Head light question

[TripleblkQX]

I just purchased a 2014 qx50. While I'm wait for it to arrive I was going to order a led kit and change out the fog lamps. Just curious if I remember right the low beam headlight has a blue tint while the other ones are more yellowish. I have looked a bit through past posts and no one has really said what they are, just some talk about HIDs and such.

Can anyone tell me the right bulbs to get to match the low beam? 4300k, 6000k?

Thanks,

[mk15]

OEM HID temp is 4300K

[CustomLowz]

If you want to match, 4300K and 5000K are usually spot on

[TripleblkQX]

Thanks.

[XIS]

Let us know how it goes and take photos of your progress. I would like to update mine too. Thanks!

[Audimontreal]

Stick with 4300...avoiding looking like ricers
lol

[TripleblkQX]

Totally, I got some ultra white bulbs ordered off ebay for the fog lamps and haven't done anything with the others. Might just leave the high beam as is and just replace the 168 bulb with a white/4300k. Still don't have the car yet going to be a few more days for it and couple weeks on my interior LEDs and fog lamp bulbs. Will post up once I get everything.

[ralfp]

Totally, I got some ultra white bulbs

Note that the higher color temp on those bulbs comes at the cost of brightness. The color change is accomplished by removing some (higher wavelength) light. That only applies to halogen bulbs, not LED replacements. OTOH LED replacements for exterior halogen bulbs are illegal in the US (I'm not 100% sure about that).

A higher color temperature source is sub-optimal for fog lamps anyway, but that assumes that fog lamps are used as "fog lamps". In the US fog lamps are purely decorative in practice, so matching the color temp would probably be a sensible thing to do.

Might just leave the high beam as is and just replace the 168 bulb with a white/4300k.

Do you mean the W5W? I believe that most of those are filtered to be red or yellow, the exception being the license plate light.

[mk15]

Stick with 4300...avoiding looking like ricers
lol

The lights... so mesmerizing...

Note that the higher color temp on those bulbs comes at the cost of brightness. The color change is accomplished by removing some (higher wavelength) light. That only applies to halogen bulbs, not LED replacements. OTOH LED replacements for exterior halogen bulbs are illegal in the US (I'm not 100% sure about that).

LEDs are quite legal, they just have to meed the required light output, as long as the beam pattern conform to legal requirements, LEDs are okay. That said, most aftermarket LED low beam systems aren't bright enough to be legal. And the beam pattern usually way off.

Any "matrix" LED systems, like what Audi tried to bring in the states is illegal due to a technicality. The Audi led matrix system not being a "swtiching" system when it goes into high beam mode makes it illegal, due to an archaic 1968 law. It's kinda silly DOT/NHTSA is behind the ball on this.

Do you mean the W5W? I believe that most of those are filtered to be red or yellow, the exception being the license plate light.

Just to clarify
W5W, 168, 198 use the same base. The difference, if they're halogen, is their brightness/power draw.
194 = 3W
168 = 4W
W5W = 5W

But yes, definitely use W5W, otherwise you're making the car dimmer. haha.

[ralfp]

LEDs are quite legal, they just have to meed the required light output, as long as the beam pattern conform to legal requirements, LEDs are okay. That said, most aftermarket LED low beam systems aren't bright enough to be legal. And the beam pattern usually way off.

AFAIK replacing a DOT headlight bulb with a different bulb (e.g. H7 with HID or HB4 with HB3) is illegal in the US. The only legal replacements are those that the fixture was designed for. A doubt an LED bulb could meet the H8 photometric specs. What I'm not sure about is whether the rule applies to front fog lamps (they probably do not).

Edit: Unless things have changed recently, it's illegal in the US to replace a high or low beam bulb (not sure about others, e.g. fog) with a different bulb, regardless of whether or not the new configuration meets legal photometric requirements.

[TripleblkQX]

I agree with the brightness. I traded a 370z roadster for the QX50 and I had all the bulbs changed to 6k. Without a doubt I did lose a little brightness but the car almost never saw the highway and always I town/city driving so it worked out well. I don't think I'm going to change the low or high beam but the drl and fog lamp bulbs have to go. Hate yellow bulbs.

[mk15]

LEDs are quite legal, they just have to meed the required light output, as long as the beam pattern conform to legal requirements, LEDs are okay. That said, most aftermarket LED low beam systems aren't bright enough to be legal. And the beam pattern usually way off.

AFAIK replacing a DOT headlight bulb with a different bulb (e.g. H7 with HID or HB4 with HB3) is illegal in the US. The only legal replacements are those that the fixture was designed for. A doubt an LED bulb could meet the H8 photometric specs. What I'm not sure about is whether the rule applies to front fog lamps (they probably do not).

Edit: Unless things have changed recently, it's illegal in the US to replace a high or low beam bulb (not sure about others, e.g. fog) with a different bulb, regardless of whether or not the new configuration meets legal photometric requirements.

LED are legal as long as they meet the DOT requirements. There's nothing explicitly against LED lighting. If an LED direct replacement for the HID or Halogen meet the DOT standard (proper illumunation, color temp, distribution pattern, etc..) it would be legal. And there are legal LED headlamps, just not for the modern variety style of headlamps: http://www.optronicsinc.com/oemtruck13-new.html

[ralfp]

LED are legal as long as they meet the DOT requirements. There's nothing explicitly against LED lighting. If an LED direct replacement for the HID or Halogen meet the DOT standard (proper illumunation, color temp, distribution pattern, etc..) it would be legal. And there are legal LED headlamps, just not for the modern variety style of headlamps: http://www.optronicsinc.com/oemtruck13-new.html

Neat on the sealed beams. I guess we agree that that LEDs cannot be used as a US legal replacement for H7, H8, etc. bulbs (because such things do not exist). Based upon a brief skimming of the applicable FMVSS, it appears that this does not apply to fog lamps.

As for why LED replacements for halogen bulbs probably won't be available any time soon... the legal specifications for replaceable bulbs specify things like the location of the filament (see NHTSA-1998-3397-0032 here). I do not see how LED based bulbs could meet a requirement for filament positioning. In my brief skimming of the FMVSS (108), I see that filament can mean any light emitting source (§ 571.108 S4), but the actual numbers seem to preclude the use of LEDs for H8 (and other halogen bulbs).

[mk15]

Neat on the sealed beams. I guess we agree that that LEDs cannot be used as a US legal replacement for H7, H8, etc. bulbs (because such things do not exist). Based upon a brief skimming of the applicable FMVSS, it appears that this does not apply to fog lamps.

As for why LED replacements for halogen bulbs probably won't be available any time soon... the legal specifications for replaceable bulbs specify things like the location of the filament (see NHTSA-1998-3397-0032 here). I do not see how LED based bulbs could meet a requirement for filament positioning. In my brief skimming of the FMVSS (108), I see that filament can mean any light emitting source (§ 571.108 S4), but the actual numbers seem to preclude the use of LEDs for H8 (and other halogen bulbs).

Sorry, I guess I was being pedantic. But yea, as it is, there's no drop-in LED replacement that work. Although I've seen a few LED bulbs that are getting closer when used in projector housings. Just need better beam pattern, and maybe another 400-600 lumens more.