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Is the factory LED light upgrade worth it?

Rockchucker

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Factory LEDs here
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DreamedofaJeepSomeday

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Hello, I'm new to the jeep community, haven't even ordered yet. I was curious what you all thought about the LED upgrade for like $1000???

Thanks Mike
I am sure my solution will not be popular. First, I could not see a grand for just the headlights, since I was already getting the LED taillights with the safety group. Jeep should reduce the LED option price if you are already paying for the taillights.

Second, odd as it may seem, I prefer the color of the halogens. So I resolved from the outset to add lights to front to give me more light for those lonely two-lane roads with deer lurking on the sides.
 

LordEnzo

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Here's some night shots on a trail to add to my post on page 1. Low beams and fogs. Several car lengths behind a Chevy Trail Blazer. Then into the shrub. In both pics u can clearly see the cutoff, and its just below his rear glass.
Jeep Gladiator Is the factory LED light upgrade worth it? VideoCapture_20201201-104735
Jeep Gladiator Is the factory LED light upgrade worth it? VideoCapture_20201201-104739
 

Longleaf

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My truck came with the Aux switch package and I was all excited to add a bunch of lights to the front. Especially after driving my wife's JLU with the halogens. But the stock LED's are so good I can't really justify adding any lighting. The difference is drastic if you drive them back to back.
 

mike921921

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All, do urselves a favor and look up Headlight Revolution on youtube. Yes they sell expensive leds, but u can easily find their ... Amazon doubles. They go over pros and cons. Beat vs worse. And even have a jeep example. I learned more from them than anyone or any forum. Yes, some led suck and just aren't meant to be in a reflector. Others work amazingly well.
Just don't put hid in a reflector and always remember to readjust the beam (up/down), and again if u lift/lower. That would be the 2nd main issue.
As stated, led should be pointed 3 and 9 o'clock. It will give more side light and slightly less forward and up/down light, which will prevent blinding others.
It took me a few tries before finding the perfect bulbs for previous vehicles, personal and work. What may work in one vehicle tho, may not work in another (model to model).
If on a budget, bulb swap is perfectly fine. Can drop a lil, i recommend projectors, can never blind someone when angled properly, and disperse light the best. If $$ is not a big deal, oem is a good choice.
I did all led swap, except for headlight and fogs. As I stated, great down road and side viewing, excellent cutoff, and NOONE flashes me because I was smart and made sure the beam/cutoff was set properly. Also many positive comments.
Ultimately ur choice, tho.
Excellent advice, too many armchair 'experts' on the forum, do yourself a favor and watch the HR videos and decide for yourself.
 

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I would like to have LED headlights, but after reading about snow packing in the head light bucket, I opted for the halogen. Snow and ice is not really a problem in the South, but in the NE, I don't want to be getting out of the Jeep in a snow storm to clean the lights.

May swap out the fogs with LEDs.

I guess you have to pick what best suits you.
 

LordEnzo

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the problem with LED bulbs in a reflector housing is that after a certain amount of lumens,(which LED bulbs usually exceed) no matter what position the LED is (3, 9 6 oclock dont matter), you will have errant scattered light. Its a pure physics thing and the limitation to reflector housings. Yes the road will be more lit up but beyond a certain point you will blind oncoming traffic. Its the reason projector lenses came into use...to overcome the physical limitation of reflector housings.

LED bulbs do light the road better for the driver and have that cool white light look, but after market or OEM LED housings look better (IMO) on the jeep and will and have better performance than bulbs alone and will not through a bunch a glare at oncoming drivers.

If bulbs where the equal of housings, I promise no car company would waste research dollars on headlight redesign when they could get the same performance by throwing in LED bulbs and then charging a huge markup. No manufacturer uses LED in reflector (except merecedes in no longer made vehicles and even that was a special circumstance.)
I agree with most of the first paragraph and all of the rest. Thats where smart shopping comes into play and why I referenced headlight revolution lime I did. There are aftermarket led bulbs that work, and others that don't. Mimics that are just as good as the brand name. But recent designs utilize the oe halogen housing very well. Designed so the chip is in the same location as the filament, minus being a mm or 2 from dead center. They also give about a 270°~320° total illumination in the housing.
Most of the blinding comes from not adjusting after install. No option is a true direct replacement, some adjustments will be required. All the led replacements I've done in previous vehicles, I actually stand in front on level(ish) ground about 30 ft away in front of the vehicle. If it was blinding me after adjustments, they didn't stay in, and returned to Amazon.
I personally prefer replacing the housings for a good projector w/led/hid as per ur explanation. Some can be had for as little as $275-300/pair. I went with mine base on good reviews and style, and couldn't be happier with the results.
 

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I agree with most of the first paragraph and all of the rest. Thats where smart shopping comes into play and why I referenced headlight revolution lime I did. There are aftermarket led bulbs that work, and others that don't. Mimics that are just as good as the brand name. But recent designs utilize the oe halogen housing very well. Designed so the chip is in the same location as the filament, minus being a mm or 2 from dead center. They also give about a 270°~320° total illumination in the housing.
Most of the blinding comes from not adjusting after install. No option is a true direct replacement, some adjustments will be required. All the led replacements I've done in previous vehicles, I actually stand in front on level(ish) ground about 30 ft away in front of the vehicle. If it was blinding me after adjustments, they didn't stay in, and returned to Amazon.
I personally prefer replacing the housings for a good projector w/led/hid as per ur explanation. Some can be had for as little as $275-300/pair. I went with mine base on good reviews and style, and couldn't be happier with the results.
The problem is that you can't make LEDs work the same as the filament because LEDs are fully directional and a halogen is omnidirectional. You would need to create a bulb specifically for the reflector design to eliminate all errant light. Some reflectors work better than others with the universal LED bulbs but in the end, there will always be errant light because of how LED bulbs need to be built to include enough emitters to accomplish the necessary coverage and output.
 

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You will need something. The stock ones are pure garbage. I just can't morally pay FCA that much money to fix a defect. I did a bulb swap and it was better, but have Oracle ones on the way that appear to be better. Also I could care less about taillights. Really I would rank the LED option more on if you want the steel bumper since it is the only way to get it.
 
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LordEnzo

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The problem is that you can't make LEDs work the same as the filament because LEDs are fully directional and a halogen is omnidirectional. You would need to create a bulb specifically for the reflector design to eliminate all errant light. Some reflectors work better than others with the universal LED bulbs but in the end, there will always be errant light because of how LED bulbs need to be built to include enough emitters to accomplish the necessary coverage and output.
Realistically only some high/fog halogen bulbs are omni. That painted cap on a halogen bulb is blocking forward light. The heat generated will cause it to glow, but not offer anywhere near the same lumen/flux as the filament. So theoretically, [newer] led bulbs utilize all the same area of the reflector as halogen, with the exception of the top/bottom 10°-20° (which give the "cat eye" effect). Therefore, if using a newer style bulb, one should achieve near similar results as halogen. But du to higher lumen/flux, u will get some of the errant light, but it shouldn't be so much as to blind oncoming traffic, and instead, help illuminate more of the sides vs halogen. This is why I would stand in front after install and adjust to verify I won't blind traffic. If I'm blinded, so are they, and out they go for the next set. Technology and engineering in newer style bulbs are much better than 5+ yrs ago.
I kno im beating a dead horse, but diode placement, beam pattern, and beam adjustment are the most important factors to prevent blinding others. Headlight revolution shows/proves this in several of their videos to help educate the public.
 

LostWoods

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Realistically only some high/fog halogen bulbs are omni. That painted cap on a halogen bulb is blocking forward light. The heat generated will cause it to glow, but not offer anywhere near the same lumen/flux as the filament. So theoretically, [newer] led bulbs utilize all the same area of the reflector as halogen, with the exception of the top/bottom 10°-20° (which give the "cat eye" effect). Therefore, if using a newer style bulb, one should achieve near similar results as halogen. But du to higher lumen/flux, u will get some of the errant light, but it shouldn't be so much as to blind oncoming traffic, and instead, help illuminate more of the sides vs halogen. This is why I would stand in front after install and adjust to verify I won't blind traffic. If I'm blinded, so are they, and out they go for the next set. Technology and engineering in newer style bulbs are much better than 5+ yrs ago.
I kno im beating a dead horse, but diode placement, beam pattern, and beam adjustment are the most important factors to prevent blinding others. Headlight revolution shows/proves this in several of their videos to help educate the public.
This is exactly my point though... each LED assembly is a little different and unless they've been specifically tuned to the housing, they're going to have errant light. You shouldn't have to misalign headlights to prevent blinding someone.

Lighting has a hot spot and they have a falloff range. The hot spot is a function of the reflector and what you want going dead forward because it will give you the longest range and the best visibility. LED bulbs have a higher intensity and, in traditional reflector housings, typically have less falloff of the beam so, as you said, you have to aim them down to prevent blinding someone. However, now you just aimed the hot spot down as well so instead of reaching out where it's supposed to, the beam is focused significantly closer.
 

red/green hawk

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1000x yes and don't bother with the cheap ass aftermarket options. JW makes a pretty outstanding alternative but most have real issues with pattern and throw.

And please don't be the asshole who adds LED bulbs to a reflector housing. It's a dick move.

edit: Though you may reconsider if you see a lot of snow though because they don't create enough heat to melt buildup. Alternatively you can supplement halogens with something like the fog kit from Baja Designs, Rigid, or KC if you want better light coverage. I know BD and Rigid both offer it with standard lights which can have a great pattern and output.
I've been accused of being a lot worse than dick so I can live with that. My aftermarket LED bulbs work great!!! Why finance $1000 over 5 years when you can upgrade for $100?
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