LED 9006 Headlight Bulb Review!
 

Hey everyone,

I wanted to post my experience with a new LED headlight bulb kit recentley made available on the market! For this review the vehicle I used is my 1998 GMC Jimmy SLS.

Let me start by saying I was frusterated with the poor output of standard halogen bulbs and wanted better. I looked into HID kits, but the problem with those is I live in Canada, and up here it gets cold, really cold. Most people are aware that HID kits are not very good in cold weather as they can take time to "warm up" and turn on. This is why I didn't think HID's were an option. Eventually I went with the PIAA Xtreme White 9006 bulbs. Currently rated as the best and brightest standard halogen bulbs on the market.

In the interest of brighter lights all my interior bulbs are LEDs, and I looked into LED 9006 bulbs in the past, but they didn't seem to offer enough light to be a proper headlight bulb. They were more suited to fog lights. Recently I was made aware of a new LED headlight kit that has been on the market for about four months now.

With my interest in these new kits peaked, I further inquired into how they worked in cold temperatures, and halogen reflectors. I was informed that these kits underwent extensive temperature testing including in cold climates to ensure they worked every time. I was also advised that you do not need to change your head light assembly as they will work with your stock, standard reflectors. With this, I figured they were worth a try!!

I placed my order on October 30th, and they arrived to me on November 13th. Below is what you will see when the box arrives, and what is in the box:

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

The bulbs are fitted with Cree LEDs, and powered by a driver mounted in the ballasts. Similar to HIDs. The ballasts are plug and play directly into your factory bulb socket.

This is a comparison review as well, comparing the brightness between the best halogen bulb available, the PIAA Xtreme White with these LED headlights. So here is the output of the PIAA Xtreme White bulbs:

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411



With that, lets install one of the LED bulbs and see how it compares:



https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

So hows that for light output? Remember this kit is rated at 1,200 Lumens! The other kits available are 1,800 Lumens, and the 2nd Generation model is now rated at 2,400 Lumens!


INSTALLATION:

Please note that these LED bulbs differ from standard 9006/HB4 bulbs in that they have a large aluminum heat sink and cooling fan mounted on the back. This increases the space they take up by about 1". Other then that they twist in the exact same as a standard 9006 bulb.

With the GMC Jimmy, some modification was required to ensure a proper fit. That modification is documented in the pictures below:

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

In this picture you can see the the plastic piece of the headlight is now in the way of the additional space of bulb. This plastic piece is the headlight mounting tab. While the bulb does fit with this intact, it push the tab back to far to properly reinstall the headlight. This is the modification part:

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

Once this was completed the bulb fit perfectly, and unobstructed. This left one mounting tab which still secures the headlight. I have found even with one mounting tab the headlight remains secure. Headlights will differ on the Blazer and S10 models so different modification may be required.

Once you install the bulb you simply plug in the connectors and tuck away the ballast. The picture below shows one of the screw cap locking connectors which is waterproof according to the manufacturer.

http://s19.postimg.org/fftgl8r4z/076.jpg

LIGHT PERFORMANCE

Here are the pictures showing light output:


https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411


Comparison shots between the LED 9006 bulbs, and my standard halogen 9005 High Beams:

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411


https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

https://blazerforum.com/forum/attach...ine=1385400411

In the photos of the garage wall you can see that the LED's still retain beam focus but have a broader output as well.

In the time since I have had this kit installed I have not had a single driver "high beam" me to indicate my lights were blinding them. And I do a fair bit of highway driving.


THOUGHTS

I found installation to be quite easy as stated by the manufacturer. Outside of the slight modification I needed, it was simply remove the old bubs, install the new ones and connect the ballasts. This is something that can be installed by almost anyone which is a plus.

Light output has been far superior to anything I had before this. It helps illuminate road signs much further down the road making it easier to where your going.

Since the install of this kit we had a really harsh week where the temperature dropped below -20C consistently for several days, with windchill bringing it close to -30C. Not once did these lights fail to start up with the car. They came on with the car and stayed on. No flickering or wait for them to come on. That is what I wanted!

Overall I am quite happy with this kit and im glad I made the investment!


NOTE: Other bulb types are available, not just 9006/HB4.

Why did you not go with HID's? Are they illegal in Canada? If so, those will get you a ticket as well. they cause more glare than HID's in housings not designed for them .


But thanks for the review. I just personally would not recommend any plug and play LED bulb.

thanks for the review!

This sounded a little sales pitchy to me.

A few of things I'd say about this product.

1: That garage shot shows some of the worst glare I've seen in quite a while. While it does have a good concentration of light at the center (good for distance vision), there is light all over the place above where a cutoff should be. That would make those great for high beams, but for lows, they are terrible. If you really haven't been flashed by other drivers, then you have some tolerant folks up there.

2: Leds operate better at lower temperatures. The problem is when they get hot they start to allow more current to flow, creating even more heat. So the real question would be how they perform in the summer, when the ambient temps are higher and the heat sink is less efficient.

3: I'd also be worried about running a cooling fan in a configuration like that. Once road grime and dirt get in the bearings, they'll probably seize up, which would lead to thermal runaway.

I don't like to be a downer when it comes to led tech. especially in something like headlights, but I have to agree with Rich, I wouldn't touch these. Maybe in a high beam config. but that would just be for the fun of having led high beams. :)

HIDs are legal up here, but the reason I did not want HIDs was because of the issues at startup in cold temps. I know several people who run HIDs on a variety of vehicles and that is a common complaint. So far these LED bulbs have come on every time with no lagging, flickering or other issues.

Im happy with them, and im happy with the light output they produce. They work really well on the unlit roads I travel on early in the morning.

If you get a good HID kit you really shouldn't have an issue with cold starts, but I'm glad you like them.

Yup you can see the flair in the sixth picture down. Maybe a clear lens, as opposed to a corrugated lens, would help the off axis light output. I like the idea of LED. But is the actual size of the source bigger or smaller than quartz halogen?

The source is all of the yellow phosphor you can see, which is quite larger than the filament of a halogen. This would throw out just about any control the reflector / flutes had with the halogen. But my guess would be that flutes would work just a little better than pure reflective, due to the reflector aiming all the light basically forward, then allowing the flutes to 'fine tune' the output.

Either way, these would not pass a DOT test, which, BTW, are archaic at best in the modern world of lighting technologies. The DOT really annoys me when it comes to stuff like that. Sealed beams being mandatory until 1984 is absurd. :icon_doh:

I can just imagine what the world would look like if my sunglasses had flutes for lenses. Is that how flys see?

So far the LEDs have held up really well. We had a week where the temperature reached -35C (-30 F) and they still started up every single time.

At this time, I know it was commented that the glare was really bad, but so far the light out put is better then the PIAA bulbs I had before. I still havent had a single person flash me on the highway. Maybe they got used to all the rednecks in lifted trucks with HIDs? I can see street signs much clearer then I could before as well.