The New HID/LMC Housing Write-up **Updated**
01-25-2016, 09:34 AM
#41
Every one I've EVER seen have horrid pics against walls and glare like no other.
It is the incorrect way to do a mod.
Never understood the "I don't like the way projectors look". Literally the only time you see them is a NIGHT time with the head lights up and the head lights on. And its hard to tell what you're looking at then.
It is the incorrect way to do a mod.
Never understood the "I don't like the way projectors look". Literally the only time you see them is a NIGHT time with the head lights up and the head lights on. And its hard to tell what you're looking at then.
I may be one of the few that actually don't mind the projector look, considering how awesome the cutoff is. Of course I did a retrofit in the a pair of 2013+ F-150 housings so I'm a little spoiled by them. I do plan to swap out the lows for projectors at some point though. As lame as the excuse is, I just wasn't willing to unload 2x the cash right now but needed something better than sealed beams since I drive alot on the back roads that animals seem to cross alot.
Wait till you see the scatter on the LMC's, least how mine are, you'll think Bosch are projectors, lol. I'll get a picture this evening.
01-25-2016, 10:16 AM
#42
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I did this swap on my car with HID's, and I've taken them out. Not only was the output no better than stock, but blinded others. Not to mention that when roads are a little wet, the light will bounce right off. Couldn't even see the white lines in front of me. Just glared light that looked terrible. While I hate the look of projectors, they are necessary. Plus you don't have to see them during the day. I'll be ordering some projectors for my car when I have some extra funds. I retrofitted my truck and it was a night and day difference.
100% recommend the projector route.
100% recommend the projector route.
01-25-2016, 07:37 PM
#43
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Every one I've EVER seen have horrid pics against walls and glare like no other.
It is the incorrect way to do a mod.
Never understood the "I don't like the way projectors look". Literally the only time you see them is a NIGHT time with the head lights up and the head lights on. And its hard to tell what you're looking at then.
It is the incorrect way to do a mod.
Never understood the "I don't like the way projectors look". Literally the only time you see them is a NIGHT time with the head lights up and the head lights on. And its hard to tell what you're looking at then.
01-26-2016, 05:23 AM
#44
Here's some wall shots of them from about 4ft away. Just imagine how bad they get from any further distance. Pictures really don't show how bad it really scatters, way worse in person but hard to capture with a camera.
My brother who has an identical car and we installed HIDs on the same night, but he's running Eurolamps (Morimoto HID) vs my LMC's (Morimoto HID). His at least scatters about as much as any OEM housing with a cheap Chinese kit, where mine is all over the place.
I bit the bullet.... ordered some Hella 60mm projectors & new Morimoto bulbs off Amazon. Both should hopefully be here by the weekend and I'll get some aluminum plate and make some mounting plates. Plates will be time consuming (anyone, by chance, have a template?), but should be worth it in the end.
My brother who has an identical car and we installed HIDs on the same night, but he's running Eurolamps (Morimoto HID) vs my LMC's (Morimoto HID). His at least scatters about as much as any OEM housing with a cheap Chinese kit, where mine is all over the place.
I bit the bullet.... ordered some Hella 60mm projectors & new Morimoto bulbs off Amazon. Both should hopefully be here by the weekend and I'll get some aluminum plate and make some mounting plates. Plates will be time consuming (anyone, by chance, have a template?), but should be worth it in the end.
01-26-2016, 07:48 AM
#45
I TOTALLY agree, but at least the Eurolamps and Bosch are considerably better as far as light scatter. Eurolamps and Bosch I'd say are on par with glare compared with 50% of the people on the road running HIDs in OEM housings (any vehicle manufacturer).
I may be one of the few that actually don't mind the projector look, considering how awesome the cutoff is. Of course I did a retrofit in the a pair of 2013+ F-150 housings so I'm a little spoiled by them. I do plan to swap out the lows for projectors at some point though. As lame as the excuse is, I just wasn't willing to unload 2x the cash right now but needed something better than sealed beams since I drive alot on the back roads that animals seem to cross alot.
Wait till you see the scatter on the LMC's, least how mine are, you'll think Bosch are projectors, lol. I'll get a picture this evening.
I may be one of the few that actually don't mind the projector look, considering how awesome the cutoff is. Of course I did a retrofit in the a pair of 2013+ F-150 housings so I'm a little spoiled by them. I do plan to swap out the lows for projectors at some point though. As lame as the excuse is, I just wasn't willing to unload 2x the cash right now but needed something better than sealed beams since I drive alot on the back roads that animals seem to cross alot.
Wait till you see the scatter on the LMC's, least how mine are, you'll think Bosch are projectors, lol. I'll get a picture this evening.
I haven't seen any halogen reflector do even a decent job with a HID bulb.
I did this swap on my car with HID's, and I've taken them out. Not only was the output no better than stock, but blinded others. Not to mention that when roads are a little wet, the light will bounce right off. Couldn't even see the white lines in front of me. Just glared light that looked terrible. While I hate the look of projectors, they are necessary. Plus you don't have to see them during the day. I'll be ordering some projectors for my car when I have some extra funds. I retrofitted my truck and it was a night and day difference.
100% recommend the projector route.
100% recommend the projector route.
Something like that.
Here's some wall shots of them from about 4ft away. Just imagine how bad they get from any further distance. Pictures really don't show how bad it really scatters, way worse in person but hard to capture with a camera.
My brother who has an identical car and we installed HIDs on the same night, but he's running Eurolamps (Morimoto HID) vs my LMC's (Morimoto HID). His at least scatters about as much as any OEM housing with a cheap Chinese kit, where mine is all over the place.
I bit the bullet.... ordered some Hella 60mm projectors & new Morimoto bulbs off Amazon. Both should hopefully be here by the weekend and I'll get some aluminum plate and make some mounting plates. Plates will be time consuming (anyone, by chance, have a template?), but should be worth it in the end.
My brother who has an identical car and we installed HIDs on the same night, but he's running Eurolamps (Morimoto HID) vs my LMC's (Morimoto HID). His at least scatters about as much as any OEM housing with a cheap Chinese kit, where mine is all over the place.
I bit the bullet.... ordered some Hella 60mm projectors & new Morimoto bulbs off Amazon. Both should hopefully be here by the weekend and I'll get some aluminum plate and make some mounting plates. Plates will be time consuming (anyone, by chance, have a template?), but should be worth it in the end.
01-26-2016, 07:52 AM
#47
Anybody that wants to argue that HIDs don't cause a massive amount of glare want to keep arguing?
I got flashed regularly and the were angled down a good bit to try to respect people at least a LITTLE.
Their entire interior of car was lit up like the sun when they got about 20' out until they passed.
I got flashed regularly and the were angled down a good bit to try to respect people at least a LITTLE.
Their entire interior of car was lit up like the sun when they got about 20' out until they passed.
01-26-2016, 03:32 PM
#50
Anybody that wants to argue that HIDs don't cause a massive amount of glare want to keep arguing?
I got flashed regularly and the were angled down a good bit to try to respect people at least a LITTLE.
Their entire interior of car was lit up like the sun when they got about 20' out until they passed.
I got flashed regularly and the were angled down a good bit to try to respect people at least a LITTLE.
Their entire interior of car was lit up like the sun when they got about 20' out until they passed.
I will say if you only ever plan to run halogens they looked like they were brighter than stock and similar pattern. When you toss the HID capsule in there, being longer, it throws everything out of wack. The housings are pretty tho, lol.
01-27-2016, 08:17 AM
#51
I won't argue, I regret trying LMC now. Looking forward to projectors this weekend assuming everything shows up. I'll keep the LMC high beams for now, but I'm sure they'll get swapped out at some point because I'm a little OCD with stuff matching.
I will say if you only ever plan to run halogens they looked like they were brighter than stock and similar pattern. When you toss the HID capsule in there, being longer, it throws everything out of wack. The housings are pretty tho, lol.
I will say if you only ever plan to run halogens they looked like they were brighter than stock and similar pattern. When you toss the HID capsule in there, being longer, it throws everything out of wack. The housings are pretty tho, lol.
01-27-2016, 01:13 PM
#52
I actually could get away with putting HIDs on the high beams since I'm on the back roads alot early in the AM. But think if/when I do the high beams I'll just toss some LEDs in there or wire in a relay and toss some 100w halogens.
Just checked shipping, lights here Thursday and bulbs and mounting plates Friday. Hell yeah!
Last edited by InfiniteReality; 01-27-2016 at 01:20 PM.
01-27-2016, 03:38 PM
#53
Copy & Paste Moderator
Originally Posted by InfiniteReality
But think if/when I do the high beams I'll just toss some LEDs in there or wire in a relay and toss some 100w halogens.
If you want to stick with Halogen (and I think these housings use 90005/9006 bulbs), check out HIR Bulbs.
9011 Replaces 9005
9012 Replaces 9006
Much more light for similar wattage.
You can find them on Amazon for $10-$20 Each (stick with Philips or Wagner - which in this case are relabeled Philips for cheaper).
01-28-2016, 05:29 AM
#54
I've been running a 3000K LED on the bike's high beam (use for DRL) and I'd say it's equivalent to the halogen it replaced. The bulbs I'm talking about are the ones with the heat sink and fan on the back, have a good bit of depth on them. When I do the Hella's, since I have a spare LED to test, I'll make sure it'll clear and work in case I go that route. Those 9011/9012 bulbs are interesting, gotta look into those.
I do know the low beam Hella's are 9005, not totally sure about the high beams yet. Hell, it'd be kind of cool to run quad low beams, though not sure how legal that is.
I do know the low beam Hella's are 9005, not totally sure about the high beams yet. Hell, it'd be kind of cool to run quad low beams, though not sure how legal that is.
01-28-2016, 09:45 PM
#55
Copy & Paste Moderator
I've only seen 2 or 3 of those newer-style drop-in LED that performed OK, and those were a Philips design and a couple copies of it.
Most of the others still ruined the beam pattern.
Most of the others still ruined the beam pattern.
01-29-2016, 06:48 AM
#56
Hella's and 9005 HID capsules came in last night. Plates are due in today, so I know what I'll be doing tonight.
01-31-2016, 01:34 AM
#57
Copy & Paste Moderator
The drop in LEDs you described are not the ones I'm talking about and although the beam pattern with projectors appears similar, it most-likely isn't. Usually the hot-spot blends away / disappears and you get more foreground light with less distance light. The effect is more noticeable and worse in reflectors.
The design I'm talking about has a row of smaller but brighter LEDs aligned in an row in attempt to replicate the original bulb's filament. Its still not perfect but better than earlier attempts.
Here is the style I'm talking about....
H11 Fog Light:
H4 (for reflector headlight - dual filament)
These particular Philips bulbs yield a pattern similar to the original bulb, but if I remember correctly, both have lower lumen ratings than the halogen bulbs they replace.
A couple companies have copied these designs and made it brighter and for more bulb applications. There is a thread about them in HID Planet.
The design I'm talking about has a row of smaller but brighter LEDs aligned in an row in attempt to replicate the original bulb's filament. Its still not perfect but better than earlier attempts.
Here is the style I'm talking about....
H11 Fog Light:
H4 (for reflector headlight - dual filament)
These particular Philips bulbs yield a pattern similar to the original bulb, but if I remember correctly, both have lower lumen ratings than the halogen bulbs they replace.
A couple companies have copied these designs and made it brighter and for more bulb applications. There is a thread about them in HID Planet.
Last edited by VIP1; 01-31-2016 at 01:50 AM.
02-01-2016, 05:59 AM
#58
Awesome, thanks for the pics. Never seen those before, but can see those working better than the, likely, knock-offs that you can get on eBay for $40+
Installed the Hella's over the weekend thanks to @ramairetransam hooking me up with some mounting plates and getting them delivered by Friday. Took a little bit to get the aiming at the correct height. I still think they may be a tad low, but least projectors are easy to align. I used Morimoto bulbs/ballast with them.
MAN. I thought I knew what to expect, figured they'd be about on par with OEM 2013+ F-150 projectors... I was wrong. Even though Hella's aren't the best out there, the beam pattern blew me away. Everything is nice, bright and wide angle. That up tick will take a little getting use to. Definitely money and time well spent, especially considering they don't cost too much more than LMC.
One thing I'd like to mention for anyone else doing this... The new updated Morimoto 9005 bulbs are a SOB to get in. The tabs a little long so some trimming is required and it's still a really tight fit to get in and lock it into the housing.
Installed the Hella's over the weekend thanks to @ramairetransam hooking me up with some mounting plates and getting them delivered by Friday. Took a little bit to get the aiming at the correct height. I still think they may be a tad low, but least projectors are easy to align. I used Morimoto bulbs/ballast with them.
MAN. I thought I knew what to expect, figured they'd be about on par with OEM 2013+ F-150 projectors... I was wrong. Even though Hella's aren't the best out there, the beam pattern blew me away. Everything is nice, bright and wide angle. That up tick will take a little getting use to. Definitely money and time well spent, especially considering they don't cost too much more than LMC.
One thing I'd like to mention for anyone else doing this... The new updated Morimoto 9005 bulbs are a SOB to get in. The tabs a little long so some trimming is required and it's still a really tight fit to get in and lock it into the housing.
