Safe aftermarket LED headlight bulb info, finds and discussion

[RainboChaser]

I haven’t bought them yet btw I just read some thing about people with 19 models having figment issues. Amazon says they don’t fit either.

 

[powermatt]

I haven’t bought them yet btw I just read some thing about people with 19 models having figment issues. Amazon says they don’t fit either.

Well that's helpfully vague. Also, you really put any faith in Amazon product info?

 

[RainboChaser]

Update:
Bought the TechMax v2 and they are nice and all but I did have to fabricate the bezel to fit on passenger side (hurt my soul; brand new car). They look okay but need to adjust them I think. One side looks lower than other and the side that is lower is passenger? Which I thought was weird.

 

[powermatt]

Update:
Bought the TechMax v2 and they are nice and all but I did have to fabricate the bezel to fit on passenger side (hurt my soul; brand new car). They look okay but need to adjust them I think. One side looks lower than other and the side that is lower is passenger? Which I thought was weird.

You will have knocked them out of alignment during the install. Readjusting them is mandatory after install, and will require some trial and error.

 

[RainboChaser]

You will have knocked them out of alignment during the install. Readjusting them is mandatory after install, and will require some trial and error.

Yessir has to find the little hole for the Phillips head to go in lol. Done and fixed. Overall I like the lights but I would say don’t go led with lamps lol still safer and overall better..... just a 13itch lol

 

[powermatt]

Yessir has to find the little hole for the Phillips head to go in lol. Done and fixed. Overall I like the lights but I would say don’t go led with lamps lol still safer and overall better..... just a 13itch lol

The overall limiter is just the fact that the stock reflector housings are junk. In order to stay "safe" you're not going to be able to push all that much more light. Depending on how things go here, I can see doing a projector retrofit in my future.

 

[RainboChaser]

The overall limiter is just the fact that the stock reflector housings are junk. In order to stay "safe" you're not going to be able to push all that much more light. Depending on things go here, I can see doing a projector retrofit in my future.

I’m thinking that eyebrows would fix the side (light leak) and also add looks to the car

 

[StickyJedi]

Yeah, it took some convincing to get in there. I actually had to trim a little in the passenger side to get the bulb in there. But no issues since. I'm super happy... For now.

Just installed mine today, passenger side needed some shaving to allow for the bulb to be connected and enough clearance for the wider fans on the back.

 

[Remi]

Just installed mine today, passenger side needed some shaving to allow for the bulb to be connected and enough clearance for the wider fans on the back.

Exactly what I had to do.

 

[RainboChaser]

Exactly what I had to do.

Make that 3, sucks but to me it’s better just make sure you aren’t blinding people.

 

[ronniec687]

Ok so i've pretty much read every page of this thread and I have no clue what to do now lol. Im looking to replace the stock low and high beams with an LED bulb that i wont involve me having to modify the stock headlight housing. Can someone please lead me in the right direction. I don't want to buy some POS either Im willing to pay for a quality product. I would also like to be able to still utilize the rubber piece that keeps the headlight housing sealed so I don't have condensation issues.

 

[powermatt]

Ok so i've pretty much read every page of this thread and I have no clue what to do now lol. Im looking to replace the stock low and high beams with an LED bulb that i wont involve me having to modify the stock headlight housing. Can someone please lead me in the right direction. I don't want to buy some POS either Im willing to pay for a quality product. I would also like to be able to still utilize the rubber piece that keeps the headlight housing sealed so I don't have condensation issues.

Per the first post, the only bulbs that fit without modification and provide safe output are the TechMax Mini bulbs. For low beams, just get those and call it a day. Don't worry about the rubber covers, they don't do anything to prevent condensation (arguments about if they prevent the LED cooling fans from working are ongoing). I've had them off for a while now with zero issues.

High beams are listed at the bottom of the first post. I have no experience there because I've not changed mine (I never need high beams in my area).

 

[ronniec687]

Per the first post, the only bulbs that fit without modification and provide safe output are the TechMax Mini bulbs. For low beams, just get those and call it a day. Don't worry about the rubber covers, they don't do anything to prevent condensation (arguments about if they prevent the LED cooling fans from working are ongoing). I've had them off for a while now with zero issues.

High beams are listed at the bottom of the first post. I have no experience there because I've not changed mine (I never need high beams in my area).

Awesome thank you for the info its greatly appreciated!!!!

 

[Business6]

I've had my techmax minis for almost two years now, holding up well. Still haven't been flashed but I probably aimed them a bit too low. I figured putting them slightly lower than stock would work best for other drivers while still working for me

 

[mattyt]

I put the recommended headlights in and both my lights fogged up first time it rained. Guess I need the dust covers on? I didn't put them back on because the OP said they weren't necessary. I've got the lights fully locked into place. It's not like large droplets or anything its just fogged up.

 

[powermatt]

I put the recommended headlights in and both my lights fogged up first time it rained. Guess I need the dust covers on? I didn't put them back on because the OP said they weren't necessary. I've got the lights fully locked into place. It's not like large droplets or anything its just fogged up.

Never been an issue here in Virginia, and we do hot and humid just about as well as NC.

 

[lilbleh]

Those who have the projector type of headlights might want to look into using HIDs instead of LEDs to avoid having to accomodate for the large heatsinks or fans or what have you. Furthermore, in my opinion, using LEDs with the fans for heat dissipation might have long term detrimental effect. The heat that the fan is trying to blow out circulates within the headlight housing unless you have modified the rubber covering so that the fan blows the air outside. If the hot air is circulating within the housing, then overall, the housing starts to get warmer than normal and the dissipation process is drastically reduced since all it is doing is drawing hot air from the LED and then having hot air circulating over the LED. I cannot say for sure, but just my opinion.

 

[powermatt]

Those who have the projector type of headlights might want to look into using HIDs instead of LEDs to avoid having to accomodate for the large heatsinks or fans or what have you. Furthermore, in my opinion, using LEDs with the fans for heat dissipation might have long term detrimental effect. The heat that the fan is trying to blow out circulates within the headlight housing unless you have modified the rubber covering so that the fan blows the air outside. If the hot air is circulating within the housing, then overall, the housing starts to get warmer than normal and the dissipation process is drastically reduced since all it is doing is drawing hot air from the LED and then having hot air circulating over the LED. I cannot say for sure, but just my opinion.

I've not seen the back side of the projector housings for our cars, but I have no reason to believe the issues will be any different than the reflector housings. It's still going to be a twist-style bulb that seats the exact same way. I expect there may be different clearance issues behind the housing, but that's already an issue for the reflector housings.

None of the LED replacements from the first page are going to produce more heat than a 50+ watt Halogen bulb in a sealed housing. That's a complete non-issue.

 

[danbfree]

I've not seen the back side of the projector housings for our cars, but I have no reason to believe the issues will be any different than the reflector housings. It's still going to be a twist-style bulb that seats the exact same way. I expect there may be different clearance issues behind the housing, but that's already an issue for the reflector housings.

None of the LED replacements from the first page are going to produce more heat than a 50+ watt Halogen bulb in a sealed housing. That's a complete non-issue.

It's not really about the overall heat, but LED's are FAR more sensitive to any heat than halogen... and many LED's actually do use 50w+ now like the highly rated DSM tuning...

 

[danbfree]

Quick update, when I traded in my FiST for a my Golf I transferred my Katana's from my FiST Euro projectors over... Funny, it's the opposite than the FiST, the low beam needs an adapter if you don't want to use buy expensive VW proprietary power connector type H7's and the headlights are a bitch to remove but ultimately was worth it... I did find cheap direct fit high beam/DRL's so no adapter needed there. The Golf halogen housings are incredible, there is actually almost a hard cutoff and no light leakage out the side either, didn't have to adjust headlights at all!