[jwhart88]

Ive been doing a little research on headlight conversions and LED conversion caught my attention. VLEDS seems to have a 9006 headlight kit but i cant seem to find anyone on the forum that has done a LED headlight conversion before. Im looking to switch from my halogen projectors to something of the HID/LED look and output. If anybody could provide a little insight on it as far as their experience with LED headlight conversion,it would be appreciated! Would you recommend just going with HID??

 

[Desert_Flyer]

I have not found much info on this either and I too would be interested if costs are low enough. The trouble may be that to get the large amount of light in the same location of the focal point of the projector lens would take so many LEDs or numerous large LEDs that the bulb size is too large and will not fit. Plus that would generate a lot of heat which would have to be dissipated. You cannot just put huge LEDs facing forward; you cannot get the same light output as halogen or HID. Acura has this but it takes them 5 bulbs to do it, not just one.

 

[jwhart88]

The VLEDS kit claims to put out 4500LM from a single 9006 fitment (2 LEDs i believe) but i cant seem to find any testimony for the product other than a side by side comparison to the 55w morimoto HID kit provided by the VLEDS site. There should be a fan of some sort to on the back of the bulb to dissipate the heat you were talking about. Through other research LED is supposed to put out less heat than halogen regardless. The kit runs about 200 bucks, if it works and quality is good id be down for the purchase. Id feel more comfortable if there were more reviews for the VLEDS product especially pertaining to the 300's. Or any LED headlight kit for that matter. Thanks for the response though hopefully we can more people to chime in on this

 

[TheKrell]

The VLEDS kit claims to put out 4500LM from a single 9006 fitment (2 LEDs i believe) but i cant seem to find any testimony for the product other than a side by side comparison to the 55w morimoto HID kit provided by the VLEDS site. There should be a fan of some sort to on the back of the bulb to dissipate the heat you were talking about. Through other research LED is supposed to put out less heat than halogen regardless. The kit runs about 200 bucks, if it works and quality is good id be down for the purchase. Id feel more comfortable if there were more reviews for the VLEDS product especially pertaining to the 300's. Or any LED headlight kit for that matter. Thanks for the response though hopefully we can more people to chime in on this

I bought some cheap 9006 LED headlight bulbs but had issues.

1. The tabs weren't quite right.
2. Once the tabs were made to fit and the bulb inserted, I could no longer put on the dust caps because of the fan/heat sink assembly sticking out back. :crying:

Does anybody have a reasonably priced (not $200!) LED replacement that still allows those dust caps to be put back?

 

[Desert_Flyer]

Try Diode Dynamics or TheRetrofitSource. Both have been reputable over the years with forum members here. Both have an LED conversion for 2016-2019 300’s. I would trust them if anyone. Don’t know about the dust caps though...sounds like a phone call is in order. To be so bright, LED has to have a big heat sink and even if they fit inside the dust cap, where does all the heat go?

Still haven’t heard definitive answers if aftermarket LED is better than aftermarket HID conversions in terms of brightness down the road. DD lists their HID bulb as 3,200 lumens each, wheras their LED bulb is only 1,630 lumens and TRS LED bulb is 2,440 lumens. I would guess the heat sink would be too massive for LEDs to match that 3,200 lumens and still fit the housing. That is probably why OEM LED headlights always seem to be multiple LED bulbs and not just one.

I would not believe the high lumen claims of the El Cheapo brands with their LEDs.

I guess I am not believing the hype over single bulb LED aftermarket kits. I would stick with tried and true HID kit from either DD or TRS.


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[TheKrell]

TRS apparently has no headlight LED "bulbs" for a 2012. Their fogs are $120 which if for a pair isn't bad. I am looking here: The Retrofit Source | 2012 Chrysler 300 Lighting Upgrades | LED Bulbs | HID Kits |Projector Headlights

The DD offering might actually fit my car with dust cover on, because the fan blows out sideways. Hi/Lo Beam LED Headlight for 2011-2015 Chrysler 300 (pair) $150/pr.

Compact Size. Your order includes two bulbs, to replace the factory bulbs on your 300 that function as both low and high beam. The bulbs are compact in size, in a patented design that isn't much bigger than the original halogen bulb. The drivers are compact too! If you have a sealed headlamp, they are designed to fit inside. The drivers and bulbs are tested to last over time, even when sealed inside with the heat of the headlamp.

 

[CtCarl]

Personally, I wouldn't make any changes. The 11-15 300 uses a 9012 bulb, which is rated for 1870 lumens, as opposed to the roughly 1000 from the 9006 buld that other 300s get. And those aren't fairy tale lumens like the aftermarket LED manufacturers use. In terms of actual useful light output, a quality 9012 bulb in a housing designed for it is a very tough proposition to beat.

If you have your heart set on a conversion for other reasons, that's a different story.

 

[TheKrell]

Thank you for that advice; I'm thinking of the whiter 9012 rather than the stock yellow halogens. But are you saying that the DD link above (1630 lumens per bulb ) is unrealistic?

 

[DGO]

Supposedly the HIR2 (9012 bulb) which is used on the earlier Gen 2 cars is higher rated (at 1870 lumens) than the 9006 which is used after 2015. My 2013 is fitted with halogens and like you I agree they are useless!

There's a decent thread here: (Link) where one of the forum members has fitted the LEDs, with some photos of the difference. The bulbs are these: Link, supposedly they fit inside the dust covers and don't need the anti-flicker wring. Must admit I'm tempted to give them a try

 

[CtCarl]

Thank you for that advice; I'm thinking of the whiter 9012 rather than the stock yellow halogens. But are you saying that the DD link above (1630 lumens per bulb ) is unrealistic?

I'm suggesting you keep the 9012 halogen bulbs, because the 9012 is a substantial improvement over standard 9006 halogens used in other year 300s, and it's very hard to get more effective illumination than a 9012 in the factory housing.

LED lumen ratings are all over the place and I've learned to take them with a grain of salt. But even if in DD's case they're completely accurate and comparable, the 9012 halogens are still substantially brighter, 1870 lumens vs 1630.

OTOH, if you're concerned mainly with appearances, you may want to go with LEDs or HIDs. There's really no way to get significantly cooler color temps with halogens.

 

[TheKrell]

Thanks again for your insights and recommendations.

OTOH, if you're concerned mainly with appearances, you may want to go with LEDs or HIDs. There's really no way to get significantly cooler color temps with halogens.

There is a thread around here titled something like "If you hate your yellow halogens..." with a lot of folks' experience. My take-away from that thread is that everybody makes a whiter/cooler color halogen than the OEM bulbs.

 

[CtCarl]

Thanks again for your insights and recommendations.


There is a thread around here titled something like "If you hate your yellow halogens..." with a lot of folks' experience. My take-away from that thread is that everybody makes a whiter/cooler color halogen than the OEM bulbs.

Anytime, hope it was helpful.

I understand that feeling about the OEM headlights, but it's pretty subjective. FCA doesn't make bulbs, I don't think the stockers are any worse than any other major brand halogens, it's just that all halogens grow dimmer and yellow with age, so anyone replacing old bulbs generally would see an improvement even if you put the exact same part number in. If you've ever replaced just one bulb out of a pair, you know what I mean.

FWIW, I rooted around in the barn just now for one of the OEM 9005 Sylvania high beams I pulled out of my '14 R/T Blacktop when I upgraded to 9011 HIR-1 bulbs. They were pretty yellow and dim, but if you look at the bulb, it's easy to see why.

There's some color variation in standard 4300k halogen bulbs, but nothing like the 5-6k you get from HIDs or LEDs. My 300C and my Charger each have three white "colors" now; roughly 5k from the HIDs, 4300 from the 9011 high beams, and 6k from the LEDs I put in the foglights to try to get as close as I could to the factory HIDs.

 

[Desert_Flyer]

I put in DD’s HID kit into my ‘13 300C and the difference is night and day! It is MUCH brighter. You cannot go wrong with this conversion kit. I highly recommend this HID kit. But, I would also like to see the results of someone be the guinea pig and put in either TRS’ or DD’s LED kit to see how it goes. I would LOVE to see a comparison between a mfr’s HID and LED kits, but I think the dollars point to LED so we won’t be seeing those comparison anytime soon. Personally, (no scientific experience) I believe that effective, down-the-road brightness/lux/lumens are higher with HID than LED single bulbs.


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[Mike W]

HID vs LED - Which is Brighter? 35w HID, 55w HID, and 5 Popular LED Bulbs - YouTube

I have the recommended GTR Ultra2's in my 2018 300 and they are very bright. Brighter than hid's in this test. They are expensive ($200). They have a locking ring so you can get the led's at 3 and 9 o'clock for the best focus and cut-off line.

 

[Desert_Flyer]

Very interesting comparison. Surprising outcome. But I still have a little bit of doubt...would like to see lux down the road, say 200 ft or more rather than at the garage door at 25 ft away.


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[Headman]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the site and this is actually my first post 😀 I just bought a 2015 300 S 5.7 and changed out all interior LED’S as well as the headlights. I have experience with installing HID’s from a previous car I owned but I did want to install them in this 300 because of the heat they put off. I wanted to go with LED headlights so I bought like 3 different sets on Amazon. I wear glasses and having a lot of light on the road makes it easier for me to drive at night 👍 So I have only tried out one set of LED’s so far and I love how bright they are. They advertise them as 10k lumens each. I’m sure they aren’t that but they are crazy bright. So after I installed them I noticed they would turn off and back on after a few minutes. I googled this and found that the car thinks the bulbs are blown and shuts off power to them and that I would need a decoder kit. So I bought one but haven’t installed it yet. I love the brightness of the LED’s but hate all the wires needing to be stuffed in the headlight housing. So has anyone else came up with a combination that works good with the LED bulbs? I also read online if you turn the lights “on” instead of having them on auto that the LED might work and not randomly turn off. I’ll be testing a few different combos out to see if I figure something out. Also... there isn’t a dedicated high beam on the 2015’s? It looks to be a flap that lifts to let out more light? Thank you for your information

 

[Mike W]

There are many versions of led bulbs on ebay and Amazon that are cheap and promise they are brighter than the sun, but they aren't and only last a short time. The old saying that you buy cheap, you get cheap applies here. If you watch the video, you'll see that anybody can make a led bulb and throw out a crazy number of how bright it is, but it's not real. Because of the testing by Headlight Revolution, it convinced me to get the GTR Ultra 2 led's. They have a lifetime warranty, a locking ring for the optimum focus and cut-off line and are even brighter than hid's in projector housings. The driver and wire fit inside so that the cap fit on tight. I've had mine on my 2018 300 for almost a year with no flickering or any issues at all. They are the best of the best. Kind of expensive($200), but worth every penny IMO.

 

[Headman]

I watched that video last week 👍 I hope your not telling me that these GTR’s are the only ones that will work? As I stated in my original comment... I know many companies claim something but sell something else... But again... not everything is junk either and there are good items sold on eBay and Amazon. I didn’t buy those GTR LED’s because of a few reasons... one is 200 dollars is ridiculous.... two... there are only a few sites that actually sell them. LED’s last years ... The one I put in my 300 look just about identical to those GTR’s... they have a ballast/resistor box. Thank you for letting me know that those work without issues 👍 I hope someone else can share some feedback on a different brand that works and that doesn’t cost so much.

 

[Desert_Flyer]

I just happened upon something interesting tonight while looking at www.iihs.org website. (Looking at crash test results for a car for my daughter). IIHS now tests headlights and the results for 300 are interesting. Yes, they are rated as Poor, mainly on its weak performance on curves, high beams, and glare. But its regular halogen performance (minimum 5 lux at 118 meter distance) is really good on low beams, is BETTER than its own HIDs, and BETTER than nearly all other cars with either HIDs or LEDs!


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