[AstroKats]

I went thru Headlight Revolution to get my LED's. For headlights I use the GTR Lighting system, they're LED headlights don't have the noisy fans on them and the output is excellent as they're a plug and play light. Easy to install and very satisfied. They have different manufacturers they sell and they do video comparisons on the different brands so you can choose which ones would be best for the application you want..

Legal for use in the U.S.?

 

[forestranger007]

Legal for use in the U.S.?

Yes they are. I had a 2016 Toyota Tacoma which I upgraded all the exterior and interior lights. I plan on doing the same on our Subies where I can replace since all our vehicles have some LED lights. This company is based out of Georgia.

 

[AstroKats]

Yes they are. I had a 2016 Toyota Tacoma which I upgraded all the exterior and interior lights. I plan on doing the same on our Subies where I can replace since all our vehicles have some LED lights. This company is based out of Georgia.

Could you post a link?

 

[DieselDorf]

If they are headlights and LED and aftermarket they aren’t legal.

All LEDs that are aftermarket are illegal in the US

 

[Montanan]

Headlight Revolution is just a reseller, offering some of the same products mentioned in the OP‘s video. And as such, their LEDs are NOT street legal.

Disclaimer found on their website:

All products are sold for off-road use only for racing or show vehicles.

 

[AstroKats]

Headlight Revolution is just a reseller, offering some of the same products mentioned in the OP‘s video. And as such, their LEDs are NOT street legal.

Disclaimer found on their website:

Diode Dynamics, a vendor here, has the same disclaimer. I'm sure everyone buying LEDs from them only use them off road...

 

[Montanan]

In their quests for profit, LED vendors and fanboys nearly always make those disclaimers as obscure and hidden as possible.

Really disappointing, but not surprising.

 

[DieselDorf]

I mean it’s either do that or go out of business really.

It’s like tint shops they will install illegal tint all the time

 

[Montanan]

Yep ... but that doesn't make it right.

 

[AstroKats]

Yep ... but that doesn't make it right.

Exactly, it's like complaining that drug busts are putting poor drug dealers out of business...

 

[forestranger007]

I had the GTR Ultra series on my Tacoma both low and high beam, it passed my states yearly inspection every year. BTW, my Tacoma was not an off road truck it was a standard everyday vehicle.

When using LED inserts you have to line up the beam to what it was on the halogen bulbs, also this would also depend on the headlight housing. This is some of the complaints people say the light is blinding them along with the lumens output of the LED.

And if LED was illegal then why are some Subarus equipped with them??? All my Subies came with them because of the trim (Limited, Touring).

Headlight Revolution has videos that explain how to line up the beam so you won't blind other drivers. Do the research folks..

 

[AstroKats]

And if LED was illegal then why are some Subarus equipped with them??? All my Subies came with them because of the trim (Limited, Touring).

This is the most ridiculous argument I've ever heard about aftermarket LEDs. Please read the regulations before attempting aftermarket mods or boasting about them. It is almost almost always illegal to upgrade a car to LEDS. Those installed by the FACTORY are legal because they went through federal testing.

 

[MA Subie]

I am assuming this discussion about the legality of aftermarket LEDs is referring to headlights and not fog lights, correct? The fog lights I bought over a year ago from DD claimed to be SAE compliant. And to be fair, I decided to see for myself how "offensive" they might be. Walking a good distance away from the car, the regular OEM headlights were more blinding then the DD aftermarket fog lights.

 

[Montanan]

Correct. That blanket statement applies only to the primary headlights…

 

[AstroKats]

I am assuming this discussion about the legality of aftermarket LEDs is referring to headlights and not fog lights, correct? The fog lights I bought over a year ago from DD claimed to be SAE compliant. And to be fair, I decided to see for myself how "offensive" they might be. Walking a good distance away from the car, the regular OEM headlights were more blinding then the DD aftermarket fog lights.

Yes, for federal law and also here in the Republic of California, LOL. I've not heard of any laws anywhere banning LEDs for anything other than headlights.

 

[Lonelydriver_95]

And if LED was illegal then why are some Subarus equipped with them???

OEM headlights wont be illegal because they have been certified by the government, as Astro said. What is illegal is putting LED lights into housings that were designed for halogen bulbs. And IMO for good reason because they are just quite frankly blinding to oncoming drivers. They are cool looking, granted, and its great that someone with LEDs has their own personal sunrise, but being dazzled by an oncoming set of aftermarket LED lights on a dark road and not being able to see properly for a few seconds (hundreds of feet at highway speeds) is dangerous.

 

[AstroKats]

OEM headlights wont be illegal because they have been certified by the government, as Astro said. What is illegal is putting LED lights into housings that were designed for halogen bulbs. And IMO for good reason because they are just quite frankly blinding to oncoming drivers. They are cool looking, granted, and its great that someone with LEDs has their own personal sunrise, but being dazzled by an oncoming set of aftermarket LED lights on a dark road and not being able to see properly for a few seconds (hundreds of feet at highway speeds) is dangerous.

SO this! It's mind boggling how some people don't get this...

 

[DieselDorf]

The reason most people don’t get that is that most LEDs don’t blind people. Yes some brands are pretty terrible and will but you can’t stop people from putting them on their vehicles.

The whole point of this post is to educate both sides about how different LEDs perform very differently and it’s your job to make sure they are not blinding oncoming drivers.

I see a larger problem with people leaving their high beams on all the time way more frequently than aftermarket LEDs that are aimed poorly or scattering light.

 

[Octal450]

See, I've observed people shouting that all LED upgrades are BAD due to blinding, glaring, etc., and people shouting that they're all FINE and it's just other people's low cars etc. causing glare. As with most issues, the truth is somewhere in the middle...

It all comes down to the the design of the LED.

The problem is, and this is what caused them to be illegal, is people installing them wrong or not aligning the bulbs after install, or poorly designed bulbs that don't create good beam patterns, or both.

I've seen the poorly designed bulbs and the chips are clearly too large, in the wrong position, and the construction around the chips is poor. As a result, they glare as they are not in the correct focal point of the reflector.

Ultimately, this is an engineering problem that will get better with time, as LED technology improves, and we can increase the angles the chips output, and decrease the distance between each chip further, allowing for nearly 360-degree output, in the same position as the original bulb which should be very close to the original beam pattern.

When the design is correct, the beam pattern will be as well. Many companies have gotten close, but we still are a little off from 1:1. That being said, many of these close bulbs are definitely good enough and don't blind people or glare.

The guy in the video did not adjust the headlight angle. Obviously the extremely high ones suffer from bad design, but the DD and LASFIT (and probably Auxito also, but I have no experience with them) bulbs with a quick adjustment should be fine.

For my personal car, I have run a set of LED low beams for the last few years and verified myself using a family member's car (a Mazda3) that they do not glare/blind. The cutoff height was already very close to the halogen, but I adjusted it to be perfect. I drive a lot when dark on fairly busy roads, and I have never been flashed.

 

[CRAZYHAWK]

From Federal FMVSS No.108
"Vehicle headlamps must satisfy two different safety needs: Visibility and glare prevention. The primary function of headlamps is to provide forward visibility for drivers. At the same time, there is a risk that intense headlamp illumination may be directed towards oncoming or preceding vehicles. Such illumination, referred to as glare, can reduce the ability of other drivers to see and can cause discomfort. Headlighting has therefore traditionally entailed a tradeoff between long-distance visibility and glare prevention. This is reflected in Standard No. 108's requirement that headlighting systems have both upper and lower beams. The existing headlamp requirements regulate the beam pattern (photometry) of the upper and lower beams; they ensure sufficient visibility by specifying minimum amounts of light in certain areas on and around the road, and prevent glare by specifying maximum amounts of light in directions that correspond to where oncoming and preceding vehicles would be."