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LED for HIGH BEAM..........plug-n-play.....does it exist?
I can;t find an LED headlamp that will simply mount into place and plug in to my OEM H4701 headlight plug. ((for a Trans Am headlight))
Anyone find one that will pop in there easily?
I have my low beams using HIDs.....with new glass lens housings that accepts the HID bulb in the rear and clips into place. WHICH I CANNOT FIND ANYMORE EITHER.... Do I need to find two more 4 x 6 glass lens housings.....then just buy LED bulbs that plug in to my factory power plug????
This stuff is confusing as hell....what works and what doesn't.
A few things I notice looking at that
* Those housings don't look like 4701 (too big)
* Those pictures don't look like they show the before or after of the beam pattern of those housings with Halogen or LED in them.
* Those LED don't look like they'll produce a good beam (the LED layout isn't right to replicate the original Halogen filament).
* That site has code that will say it automatically fits anything, for some reason, it says that it will even fit this website
With all that in mind, I wouldn't buy those from that site.
I'm not sure if there is enough space behind the headlights on a Firebird for drop-in LEDs in the popups, but if you want to try, then I'd recommend the LMC Truck housings and a good set of drop-in LED. I think the LMC Truck headlights use 9005/9006 Halogen bulbs, so get a good set of drop-in LED that fit that.
If you just want better lighting and not necessarily LED, then get the LMC Truck housings and use 9011/9012 bulbs in place of the 9005/9006 bulbs. They are brighter and fit and use the optics properly with small trim to a tab on the bulb.
Here is some info on some better drop-in LEDs than what's on that site:
For headlights and fog lights, you want the LEDs in a tight row emulating the original Halogen Bulb's Filament. They are still hit-or-miss. It depends on the accuracy/quality of the bulb and the housing itself. Usually miss about as much as putting in HID (putting HID in Halogen reflectors is bad due to bad beam pattern). The end result for drop-in LED is often either an altered beam pattern or less usable light (due to not using the optics of the housing properly). Either way, it is whiter and people don't realize that everything may actually be dimmer.
If you really want to go the Drop-In LED headlight or fog light route. Stick with the style that has a thin strip of LEDs placed to match the original Halogen Filament. Even then, they sometimes need adjustment to get the best beam they can. This style is the one that has had the most success in using the optics of the housing to most likely produce a good beam pattern. Some get pretty close to the original beam pattern but of course brighter.
Its very housing dependent. Some housing look acceptable, some don't.
Here are three examples:
As shown in the pics, the different bulbs have the LEDS arranged to emulate the filament of the bulb they are intended to replace, whether that be vertical or horizontal.
There are many other companies that have copied this style or made similar ones typically with various different heatsinks and packaging. Some have good alignment, some don't. Some have good heat management and LED driving, some don't.
Check threads in the LED section on HID Planet for comparisons.
(www.hidplanet.com)
I don't have personal experience with them. However, there are a few brands that people have liked on HID Planet. I don't remember which off the top of my head. There are some comparison threads there. The pics above are just for example of the design I'm talking about. Some companies out there really overstate the lumen output of their bulbs so take the rating with a grain of salt.
The bulbs above are for single-filament application like the 9005/9006 Headlights in the Camaro and the 880/881 fog lights in the Camaro and Firebird. However, some cars use dual filament bulbs like an H4. (like some Jeeps and older civics). There are Drop-In LEDs for them too. Here is one example:
A few things I notice looking at that
* Those housings don't look like 4701 (too big)
* Those pictures don't look like they show the before or after of the beam pattern of those housings with Halogen or LED in them.
* Those LED don't look like they'll produce a good beam (the LED layout isn't right to replicate the original Halogen filament).
* That site has code that will say it automatically fits anything, for some reason, it says that it will even fit this website
With all that in mind, I wouldn't buy those from that site.
I'm not sure if there is enough space behind the headlights on a Firebird for drop-in LEDs in the popups, but if you want to try, then I'd recommend the LMC Truck housings and a good set of drop-in LED. I think the LMC Truck headlights use 9005/9006 Halogen bulbs, so get a good set of drop-in LED that fit that.
If you just want better lighting and not necessarily LED, then get the LMC Truck housings and use 9011/9012 bulbs in place of the 9005/9006 bulbs. They are brighter and fit and use the optics properly with small trim to a tab on the bulb.
Here is some info on some better drop-in LEDs than what's on that site:
For headlights and fog lights, you want the LEDs in a tight row emulating the original Halogen Bulb's Filament. They are still hit-or-miss. It depends on the accuracy/quality of the bulb and the housing itself. Usually miss about as much as putting in HID (putting HID in Halogen reflectors is bad due to bad beam pattern). The end result for drop-in LED is often either an altered beam pattern or less usable light (due to not using the optics of the housing properly). Either way, it is whiter and people don't realize that everything may actually be dimmer.
If you really want to go the Drop-In LED headlight or fog light route. Stick with the style that has a thin strip of LEDs placed to match the original Halogen Filament. Even then, they sometimes need adjustment to get the best beam they can. This style is the one that has had the most success in using the optics of the housing to most likely produce a good beam pattern. Some get pretty close to the original beam pattern but of course brighter.
Its very housing dependent. Some housing look acceptable, some don't.
Here are three examples:
As shown in the pics, the different bulbs have the LEDS arranged to emulate the filament of the bulb they are intended to replace, whether that be vertical or horizontal.
There are many other companies that have copied this style or made similar ones typically with various different heatsinks and packaging. Some have good alignment, some don't. Some have good heat management and LED driving, some don't.
Check threads in the LED section on HID Planet for comparisons.
(www.hidplanet.com)
I don't have personal experience with them. However, there are a few brands that people have liked on HID Planet. I don't remember which off the top of my head. There are some comparison threads there. The pics above are just for example of the design I'm talking about. Some companies out there really overstate the lumen output of their bulbs so take the rating with a grain of salt.
The bulbs above are for single-filament application like the 9005/9006 Headlights in the Camaro and the 880/881 fog lights in the Camaro and Firebird. However, some cars use dual filament bulbs like an H4. (like some Jeeps and older civics). There are Drop-In LEDs for them too. Here is one example:
I actually clicked on that company’s advertisement here on LS1tech, while on my Iphone.
Thanks for the info.
Like you said.....I just want a little better lighting, not necessarily LED.........Maybe your suggestion about just getting the LMC truck lenses with 9011/9012 halogens is best. We only use the high beams every so often anyway.
.....So, I searched for LMC Truck housings, not seeing anything that will fit. Do the 9011/9012 bulbs plug-n-play with my factory power plug?
I actually clicked on that company’s advertisement here on LS1tech, while on my Iphone.
Thanks for the info.
Like you said.....I just want a little better lighting, not necessarily LED.........Maybe your suggestion about just getting the LMC truck lenses with 9011/9012 halogens is best. We only use the high beams every so often anyway.
.....So, I searched for LMC Truck housings, not seeing anything that will fit. Do the 9011/9012 bulbs plug-n-play with my factory power plug?
There are some threads on here using the LMC truck housings with part numbers. They are intended for a mid-90's Chevy/GMC truck, but are the same same size as the 1998-2002 Firebird. The 9011/9012 bulbs will not fit into the stock plugs, you'll need to splice in new sockets and probably trim the bucket behind the headlight to fit the bulbs (since they are right-angle connectors instead of straight).
There are some threads on here using the LMC truck housings with part numbers. They are intended for a mid-90's Chevy/GMC truck, but are the same same size as the 1998-2002 Firebird. The 9011/9012 bulbs will not fit into the stock plugs, you'll need to splice in new sockets and probably trim the bucket behind the headlight to fit the bulbs (since they are right-angle connectors instead of straight).
Thanks.
Step by step....getting closer and closer ....... where do I get the proper sockets to splice into my power wires to plug the bulbs into? I see the 9011 bulbs have a plastic two pin power plug. I assume they're generic two pin males. There's a HID/LED shop near me, they probably sell the plug ends. They just charge ridiculous amounts of money to do these kits. The LMC housings are $35.00.......bulbs $20.00. These shops want $250-$300 for these kits.
You can get the bulbs and sockets at various places online and in store (amazon, autozone, ebay, etc). 9005/9006 sockets are almost the same as 9011/9012 sockets. The only difference is a vertical plastic separator between the pins inside the socket which you can trim out (or you can trim the bulbs, some sockets are "universal" and don't even have this separator).
You can find Wagner bulbs on amazon for less than the price of Philips and sometimes they are actually Philips bulbs but in a plain white box instead of plastic blister pack (I've bought some in the past). Looks like Wagner are running $15 ea right now vs $22 ea for Philips on Amazon. Avoid any tinted bulbs. Stick with clear.
9011 replaces 9005
9012 replaces 9006
The 9011/9012 also go by HIR1/HIR2.
If the LMC housings come with 9005/9006 bulbs, You can try those out first to see how they look. They may come with straight connectors which will be much easier to fit a 1998-2002 Firebird, but not nearly as bright as 9011/9012 bulbs. Although it seems most 9005/9006 bulbs easily available are right angle connectors too.
You can get the bulbs and sockets at various places online and in store (amazon, autozone, ebay, etc). 9005/9006 sockets are almost the same as 9011/9012 sockets. The only difference is a vertical plastic separator between the pins inside the socket which you can trim out (or you can trim the bulbs, some sockets are "universal" and don't even have this separator).
You can find Wagner bulbs on amazon for less than the price of Philips and sometimes they are actually Philips bulbs but in a plain white box instead of plastic blister pack (I've bought some in the past). Looks like Wagner are running $15 ea right now vs $22 ea for Philips on Amazon. Avoid any tinted bulbs. Stick with clear.
9011 replaces 9005
9012 replaces 9006
The 9011/9012 also go by HIR1/HIR2.
If the LMC housings come with 9005/9006 bulbs, You can try those out first to see how they look. They may come with straight connectors which will be much easier to fit a 1998-2002 Firebird, but not nearly as bright as 9011/9012 bulbs. Although it seems most 9005/9006 bulbs easily available are right angle connectors too.
Alright......I owe you many beers.....
So if I'm just doing my inner high beams, I just buy the 9011 bulbs and then the LMC headlight housings. Then the sockets to splice into my factory wiring.
Do I have it right....LOL.....?????
Because if I can get these bulbs at local auto parts stores I can figure out the hard part which is the wiring/plugs/sockets issue........the LMC housings is straight forward......
Sounds like you got it for parts and splicing. You'll probably need to trim the bucket behind the headlights (on the car) for the bulbs to fit. Mine are already trimmed for my projectors so showing you mine won't help. Test fit first and see what happens.
BTW, what do you have for low beams? Sounds like Halogen reflector housings with HID kit in them. If so, that's giving a bad glaring beam pattern. Especially if its one of the cheaper housings which don't have a particularly good beam pattern to start with (putting in HID makes it worse).
Sounds like you got it for parts and splicing. You'll probably need to trim the bucket behind the headlights (on the car) for the bulbs to fit. Mine are already trimmed for my projectors so showing you mine won't help. Test fit first and see what happens.
BTW, what do you have for low beams? Sounds like Halogen reflector housings with HID kit in them. If so, that's giving a bad glaring beam pattern. Especially if its one of the cheaper housings which don't have a particularly good beam pattern to start with (putting in HID makes it worse).
Ok cool thanks.
My HID kit came with two new LOW BEAM glass housings. They're the newer type of design that you're talking about...with a real nice beam.
Technically you can buy 9006 HID bulbs for the low beam and plug them into your existing ballasts. That way you could use the LMC Low Beam housings as well.
However, I would still recommend avoiding putting HID in Halogen Reflector Housings.
Which housings do you currently have? Bosch, Hella, Eurolights, some other? The Eurolights and ebay knockoffs are bad. The Bosch or Hella (I forget which) was good with Halogen. One used H4 bulbs, avoid that one.
Technically you can buy 9006 HID bulbs for the low beam and plug them into your existing ballasts. That way you could use the LMC Low Beam housings as well.
However, I would still recommend avoiding putting HID in Halogen Reflector Housings.
Which housings do you currently have? Bosch, Hella, Eurolights, some other? The Eurolights and ebay knockoffs are bad. The Bosch or Hella (I forget which) was good with Halogen. One used H4 bulbs, avoid that one.
Can't remember but they came with my HID kit. The kit was German made, so maybe the housings are Bosch.
Cool, I'll just order the INNER LMC housings and use the 9011 bulbs they come with. I'll just cut tyhe frame to make them fit if I can only get the 90* angle bulbs........I saw "Paul Bell" make a post where he cut his open some more, very easy to do in a few minutes with a cutting wheel.
Thanks again........
Lots of people are looking for this same info.....drives everyone nuts trying to get this combo figured out, like it did to me.....LOL......till they finally get the right info from someone. This LMC housing and 9011 bulbs and new sockets makes this upgrade easy. Maybe a sticky.
I forgot to mention something about bulb coatings.
Early generations of HIR bulbs (9011/9012) had an iridescent coating (which helped with output by reflecting IR back toward the filament to increase output... hence the name Halogen Infrared Reflective - HIR). The newer Philips (and Wagner) bulbs don't have that coating but still have similar lumen output (brightness). However, I just saw some Sylvania bulbs with a similar looking coating but I'm not sure if its the same coating or not (given the way Sylvania behaves with marketing, I doubt its the same coating). I also saw some Sylvania bulbs with a blue coating; skip the blue ones. Avoid bulbs with a blue coating. Although the blue coating may make the light look whiter, it blocks some light so the output will actually be lower.
I forgot to mention something about bulb coatings.
Early generations of HIR bulbs (9011/9012) had an iridescent coating (which helped with output by reflecting IR back toward the filament to increase output... hence the name Halogen Infrared Reflective - HIR). The newer Philips (and Wagner) bulbs don't have that coating but still have similar lumen output (brightness). However, I just saw some Sylvania bulbs with a similar looking coating but I'm not sure if its the same coating or not (given the way Sylvania behaves with marketing, I doubt its the same coating). I also saw some Sylvania bulbs with a blue coating; skip the blue ones. Avoid bulbs with a blue coating. Although the blue coating may make the light look whiter, it blocks some light so the output will actually be lower.
Ok cool. Thanks. I'm just going for white.........
Did you ever get this done? I'm thinking of upgrading my stock low beams on my 01 TA. I started looking for LED replacements and I see some that say they fit, but I'm not sure that's true. Then I stumbled upon this thread...
Here's the LED I was looking at (this is the high beam but they have a low also): https://www.diodedynamics.com/catalog/product/view/id/7360/s/high-beam-led-headlight-for-1993-2002-pontiac-trans-am-pair/
Says it fits 9005 sockets and plugs into my TA, but again, who knows for sure.
Last edited by Hatchetman337; 05-28-2019 at 10:36 PM.
01-02-2019, 11:51 PM
LED for HIGH BEAM..........plug-n-play.....does it exist? 
