Forget Retrobrite??? the lowest cost H4 reflector headlight test

[skrit]

I paid $18.37 including tax for everything you see and picked up from my local Toyota dealership. I plan to use Amazon LED lamps in them if they perform better than halogen. Comes with wiring harness, relays and halogen lamps. They appear to be much better quality than the standard ones (shown at the left).

My goal is to have a headlight similar to Holley Retrobriite at a fraction of the price.

Once I get my lamps, I'll do a test to show beam pattern and light output.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Proof will be in what the beam pattern looks like. Until we see that, it's just another questionable conversion light.

 

[skrit]

Yeah, probably jumped the gun without having the beam pattern to show. Stay tuned, lamps coming tomorrow. Could be a bust for sure... but, if someone wants just the H4 halogen... it's a helluva deal.

 

[Sheehanigans]

I run these. They are great. Not like new car great but definitely a huge improvement over the sealed beams.

My only problem is that they are flat faced instead of round. Dont love that look of them for that but I don’t think about it often and it’s a very minor detail.

 

[Sheehanigans]

Flat like this

 

[skrit]

Flat is what I was looking for. Some of the projector style are too round and bulge out.

Anyway, I'm actually going to test 4 different LED lamp styles I got from Amazon.
Termitor color temp adjustible
Auxbeam F15
Auxbeam F22
Auxito (the $33 ones with 10K+ reviews)

 

[ntsqd]

Those Toyota sourced IPF lens/reflector assemblies are highly regarded. I have a set in the Wagon, but no real driving yet to know how they work.

Use a std 55/60W H4 bulb for your baseline. Might include some of the higher wattage H4's for a compare and contrast. I've decades behind the Hella 55/100W's in all sorts of H4 assemblies, so interested to see how these other emitters stack up.

 

[Shimmy]

check out here for proper bulbs. they also have plenty of comparison vids on YT

https://www.headlightrevolution.com/

and this

 

[gnpenning]

Interested in how this turns out. I bought a few myself and was wondering about the cut off lines with different bulbs.

 

[nvrstuk]

I tried 6 different bulbs and lenses and gave up. They were such crap. Beam pattern is the key as I absolutely detest the cheap LED's with a quadzillion Lumens coming at me at night but there is no pattern so ALL on coming traffic is literally blinded.

I bought a quality set of Grote lights that look stock and were much better than the 55/100W H4's I had been running and hoping and praying there weren't any deer a couple hundred feet in front of me...

Post up, be interested to see the beam pattern.

 

[skrit]

OK folks... here's my setup. Just doing lowbeams tonight. All LED lamps used have the remote drivers which is recommended to keep the wiring connector from melting.

Not scientific at all and the reflector alignment is eye balled. That's the biggest light colored sheet I had. Not ideal backdrop for the lights. Used the ladder to posistion the headlights as close to my 2013 f150 with factory projector HID height.

In each picture there is yellow tape where my F150 beam cutoff is. F150 headlight pattern below taken from in the cab. I placed the bronco grille setup at the same plane as where the F150 headlights were. Distance from headlight to garage door is 20'.

Brand new Halogens:

Auxito LED:

Auxbeam F15

Auxbeam F22

Termitor

I'll redo these pictures using the same camera settings. Just don't know how to do the pro settings right now.

Overall, I'm pleased at the control these reflectors have. Figured the LED would look bad and scattered. I'll do one of the Toyota reflectors on one side and the stardard H4 reflector in the other to see the difference. The only gripe is the lamp retaining lock rings which are a PITA compared to simple spring retainers.

 

[skrit]

check out here for proper bulbs. they also have plenty of comparison vids on YT

https://www.headlightrevolution.com/

and this

Headlight revolution is biased to their brands. I watched this guy and learned that...

 

[.94 OR]

I would also be interested in the lateral spread. Like when you are turning into a dark driveway and need a little light to know where the culvert is.
The F15 and F22 pattern looks decent and could be adjusted down if there was glare on the top end. Assuming that doesn't dip the high beam too low.

 

[skrit]

I would also be interested in the lateral spread. Like when you are turning into a dark driveway and need a little light to know where the culvert is.
The F15 and F22 pattern looks decent and could be adjusted down if there was glare on the top end. Assuming that doesn't dip the high beam too low.

I'll do another round of tests with more pics including highbeams and try and show the lateral spread once I find a better place. I'll use a lightmeter as well to get the lux.

 

[nvrstuk]

Promising for sure.

 

[Broncobowsher]

The factory F150 looks like a nice cutoff. Most don't look that good (I am ignoring the aim, that can be adjusted)
The Termitor is getting close.

I remember having a really good talk with a headlight engineer 15 years ago. I wish I could remember half of the details. The engineering that goes into a good headlight design is pretty intense. They have the restraints of styling and budget. There are things that might look like sloppy lighting but are there for a reason. The one that stands out is a splotch of light aimed high and to the right. It is there to light up road signs. Most people never know about that.

 

[nvrstuk]

Quote:.... " The one that stands out is a splotch of light aimed high and to the right. It is there to light up road signs. Most people never know about that."....

Didn't that engineer mean to say it was aimed to shine in the drivers side mirror of the vehicle they are passing??? lol

 

[.94 OR]

Quote:.... " The one that stands out is a splotch of light aimed high and to the right. It is there to light up road signs. Most people never know about that."....

Didn't that engineer mean to say it was aimed to shine in the drivers side mirror of the vehicle they are passing??? lol

That's just an added bonus!

 

[Broncobowsher]

No, it was specific to lighting up road signs. Not super bright, just a little controlled spill with soft edges. The road signs are reflective enough they only need a little light. Not a spot that distracts the driver. That is one of the things I distinctly remember. There was a bunch more on the cutoff shape, the step up on the right (that is not the traffic sign part of it), at the time 3 different lighting engineering principals all the production headlights are based on (well beyond the reflector and projector that people think of).

There have been a few times I have had a nice conversation with someone who really knows there stuff. Another good one was a conversation with a Paccar engineer over thermal management of drivetrains. Have you ever thought of how the bellhousing is part of the manual transmission cooling package? You conduct heat between the engine and the transmission through the bellhousing. Changing material (iron vs. aluminum) will change how the engine warms a cold transmission and how a hard working transmission will transfer heat into the engine block, and be cooled by the engine coolant.

Not all of them are smart like this. But when you can sit down and have a good conversation with one of the smart ones. It can be amazing.

If I could remember half of what he told me about I would be twice as smart.

 

[Shimmy]

Headlight revolution is biased to their brands. I watched this guy and learned that...

Headlight revolution is biased to their brands. I watched this guy and learned that...

yah i kinda knew that too but didn't realize it was across so many brands! thanks for sharing. there's still a lot of R&D that they've done to advance the aftermarket. morimoto does make some good retrofit components (projectors and off-road lights) but i wouldn't recommend their bulbs alone