Recently installed some LED headlight bulbs in my 2012 Frontier to replace the original 9007 incandescents, and WOW - What an improvement! Much, MUCH brighter, with a beam pattern that's almost identical to the original halogens - Nice, sharp upper cutoff.

Seems like LED headlight bulb design has improved dramatically recently: The emitters are now shaped and located to mimic the shape and location of the original incandescent filaments - which means that the beam pattern also mimics the original bulbs. No more spraying light everywhere!

I'm thinking that the H1 incandescent high beams in my 2000 AE Q45 might benefit from a similar upgrade.

Anyone else tried it?

Got any recommendations?

Recommendations - https://www.theretrofitsource.com
If I were to do any afternarket modification to my lights, that would be my go-to place.

Do you have any comparison pics of your Frontier. From the driver POV as well as oncoming vehicle POV?

Wall shot, low (top) and high (bottom) beams - OEM halogen bulb on the driver's side, new LED bulb on the passenger side:

www.skibane.com/Wall.jpg

Fence shot, low (top) and high (bottom) beams - OEM halogen bulb on the driver's side, new LED bulb on the passenger side:

www.skibane.com/Fence.jpg

Road shot, low (top) and high (bottom) beams - OEM halogen bulb on the driver's side, new LED bulb on the passenger side:

www.skibane.com/Road.jpg

Ended up buying a pair of BEAMTECH H1 LED bulbs -



Their heat sink is too big to fit the Q45's existing bulb mount without (1.) trimming of the end of the retainer spring, and (2.) bending the ground terminal tab slightly outward.

I recommend removing the bulb mount plate to trim the retainer spring and attach the BEAMTECH mounting collar, and then re-mounting the plate before inserting the BEAMTECH bulbs.

Here's a photo of the mount plate, with the spring trimmed and the new collar installed:



The original plastic dust caps wont fit over the back of the BEAMTECH bulbs, so I'm considering ordering something like this to help keep dust out.

The beam pattern of the BEAMTECH isn't much different from the original H1 halogen, but is somewhat brighter.


(BEAMTECH bulb installed on driver's side, OEM halogen bulb on passenger side. Low beams were covered in order to show the pattern of the high beams only)

The tint is pretty close to the OEM HID low beams.

Thanks for the write up & tips on doing the job. I hope you enjoy having them.