HID Headlights: Are they Better than LEDs? 

If you can't wait 10 seconds for your HID's to get to full brightness you have problems!

Just switched from HID to LED a week ago! Everything was great until tonight!!! It rained and the LEDs gave NO LIGHT whatsoever!! My wife kept telling me to turn on the lights 😄. I had to drive with my halogen hi beams to see the road! Tomorrow I am reinstalling my old HID and the LEDs are going up for sale

When you're replacing your standard halogen bulb with an led bulb you need to make sure the led chip is in the same place that the filament is on the halogen, the reflector is designed to throw the light coming from that specific area, otherwise you'll have shadows and a scattered beam pattern

What you say near the end is important... "Aim your lights so they dont blind oncoming drivers". Nothing sucks more then driving on a 2 lane road that has no street lighting then being blinded by a bright LED headlight that is improperly tuned, legit cant see a goddamn thing as if I were seeing the gates of heaven. It is far too common for comfort. Like multiple cars every time I drive at night.

"This might look like a mess but it's really not" every car guy ever

HID steps all over LED's especially the 55watt version. 55watt still out last halogen by a long time and they are about 10 bucks a pair and the very best (if there is any real difference) is 25 bucks. I tried several high end LED's (2019) and 55 watt HID is way brighter, there is no comparison. HID is not complicated you have a ballast and a bulb with LED's you have a driver and a bulb. In many cases you do not need a relay kit, I run one because i want to take the load of the light circuit and BTW even 55 watt HID's draw less current than a 55watt Halogen, it's just their start-up current is a little high for a few seconds... There is something about the reflected light from a LED that makes them subpar (IMO). It's hard to explain but reflected light is what allows you to see and LED's somehow do not have good reflective qualities. ======================================================================================= This video is the first one I have seen that is accurate.

This double sided tape bolts right up.

How about comparing $150 LED kit against $150 HID kit. I think that would be a lot better video. Just from hearing the price alone I got a feelin the HID kit is going outperform the LED hands down?

Hey, guys: For any of you who have to remove your entire bumper just to change a headlight bulb, always look for the easier alternative, because there very well might be one where you do not have to go through the headache of entire front bumper removal. For example: My 2017 Mustang GT required entire bumper removal to replace the headlights until I discovered that I can perform this task with a much easier alternative and that is just to turn the wheels sharply where the tires tuck all the way into the wheel well. Then I had to remove part of the wheel well splash shield and one simple fender reinforcement strut held by just two bolts, and then--voila! There was the back of the headlight assembly where all I then had to do was to unscrew the dust caps, pull the electrical connection and pull out the bulbs with absolutely no front bumper removal! If you own a 2015 Mustang and up--you can definitely use this headlight removal procedure. Now, just check if this can be done with your own make and model of car.

but remember that LEDs are more friendly with your alternator and battery

Those are not the "best" LEDs, they are cheap LED bulbs!

Watched 5 minutes and it was agonizing. Skipped ahead to see output shots and it was even worse than watching the beginning. You need to do some research on HIDs and LEDs before you start recommending things. Headlight Revolution here on RU-vid is a good place to start

Thanks for the detailed explanation of the LED bulbs position. I’m wandering why the lights focused on the high side when switching to low beam. Glaring oncoming traffic. The high beam focused alright though. After aligned to left & right just like in the video, the focused beam is more accurate. By the way, I’m using H4 4300k LED bulb. More suitable for bad weather. Have a nice day! Safwan from Malaysia!

Bro....U did a really good job with this vid...very informative!! Thanks!!! Keep it up!!

Thanks alot cos this video made me save money, especially when u emphasized on positioning of the LED bulb inside the lamp matters.... That changed everything. Now my car now emits bright high beam. Thanks a million 🙂

My 6pcs of HID installed in my car for 9yrs still working fine no issues about it. The problem with leds are the fans when it stops it overheats may cause fire.

HID is just "High intensity discharge". You can get HID Xenon arc lamps, HID Halogen, and HID LED. In most places, if your vehicle came with Halogen bulbs in reflector housings, it is against the law to change them to something else, and you also end up blinding other drivers. Don't be that douch that blinds everyone.

Xenon and LED's are excellent lights, but on a headlight made for it. When you start modifying the light system it does not end well, usually. Xenon lights can damage the halogen headlights, as they are not prepared for xenon, and they almost never aim as they should. Here in Portugal, both aftermarket LED's and xenon are illegal (thankfully), as you need a headlight washer and proper headlight to run xenon, as well as auto-leveler for the headlight. For LED's you do not need the washer, does not make sense, but whatever. Don't get me wrong, LED's and Xenon are the best way to illuminate the road, but the lighting system must be prepared for it, and any modification from halogen to these systems are illegal and won't end well. Here (in Portugal) it is a direct fail in periodic inspection, unless the car is factory ready to these systems, or otherwise properly prepared. Taking a bulb out and swapping it for another is not properly prepared.

You talk too much just get to the point

I replaced my hid with led. And will never go back to hid. Lots of problems

13:11 Yo, you're welcome.

u want more lights ? just add additional spotlights or foglights WITH LED. the more the merrier, since they are bloody cheaper than HID

LED are way overpriced for the output. The drawback also is the amount of heat they produce. Since HID has been banned in most States, LED quickly became the norm but the pricing remained the same if not higher than HID. I just wish companies like PIAA or Philips continued making HIDs. Now we just get Chinese quality HID and LED that is NOT gaurenteed to last a year.

1. Always retrofit a quality projector for using HIDs. 2. LEDs are good everywhere except for headlights regardless of it being a reflector or projector. 3. Any aftermarket LED is not going to properly disperse light compared to an HID in a HID projector. 4. Not all projectors are created the same. There are also halogen projectors. Some suck while others are able to take HID's just fine. 5. If you think having HID's in your reflector bowl is brighter, you're wrong. You don't want foreground (light directly in front of the car). That hurts your far-seeing vision since your eyes focus on the brighter spot. 6. The higher the kelvin, the less usable light there is. The highest Kelvin you want to think about is 6500k. Anything above looks terrible and is useless. 5500k is pure white but is not good for snow and/or rain. 4300/4500k is the best in terms of usable light and it puts the least strain on the eyes.

Test this HID kit vs Philips X-treme Ultinon LED is the same price range.

Putting an LED bulb in a projector that wasn't meant for LEDs is about one of the dumbest things you can do. If it was meant for HIDs, keep HIDs in there. Projectors with HIDs form a hotspot which is where most of the beam is focused and you will never get that with those junk LED bulbs. And do not put 55W HIDs in either, unless you want to melt your housings. If you want better light output, retrofit some proper projectors and use HID bulbs (Or a LED projector with a LED bulb).

LED is super simple, easy install and plug and play. HID is better light but the bulbs are very fragile and can randomly burn out before the end life. More complex to install (depends on your ride as some are super open in the engine bay vs others). Overall LED's vs HID both have pros and cons. But LED's are lighter on the wallet

I'd rather have LED's than HID's. I've done this to my Camry. the lightning is awesome. (All LED'S). My preference.

wtf happened to the old days where you could pop you hood and swap out a bulb in less than 5 minutes? I know why they do it but its just ridiculous you need to take your whole front end apart to change out a bulb.

HID bulbs even during their warm-up are still FAR FAR better than any LED

I like that you hit the main point when installing these types of bulbs. Only install HID's or LED's if your vehicle has projector lenses. These lights are designed only for projector lenses. If you put them into a headlight that has a reflective housing, you'll be blinding everyone on the road six ways to Sunday. Also properly aiming your projectors is key 👍🏼.

I recommend HID's for your low beams. LED's for your Fog Lights and High Beams. That's the best way to have it.

Great idea honda when changing the light in my kitchen remove the entire celling wow. Law makers should force auto maker to make light easy access to change.

HID in Projectors is the best option. Led are good in reflectors

55 watt last only a year? Who told you that? I have had a few 55 watt kits and all the bulbs I had lasted a minimum of 5 years. The short one at 5 years would have gone longer if my car didnt get wrecked.

I think HID's will eventually come up with a less complicated setup and cut the warm up time out LED's are out sales HID's due to the plug and play and no warm up time and last longer so it's just a matter of time HID'S will make changes to the system so it will compete with LED's setups

I prefer HID bulbs more than LED ones even though I have both of them at my car in auxilary lights. Only thing why LED's sucks is winter. At here Finland its usually cold and snowy at winter. That causes that headlights to surface freeze and then light patter is ruined and lights are illuminating very bad. HID's generates heat and it melts ice off from headlight glass. LED's (atleast mine) cant do that. So HID's are better than LED's at cold&snowy areas

Me: turns on high beams at asshole with bright lights Him: turns on high beams brighter than bright lower beams

When I purchased my vehicle I swapped in H11 HID 4500K low beam bulbs right away (low beams are projectors). This was more than 16 years ago. I went with bulbs and ballasts from Phillips in Germany. They were less yellow in color than stock, and noticeably brighter. So sixteen years later they are still going strong. Don't cheap out - it's with it.

That's not 100% true that HID high beams are not optimal for high beam. My car uses the same HID bulb and projector for low beam or high beam, just sends more power to it and it gets brighter. and it's already warmed up from driving.

10:03 he said nut...LMAO

LEDs all day for me personally. Cheaper, way easier to install, no warm up period, and still much brighter than stock. Not to mention longevity. A good quality set of LEDs is really close the brightness of many HIDs, and in a few years, they’ll surpass them.

Bro your engine bay is all full of rust

You can also skip installing the relay altogether. I’ve done a dozen HID kits across different makes and have both never used the relays and also never had an issue

Morimoto makes a good hid kit. Remember that they also provide CANBUS connectors from original headlight connector to the ballast. In those cases you typically don't use the relay kit. That ensures you don't see headlight off warnings on the dash.

Are we gonna pretend like he didnt just compare top of the line morimotos to an amazon kit ???? Lol what ????

I have both HID and L.e.d's HI d's the best way to go don't let the salesman sell you on Le d's . led el turn right onto that you don't have no wait time I live in Alaska so 9 months out of the year it's Winter and you just don't start your car and go need to let the car warm up first..anyways with the HID It takes to the count of 4 and they ignite and the color is much much better and brighter

PERSONALLY - I still prefer the old quartz-iodine - quartz-halogen driving lights from the 1960s.

Well the Hikari LED bulbs are the best!For projectors and reflectors! $100 would be more of a equal comparison. Nice video been wanting to see more of the nineo LEDs, try Techmax Mini LEDs as well.

Just a tip: while filming yourself in a portrait. Zoom in and step away from the camera. Same picture, but better angle on your face

Blue light is not nicer on the eyes. It's more irritating, causes eye fatigue (and permanent damage), has worse color reproduction and it messes up the perspective whic is a key to estimate the speed.

Where is the Morimoto 2Stroke 2.0's or Diode Dynamics SL1 LED's?

“Best possible lighting as possible”

My problem with HID is one of the bulb wont light up sometiemes after awhile. You need to turn it on and off to work (ballast)I dont want to get pulled over because of that. I will try LED next time

Both very cheap quality HIDs and LEDs. Proper LEDs are far superior than any HID set ups. This is for cheapy replacement bulbs which are not only horrible in quality but in most countries illegal as the scatter pattern in particular cars were not intended to use either HID or LED bulbs. The projector low beams can use HID without much fussing about, but the stock standard reflectors cannot. So when you see a car driving at you and they are blinding you, it isn't a new BMW or Audi, it's a 15 year old Honda Accord that has had its bulbs replaced by its novice driver, who is utterly clueless, but this is the age of RU-vid and everyone thinks they know everything about cars because they also learned on someone else's RU-vid video 5 years ago. Wrong then is still wrong now.

Though HIDs put more light output do they last a good amount of time and what would be the right brand to choose from if your looking to buy HID bulbs

Idk about those leds being the best, I switched from HID to LED(got tired of changing those bulbs😂) and the LED’s are ATLEAST three times bright than the HID, the LED’s I used also produce light in 360° (the brand is Light Moses), but then again, I am commenting a year later so maybe it has finally surpassed

10:04 is where everyone decides to just go with LEDs instead.

I have to agree. I paid $1300 for some morimoto xb led headlights and noticed right away that my 35w HyluxTEK HID on stock SLT headlights threw the light further, way wider, and was just a richer looking light. The LEDs are bright and look so damn good, but I'm just not feeling these headlights. WTS: 2 week old GMC Sierra 2014-2019 Morimoto XB LED headlights $900.00 OBO...not even joking. Patterson, CA.

I have a set of LED H4 bulbs in my car with a reflector housing and they seem to work great! Minimal dark spots and the bulbs have the proper shielding so they wont blind anybody. Like you mentioned though it depends completely on the type of headlight and bulb combination.

candle, then filament, then sealed halogen, then removalable halogen bulbs, then H.I.D., then L.E.D. with external drivers, after that L.E.D. with internal drivers, now laser with external drivers, future lasers with internal drivers.

I just came here for the comment section for entertainment. I am very amused as I was hoping to be. Thank you!

Cok gevezesiniz ya cok konusuyorsunuz cok fazla detaybsunuyorsunuz videoyu izlerken konuşmanizdan insannsıkılıyor

Hids are brighter, work better in projectors. Leds work well in reflectiors.

I'd zip tie that driver as well. Don't trust that double sided tape lol

I didnt really pay attention to the video. Im sorry for that. Dont have time to watch it now, But alot of people over look this. Led's (light emitting diode) are bright, vivid, and depending on the headlight housing and quality of the bulb can look amazing. But if you live in the northern states and get winter weather, the appealing look and less power might seem like something to good to pass up. But LED's dont get very hot. And will not melt the ice / snow build up which will occur during the winter months. Some led's say they have a heater element in them, but they still dont work very good. HID's (high intensity discharge ) is an arc basically. It gets hot. And will melt snow. If you got the loot, buy both. One for the summer (leds), and Hid's for the winter. Also give this guy a like and subscribe to his channel. The link is below his video. Everyone have a great and safe holiday season, and an amazing new year!

I can tell you from experience that yes HID is brighter at first than LED. But use those HID bulbs for a year and then put in an LED and you will see the LED is brighter. I have tried a $200 HID kit and a cheap HID kit and all loose brightness over time as the gas filled area colors with use. LED will stay the same brightness over its life unless something goes wrong with it. I have had HID kits in my 2010 Jeep Compass for 4 years and now LED for 2 and LED is brighter using the Supernova V.4 H13 bulb.

Recently went from LED low beam to a 55W 6500k HID kit. Major improvement over LED because there are no dark spots in the beam.

You are comparing some of the crappiest LED bulbs on the market, do you realize that? Also you said that Morimoto kit is "the best kit on the market" - actually the Morimoto kits are just POPULAR, they are actually not that great and fail left/right. You're comparing an average HID kit to one of the worst LED kits. I hate people who make these videos and have no clue what they are talking about.

never had a HID ballast no matter the brand last a winter. got fed up with it last winter and just went to LEDs

Hids suck fucking dick!!! I’m so glad for leds. I’ve had good luck with cougar motor sports leds I use them in my 08 zx10r with projectors. Also my 04 Jeep Grand Cherokee and no issues with either

Yes, buy a 55w ballast and melt your expensive lights. 35w is MORE then sufficient.

You made a great video loved it... You were more in-depth than others I've seen.... But I'm gonna stick with led for now..... But props to your video..... Excellent 👍

LEDs are rubbish in my Projector style housing Headlights. HIDs only lasted about 1.5 years. In the end, I went back to my H7 stock bulbs, they are still the best in terms of light output, light dispersion ad overall quality.

Buy lasfits $38 led bulbs, problem solved. I'm going 4 years with the same 9006 lasfit led bulbs in my 1996 Chevy c1500 and I love them.

You should see about getting a mic that clips to you're shirt for videos like this.

My Friends LED Bulbs on his Focus ST with FAN cooled failed within a few weeks after install because the fan got wet and stopped working making the LED to Fail from over heat! I find the Fan cooled LED as a FOG light is not practical since its open to the elements of the road!

Aftermarket LED's suck period OEM LED's with computers are better than HID's tho acuras benz's infiniti etc.

Wait a minute, my car which is the exact car as yours, a 08 Coupe, I can get get my bulbs out without removing the housing and bumper, it’s 100% possible, you can remove the coolant reservoir to get to them, and the battery

if you have a lifted truck please dont use the hid. be considerate and know you are blinding people

eh 55w ddm tuning saberled prox v2s blow everyone HID and LED on the market away by far

I have led’s from Auxbeam I think you should test those out

Just try a 16000lm 4 sides LED bulbs and you gonna forget about those HID! It's obvious you don't know nothing about LED!

How to make everyone on the road hate you: do a HID or LED swap and blind every car in oncoming traffic because your light housing isn't made for those lights and doesn't have a projector. And if you live in europe your car will fail inspection in most countries. You can get a ticket, etc. Not worth all the fuss, Just get whitevision halogen lights if you don't like the fact that they shine yellow and want a little better illumination

I guess I feel that HID lights is great for Projector headlights but LED are great for reflector housings. Only way I say that since I have a 2016 Civic touring and my lights is perfect at night with a wide low beam view.

I have h11 led on my van both high and the low beam housing and mines are very bright I be blinding everyone lmfao

My old 2006 Cadillac DTS had HID's never any problem with 150,000 miles when I traded it in on a 2019 Toyota Avalon that came with LED's. The OEM LED's are whiter and brighter then the OEM HID's and the LED's should last the life of the car.

There's a lot of led kits in the market..brightness and beam pattern is different every design of bulbs Hid all the same design just different quality I suggest go test $150-250 LED kit

Really good presentation, editing and format. Keep up the good work! Going to check your channel out. Who knows, might even sub!! Lol

As for your carb to fuel injection & direct injection, Direct injection is JUNK!!! Fuel running over an intake valve keeps the valve clean! Direct injected vehicles all have an issue with carbon build up on the intake valves & running poorly so, As I get your analogy, One must understand the flaw in that phrase...Direct injection is definitely NOT THE FUTURE EVEN THOUGH AUTO MANUFACTURES KEEP TRYING YET, DIRECT INJECTION IS A BUST!!!

I don't recall seeing a side by side comparison LED vs HID why didn't you do that? Wasn't that the purpose of the video?

My Led Headlight bulbs are even Brighter Than any HID Headlight Bulbs the Led Headlight Bulbs 6500K 20000 Lumens 200 Watts & these H4 Led Headlight Bulbs I've got the CSP CHIPS Line Up Exactly Perfectly to the Halogen Bulb Filaments which even give far Better Light Beam Lighting Than any Halogen Headlight Bulbs I used to run on my Toyota Hilux Surf 100/90s Halogen Headlight Bulbs My H4 Led Headlight Bulbs Blow My Halogen Bulbs Hands Down & seeing How Your HiD Headlight Bulbs Beams are on Video My Led Headlight Beams Blow Yours Away Hands Down To Mone are really Bright White Lights & I paid New Zealand $38.74 & not a bad Price either & I brought these.H4 Led Headlight Bulbs from Wish & just down from my street there is just a slight bend in our road & once I get the straight part of the road I can stop my vehicle & when there are no cars in front of me there is an intersection quite a long way down the road & there is s 2 Story home across the other side of the intersection & I switch on my H4 Led Headlight Bulbs to High Beam I Can light up the whole Front of the House up no Problem at all & I guarantee No HID Headlight Bulbs could Do That & as I say I am a fair distance away from the intersection I will never ever go back Halogen Headlight Bulbs Ever Again I will Stick To Led Headlight Bulbs They Are Brilliant Very Very Bright White Lights I'm Really Glad That I Had Brought The Correct H4 Led Headlight Bulbs I even went around to my friends place & He couldn't believe how much Bright My H4 Headlight Bulbs Are & 3 houses away I switched on my Headlights on High Beam & My H4 Headlight Beams Would Light Up whole front the 2 story house & it was on the opposite side of the road & a fair distance away My Friend Clem Couldnt Believe His Eyes how much my H4 Headlight Beams could Light up the 2 Story house I couldn't believe it myself & you have to see it to believe it & quite a distance away from my Clems place there is a sharp bend in his street & on the opposite side of the bend there is a single story house & I moved vechicle to the centre of the road & moved my vehicle back a bit & & Switched my lights on to High Beam & The whole of the White House lights Up both Clem & I were Amazed how Bright they were & on low beam they are still Bright & cannot distract other drivers on the road or roads Those Led H4 Headlights Work Perfectly Can't Fault Them Kind Regards Peter

I'll stick to LEDs they never let me down! The 5000k and 6000k LEDs are the best. I used HIDs when I was 18 I had 10000k, 8000k the thing that sucks about the h I d s that they are very sensitive, you can't even go to a ranch or dirt road becuase they fuck up. And sometimes they just go out. And the lifespan is just 6000 hours 😂😂😂 nah I'll stick with my 50000 hours LEDs. It's already been 5 years that I have been my l e, d s and they still work never had a problem. I can't believe I'm about to say this 😂 But you kids just in for the Color HIDs, but you will grow up soon. Trust me I already have 👌

Great Contents and explanation.. I’m from Indonesia and we are RHD ( Right Hand Drive ). Question is, i would like to order 2,5” Morimoto Projector in Amazon, but they don’t have RHD, would you please inform me how do i get them in RHD Version. Thanks, and good luck

I have an E36 Bimmer and upgraded to 5000K 55 Watt HIDs 7 years ago. Never burnt out a bulb and never had a day's trouble. 55 Watt gives a sexy spread of light and 5000K is Daylight. Don't choose another colour. Higher gives harsh light and lower looks warm. I agree about high beams. I use 100 watt Xenon as I rarely go out of the city, so the extra wattage works well

Driving in Michigan winters, will BOTH HID & LED bulbs generate enough thermal heat to melt show / ice off low-beam projector headlamp lenses, as the original OEM Halogen bulbs did (If the lens freezes over with snow/ice due to insufficient bulb thermal heat, does it really matter how many LUX, lumens or K the lamp is producing)? For those of you driving in warmer climates, please disregard my question, you are too fortunate.

I think that saying HIDs are superior to LEDs is a 50/50 statement. Reason is; LEDs are actually superior with thermo characteristics, lumen output, and lifespan BUT only if they are in a proper housing. For example, Audi's LED Matrix, has the housing specifically designed to make the most of an LED's linear light path and spread it the way the engineer's intended it to. It's a similar story with the 2016+ E Class models and up. Mercedes got clever and made the lamps look like traditional HID projectors but they actually have a sort of Matrix/COB hybrid-ish chip board positioned right behind the lense. Each diode is angled in such a way that it has a prism effect to get the many diodes to collectively shine as one powerful and large beam. It can also pinpoint objects in the road by flashing any one diode (S class only, iirc) that the computer commands based on what the car's radar detected. Bottomline, unless your car's aftermarket has such options, you'll always be stuck with those inferior LED Christmas tree bulbs that will never find an OEM or projector housing to utilize them to optimal capability. Just my 2cent :) I just don't think these Christmas tree style LED bulbs will never have a proper place in the aftermarket world. Sure there are some housings that can refract the light of those bulbs perfectly but those models are like few needles swimming in a bale of hay the size of Rode Island (abit of an exaggerated analogy, I know, but you get the point :p ).

Can we please, as a headlight community on RU-vid, please stop telling audiences to throw HID bulbs into oem halogen housings? You are going to scatter the light into oncoming traffic and blind other drivers on the road. If you want to install HIDs properly, it is much more tedious (if you do it yourself) of a process than just swapping bulbs. You either need an aftermarket headlight housing that comes with HID projector lenses installed OR open your headlights and install aftermarket HID lenses in yourself. Please please please stop haphazardly throwing “plug and play” HID kits into oem headlights! They fail government safety tests!

i am trying to upgrade my wifes 2004 Toyota Tacoma truck headlights. Will the LED lights beable to convert from the original Halogen bulb setup? Do I need different lenses or do these LED kits fit inside the original lens housing?? If you could look at it for me - would be appreciated - thanks

Opinion... the small improvement seen in HID brightness seen in the comparison video towards LEDS is not worth an upgrade from factory fitted LED lights too HIDS if you've got halogen headlights with projector style headlights (please don't put HIDS in reflector headlights! You know who you are!) Then you can choose between HIDS & LEDS but if you've already got LEDS don't bother swapping to HIDS it's not worth the upped cost & installation process, you only get a small improvement & LEDS are more than adequate, that's why I would say 8/10 car manufacturers have made the swap from HIDS too LED & are committed to improving LED, the longer life span & more reliable power its a no brainer :)