Halogen -VS- LED Headlights with pictures

Yes, it is your opinion, and as I said, I was not trying to change anyone's opinion.

You started this thread to compare the LED's and the stock halogens on the new Prius. From your pictures, there is a clear difference. I was trying to point out that a major part of the difference is the color of the light, and how the lens spreads the light out on the road.

My point was - for those that do NOT have the LED - that there are options to improve their lighting by going to a newer generation of halogen lights. That said, I'd bet the differences between LED and the new halogens would not be as pronounced. But that's only my opinion.

 

Your comparison is incomplete, and for some, may be misleading. I work in this area (optics/photonics, so I should know). I'm simply trying to point out a few issues for those that may not know.

Not everyone on here has a prius with LED lighting, and not everyone on here knows that there are other options. My post(s), my comments are not intended for your eyes only. You seem to take some offense to my pointing out some of the differences, and what can be done to change - short of buying a car with LED? So, if my comments offend you in any way, then don't read, or don't respond. I'm fine with the fact that you prefer the LED lights...I have no issues with that.

PS I will be upgrading to newer halogens within the year. Right now, the aftermarket supply for the new Prius is very limited. I'm sure that will change within the year.

 

To be a fair comparison, both pictures must be taken within 15 minutes. The car parked exactly at the same location, the camera must be in manual mode, ie. same shutter speed and same aperture setting with the auto color balance turned off.

 

Be aware of those brighter and whiter halogens that they have shorter life (less than one year) from my experience. There is a thread about Philips X-Treme and others experienced the same.

 

I have a question I don't recall being covered.... I admit my past research has been on HID bulbs and I haven't researched the newer Halogen bulbs.

Has anybody investigated the ease and feasibility of simply putting higher wattage halogen in place in the same socket as existing OEM's?

Seems that would be a good alternative instead going with bulbs that have a short life by virtue of overdriving those bulbs with 12 Volts that in reality were designed for lesser voltage insomuch that 12V raises the surface temperature releasing more light "but at the expense of bulb life".

 

RE: Bulb lifetime

I posted some information on this, and things that will prematurely shorten the halogen lifetime. But yes, LEDs will last longer....but the downside will be that they are more expensive to replace when they do burn out.

Two months ago I installed ULTRAs on my wife's Odyssee. I also reajusted the direction of where the beam is pointed. It made a HUGE difference compared to the stock halogens. Not only my observation, but pretty much everyone in my family, ie, wife and kids. I have not seen ULTRAs for the GIII at this time, however.

Regarding the advantages of LED headlights, over halogens - Yes, LEDs are significantly more efficient than halogens, but I am personally less concerned about the energy drain from the lights, than I am about how much light it puts on the road. For me, the only concern is safety.

FYI -

LED bulbs are usually not as bright as standard headlight bulbs, they have many advantages over ordinary filament bulbs, such as longer life, quicker on and off times, lower power consumption more clear colors but are not as bright as stock headlights. This problem can be solved if a large numbers of LEDs, are used they will appear brighter than filament bulbs. The state of the art 3 Watt and 5 Watt LED car bulbs are brighter than most standard filament car bulbs. If the distribution of light is focused it will appear brighter if not then it would not be as bright, generally it depends on the size and shape of the bulb housing and reflector.

The difference between LED bulbs and ordinary headlights is LED emit light like a flashlight, all out the end. Regular filament bulbs emit light from the end and all sides, the reason makes it better suited for some lighting applications than LED bulbs. This is why we do not rate LED car bulbs in lumens or watts, the numbers would be deceivingly low because the light is measured from all sides and the end on standard filament bulbs but only from the end on LED bulbs.

 

I agree, all the benefits amount to penny's in savings of energy for what cost thousands up front.

LED lights are nice, but the instant one means you have full brightness several milliseconds faster than the guy with Halogens and several seconds over HID... what does that mean?.... nothing.

The energy saved amounts to pennys in gas over several day... we are talking almost nothing.. its like turning off a reading light in a train to save energy...... kind of silly compared to the other energy's involved.

Am I slamming LED's no.... not as long as you know what your getting.
Cutting edge technology at a premium price.... HID was the same story.... hopefully LED will fare much better.

The solar panels of package IV "which I have" is also the same story... thousands of dollars in solar panels to run a fan occasionally that could have been done from the traction battery for negligible energy expenditure.

Driving a prius is an experience of cutting edge technology and blazing a trail to prepare a path for others later at a cheaper price.
LED's, Solar panels, HID's, CVT transmissions, the whole synergy experience will be cheaper only because we loved to have the latest and the greatest and were willing to pay for it.

Very little of this makes sense on a dollars and cents level and while we all love passing the gas stations without stopping, we still paid thousands extra for the same ride of a non hybrid car without all the bells and toys.

I love my solar roof, but its open for discussion when it comes to whether it was a "Smart" buy.

I also like my Halogens and may consider going to the brighter lesser life bulbs, but first I would rather explore a higher wattage bulb which runs at the lower kelvin that offers full bulb life.
Not that I "like" the yellower color per se, but my brain does.
Colors closer to real sunlight are easier for the eyes to interpret objects and shapes as thats what its accustomed to.

Whether you are someone who chose package V with the LED's "for low beam" or the other packages that have full Halogen... both have excellent output and pros and cons.

Neither package is worthy of buying based on what kind of light package it has IMO. The whole package has to be considered.

I honestly don't think I would have used any of the other auto assist features of Package V so I'm glad I settles on package IV.

Too bad there is not a package with it all... but if something starts breaking later in either package we may be glad we don't have that "dream" package that doesn't exist.

I really do like my Halogens, but there is a part of me that wishes the HID's would have worked out "and" that the price would drop as it has so its no big deal to change bulbs.

HID or Halogen?..... humm... a hard choice.... if things are matched up right... proper ballast feeding proper bulb, it should be a win-win.

I was paranoid about going backward in technology to drop back to Halogen.... but the technology of the reflectors, bulbs have all improved.

The Halogen of my Prius make the Halogens on my 95 Jeep Cherokee look like candles.... honestly no comparison... and both are Halogen.

5 years ago, an HID handlight with 35W output cost two + thousand dollars. I can buy one today for a few hundred with 80W output.

5 Years ago, it cost a couple of hundred for a 4 watt LED, today I can buy several times the brightness in a pocket LED for less than 50 bucks.

Pretty exciting stuff!
There is nothing wrong with Halogen technology of today.... don't compare it with the days of old.

 

Now that it's Winter, I don't use the solar roof, but I did in the Summer, and I appreciated having it. BUT, what I really wanted was not so much the solar roof, as I did a sun roof. I've had a sun roof in every car I've owned since the mid-80's and would never buy a car without it. Except on the hottest days, I can drive with the AC off (talk about saving energy?), and just the sun roof open (far less drag than having the windows open). So, had one of the options been a sun roof, with no solar roof, i might have opted for that...but since the sun roof and solar roof are mated together in one package, it made sense for me.

As far as the LED vs Halogen discussion...had LED's been an option on the IV, I would have gotten them. But since they were not, and having the sun roof was more important to me, I can get close to the same level of brightness on the road by upgrading to a whiter/brighter halogen.

 

True.... due to the shape of the GenII roof.. sunroofs were rare.....
Even a normal sunroof would cost a grand.... who knows how much this solar one costs?... I don't think I want to know, but I think its at least 2500.00.

My wife wanted a convertible ...... way too crazy noisy for having a converstion, listening to tunes, phone, or having control over just how much air you want based on the outside temp.
The Sunroof affords perfect control, with the use of the windows in conjunction you have perfect control of how the air flows.

Don't use it much this time of year.. but its awesome on those warm summer nights!

Opps!.. didn't meant to change the subject......

 

For me, anyway, a sunroof was a must have. Getting the solar panel/fan/cooling was just an added bonus, and a REAL conversation piece.

I was told by a couple of different dealers that up until the Gen III, Toyota did not make a Prius with a sun roof. Is that true? I'm sure you could get it aftermarket...but I wasn't interested in that.

 

Not disagreeing with you, and your situation is your situation. But -

The three major things that impact halogen lifetime (besides manufacturer design) are:

(1) (hand) oil deposited on to the bulb surface during installation
(2) any moisture inside the headlamp assembly
(3) Voltage spikes/irregularities.


Besides elliminating the aformentioned, the only thing I have done in the past, to prolong lifetime, is NOT to turn on my headlamp unless needed. I have HID's on two of my other cars, and everybody warned me that they wouldn't last much more than a year...well, I'm now going on 3 years for both of these cars. I simply minimize the number of hours they are used by only turning them on when needed, or when it's dark. When it's grey, or rainy, I use either my fog or parking lights....

http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/HighPerformance/SilverStarUltra/

I think most halogens, even the newer/brighter ones, are rated for well more than 1000 hours of use. Sylvania says in their brochure that they "recommend replacing once a year to achieve optimal performance". Ergo, they should last at least a year of continuous use, and based on average driving habits/hours. I think I read someplace that the average commute time in the US is something like 30 minutes...so 1 hr round trip commute time. Assuming I keep my headlight on the entire time (which I don't), and I commute 365 days/year...that equates to 365 hrs of on time for the headlamp. Even if i double that, it's still under the 1,000 hrs (min) life expectancy for most halogens. I increase this even further by only turning on my headlight when needed, or when dark. I have more than 4,000 miles on my Prius, and I bet I have fewer than 25 hours of on time on these bulbs.

I guess I'll find out if these new ULTRA's last more than a year? But as the Sylvania brochure indicates, the brightness of all lamps degrades with time, so if one wants "optimal" lighting, then replacing once every year or two is not such a bad thing,

 

$75?? Yikes, that is expensive.

One of the first things I did when i took delivery of one of my other (european) sedans that has HIDs, and is on all the time, was to have them "reprogram", so that it only comes on when I activate the headlight switch. The HID bulbs in my car are about $200, so I want them to last as long as possible...

 

I was wondering how much energy is saved by LED over halogen? That is if you drive in the daytime with headlights on for safety, like I do. Would there be any measurable increase in MPG by using LED's? In other words, maybe you wouldn't need to charge the traction battery as much with the gas engine? I guess it depends on driving conditions. City vs. highway. But my guess is the LED's wouldn't save that much gas, as much as say, not driving around with golf clubs in the back all day.