thick and they look to be built to last, this is compared to most of the cheap Ebay housings I have seen but i'm sure they have some better housings such as the hella ones but I have never seen them to compare.
2) Very crisp white light, I'm not sure on the light output to compare to other HID kits but I would imagine in K they would be around 4500 or so any higher they would have a blue tint to them. I was trying to get some specs on this off of the website but couldn't find anything for the color temp and the actual wattage used just amps is shown.
3) Install was a breeze simple swap, no harness upgrades battery moving etc etc.
4) Instant on!! I'm sure as some of you know HID's have a warm up period and that isn't bad but I did have some issues with my previous kits of sometimes the ballast wouldn't kick on and I have to cycle the lights to fire them up as well as having occasional flickering etc.
5) High and low beams, as you all know getting high beams with HID's is usually not an option without two separate housings or a very expensive set up.
6) Driving in snow, had some flurries last night and it was a wonderful time to test them out, compared to most kits I have had a couple where I just did the bulb( yea yea yea I was throwing light all over the road and blinding people) But with the wonderful cut off they have I couldn't see the snow till it was at or below my hood line which is where the pattern starts. Even with my old hologens I would get reflections from the flakes.
Not much of a bonus over projectors due to they have a great cut off if done correctly but compared to stock and HID bulbs in housings they are 100% better for winter driving.
Not much bad I can think of so far as I have only had them for a couple days and will update this as I go, the only thing that was steering me away from them was the plastic housings, nothing more aggravating than yellowing burnt housing in a new car that is 2 years old. According to the specs the polycarbonate lens is non-yellowing so we shall see.
Anyway here are some pics, I do need to get some better shots at night showing how good the cut-off is but I will update soon
Amazing that little tiny single LED puts out so much it's mind boggling to me
Looks a little different not quite use to it yet
as said above need to get a better cut-off pic but you can somewhat see the line at the bottom.
Well I'm done for now I will update with some better night pics when I get a chance, but the big question is do I think they were worth 430 bucks
Heck yes I do
After going through all my options these seemed to be the best option just due to the fact that a nice retro projector kit with the HID's and the housings would put me in the same ballpark as far as cash goes and with a lot more work and mods to get what I wanted.
So first thing I noticed when I opened up the box they are very solid and built very well, even the plug to fit in the factory harness seemed beefy and well made.
I didn't do a write up on the install as they are just the same as swapping the headlights While putting them in about the only thing I did a little different from my usual headlight replacement was use some dielectric goop on the plugs to stop corrosion. The male plug to go in the female headlight plug plugged in perfectly and was a very tight fit which was good compared to the plugs on my old headlight which seemed almost loose.
Well after spending 430 shipped for the lights I was a little worried I wouldn't be impressed due to I have had HID's in most of my previous rigs.
Well I am impressed with them to say the least!!!!! They have a very bright white light and the light is wonderfully directed with a great beam pattern.
So here is a list of the good so far.
1) Very well made, the housing is very thick and they look to be built to last, this is compared to most of the cheap Ebay housings I have seen but i'm sure they have some better housings such as the hella ones but I have never seen them to compare.
2) Very crisp white light, I'm not sure on the light output to compare to other HID kits but I would imagine in K they would be around 4500 or so any higher they would have a blue tint to them. I was trying to get some specs on this off of the website but couldn't find anything for the color temp and the actual wattage used just amps is shown.
3) Install was a breeze simple swap, no harness upgrades battery moving etc etc.
4) Instant on!! I'm sure as some of you know HID's have a warm up period and that isn't bad but I did have some issues with my previous kits of sometimes the ballast wouldn't kick on and I have to cycle the lights to fire them up as well as having occasional flickering etc.
5) High and low beams, as you all know getting high beams with HID's is usually not an option without two separate housings or a very expensive set up.
6) Driving in snow, had some flurries last night and it was a wonderful time to test them out, compared to most kits I have had a couple where I just did the bulb( yea yea yea I was throwing light all over the road and blinding people) But with the wonderful cut off they have I couldn't see the snow till it was at or below my hood line which is where the pattern starts. Even with my old hologens I would get reflections from the flakes.
Not much of a bonus over projectors due to they have a great cut off if done correctly but compared to stock and HID bulbs in housings they are 100% better for winter driving.
Not much bad I can think of so far as I have only had them for a couple days and will update this as I go, the only thing that was steering me away from them was the plastic housings, nothing more aggravating than yellowing burnt housing in a new car that is 2 years old. According to the specs the polycarbonate lens is non-yellowing so we shall see.
Anyway here are some pics, I do need to get some better shots at night showing how good the cut-off is but I will update soon
Amazing that little tiny single LED puts out so much it's mind boggling to me
Looks a little different not quite use to it yet
as said above need to get a better cut-off pic but you can somewhat see the line at the bottom.
Well I'm done for now I will update with some better night pics when I get a chance, but the big question is do I think they were worth 430 bucks
Heck yes I do
Last edited by Discombobulated; 02-11-2013 at 06:28 PM.
#3
I believe they are PIAA 520's Ion yellow fog lights.
here is a better shot.
#4
Couple more night pics not the greatest but I think when I get some time this week I will mosey a little east to some black back roads to get some without the city lights. And I need some pics of the brights also.
Last edited by Discombobulated; 02-11-2013 at 06:23 PM.
#6
I was actually wondering how that worked with the drl's? On my my work van newer ford the day times use less voltage than the regular beams wondering how the LEDs would handle less voltage? Hmmmm.
Are your day times just low beams all the time without the running lights??
Are your day times just low beams all the time without the running lights??
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#8
your pics look great.
I also pulled the gun on a set:
but had a couple of hours today to finish converting my headlights to LED`s. It would have been a 30 minute job if I had stuck with round headlights but oh well.
Lame cell phone night shots..the pics don't do the output justice.
Low beams
High beams
I also pulled the gun on a set:
but had a couple of hours today to finish converting my headlights to LED`s. It would have been a 30 minute job if I had stuck with round headlights but oh well.
Lame cell phone night shots..the pics don't do the output justice.
Low beams
High beams
#10
For those that might be interested in these, here is some more info on them:
Truck-Lite - Catalog Product : 5'' x 7'' Rectangular LED Headlamp, Complex Reflector Optics
got mine off ebay from Drivetrain America
$209/each
Truck-Lite 27450C Rectangular LED 5X7 Truck Jeep Headlight
#11
Yup bought them from the same place but off the direct website 431 shipped
Hope everything with your pops turns out good!!
Hope everything with your pops turns out good!!
Last edited by Discombobulated; 02-13-2013 at 07:29 PM.
#15
#17
I've heard some comment at NAJAX that they think they will freeze over because they have no heat. I've driven two different times during pretty good snowfall, not an issue. I think because they have no heat, they won't melt snow at all...just my theory.
#19
#20
Will post results next time the conditions are the same just wasn't driving enough that day to confirm it.