Switching to LEDs for headlights 2010 lr4

[Tnlr4]

Am I able to just swap in an led set? I have auto beams and are adaptive idk if that is stock on all these. Only concern is when my friend who owns an lr2 tried to do it they gave him a bunch of codes and he had to switch back to the stock bulbs.

 

[ktm525]

If you have auto high beams and the adaptive lighting then i believe you have the HID xenon bulbs (D3S). Why do you think LED will be superior to the xenon? Is it just the cost of the xenons?

 

[Tnlr4]

Leds give cleaner light and white light makes everything easier at night. Hids also get dimmer over time where leds stay true to their brightness till they die

 

[ktm525]

That is true. There are some drawbacks to LEDs at least up here where we deal with snow a good chunk of time. Overly white light is actually a drawback, especially when it is falling (at least to my eyes) and that is why yellow has been a traditional choice for fog lights. . Also the lack of heat generated by the LEDs doesn't melt the snow off the headlight lens. A huge problem if you have to deal with it.

I think by the time you pull ballasts etc you would be better off installing a couple LED auxiliary driving lights triggered by the high beam switch. If you do go with a LED bulb replacement please report back with your experience and results.

Here is a good discussion on Reddit of all places. There is some good advice in there.


https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/ey1g7s/led_vs_hidxenon

 

[DaytonaRS7]

i thought about this on my 2011 with HID headlights (non-adaptive).

The first hurdle i ran into was most LED conversion kits are made to go from halogen -> LED.

even if i could locate a HID to LED conversion, I was very concerned how the LR4s finicky electrical system would react. I'm sure there would be errors for incorrect bulbs.

I gave up.

 

[f1racer328]

I wouldn’t do it. Throw in new HID bulbs and you will be set for a long time.

HIDs are still superior to LEDs, even in projectors. Checkout theretrofitsource and hidplanet. Most people are still getting better output from quality HIDs.

 

[Tnlr4]

Alright, my wifes leds in her 2017 ford taurus outshine my headlights without even the slightest competition to my lr4. If just getting new hids would fix that I would go that route. Idk when the last time they where changed.

 

[ktm525]

low or high beam?

I find the xenon low beams in the LR4 ok (the LR3 was better due to what I believe was a better housing). Thea halogen high beam in conjunction with the xenon is quite good. Are your housings /lenses dirty?

 

[DaytonaRS7]

Alright, my wifes leds in her 2017 ford taurus outshine my headlights without even the slightest competition to my lr4. If just getting new hids would fix that I would go that route. Idk when the last time they where changed.

just some food for thought...
my Audi with multi-projector LED headlights is not as good as my wifes Mercedes with single projector LED headlights.
the Mercedes throws light farther forward adn ot the sides, and has a sharper, flat cutoff.

comparing either of these to the the LR4 is...saddening.

My first issue when i got my LR4 was that the headlights were aimed terribly low. I could literally see the cutoff on the ground about 100ft in front of me. make sure this isnt your issue.
I adjusted the height and replaced the bulbs (because why not) with Osram Laser Night Breaker bulbs. the brightness and visibility is amazingly better. Brightness is on par with the Mercedes.

The one thing that still bothers me though is the cutoff dips down at the right and left sides, making visibility on the sides of the road no where near as far as directly in front of me. Unfortunately the only way to fix this is to disassemble the headlights and adjust the cutoff shield...somthign that was never intended to be a serviceable item.

these images are borrowed and not of either car, but a good example of the issues with the LR4 headlight beam.
how the LR4 cutoff is (this is not an LR4, just similar)

how a proper cutoff shoudl look

 

[Tnlr4]

I will check the level of the headlights and will replace them with new HIDs and see how that works for me. Thank you all for the help