H4 vs HID vs LED
04-13-2015, 03:05 PM
#11
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H4 isnt an improvement. Its just that its been around for 30 or more years and the aftermarket has alot of supt for that harness type than they do for the h13. For most of those years, all auto manufacturers used h4. As plastic headlamp modules became popular with replaceable insert bulb vs replacing the whole glass assembly, they started experimenting with different connectors. More bulb models available for it as a result.
04-13-2015, 03:09 PM
#12
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I'm old school I suppose. I'm not a huge LED fan, and I hate HID, probably due to the improper setups people run, like HID with the wrong type of lense, and blue colored lights. If you live somewhere it rains frequently or is foggy, those lights are blinding.
04-14-2015, 05:21 AM
#13
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This is what I have gathered from reading on this subject...
First... There is no cheap fix/upgrade for the headlights on a Jeep.
Not saying that reflectors for H4's are not an improvement in light focus but the increase of light down the road is minimal for the price. $100 give or take.
The next step; bypassing the PWM, wiring directly to the battery with a harness and putting in high wattage bulbs in the H4 housing. Bringing the price up another $40-$50 or more, depending which route you take. This will give you a little more light down the road but your now at $200+ and changing bulbs anywhere from 6 - 12 months.
Trucklites: These are cool looking and make the light color nice and no worries with changing bulbs. Should last you a lifetime... Decent light output over stock but price is $400
JWSpeaker: The first gen with the black housings are in my opinion, the best looking lights for the JK. Slightly more light down the road than the trucklites and better beam shape but at $800 a pair. No bulb changes. Should last you a lifetime...
HIDprojectors: These are where you are going to see the most light down the road and the best beam shape. But you are going to hassle with ballast and shit. These run from $500 on up depending if you want the ricer/mallcrawler flashy stuff or custom paint colors.
The bottom line is you are going to pay a premium for every extra lumen.
First... There is no cheap fix/upgrade for the headlights on a Jeep.
Not saying that reflectors for H4's are not an improvement in light focus but the increase of light down the road is minimal for the price. $100 give or take.
The next step; bypassing the PWM, wiring directly to the battery with a harness and putting in high wattage bulbs in the H4 housing. Bringing the price up another $40-$50 or more, depending which route you take. This will give you a little more light down the road but your now at $200+ and changing bulbs anywhere from 6 - 12 months.
Trucklites: These are cool looking and make the light color nice and no worries with changing bulbs. Should last you a lifetime... Decent light output over stock but price is $400
JWSpeaker: The first gen with the black housings are in my opinion, the best looking lights for the JK. Slightly more light down the road than the trucklites and better beam shape but at $800 a pair. No bulb changes. Should last you a lifetime...
HIDprojectors: These are where you are going to see the most light down the road and the best beam shape. But you are going to hassle with ballast and shit. These run from $500 on up depending if you want the ricer/mallcrawler flashy stuff or custom paint colors.
The bottom line is you are going to pay a premium for every extra lumen.
04-14-2015, 06:44 AM
#14
I know kc and few other brands make there version of a standard 7 inch head light reflector for our jeeps.
04-14-2015, 07:39 AM
#15
JK Junkie
HID Projectors can't be beat. Check out the Sealed 7 kit from theretrofitsource.com and use a discount code that I can pm you and you can get a very nice setup for I think $430 I believe. Now that doesn't include any fancy halo rings or anything like that and you have to attach the shrouds you choose and the lens which both are super easy and they have videos explaining how to do it. You can pay extra to have them assembled and you still come out cheaper then JWs.
04-14-2015, 09:10 AM
#16
JK Freak
I stand by what i said.
The BULB is fine. The sorry ass reflector jeep installed on the otherhand is horrible.
H13 defines 3 aspects of light source
1-The position of the filament to the base- "clocking" of the filament and its depth that it can reach into reflector housing.
2-the connector type used for the wiring harness connection
3-the voltage.
The pitiful reflector is just poorly designed. The old style glass headlamps did a much better job of disbursing light. But with small manufacturing changes, could have been just as easily made to take h4 bulbs and still suck.
I agree that the factory reflector housing is crap.
I replaced my assembly with gen 6 trucklights(i like the scifi look of the lamps. The light is an improvement from stock but for best light, there are better models out there. I currently am running h13 to h4 adaptor harnesses. I will be cutting off the h13 and soldering on h4 in a few weeks. I have no desire to deal with the adaptors intermittent connections and these trucklight model only came in h4 connections.
The BULB is fine. The sorry ass reflector jeep installed on the otherhand is horrible.
H13 defines 3 aspects of light source
1-The position of the filament to the base- "clocking" of the filament and its depth that it can reach into reflector housing.
2-the connector type used for the wiring harness connection
3-the voltage.
The pitiful reflector is just poorly designed. The old style glass headlamps did a much better job of disbursing light. But with small manufacturing changes, could have been just as easily made to take h4 bulbs and still suck.
I agree that the factory reflector housing is crap.
I replaced my assembly with gen 6 trucklights(i like the scifi look of the lamps. The light is an improvement from stock but for best light, there are better models out there. I currently am running h13 to h4 adaptor harnesses. I will be cutting off the h13 and soldering on h4 in a few weeks. I have no desire to deal with the adaptors intermittent connections and these trucklight model only came in h4 connections.
04-14-2015, 02:21 PM
#17
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Have you guys not seen Off Road Led's headlights? Check out their instagram. I got them myself, its like JW Speakers and I dont even use the low beam since the Halo is so bright. Whats so cool about it is the fact that when you use ur hazard or turn signals, the halo changes from the color you chose (white, blue, etc) to ambers.. Check it out
Last edited by jdestreza; 04-15-2015 at 04:23 AM.
04-14-2015, 08:32 PM
#18
My first Jeep was an '08 JKU Sahara, was running H13 from the factory all the way up to 12/2014. Never replaced the bulbs. Not once.
Now I'm in a '15 JKU Rubicon, still running factory lights. What's interesting is they don't seem as bright as my '08.
Now I have done a lot of research, oh about a years worth. Don't really want to beat a dead horse either...
People like the Trucklites LEDs, and their non-named HIDs. However no one can seem to answer the question of why converting to H4?!
LEDs are the new thing, lower power / high output, should last forever... However they're $$. Not quiet ready for that money to be spent.
HIDs are nice, they have kits, seem easy to install and will work with my factory reflectors. Reasonably priced as well. (4500k 55w bi-xenon w/kit $100~ish)
Now why would you convert from an H13 to and H4. What's the benefit? Why are H4 bulbs "so much better" than H13? No one can seem to answer this question... I understand the factory reflectors on JKs are garbage, however to never replace a bulb in the 7 years I owned my Sahara... My mother (sadly does not drive a Jeep) is running 9003/HB2 (US version of H4) and has to replace them every 5-6 months. To give you an idea she drives maybe 60 miles a week on pavement. So why would someone convert to an H4?!
And my ultimate question is, what would be better bang for my buck based off everyone's experience, got someone trying to keep it inexpensive but needing an upgrade?
Now I'm in a '15 JKU Rubicon, still running factory lights. What's interesting is they don't seem as bright as my '08.
Now I have done a lot of research, oh about a years worth. Don't really want to beat a dead horse either...
People like the Trucklites LEDs, and their non-named HIDs. However no one can seem to answer the question of why converting to H4?!
LEDs are the new thing, lower power / high output, should last forever... However they're $$. Not quiet ready for that money to be spent.
HIDs are nice, they have kits, seem easy to install and will work with my factory reflectors. Reasonably priced as well. (4500k 55w bi-xenon w/kit $100~ish)
Now why would you convert from an H13 to and H4. What's the benefit? Why are H4 bulbs "so much better" than H13? No one can seem to answer this question... I understand the factory reflectors on JKs are garbage, however to never replace a bulb in the 7 years I owned my Sahara... My mother (sadly does not drive a Jeep) is running 9003/HB2 (US version of H4) and has to replace them every 5-6 months. To give you an idea she drives maybe 60 miles a week on pavement. So why would someone convert to an H4?!
And my ultimate question is, what would be better bang for my buck based off everyone's experience, got someone trying to keep it inexpensive but needing an upgrade?
Several months ago I switched to the Truklites and I prefer them.
If you are going to add lights for off-road use the LED or HID lights are the way to go. If you stick with Halogen headlamps then they won't work well with the LED or HID auxiliary lights because they produce a different color of light.
The 100w H4's produce a LOT of light and may be all you ever need.
04-14-2015, 09:14 PM
#19
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Thanks everyone for your input. Seems like the best idea is wait/save.
As I've been told before: If you're going to do something, do it right the first time. Unless you have no choice then do what you can until you can do it right.
As I've been told before: If you're going to do something, do it right the first time. Unless you have no choice then do what you can until you can do it right.
