Is the factory LED light upgrade worth it?

[prewdog4]

You guys are awesome...exactly what I was really looking for, different opinions! I‘ll just have to decide which way to go. I like that most of you say the factory LEDs are great, and I like that they would covered under warranty. But I also appreciate the actual links to some quality options.
i just figured if I’m getting every option (Sport S, Max Tow, loaded) I want I might as well get the lights, but wanted to make sure they were good... it‘s only $$$.

Thanks for all the help... Mike

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[Whiteknight]

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 go with OEM all the way. I can see better at night. You should test drive at night for yourself. I've seen what happens when people try to upgrade to LED and it flashes and will not connect properly. Hard to put value on safety, peace of mind and comfot while driving. The draw back is lack of heat generated by LED lights will not melt snow or freezing rain when driving, so you should not be on the road during a snow or ice storm.

 

[robinja]

Well when that blanket comment is true, I'm going to make it. I have yet to see a set of LEDs in a reflector housing that doesn't have blinding errant light. If you can prove otherwise I'm all ears.

LED headlight replacements should be side mounted LED style and not 360 style. When inserted in a reflective housing, LEDs should be at the 3 and 9 position. This configuration prevents the errant light pattern that in the first few years of LED headlight introduction (as they were all 360 style) people complained about. A little research goes a long way in making better and less costly upgrade choices... or making a dick move post.

 

[5JeepsAz]

I say no. I got the blind spot monitoring option which by default gives you the LED taillights - that's worth the upcharge. The front headlights and fog lights however were halogen. The DRL and turn were bulbs (super whimpy bulbs). For about a $100 I replaced everything (headlight bulbs, DRL bulbs, turn bulbs, and fog light bulbs) with LEDs. IMHO what I did are superior to the OEM LED option, less expensive, and easy to replace in the future if needed. The LEDs I chose specifically because they work with the reflective housing and don't blind people like the cheap LED upgrades some people use. Most importantly, I was left with $700 in my pocket for other options vs doing the OEM LED option.

Here's the LED parts I used - found on Amazon:

BEAMTECH H13 LED Headlight Bulbs,6500K 10000 Lumens Extremely Super Bright 9008 Hi/Lo 30mm Heatsink Base CSP Chips Conversion Kit,Xenon White
Sold by: BEAMTECH
$39.99

Alla Lighting 2504 PSX24W LED Fog Light Bulbs Super Bright High Power 50W 12V 12276 Replacement, 6000K Xenon White
Sold by: Alla Lighting
$22.99

Alla Lighting 2800lm 7440 7443 LED Bulbs Xtreme Super Bright T20 7441 7442 7444NAK 7443LL LED Bulb 5730 33-SMD Car Truck Turn Signal Blinker Lights Replacement, Amber Yellow
Sold by: Alla Lighting
$17.49

Alla Lighting 2800lm 7440 7443 LED Bulbs Xtreme Super Bright T20 7441 7442 7444NAK LED Bulb 5730 33-SMD Car Back-Up Reverse,Turn Signal,Brake Stop Lights TailLights DRL, 6000K Xenon White
Sold by: Alla Lighting
$19.98

I did not need to use decoders/resistors and have zero flicker - probably because I had the LED taillights that came with the blind spot option and Jeep was already setup for them.

If I have time I'll snap a shot of the lights at night. Hope this information helps.

Great solution. Would those fog lights work as a standalone? I need to increase the lights up front but don't want to mess with my vintage grille. If I could locate the smaller fog lights somehow, would they brighten up enough for city and side street driving?

 

[robinja]

Great solution. Would those fog lights work as a standalone? I need to increase the lights up front but don't want to mess with my vintage grille. If I could locate the smaller fog lights somehow, would they brighten up enough for city and side street driving?

Yes. I ran the fog light bulb replacements for a few days before changing out the other bulbs. Huge difference - very bright. Keep in mind the fog light bulb I posted about are a 360 style LED bulb in a standard reflector in my Gladiator. They do sit low enough on the vehicle though that I have not had other drivers flash in response to them - been running them for several months now.

 

[5JeepsAz]

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.

What controls the throw and pattern on an LED? Old days, you got a square fixture for flat and a round fixture for round. How do I get a flat beam out of an LED just to light up what's right in front, not worrying about seeing more than a bit down the road? For context, I wanted lots of wide and far dodging elk at speed. Now I just need to not run over a feral cat jumping off a side walk. Current lights stay, so looking to add something simple.

 

[5JeepsAz]

Yes. I ran the fog light bulb replacements for a few days before changing out the other bulbs. Huge difference - very bright. Keep in mind they are a 360 style LED bulb in a standard reflector in my Gladiator. They do sit low enough on the vehicle thought that I have not had other drivers flash in response to them - been running them for several months now.

On my more recent jeeps I could often run with just the driving lights (fog lights). Hoping for same result here. I'm basically looking for a bulb, a wire, and a switch. Thanks for posting your solution

 

[johnparjr]

Yes yes and yes

 

[LordEnzo]

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.

 

[stickshifter]

I had the JW Speaker LED Lights on my Wrangler and they were rated among the tops in LED lights. The factory LED lights put them to shame!

Seriously? I had JW Speaker on my JKU and they were awesome. Are the factory LED on Gladiators really better?

 

[LostWoods]

What controls the throw and pattern on an LED? Old days, you got a square fixture for flat and a round fixture for round. How do I get a flat beam out of an LED just to light up what's right in front, not worrying about seeing more than a bit down the road? For context, I wanted lots of wide and far dodging elk at speed. Now I just need to not run over a feral cat jumping off a side walk. Current lights stay, so looking to add something simple.

LED reflectors are specifically designed to have a particular pattern with a particular LED (not a generic bulb) which is why LED bulbs they do poorly in halogen reflector housings. Halogen reflectors are focused on taking an omni light that projects in every direction and focusing it forward. Halogen bulbs tend to fall off quickly to the sides so there's not so much an issue with errant light. LEDs on the other hand are very intense up close and don't fall off so quickly at shorter distances. This creates errant light that is blinding at near to mid distances.

If you get quality LED lighting (as in dedicated lights, not bulbs) from a name brand and not their Chinese knockoffs, you'll generally get a great light that will have fairly good control.

All, do urselves a favor and look up Headlight Revolution on youtube.

...

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.

Headlight Revolution has an excellent video about 7" housings compared to the stock JL and it basically comes down to stock, JW, or KC. The rest were generally horrible.

But also, people flashing you isn't a metric for how your lights are doing because so many new cars have LEDs that are already blinding and so many others are running LEDs in reflector housings. If I were to drive around Phoenix flashing everyone blinding even me I'd have to just leave my high beams on.

 

[Clay]

Seriously? I had JW Speaker on my JKU and they were awesome. Are the factory LED on Gladiators really better?

I was really impressed with the factory LED lights, so yes, I find the coverage much better! There are no shadows and the low beam cut off line is fantastic! These are the JW Speaker lights I had on my Wrangler.

Head lights: Model 8700 Evolution J2 Series, Tail Lights : Model 279 J Series, Fog Lights: Model 6145 J Series, Turn Signals: Model 239 J2 Series.

 

[Dqban]

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.)

 

[JCHGlad]

Yes, and OEM is by far my recommendation

 

[Klutch]

I would suggest getting the LED option when buying. Just be sure to negotiate heavily. You can shave a lot of money off that $1,000 option.

My JT has the halogens and, yeah, they're quite lame. I looked into LED replacement lamps. I'm not going to be obnoxious about it, but I too have yet to see a good pattern from that solution. I went with the Oracle Oculus 9" LED headlights. (Haven't yet installed them so I can't comment.) Unfortunately, most of the replacement headlights are 7" with spacer brackets which I do not like.

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