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Solved Comparing LED bulb to my old Halogen bulb - Explorer 2013

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abdo1234

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2013 Ford Explorer Base
Since we all know that Explorers have very poor yellowish Halogen headlights, I decided to change them and install HID. the thing is I do have my DRL enabled in both of my headlights, and installing HID will require me to disable my DRLs, either with Forscan or by heading to the dealer. so, while I was wandering around Amazon, I've found a lot of HID kits and LED kits as well, and since that some LED bulbs work great with DRLs, and don't require to install addition ballasts or a relay harness, I decided to go with LEDs and give them a shot.
as this is my first time buying LEDs, I went cheap and bought a kit from Amazon for 23.99 dollars only.

important: in this experiment, I will measure the brightest area of both, the low beam, and the high beam of each bulb, from 3 different distances. however, the lux meter that I'm using is actually my smartphone, so, measurements may not be as accurate as a real lux meter, but they will give you an idea of the difference between the LED bulb, and the Halogen bulb.

Let's start!

the LED bulb specs:
- Ravmix Led bulbs
- COB led chips
- 30 watt/bulb
- 3200 lumens/ bulb
- 6500k color temperature


- Here is the Ravmix LED bulbs kit
20180522_153750_HDR.jpg

20180522_153832_HDR.jpg



- Low beam. Passenger side (Halogen), Driver side (LED).
8-1.jpg



- High beam. Passenger side (Halogen), Driver side (LED).
8-2.jpg


- 5 ft Low beam
1-1.jpg

1-2.jpg

Measurements:
- Distance = 5ft.
- Halogen = 18000 Lux
- LED = 5600 Lux



- 30 ft Low beam
2-1.jpg

2-2.jpg

Measurments:
- Distance = 30 ft
- Halogen = 238 Lux
- LED = 110 Lux


- 30 ft High beam
2-3.jpg

2-4.jpg

Measurments:
- Distance = 30 ft
- Halogen = 325 Lux
- LED = 116 Lux



- 100 ft Low beam
3-1.jpg

3-2.jpg

Measurements:
- Distance = 100 ft
- Halogen = 32 Lux
- LED = 13 Lux



- 100 ft High beam
3-3.jpg

3-4.jpg

Measurements:
- Distance = 100 ft
- Halogen = 44 Lux
- Led = 15 Lux



here are some photos of the 2 bulbs installed side by side, each photo was taken with 2 different shutter speeds, fast and slow shutter, to show which one is brighter.

- Low beam
6-1.jpg
6-2.jpg



- High beam
7-1.jpg

7-2.jpg



In conclusion:

From this humble experiment, I've noticed that the beam pattern was almost the same, and the LED light beam seemed brighter in front of the car, and also wider than the Halogen light beam.

the Halogen light beam was more concentrated in the center, allowing it to travel further down the road.
also, the difference between the High and Low beams in the LED bulb wasn't that much at all.

you can check the table below to see all the measurements at once.
Table.jpg


in the end, I think this bulb wasn't that bad for this price, 2 years warranty and a 30000 hrs lifespan. but a different design may have been better, so, I'm planning to try a different bulb, this time with a 4 sided design, and a different LED chip.

Stay tuned!

View attachment 159528
 



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The experiment came out better than I expected, I expected light to be sprayed everywhere.

If I were you, I would probably switch my DRLs with FORScan to the parking lamp bulbs. I'm not convinced that the PWM of the DRL against the LEDs won't do some damage over the medium term.
 






any hint of purple light off reflected objects, license plates, white road signs etc? I've noticed a few OEM bulbs give off a blue/purple light.
 






I put LEDs in my '13 in Jan/Feb of '17, and moved them to my '15 when I bought it a month ago. I'm very happy with them. They're two sided, with the LEDs oriented left and right (they're adjustable to whatever angle I want, but I haven't tried any other orientation).

I went with Sirius LED. They have a no questions asked two year warranty and 30000 hour life. I've had one LED fail on each of the original set, and they sent me a new one with a simple email, and I had the replacement within a week.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M049TFK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 






The experiment came out better than I expected, I expected light to be sprayed everywhere.

If I were you, I would probably switch my DRLs with FORScan to the parking lamp bulbs. I'm not convinced that the PWM of the DRL against the LEDs won't do some damage over the medium term.

That what I thought of as well, probably I'll do it when I receive my new OBD2 adapter as my old one is broken.

any hint of purple light off reflected objects, license plates, white road signs etc? I've noticed a few OEM bulbs give off a blue/purple light.

I don't think that, but with LEDs, the signs reflect from a pretty decent distance.

I put LEDs in my '13 in Jan/Feb of '17, and moved them to my '15 when I bought it a month ago. I'm very happy with them. They're two sided, with the LEDs oriented left and right (they're adjustable to whatever angle I want, but I haven't tried any other orientation).

I went with Sirius LED. They have a no questions asked two year warranty and 30000 hour life. I've had one LED fail on each of the original set, and they sent me a new one with a simple email, and I had the replacement within a week.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M049TFK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

mmm... interesting, are they brighter than mine?
does the beam reach further distances than the Halogen?
 






mmm... interesting, are they brighter than mine?
does the beam reach further distances than the Halogen?

I don't think mine are any brighter or reach any farther than stock. I think that's more a factor of the reflectors than the bulbs. I don't know that putting a brighter bulb in would actually cast the light any farther, and it would likely have a detrimental effect on oncoming drivers.
 






I have a 2013 Ford Explorer and wanted to upgrade the headlights to LEDs. Has anyone done this that can suggest what type of bulb replacement to get?

I've seen tons of LED headlight upgrades available online, but to be honest, I don't know where to even start. Not sure what LED bulb would work with my 2013 Explorer.

Many thanks in advanced!
 






You're probably better off with an HID upgrade.
 






Take a look on Aliexpress. They are still having a Nov sale. Focus on the cold white temperature and anything above 8000 lumens per bulb.

If you do this for headlights and fog lights, you will be pleased with the results. Then wire your fog lights to come on with high beam and you'll be really pleased
 






Anything above 6-6.5K is rubbish. The higher the Kelvin rating the lower your light output is.
 






As already mentioned I would give the Philips X-TremeUltinon LED a try. This bulb is developed as OEM replacement and is not compareable to the cheap stuff you get on ebay or aliexpress.
 






I have a 2013 Ford Explorer and wanted to upgrade the headlights to LEDs. Has anyone done this that can suggest what type of bulb replacement to get?

I've seen tons of LED headlight upgrades available online, but to be honest, I don't know where to even start. Not sure what LED bulb would work with my 2013 Explorer.

Many thanks in advanced!
Welcome to the Forum.:wave:
Your thread was merged with this one.
What people tend to forget is that the housings are specifically designed for the type of factory bulb that it comes with. Meaning you can't just throw any type of bulb in them and expect the same results as if the housing was designed for that particular bulb. Sure, you may increase the brightness but at the same time you would not achieve the results that you would have had if the correct housing had been used. A halogen bulb produces light from all sides of the bulb (omnidirectional) and the housing is designed to capture and project it outward. An LED bulb in contrast, only produces light from certain points of the bulb and therefore the halogen housing will not project the light beam properly. The distance may also be shorter.
Even though it isn't recommended, you'd be better off using HID bulbs. As san-man mentioned anything over 6k is not something to consider. The higher the 'k' number, the lower the actual light output will be and the bluer the light colour. It may look nice but it isn't functionally a good thing if you're looking for improved lighting.
I suggest that you do some online research before jumping into this project.
LED/HID retrofit fit kits are technically not street legal nor will you find that they are DOT approved.
Why LEDs should not be run in Halogen reflectors
https://jalopnik.com/should-you-swap-your-headlight-bulbs-for-leds-1728026383
Can I use LEDs in a reflector housing? : cars

Peter
 






I do not want to disagree with peterk9, because in 99% his statement is true. But of course there are good LED bulbs on the market. But yes, they are costly.
I want to link to the German AAA counterpart. Yes it is in German, but I will guide you and you can put in in Google Translater for example.

Fahrzeug-Lichttechnik
--> click on the grey button "Untersuchung LED-Retrofits" (translate: Test of LED Retrofit Solutions)
--> click on "H7-Leuchtmittel im Projektionsscheinwerfer eines Hyundai i30" (translate: H7-bulbs tested in a Hyundai i30 projector head lamp)

There are two images: One with quality Osram Halogen OEM bulb, the other picture is the Philips LED H7 X-Treme Ultinon.
https://www.adac.de/_mmm/jpg/Lichttechniken_49_924x418_308709.jpg
https://www.adac.de/_mmm/jpg/Lichttechniken_50_945x427_308710.jpg

Conclusion:
The range is a bit better, but the width is way better and helps to illuminate bikes, pedestrian and other dark obsticals at the side. Furthermore the contrast is better due to the white, daylight-like, LED-light.
 






This is a great test. I hate when I tell people that LEDs are NOT brighter than halogens when the LEDs are put in halogen housings, and they say "omfg it looks brighter". Looks don't matter, its all in the numbers. If you want brighter lights, retrofit some HID Projector housings and then you'll see a difference.
 












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