I was not sure where to post this so I am placing it inside of the general info. How well does anyone think a CREE bulb would work for a car or truck?
question is… how bright can it get with all that heat contain inside the headlight? / foglights?
i’m pretty sure it’s not going to be as bright as the flashlight using CREE XM-L LEDs
That is true, I had not thought about the heat issue. I have HIDs in the lows on my van and I use xenon 100w for the high beams and xenon 42w for the fog lights. The HIDs are very nice. I had a HID bulb go out on me yesterday and cruising around on ebay to see what I could find for a replacement I came across the cree light. The HIDs are nice but this is my second set and they seem to need to be replaced every 3 to 5 months. The xenon last me about a year.
I don’t think it would work very well but if you try it let us know.
I wouldn’t use any LEDs as low or high beam but for parkers they are ok (I still prefer the incans though), as for fog lights the colour temperature looks too cool.
I am not sure if I will or will not purchase them. I am looking for some insight on them first. I purchased my first nice flashlight with the help of this forum and it was a CREE light and it is just amazing. I am looking into purchasing a new set of HIDs complete with ballast and wiring just because my setup is old. I saw the CREE lights and thought they would be awesome but if I cannot get any direct information I may just go with my HID setup because I do already like it alot.
I’ll test them for you. Just buy them and send them to me. :bigsmile:
It can be bright.
With a very weird beam profile.
For a minute before it overheats and burns out.
Or be more like 5W and survive few rides during which you won’t see much better. Maybe cooler colors, but not more lumen compared to halogens.
But to not be all negative - if it is somewhat between might be usable as high beam if used intermittently.
LED supposed replacements IMO are junk in a normal headlight. I got mine for an aquarium lighting project but tried them in a car to see how good they were,
The ones I got were very white but not blue. Problems were that they did not match the reflectors and had a lens in the front of the bulb. Lots of scatter and no defined dip beam cutoff, which could be overcome I suppose.
The output on the ones I tried (2 pairs) were either not as good or just about on par (normal not HID). No heat issues though (Volvo) Not worth it unless you have a specific light unit designed for it, a 100w ‘normal’ bulb would be better. If you go from a HID to these you will need to stick a torch out the window for extra light.
IME ebay HID bulbs tend to have a short lifespan, never had a problem with name brand ones mind you they cost a lot more.
@jonhobart LOL, thank you
@milan, My headlights have like a projection type hi beam. My low beam is my HID and just a normal cover I guess. This is what my headlamp looks like
It is factory left hand side is the hi beam and right hand side is the low beam. Do you think there may be a better displacement of light on either side of the housing?
@xmint, The HIDs I get off of ebay are very annoyingly short in life span but the guy I plan on purchasing from tomorrow I am paying $20 to only because he is giving a 2 year warranty. I usually purchase for around 7-11 with only a 30 day warranty. So hopefully this next set I buy will be great. I saw the LEDs but I have never been a fan of LED I did not think they would give a very good light. My current setup is low beam 8k 35w HID and hi beam/fog just ebay xenon bulbs at a 5900 color.
Overall I just am so stoked with my CREE light every time I get to use it. I take it to work with me everyday and hope to get to use it on a vehicle inspection. I work at a tire and lube shop. I have the brightest flashlight in the shop if ya know what I mean. Seriously broad daylight I can put a spot on the wall outside of the shop about 50ft away it rocks. So I just got excited when I saw a CREE headlight.
The day will come when led Headlights will be a reality, just not in the reverse engineered replacement bulb kind of way.
Thanks for posting this, these look like they will be brighter then the 68 led version I’d found for my fog lights 
These sucked
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0057CDXAA
I would like LED headlights, but the problems are CRI, output, heat management (big one), and beam profile.
I’m not sure if a retrofit bulb can ever be made viable because of the beam profile and heat management, but automakers can certainly design an LED bulb system for their cars with today’s technology
I believe the day is already here, I think Audi and Lexus have them on some models.
The only LED “headlights” on cars I have seen are strictly for daytime running lights where the object is to be seen by other cars, not project useable light and I do not believe they work well for projecting light.
tell that to my Cyclone C88, or did you mean the cars that have LEDs?
Umm From Audi
“The LED revolution
Unique to this class of car, the A8 is available with full-LED headlights.
These optional headlights give the car an unmistakeable appearance, during the day but especially in the dark. With a colour temperature of 5,500 Kelvin’s the light produced closely resembles daylight, vastly reducing strain on the eyes when driving at night.
The dipped beam is made up of ten single modules, forming an arc beneath the chrome contours of the ‘wing’. Directly beneath it, in a secondary arc are 22 white and 22 yellow LEDs create the daytime running lights and indicators. Above the ‘wing’ is the full beam, generated by two powerful, four-chip LEDs and a free-form reflection system. An assistance function switches between the dipped and full beam whilst further high-performance LEDs produce the motorway and cornering lights. A dedicated fan and heat sink keep each headlight at exactly the right temperature.
All of this whilst being vastly more efficient than traditional headlights”.
Sounds like Audi alright
If I have seen Audis with these on the road, then its a good thing because they don’t stand out as being significantly different than conventional headlights. To date, the only LED’s used as a “headlight” that I have actually seen appear to be the little domed LED’s that surround the “real” headlights and they are only bright enough to be used for DRL’s.
The entire thread has been about automotive headlights, not sure why its confusing that I am not talking about a head worn light or a bicycle light.
i was indirectly asking if you meant the car LEDs you’ve seen aren’t good at projecting light, or if you think LEDs in general can’t project light in a car friendly way
The ones I have seen did not appear to be good at projecting light, they look to be a series of the old type of LED’s like found on the cheap multi-LED flashlights you see as impulse buys at the registers of some stores (especially autoparts stores). I did not think that car manufacturers were too far along in adapting LED’s for car headlight use, which appears to be wrong, on my part. I do think that LED’s can provide useful light when used as a car headlight, per my previous sentence, I just did not think they were in use as such, but the Audi information has proven me wrong. As a matter of fact, I am seriously considering getting an SRK to see if it can be adapted to my son’s dirt bike since he likes to ride it until after the sun goes down. I know my Uniquefire 2180 gives my car headlights a run for the money (I think the headlights get an advantage in that there are two, vs. I only have one UF 2180) in how far it can throw useable light.