Post by moemoney313 on Feb 23, 2014 17:05:07 GMT -5
I have a 1994 Subaru Justy DL. The stock 9004 halogen bulbs just was not working for me! I live out in the country and most of the roads I drive on are unlit. Add to that deers, raccoons and armodillos crossing the road and not being able to see them until it is too late! Or being blinded by oncoming traffic because their lights are so bright and your lights so dim that you cannot see the road!
To resolve this problem I tried to upgrade my headlights. Mind you, I am not a fan of those bright blue headlights! All I want to do is put more light on the road without blinding oncoming traffic! So I ungraded my bulbs to Syvania Silverstars. They worked ok but seem to burn out after a couple of months! No fun trying to drive to work with one headlight!
I considered installing HID conversion kit but without the projector installed in the lens I was back to blinding oncoming traffic. HID installation was also very expensive and the ballast were not reliable in the aftermarket. Most were wired up so that an electrical short would take out both lights. Not good where I am at! I wanted a plug and play system that would allow me to switch back to my regular bulbs if need be!
I did not consider LED because of what I thought was too new a technology! What changed my mind was a comparison between Halogen, HID, and LED Headlight kits that was on Youtube. After much research I decided to take the plunge. I found a kit on Amazon that had a pretty good review, but I found the same kit on Ebay for a lot less and FREE SHIPPING!
My Justy has airconditioning, so I was concerned about the space behind the bulbs and where the ballast would mount. For me, I believe I made the right choice!
This is the kit: CREE KIT 9004/HB1 25W 1800 LUMEN 5K HI/LO KIT
Bulb comparison.
Installation was extremely easy! I mounted the ballast with two sided tape ... the thick kind! Cleaned surface with brake clean. So far so good, it is holding!
Driver side
Passenger side
LED headlight conversion kits require a fan on the back end of the bulb. Some kits have a huge fan on the rear of the bulb, but I chose this kit because of the compact size.
One more thing, LED lights do not warm the headlight assembly like halogens do. So the lights will no melt ice or snow like the halogens. In all my testing the LED bulbs never got too hot to touch. The hottest it got was with the engine idling and hood closed ... but still I could touch the base. The halogens tried to burn me!
Halogen on driver side ... LED on passenger (right) side. Big difference!
Again, on the dirt driveway to my house. The halogen looks yellow and weak!
Looking from the front
Both LED lights installed on the road
The downside to these bulbs. The high beams on the LED do not go as far as the halogens or HID. When I turn on the high beams, another light source is activated on the bulb. The low beam stays on so you do not notice a change unless you are upclose on something. I drove most of the night with just my low beams. No flash from oncoming drivers! I did have a driver in a new van run alongside of me for a couple of miles. He had the clear lens over his headlights. He probably was wondering what type of headlights I was running because the light pattern from my car was superior to his. I will probably be adding driving lights for distance ... not sure yet!
To resolve this problem I tried to upgrade my headlights. Mind you, I am not a fan of those bright blue headlights! All I want to do is put more light on the road without blinding oncoming traffic! So I ungraded my bulbs to Syvania Silverstars. They worked ok but seem to burn out after a couple of months! No fun trying to drive to work with one headlight!
I considered installing HID conversion kit but without the projector installed in the lens I was back to blinding oncoming traffic. HID installation was also very expensive and the ballast were not reliable in the aftermarket. Most were wired up so that an electrical short would take out both lights. Not good where I am at! I wanted a plug and play system that would allow me to switch back to my regular bulbs if need be!
I did not consider LED because of what I thought was too new a technology! What changed my mind was a comparison between Halogen, HID, and LED Headlight kits that was on Youtube. After much research I decided to take the plunge. I found a kit on Amazon that had a pretty good review, but I found the same kit on Ebay for a lot less and FREE SHIPPING!
My Justy has airconditioning, so I was concerned about the space behind the bulbs and where the ballast would mount. For me, I believe I made the right choice!
This is the kit: CREE KIT 9004/HB1 25W 1800 LUMEN 5K HI/LO KIT
Bulb comparison.
Installation was extremely easy! I mounted the ballast with two sided tape ... the thick kind! Cleaned surface with brake clean. So far so good, it is holding!
Driver side
Passenger side
LED headlight conversion kits require a fan on the back end of the bulb. Some kits have a huge fan on the rear of the bulb, but I chose this kit because of the compact size.
One more thing, LED lights do not warm the headlight assembly like halogens do. So the lights will no melt ice or snow like the halogens. In all my testing the LED bulbs never got too hot to touch. The hottest it got was with the engine idling and hood closed ... but still I could touch the base. The halogens tried to burn me!
Halogen on driver side ... LED on passenger (right) side. Big difference!
Again, on the dirt driveway to my house. The halogen looks yellow and weak!
Looking from the front
Both LED lights installed on the road
The downside to these bulbs. The high beams on the LED do not go as far as the halogens or HID. When I turn on the high beams, another light source is activated on the bulb. The low beam stays on so you do not notice a change unless you are upclose on something. I drove most of the night with just my low beams. No flash from oncoming drivers! I did have a driver in a new van run alongside of me for a couple of miles. He had the clear lens over his headlights. He probably was wondering what type of headlights I was running because the light pattern from my car was superior to his. I will probably be adding driving lights for distance ... not sure yet!