How to recognize a quality LED for your headlight
You cannot see the quality of a LED lamp from the outside. These are the points to check before you buy.
1. The chips and their position
Look at which LED chips are used and how they are placed. Small, flat chips placed in a row on the LED body come closest to the size and position of the halogen filament. That is what determines whether the light image in your headlight stays tight. More about chip types in our research into LED low beam kits.
2. The cooling
LED chips produce heat at the back of the lamp. Without good cooling, the light output drops and the lifespan gets shorter. Cooling can be passive, with copper strips or aluminium, or active with a small fan. Check whether there is room for the cooling behind your headlight.
3. Adjustability
Because the position of the chips matters so much, a LED that you can rotate in the lamp foot makes it easier to get a clean light image in both reflector and lens headlights.
4. CAN-bus
Many modern cars check whether their lamps work. A LED uses less power than halogen, so without a CAN-bus solution the car may report a defective lamp. See our CAN-bus LEDs.
LED headlight bulbs in the current Hilox range
The H7 XTR Black LED kit, 5700K, Hilox Evolution is an example from the current range. According to the product information:
- It uses Luxeon Z ES LED chips from Lumileds (Philips), which last up to 50,000 hours: 50 times longer than halogen and 12 times longer than xenon.
- It gives 3600 lumen per lamp, 3.5 times more light than halogen, at 5700K.
- A Smart Cool IC chip combined with a Maglev fan protects the LED chips against overheating.
- The LED can be rotated 360 degrees to fine-tune the light image.
- It is IP68 waterproof and comes with a CAN-bus II module per lamp.
After installation, have the light beam checked and make sure your car still meets the APK requirements. If in doubt, ask the RDW or your inspector. The Hilox product information states that LED lamps with an H fitting designation cannot obtain ECE approval and are intended for circuit and private terrain use only.