Has anyone replaced their stock hi beam / DRL bulb with an LED alternative and if so which brand and how did it work out?

 

I wired my hi beams in series so that I can use them as DRL's running at half power. The lights are that ugly orangish color that so many vehicles use. But they are very noticeable and serve their purpose well. The circuit also functions as normal hi beams when I need them.

I believe they are available but if you go with any kind of LED light in the high beam socket for DRL use you will no longer have high beams. To me that would mean that you may have improved safety during daytime driving but possibly decreased nighttime safety because you have no high beams. I wish there was some kind of work around for this issue but I do not believe one is available.

To me using the regular high beams at half power as DRLs are the best option as far as looks and safety are concerned. Too bad about the orangish color but I can live with it.

 

My car came with DRL's.
Canadian car
Still wonder if an LED will work

 

Have been looking at these . somewhat of a projector and fairly bright at 3200 lumes. seems to be the 2nd gen CREE . http://www.ebay.com/itm/191249110289...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

not sure what others have done. would like to know how well they work first. I have read alot about poor light out put on alot of LEDs but these CREE seem to be a different breed.

 

High beams are 9005 halogen bulbs. There are plenty of LED equivalents that will work but you will no longer have high beams. An LED will not put out enough light for hi beams.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=9005+led+bulb.

Another issue is that your current DRL's are using hi beams operating at half power. If you only replace the 9005 halogen with an LED equivalent the LED will not work well because you are only applying 6VDC to each bulb in DRL mode.

The only reason I did not go this route is that I want my car to have high beams. I don't use my hi beams often but do not want to eliminate them.

 

There are a ton of these bulbs out there with similar designs, but the problem lies within the LED and the reflector. LEDs will be able to fill up the reflector and throw light in all directions, but the actual hotspot (read: distance lighting down onto the road) will not be adequate. Your low beams will far exceed the distance of the LED, but the LED will only be able to flood the immediate area high and low --- this is not the purpose of a high beam application.

AFAIK, if the LED is not receiving the correct voltage, it will begin to flicker. I read about this on the 9th gen Accord forum where the Accord uses the high beam as a DRL as well. Adding to that, some said there were no issues. Of course, this depends on which bulb they purchased but I have not researched further than that since I am not interested in an LED DRL in or on the high beam.