Best head light replacement 93 C4
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From: Compound in the Grove, Ga.
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Hope this helps ya.
http://www.zr1.net/forum/showthread....ght=headlights
http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...ght=headlights
http://www.zr1.net/forum/showthread....ght=headlights
http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...ght=headlights
Last edited by FASTAZU; Oct 8, 2015 at 10:26 PM.
Pro
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 694
Likes: 27
From: St James New York
JW Speaker LED headlights, pricey but you asked for the best and brightest!
http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/le...900-evolution/
No bulbs to wear out, plug and play with the OEM wiring harness, no heat or excessive amperage draw issues like with high wattage H4 bubs and ecode housings. No need to mount & wire ballasts. No problems with retrofitting HID bulbs into reflector housings that were not made for HID's in the first place, (No light scatter, clean light cutoff!) Clean white light, (5000*K) focused where it should be....... as good as it gets for our C4's. They also come w/a four year manufacturers warrantee and are available in DOT, ICE lht, and ICE rht hand configurations.
Very Expensive though, & your going to have to find a way to reground your OEM fogs!
Check out these threads for more info;
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-solution.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...eadlights.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...dlights-2.html
http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/le...900-evolution/
No bulbs to wear out, plug and play with the OEM wiring harness, no heat or excessive amperage draw issues like with high wattage H4 bubs and ecode housings. No need to mount & wire ballasts. No problems with retrofitting HID bulbs into reflector housings that were not made for HID's in the first place, (No light scatter, clean light cutoff!) Clean white light, (5000*K) focused where it should be....... as good as it gets for our C4's. They also come w/a four year manufacturers warrantee and are available in DOT, ICE lht, and ICE rht hand configurations.
Very Expensive though, & your going to have to find a way to reground your OEM fogs!
Check out these threads for more info;
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-solution.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...eadlights.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...dlights-2.html
Last edited by mako41; Oct 10, 2015 at 07:38 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 2,931
Likes: 127
From: Ashland Alabama
Either hids from corvettemods in their projector housings for good light on the cheap
or.....
If you can afford the best. Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III (H1)
Easy Install Universal Retrofit.
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/com...-3-kit-h1.html
Anything else lighting wise is a joke.
or.....
If you can afford the best. Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III (H1)
Easy Install Universal Retrofit.
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/com...-3-kit-h1.html
Anything else lighting wise is a joke.
Pro
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 694
Likes: 27
From: St James New York
Either hids from corvettemods in their projector housings for good light on the cheap
or.....
If you can afford the best. Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III (H1)
Easy Install Universal Retrofit.
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/com...-3-kit-h1.html
Anything else lighting wise is a joke.
or.....
If you can afford the best. Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III (H1)
Easy Install Universal Retrofit.
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/com...-3-kit-h1.html
Anything else lighting wise is a joke.
They blow away The OEM HID bi-xenons in my '15 Grand Cherokee as well as my neighbors OEM HID's in his '15 BMW, not even close!
As far as going with a universal retrofit......all that work still won't get you the same light output as these JW Speaker LED's, that drop right in, plug and play!
LED lighting is the future for state of the art automobile lighting. Most high end vehicles will be going to LED's in the near future and lessor car lines will eventually follow suit. HID lighting technology will begin to fade and slowly be replaced by LED lighting technology just as HID's once did to halogen headlight lighting technology.
Last edited by mako41; Oct 8, 2015 at 11:37 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 2,931
Likes: 127
From: Ashland Alabama
I would respectfully disagree...... The JW Speaker LED headlights I linked to above are by far the best and brightest headlights you can run in a C4.
They blow away The OEM HID bi-xenons in my '15 Grand Cherokee as well as my neighbors OEM HID's in his '15 BMW, not even close!
As far as going with a universal retrofit......all that work still won't get you the same light output as these JW Speaker LED's, that drop right in, plug and play!
LED lighting is the future for state of the art automobile lighting. Most high end vehicles will be going to LED's in the near future and lessor car lines will eventually follow suit. HID lighting technology will begin to fade and slowly be replaced by LED lighting technology just as HID's once did to halogen headlight lighting technology.
They blow away The OEM HID bi-xenons in my '15 Grand Cherokee as well as my neighbors OEM HID's in his '15 BMW, not even close!
As far as going with a universal retrofit......all that work still won't get you the same light output as these JW Speaker LED's, that drop right in, plug and play!
LED lighting is the future for state of the art automobile lighting. Most high end vehicles will be going to LED's in the near future and lessor car lines will eventually follow suit. HID lighting technology will begin to fade and slowly be replaced by LED lighting technology just as HID's once did to halogen headlight lighting technology.
1,350-
1,770 Raw Lumens; 650-850 Effective Lumens;
Per their info.
Average aftermarket hid 3200 Lumens.
So led = nice, hid = brighter.
I don't hate led's. Everything in the house and even the outside spot lights here are led. But for automotive I think they have a bit longer to go to catch up with the hids. But getting there for sure.
Pro
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 694
Likes: 27
From: St James New York
Link you provided is :
1,350-
1,770 Raw Lumens; 650-850 Effective Lumens;
Per their info.
Average aftermarket hid 3200 Lumens.
So led = nice, hid = brighter.
I don't hate led's. Everything in the house and even the outside spot lights here are led. But for automotive I think they have a bit longer to go to catch up with the hids. But getting there for sure.
1,350-
1,770 Raw Lumens; 650-850 Effective Lumens;
Per their info.
Average aftermarket hid 3200 Lumens.
So led = nice, hid = brighter.
I don't hate led's. Everything in the house and even the outside spot lights here are led. But for automotive I think they have a bit longer to go to catch up with the hids. But getting there for sure.
Last edited by mako41; Oct 9, 2015 at 12:08 AM.
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Race Director
Joined: Mar 2015
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I'm not sure where your getting your lumen output numbers for aftermarket HID's. But I can tell you first hand lined up right next to each other in the dark of night the JW Speaker LED's I linked too blow away the HID's in my 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee using aftermarket D2S HID bulbs and my neighbors 2015 BMW. Not even close! Clean white light, with a sharp cutoff, no glare and excellent forward foreground illumination.
have to becareful at lot of knock off speakers from china.
mine were about $600 real speakers were $1000 knock offs around $600
hid with there china crap (projectors) no way just blind oncoming traffic
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 2,931
Likes: 127
From: Ashland Alabama
One thing that might be effecting your aftermarket hid setup is kelvin rating (color) of the hids. The blue-ish(6000k), purple(7000k), etc ones are not very bright compared to the 4300k or even 5000k ones. Bmw hids are not very bright either compared to most aftermarket setups. But the bmw ones have nice light shaping.
Eventually the led's will out perform the hids. Its just a matter of time. But the lumen output you can get with the right kelvin choice is brighter. Doesn't make the led a bad choice since they last longer, run cooler and require less power. So overall cost of ownership is great for the led's even if they are a bit dimmer than some hid kits you can get.
But initial cash outlay is much higher for the led's over the hids. If the led's were cheaper than the hids even with them not being quite as bright I call it a win easy. But the cost isn't low enough yet to be what I would recommend over a good hid kit. But that's my opinion.
The lumen part isn't opinion. But you have to get the low kelvin temperature ones to get the most light output. The blue, purple, disco choices put out very poor light and the human eye doesn't respond well to that spectrum of light either.
Eventually the led's will out perform the hids. Its just a matter of time. But the lumen output you can get with the right kelvin choice is brighter. Doesn't make the led a bad choice since they last longer, run cooler and require less power. So overall cost of ownership is great for the led's even if they are a bit dimmer than some hid kits you can get.
But initial cash outlay is much higher for the led's over the hids. If the led's were cheaper than the hids even with them not being quite as bright I call it a win easy. But the cost isn't low enough yet to be what I would recommend over a good hid kit. But that's my opinion.
The lumen part isn't opinion. But you have to get the low kelvin temperature ones to get the most light output. The blue, purple, disco choices put out very poor light and the human eye doesn't respond well to that spectrum of light either.
Pro
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 694
Likes: 27
From: St James New York
One thing that might be effecting your aftermarket hid setup is kelvin rating (color) of the hids. The blue-ish(6000k), purple(7000k), etc ones are not very bright compared to the 4300k or even 5000k ones. Bmw hids are not very bright either compared to most aftermarket setups. But the bmw ones have nice light shaping.
Eventually the led's will out perform the hids. Its just a matter of time. But the lumen output you can get with the right kelvin choice is brighter. Doesn't make the led a bad choice since they last longer, run cooler and require less power. So overall cost of ownership is great for the led's even if they are a bit dimmer than some hid kits you can get.
But initial cash outlay is much higher for the led's over the hids. If the led's were cheaper than the hids even with them not being quite as bright I call it a win easy. But the cost isn't low enough yet to be what I would recommend over a good hid kit. But that's my opinion.
The lumen part isn't opinion. But you have to get the low kelvin temperature ones to get the most light output. The blue, purple, disco choices put out very poor light and the human eye doesn't respond well to that spectrum of light either.
Eventually the led's will out perform the hids. Its just a matter of time. But the lumen output you can get with the right kelvin choice is brighter. Doesn't make the led a bad choice since they last longer, run cooler and require less power. So overall cost of ownership is great for the led's even if they are a bit dimmer than some hid kits you can get.
But initial cash outlay is much higher for the led's over the hids. If the led's were cheaper than the hids even with them not being quite as bright I call it a win easy. But the cost isn't low enough yet to be what I would recommend over a good hid kit. But that's my opinion.
The lumen part isn't opinion. But you have to get the low kelvin temperature ones to get the most light output. The blue, purple, disco choices put out very poor light and the human eye doesn't respond well to that spectrum of light either.
There is no question these JW Speaker LED headlights are very expensive..... But the OP asked for the best and brightest headlights you can get for a C4 and I believe these are the ones!
Last edited by mako41; Oct 9, 2015 at 01:20 AM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 2,931
Likes: 127
From: Ashland Alabama
Well till they pick up another few thousand lumens hids are brighter than leds.
That's why they use hids in football and baseball stadiums and not led bulbs.
Also your comparing 3 led's to one hid that is dot limited on the factory ones. Also some run 55watt hids which are far brighter than the factory hids and most of the cheap hid kits too.
Not all hid kits are the same brightness. I have 4 vehicles with hids. None are the same brightness. With the dimmest being a great deal dimmer than the brightest one.
My wife's bmw 5 series with hids is the dimmest of the group. With the vette being the brightest. But the superduties being dimmer than the vettes but more focused.
All subjective information but the point is not all hids are created equal. There are hid kits out there brighter than the led lights your running.
Once leds make it to the light level of the hids I will be one of the first in line to switch as Id rather have led's over hids when they get there.
That's why they use hids in football and baseball stadiums and not led bulbs.
Also your comparing 3 led's to one hid that is dot limited on the factory ones. Also some run 55watt hids which are far brighter than the factory hids and most of the cheap hid kits too.
Not all hid kits are the same brightness. I have 4 vehicles with hids. None are the same brightness. With the dimmest being a great deal dimmer than the brightest one.
My wife's bmw 5 series with hids is the dimmest of the group. With the vette being the brightest. But the superduties being dimmer than the vettes but more focused.
All subjective information but the point is not all hids are created equal. There are hid kits out there brighter than the led lights your running.
Once leds make it to the light level of the hids I will be one of the first in line to switch as Id rather have led's over hids when they get there.
Pro
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 694
Likes: 27
From: St James New York
OK well thanks for your opinion..... Even though you have no idea what your taking about as I'm sure you haven't been anywhere near a C4 running these JW Speaker headlights because if you had you wouldn't be making such uninformed conclusions. These JW Speaker headlight are DOT and ECE approved for automobiles and are also DOT limited as to their potential light output. They could have produced an LED headlight that puts out double or triple the lumens with this technology but that would not have past muster with the DOT.
The fact that you "Have 4 vehicles with hids. None are the same brightness"........ Is another reason why HID's are becoming yesterdays technology. HID's are still bulbs with diminishing light output over their service life that one day will need to be replaced, just like outdated Halogen bulbs. LED's on the other hand don't suffer from the same service life issues and they already produce light levels as good as the best HID's have to offer & they will only continue to get better!
If you look at virtually all the aftermarket automobile lighting company's out there you'll find they're all going to LED lighting technologies for their newest and best lighting products. That's not my opinion that's a fact. Even if you have your head in the sand on this issue!
The fact that you "Have 4 vehicles with hids. None are the same brightness"........ Is another reason why HID's are becoming yesterdays technology. HID's are still bulbs with diminishing light output over their service life that one day will need to be replaced, just like outdated Halogen bulbs. LED's on the other hand don't suffer from the same service life issues and they already produce light levels as good as the best HID's have to offer & they will only continue to get better!
If you look at virtually all the aftermarket automobile lighting company's out there you'll find they're all going to LED lighting technologies for their newest and best lighting products. That's not my opinion that's a fact. Even if you have your head in the sand on this issue!
Last edited by mako41; Oct 10, 2015 at 07:30 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 2,931
Likes: 127
From: Ashland Alabama
Actually the hids in question had the light difference when new. Ive never seen any two hid kits exactly the same brightness level.
BINGO. Like I said the only advantage with hids are you can buy a kit that is BRIGHTER than the led lights your referring to. I also said quite clearly said
Leds use less power and last longer than hids without having to change anything. While they do get dimmer with time they wont go completely out from a bulb blowing. I have led lights on some of my offroad vehicles since I figured the hids would pull to much power on turn on for the limited power available and would be more durable to impact.
I just don't use them on my on road stuff yet.
These JW Speaker headlight are DOT and ICE approved for automobiles and are also DOT limited as to their potential light output. They could have produced an LED headlight that puts out double or triple the lumens with this technology but that would not have past muster with the DOT.
Once leds make it to the light level of the hids I will be one of the first in line to switch as Id rather have led's over hids when they get there.
I just don't use them on my on road stuff yet.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 2,931
Likes: 127
From: Ashland Alabama
Only other drawback I had with them was short bulb life in that truck but that was caused by the daytime running light feature that truck had. The silverstar bulbs by nature have a shorter lifespan since they burn hotter from being brighter. Again without daytime running lights I doubt most people would notice the lifespan issue that much.
Good bulb for a standard headlight setup.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,376
Likes: 111
From: Cherokee National Forest TN
I changed the stock units to "E" code headlights, paid about 100 bux for the pair on line.
They light up dark 2 lane mountain roads as good if not better than my newer vehicles.
Plug & play, if a brighter light is required change the H-4 bulb to a higher wattage.
Install tip: Set the left / right beam alignment using high beam.
They light up dark 2 lane mountain roads as good if not better than my newer vehicles.
Plug & play, if a brighter light is required change the H-4 bulb to a higher wattage.
Install tip: Set the left / right beam alignment using high beam.
Pro
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 694
Likes: 27
From: St James New York
Actually the hids in question had the light difference when new. Ive never seen any two hid kits exactly the same brightness level.
BINGO. Like I said the only advantage with hids are you can buy a kit that is BRIGHTER than the led lights your referring to. I also said quite clearly said
Leds use less power and last longer than hids without having to change anything. While they do get dimmer with time they wont go completely out from a bulb blowing. I have led lights on some of my offroad vehicles since I figured the hids would pull to much power on turn on for the limited power available and would be more durable to impact.
I just don't use them on my on road stuff yet.
BINGO. Like I said the only advantage with hids are you can buy a kit that is BRIGHTER than the led lights your referring to. I also said quite clearly said
Leds use less power and last longer than hids without having to change anything. While they do get dimmer with time they wont go completely out from a bulb blowing. I have led lights on some of my offroad vehicles since I figured the hids would pull to much power on turn on for the limited power available and would be more durable to impact.
I just don't use them on my on road stuff yet.
You are completely uninformed!
Why you continue to make statements about the JW Speaker LED's several forum members including myself are currently running without actually seeing the light output they produce in person really makes no sense at all!LED are already there! Right now! Today!
They will only get better as HID technology fades like Halogen lighting once did! Get your head out of the sand when it comes to LED automobile lighting, it's here, works better, and is the bright future in automobile lighting.
BTW those silverstars you ran in your GMC truck and seemed to like, run at a higher color temp (5500*K) than all OEM HID's and LED's as well as the OEM halogens they were made to replace. This is because those bulbs are tinted blue to trick you into thinking they are brighter when in fact they produce less usable light. They are a perfect example of what you mentioned in post # 10 above with light in the blueish~purple color temperature range that may look brighter but in fact produce less lumens in reality.
Really makes me question your knowledge on any automobile lighting issue!
I know you want to be right and get the last word so have at it, but that won't change anything.
Have a nice day!
Last edited by mako41; Oct 9, 2015 at 11:09 AM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 2,931
Likes: 127
From: Ashland Alabama
OK.... for my very last response to you.
You are completely uninformed! Why you continue to make statements about the JW Speaker LED's several forum members including myself are currently running without actually seeing the light output they produce in person really makes no sense at all!
LED are already there! Right now! Today!
They will only get better as HID technology fades like Halogen lighting once did! Get your head out of the sand when it comes to LED automobile lighting, it's here, works better, and is the bright future in automobile lighting.
BTW those silverstars you ran in your GMC truck and seemed to like, run at a higher color temp (5500*K) than all OEM HID's and LED's as well as the OEM halogens they were made to replace. This is because those bulbs are tinted blue to trick you into thinking they are brighter when in fact they produce less usable light. They are a perfect example of what you mentioned in post # 10 above with light in the blueish~purple color temperature range that may look brighter but in fact produce less lumens in reality.
Really makes me question your knowledge on any automobile lighting issue!
I know you want to be right and get the last word so have at it, but that won't change anything.
Have a nice day!
You are completely uninformed!
Why you continue to make statements about the JW Speaker LED's several forum members including myself are currently running without actually seeing the light output they produce in person really makes no sense at all!LED are already there! Right now! Today!
They will only get better as HID technology fades like Halogen lighting once did! Get your head out of the sand when it comes to LED automobile lighting, it's here, works better, and is the bright future in automobile lighting.
BTW those silverstars you ran in your GMC truck and seemed to like, run at a higher color temp (5500*K) than all OEM HID's and LED's as well as the OEM halogens they were made to replace. This is because those bulbs are tinted blue to trick you into thinking they are brighter when in fact they produce less usable light. They are a perfect example of what you mentioned in post # 10 above with light in the blueish~purple color temperature range that may look brighter but in fact produce less lumens in reality.
Really makes me question your knowledge on any automobile lighting issue!
I know you want to be right and get the last word so have at it, but that won't change anything.
Have a nice day!
If a bulb is the same wattage and you tinker with the kelvin pushing it twards blue it wont be as bright lumen wise. I covered that in an earlier post. But in my case the silverstar bulbs were a higher wattage bulb than what was there so they were an improvement over the factory bulb for that truck.
I just ordered a LT300 light meter. When it gets here I will measure the lux of each of my setups with pics of the meter and vehicle in the picture to show its from that vehicle. I "might" order the led lights to test against the hids. That's a good bit of money for a test, the meter was cheap. If you want to get a meter too to compare that would be cool cost wise.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 15,926
Likes: 579
a $1000 is a lot for a test!!!!!! how much is the meter I might get in on this with my cibies.
but still say the hid will blind folks to much glare and no projectors made for them but the china crap.
but still say the hid will blind folks to much glare and no projectors made for them but the china crap.
Last edited by antfarmer2; Oct 9, 2015 at 03:07 PM.