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LED headlights in original projectors (2010 gen 3)

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by glutaman, Dec 14, 2016.

  1. glutaman

    glutaman Member

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    The process was very smooth and the result is surprisingly.. white! See for yourselves.

    1 before DSC03239.JPG

    2 after DSC03248.JPG

    3 lamps box DSC03234.JPG 4 lamp front DSC03244.JPG 5 lamp back DSC03245.JPG
     
    #1 glutaman, Dec 14, 2016
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  2. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Not bad looking against a wall, but others report that the distance of light "throw" forward isn't as good as HID due to the sideways facing LEDs.

    Also, there was mention of a "cat eye" effect, where you see a dark vertical line when looking directly at each projector lens, but isn't there if you move side to side. It's caused by the circuit board in between the two LEDs.

    Do you have strange shadows or light patterns in the foreground, right in front of the vehicle? It looks like there's a shadow in the second picture.
     
    #2 xliderider, Dec 14, 2016
  3. glutaman

    glutaman Member

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    I only drove in a very dark road with hedges and all this morning, and realised that the "throw" forward is unusual. It was a cheap solution at 32 GBP actually, and HID kits are hard to find around here.

    Haven't felt anything about the "cat eye" effect, but I'm not going to look into them to find out either :)

    I think what you noticed there in the shadows is caused from my angle towards the wall. I'm standing on the driver's door basically, which is on the "right" side.
     
    #3 glutaman, Dec 15, 2016
  4. RMB

    RMB Senior Member

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    How about this... when driving condition is safe without any cars around you, take a photo of the light beams on a real road and show us how "unusual" they are? Thanks in advance.;)
     
    #4 RMB, Dec 15, 2016
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  5. glutaman

    glutaman Member

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    I'll do that :)
     
    #5 glutaman, Dec 16, 2016
  6. glutaman

    glutaman Member

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    Ok, so I got the chance to eventually take some photos out in the wild. No idea why the sky came out red..

    Low beam; you see the signs down there are reflecting some light, but the ground seems dark towards them:
    [​IMG]

    High beam for comparison:
    [​IMG]
     
    #6 glutaman, Jan 6, 2017
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  7. Slicer89

    Slicer89 Junior Member

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    The problem with LEDs in halogen projectors or reflectors, is they cause alot more glare, alot of foreground light and no distance in your beams. You'd be better off buying high quality HID bulbs from Morimoto / TheRetrofitSource and going that route.. Or if you're really looking for a massive upgrade, Retrofit the original Halogen projectors in place of some actual HID ones.

    LEDs rarely work, They look.... Meh at best.. Lots of foreground (Light RIGHT in front of the car) and not alot of distance in the lights. Oh well, To each their own.
     
    #7 Slicer89, Jan 6, 2017
  8. RMB

    RMB Senior Member

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    The light beams are not going very far, is it because the headlights are pointing a little bit low? I have read somewhere in this forum Gen 3 headlights tends to be point toward lower than normal.

    But it does look to be very strong glare in front of the vehicle and causing drivers' eyes (and camera lens) to not able to see the dimmer lights afar.
     
    #8 RMB, Jan 11, 2017
  9. glutaman

    glutaman Member

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    Tried driving on the opposite direction and there is no annoying glare for the oncoming drivers. The extra light is only on the ground, cut-off line is exactly the same so there is no difference on the top edge of the beam.

    I had aftermarket HID bulbs in my previous car but the bulbs generated a lot of heat.. how do these projectors react with that heat? Will it potentially damage them? These LEDs now produce almost no heat at all from the bulb side.
     
    #9 glutaman, Jan 12, 2017
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