LED Headlamp comparison

Anyone has the LED optional headlamps. Are they bright at night? Anyone tried with and without the LED's to see which is actually brighter at night. Interested in the brightness and visibility, not the power savings at all. Seems LED's limitation is lack of overall brightness from what I read on internet, the fact it comes with light washers standard on LED point to the fact that in fact LED's are less bright then the halogen version. I know halogen version is actually very bright.

This is on the 2010 Prius of course.

I think the washers are kinda silly.
I guess unless you live in a really rainy and dusty area, they'd be useful.
I've never really had a problem with my headlights getting dirty, but then again,
I've always washed my car around once a week at least.

I like the idea of LEDs, but would like to see them in person. I've used HIDs for a while,
and really like the brightness of those, plus the fact that you can choose a color temp that suits your specific need/taste.

Since there are two projectors in each LED housing, does that mean there are a dedicated LED bulb for each projector? Of course...right?

You can't always believe what you read on the internet.

I've driven cars with HIDs for 10+ years, and the LED headlights on my Prius seem just as bright and white--and definitely more so than halogen headlights.

All the previous cars I've owned with HIDs came with headlight washers. HID headlights are a lot more affected by dirt on the lenses than halogens--so much so that in many countries (the U.S. being an exception) headlight washers are required by law with HIDs. I'm assuming LEDs have the same characteristics and therefore come with headlight washers.

Actually, my understanding is the reason why HIDs require washers is the dirt can get baked on by the extra heat of the HID's. As LED should run cool (less heat per unit light), then might not need it as badly. I could be wrong though.

Dirt was never an issue with my HIDs, and I've never had headlight washers.
I think it's a little gimmicky, if you want my opinion.

I have a Prius V (with the LED headlights). Last night, I took a short trip and was impressed with how bright the headlights appeared to be. They not only lit up the road ahead but, when I was sitting next to a wall, they even lit up part of the wall.

I can't really compare them directly to the halogen lights, but they seem to be brighter and whiter than the lights on my 2004 Prius (my previous vehicle).

The high beams on the Prius V are halogen. Only the standard headlights are LEDs.

I don't know for sure, but perhaps the reason the LED's have a washer could be because they don't throw off enough heat compared to halogen and HID's to melt snow and ice and keep it from accumulating on lens? Of course the washer fluid would have to be heated and/or antifreeze solution.

An older thread here indicated that LEDs had higher light output than halogens, exceeding a threshold where some countries require washers to control the dirt that causes glare for oncoming drivers.

I suspect the washers are on there because when you buy the LED headlamps you are paying for a premium package, and that says "all the options". Washers are an option usually included in premium packages. It -may- also be because some countries require them with that type of headlamp, but for North America, I'm not aware of any legislation in that area. I'm sure Toyota US could have ordered the car without the washers if they wanted.

As to whether headlamp washers are useful, just try driving in snow when the temp. is close to freezing and you are in traffic, passing 18 wheelers. The headlamps get covered in dirt, not ice. I've had to stop to clean them so I could see.

I have always loved HID/Zenon "type" lights. I have a V and I think that they look great. Besides that, they are very bright (not too bright). My previous cars with HID type lights had washers, but I just kept the car clean!! My wife has a car with halogens, and would say that the LED's are brighter.

I believe the washers are there with HID and LED headlamps because these are brighter than halogen and a dirty headlamp will cause more glare and bother other drivers. Same thing about auto-leveling of headlamps. To some extend washers and auto-leveling are also somewhat associated to HID and LEDs to go with the "premium" nature of them, but I it isn't the primary reason.

I would be very curious to see a side by side comparison of two 2010, one with halogen, one with LEDs. A white wall comparison as well as beamshots illuminating a countryside dark road.

There are 3 high power LEDs in each 2010 headlamp and while consumming less power than halogen they actually output a lot more than them, due to a higher efficiency.

Electric power consumption is in Watts. Luminous flux is in Lumens. Efficiency is in Luments/Watt.

Thanks Paradox.
May I suggest you to :
- use a tripod for your camera, you can place the camera on each car's front hood or roof
- set the camera white balance to "daylight" and leave it there for the beamshots
- Take the two cars illumination one at a time, the other car being off. Take a picture of the LED first, lock the exposure, then take the halogen. This will help avoid overexposure of the LEDs.

If you can do this we should be able to see how darker the halogen are.

First of all, LED's do not radiate any heat forward (where they are aimed). All of the heat they generate is on the back (the socket or circuit board). LED's get brighter the colder they get, so keeping them cool is important.

The washers are particularly useful where salt is used on the roads in the winter. When I lived on the East coast, I had to clean off my lights all the time.

I don't know this for a fact, but I think the reason the washers are used on the LED's and some HID's is the fact that they use a projector (lens) system to focus the light. In order for the projector to hit the area intended, there needs to be as little difusion as possible. Anyone who has seen a salt-encrusted headlight can well imagine what would happen to the LED projectors. The rason HID's and the Prius LED's have auto leveling is for the same (but opposite) reason. A projector lens really concentrates the light. The leverlers prevent those concentrated beams from hitting the rear view mirrors of the car in front of you.

Indeed, headlight washers are required in Europe, as well as automatic adjustment to adjust for the loading of the car.

Fuzzy here got it right the first time. :rockon: Kudos to U m8!
This is the only reason for the washers. Also required by law is auto leveling for the led lights.