Apparently, I've been the asshole for the past 4 months (BEAMTECH LED replacement bulbs)

[Higher_Ground]

LOL it's like an arms race on the roads with you guys. What did Gandhi say? "Bright ass headlights for bright ass headlights will leave the whole world blind"

I like my halogens. I am the type of person who would prefer less artificial light unless it's absolutely necessary. I use my high beams on 2 lane roads at night - about once every other year because I don't drive lonely stretches in the dark anymore. I'm not even sure if I've ever used them in the gladiator.

That being said, I will readily acknowledge that being blinded by oncoming traffic is an inevitability for all of us unless you're sitting 6' off the road. It just reminds me of when SUVs became all the rage. People would say "it's so much nicer to sit up above everyone" without realizing they're now blocking the view of anyone who drives a sedan.

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[PlayfulBird]

Turns out only the marketing has advanced because the tech for LEDs in reflector housings is still the same as it's always been, zero

This is not completely true. Osram has managed to finally bring led replacement kits that even pass the super strict German laws. But! Only for super popular models though, here is to hopin the gladi is going to be amongst them. So far it seems, that vehicles that have optional led factory are not being considered as of now.

 

[Rahkmalla]

If you have a clean cutoff line with the beamtech LED bulbs and you're still getting flashed, you need to aim them down more.

An easy way to know if they're too high (besides getting flashed by everyone) is to watch where the bulbs are illuminating the backs of vehicles in front of you when in traffic while you're behind them 25' or so, you should be able to tell if you're shining your lights into their side mirrors. I pulled my JT up to several parked cars on side streets at night (creepy, I know) to test this way and made sure my cutoff line was a few inches below where they'd start to hit their side mirrors.

Keep in mind if you don't have them quite down far enough and your vehicle bounces on the road as you drive oncoming traffic is going to get a repeating flashing effect of getting the bulbs full brightness and low brightness because of the bouncing cutoff line. I'd bet you're right at this point which arguably is worse than if you had them way too high and oncoming traffic was just getting the bulbs full brightness without the bounce.

Fine tune yours a little more and I'm sure you'll be good to go, I've been running mine for 2 years now and no flashes after proper aiming.

My cutoff line was roughly 2 inches below my wife's rear window. We talked it through for a while. it wasn't aimed into her, it just refracted all over the place

 

[93civej1]

Great read. A+. Would read again

 

[Jtclayton612]

My cutoff line was roughly 2 inches below my wife's rear window. We talked it through for a while. it wasn't aimed into her, it just refracted all over the place

Could just be they are very bright, my halogen reflectors on my JLU and a friends JT don’t have any problems with refraction. I’ve been running mine for over a year with no problems and he’s been running his for a few months.

clean cutoff and we both ended up aiming them down. I haven’t gotten flashed except when it’s been hilly and same for him.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

I used to get blinded by oncoming traffic too by some of these crazy bright headlights. Once I figured out I should stop staring at them, blindness was no longer a thing.

It’s the same thing as staring at the sun. Don’t do it and you’ll be fine. People who flash can’t help but look at the light. It takes discipline to just look at the lane in front of you.

 

[jensjer]

Bought beamtech led replacement bulbs for my gladiator based on recommendations and assurances that led replacements for halogen reflector housings had come a long way. Installed them and noticed a pretty serious cut-off line. Not quite projector housing crisp, but it looked like a clean-enough on/off. I figured driving at night would be the test. I got highbeamed once the first night, but i was cresting a hill and could clearly see my line was elevated because of the terrain and the person who flashed me was blinding me prior to the flash as well. So i wrote that off. I generally don't drive at night that often so it barely really came up again. I've never gotten multiple flashes on any given day, and the flashes i do get were usually 1-3 weeks apart.

Well, standard time (thank god it's gone next year) came around, and suddenly i'm driving in the dark more often. No increase in highbeamings though. But i did have occasion to drive behind my wife last night. She called me on the drive to ask if i had my highbeams on. No, definitely not. She said "holy fuck are those bright"... bright all the time or just when i hit bumps? "Bright all the time, but worse some moments"

Well fuck.

Final question "Bright like 'wow, that's a bright headlight' or 'look at this fucking asshole' bright?"

Asshole bright.

Just finished up putting my halogens back in. Can't wait for the Diode Dynamics black friday sale on their new projectors!

No such thing as a free lunch i guess.

Thank you for being a responsible asshole! I hit 40 and my rods and cones can’t take anymore assholes.. not sure how companies get away with this but more so than not it seems.
some instances I think lifted Vehicle folk rarely know they have to point the light housing down more.. or they just don’t give an f.

 

[jjdustr340]

Oddly enough, the Beamtech S1 (which tends to be the most popular for Jeeps), isn’t much brighter than standard halogen (14% more Lux on low beam). In fact, on high beams, they have a lower Lux than halogens.

 

[Orange01z28]

If someone flashes me I return the favor with the offroad lights

 

[wchevron]

Bought beamtech led replacement bulbs for my gladiator based on recommendations and assurances that led replacements for halogen reflector housings had come a long way. Installed them and noticed a pretty serious cut-off line. Not quite projector housing crisp, but it looked like a clean-enough on/off. I figured driving at night would be the test. I got highbeamed once the first night, but i was cresting a hill and could clearly see my line was elevated because of the terrain and the person who flashed me was blinding me prior to the flash as well. So i wrote that off. I generally don't drive at night that often so it barely really came up again. I've never gotten multiple flashes on any given day, and the flashes i do get were usually 1-3 weeks apart.

Well, standard time (thank god it's gone next year) came around, and suddenly i'm driving in the dark more often. No increase in highbeamings though. But i did have occasion to drive behind my wife last night. She called me on the drive to ask if i had my highbeams on. No, definitely not. She said "holy fuck are those bright"... bright all the time or just when i hit bumps? "Bright all the time, but worse some moments"

Well fuck.

Final question "Bright like 'wow, that's a bright headlight' or 'look at this fucking asshole' bright?"

Asshole bright.

Just finished up putting my halogens back in. Can't wait for the Diode Dynamics black friday sale on their new projectors!

No such thing as a free lunch i guess.

Don't feel bad. We've all thought you were an asshole for longer than 4 months.

 

[AmishMike]

I used to get blinded by oncoming traffic too by some of these crazy bright headlights. Once I figured out I should stop staring at them, blindness was no longer a thing.

It’s the same thing as staring at the sun. Don’t do it and you’ll be fine. People who flash can’t help but look at the light. It takes discipline to just look at the lane in front of you.

Yes, look away. Your best bet is actually to look for at the fog line (white line on right hand edge of the road).

 

[citadelfox]

I started with oracle LED replacement bulbs two months ago, and then switched to their heated projector full headlight replacements (which I love).
That being said, I'll sell the LED replacement bulbs cheap (say $80 plus shipping... I paid about $180 for them at the end of August).

 

[citadelfox]

If someone flashes me I return the favor with the offroad lights

BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE!!! ??

 

[jensjer]

I started with oracle LED replacement bulbs two months ago, and then switched to their heated projector full headlight replacements (which I love).
That being said, I'll sell the LED replacement bulbs cheap (say $80 plus shipping... I paid about $180 for them at the end of August).

Wait, what you spent 180.00 on bulbs! Jesus.

 

[citadelfox]

Wait, what you spent 180.00 on bulbs! Jesus.

Oracle LED replacements for stock halogens. Yes.

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