Upgrade car headlights

[mortem]

Hi guys,

 

I found the headlights of my car a bit lacking in term of visibility and I would like upgrade them to something brighter.

What shop can you recommend in Bangkok that can have a large choice of light bulbs (I use H1 and D2S), ballasts, lens, etc... and that knows how to install them properly in my headlights enclosures.

I want something with good quality with good performance, not a cheap thing that looks cool.

Attached is a picture of the headlight/bulbs I have.

 

Thanks

Edited August 19, 2017 by mortem

[fredob43]

What you need is LED or Xenon bulbs. Had Xenon fitted to my last Fortuner. They were excellent. Not sure what the fitting of LED entails or if it can even be done with your set up. They look similar to my old Toyota ones.

 

Xenon will need ballast units 1 for every light they come with the bulb. Don't buy no Name ones, LG do ones that are very good. But not cheap. Suggest you use at least 30am for dip up to you on the heads. Friend of mine had 50 amp fitted for his head lights but not necessary 30 am will do ok. All depends on where you want to use them.

Tip change all 4.

 

Sorry cant recommend a shop in BKK but others will no doubt have that answer.

N/B it's only like changing your bulbs the only thing that needs wiring fitting is the ballast units. They might have to order as there are different bulb fitments for your make.

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2017 by fredob43

[NanLaew]

47 minutes ago, fredob43 said:

What you need is LED or Xenon bulbs. Had Xenon fitted to my last Fortuner. They were excellent. Not sure what the fitting of LED entails or if it can even be done with your set up. They look similar to my old Toyota ones.

 

Xenon will need ballast units 1 for every light they come with the bulb. Don't buy no Name ones, LG do ones that are very good. But not cheap. Suggest you use at least 30am for dip up to you on the heads. Friend of mine had 50 amp fitted for his head lights but not necessary 30 am will do ok. All depends on where you want to use them.

Tip change all 4.

 

Sorry cant recommend a shop in BKK but others will no doubt have that answer.

N/B it's only like changing your bulbs the only thing that needs wiring fitting is the ballast units. They might have to order as there are different bulb fitments for your make.

 

 

 

Properly fitted xenon HID globes usually need the OEM reflectors masked or removed as the reflectors are typically designed for use with quartz halogen filament bulbs and they can make the xenon HID experience pretty bad for oncoming drivers.

 

LED's are a cheaper option (no ballasts but possibly CANBUS 'canceling' resistors) but once again, steer clear of the rubbish from China via alieexpress and eBay. Unfocused and misaligned LED's can be just as bad as HID's. You will be able to see where you're going but the other guy won't!  Unfortunately, most of the auto bling shops I have looked at are simply re-sellers of imported Chinese rubbish. My experience of looking at the LED lights available in Pattaya and Udon isn't good. Hopefully, a member who has done a good quality LED or HID headlight upgrade in Bangkok may steer the OP in the right direction.

 

I bought all my LED's a few years ago on amazon.com and had a buddy bring them in. Back then, it was fairly easy to sort the wheat from the (Chinese) chaff but there's more rubbish on amazon as well these days as well.

[fredob43]

2 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Properly fitted xenon HID globes usually need the OEM reflectors masked or removed as the reflectors are typically designed for use with quartz halogen filament bulbs and they can make the xenon HID experience pretty bad for oncoming drivers.

 

LED's are a cheaper option (no ballasts but possibly CANBUS 'canceling' resistors) but once again, steer clear of the rubbish from China via alieexpress and eBay. Unfocused and misaligned LED's can be just as bad as HID's. You will be able to see where you're going but the other guy won't!  Unfortunately, most of the auto bling shops I have looked at are simply re-sellers of imported Chinese rubbish. My experience of looking at the LED lights available in Pattaya and Udon isn't good. Hopefully, a member who has done a good quality LED or HID headlight upgrade in Bangkok may steer the OP in the right direction.

 

I bought all my LED's a few years ago on amazon.com and had a buddy bring them in. Back then, it was fairly easy to sort the wheat from the (Chinese) chaff but there's more rubbish on amazon as well these days as well.

My old Fortuner with the same set up as the OP lights worked fine without changing the lens. They also run cooler so won't damage the lens. Also last longer than standard Bulbs 5.000 hours I believe

I did say only get good makes. Suggest LG that I had. They were slightly better than the LED ones fitted on the new Tuna but not by a lot 3/4 % at most.

The LED ones light up the same things, signs at the same distance ETC as my old Xenon's did. Must admit though that with the main beam on it would blind peeps coming in the opposite direction like my LED ones would now. But you shouldn't be using them then anyway.

N/B like Daytime on the country roads at night. With either.

[NanLaew]

21 minutes ago, fredob43 said:

My old Fortuner with the same set up as the OP lights worked fine without changing the lens. They also run cooler so won't damage the lens. Also last longer than standard Bulbs 5.000 hours I believe

I did say only get good makes. Suggest LG that I had. They were slightly better than the LED ones fitted on the new Tuna but not by a lot 3/4 % at most.

The LED ones light up the same things, signs at the same distance ETC as my old Xenon's did. Must admit though that with the main beam on it would blind peeps coming in the opposite direction like my LED ones would now. But you shouldn't be using them then anyway.

N/B like Daytime on the country roads at night. With either.

Yes, there's good and bad HID AND LED products and installations with the rule of thumb in either case being the cheaper it is, probably the worse it will be. Another issue that is getting more prevalent these days is the Chinese reseller claiming they are using (for example) LG HID's or Cree LED's so one has to be more careful about what one is buying. LG and Cree possibly do manufacture in China but like everything else, a percentage of stuff gets rejected by either Samsung or Cree but ends up being channeled via the online markets. I good guide is if it claims to have a brand-name component and then goes OTT with hard to quantify claims like 100% brighter or lasting x 100 times longer or the pictures in the advert tend to be a mixture of different sorts of bulbs, then chances are it is a lower-quality Chinese product.

 

If the OP finds the costs of HID or LED are not worth it, he can explore getting name-brand quartz halogen globes. I have good experience with both Osram and Philips bulbs and went with the former before switching to LED. Unfortunately, there's also enough locally manufactured stuff, even under license, that just does not compare with something made by the same company in Europe or the US. Once again, the best Osram globes were bought in the UK. Some specialist companies in the UK will ship internationally.

Edited August 19, 2017 by NanLaew

[fredob43]

22 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Yes, there's good and bad HID AND LED products and installations with the rule of thumb in either case being the cheaper it is, probably the worse it will be. Another issue that is getting more prevalent these days is the Chinese reseller claiming they are using (for example) LG HID's or Cree LED's so one has to be more careful about what one is buying. LG and Cree possibly do manufacture in China but like everything else, a percentage of stuff gets rejected by either Samsung or Cree but ends up being channeled via the online markets. I good guide is if it claims to have a brand-name component and then goes OTT with hard to quantify claims like 100% brighter or lasting x 100 times longer or the pictures in the advert tend to be a mixture of different sorts of bulbs, then chances are it is a lower-quality Chinese product.

 

If the OP finds the costs of HID or LED are not worth it, he can explore getting name-brand quartz halogen globes. I have good experience with both Osram and Philips bulbs and went with the former before switching to LED. Unfortunately, there's also enough locally manufactured stuff, even under license, that just does not compare with something made by the same company in Europe or the US. Once again, the best Osram globes were bought in the UK. Some specialist companies in the UK will ship internationally.

Did state they weren't Cheap. Can get a price from local place if the OP wants, Will need the make and model for that though. Go past there everyday so not out of my way. I do believe I paid somewhere around the 7/8.000 Bt a go, that was a few years ago. What it is now Buddha only knows.

[mortem]

Hi All,

 

Thanks for your replies. Yes I intend to take quality products, not cheap ones. As shown on the picture, my car already has xenon with ballast but from cheap quality (bought the car like that) and I am obviously not satisfied with the quality.

I already have an idea of what kind of thing I would like (4300K bulb either HID or LED, 35 or 55 Watts, better ballasts and lens) and price is not the main concern. Safety when driving at night is my main concern. Now I need to find a valid shop that can source the correct products and for them properly.

So if you can recommandes a shop that has the right skills, please let me know.

 

Thanks :)

[fredob43]

3 hours ago, mortem said:

Hi All,

 

Thanks for your replies. Yes I intend to take quality products, not cheap ones. As shown on the picture, my car already has xenon with ballast but from cheap quality (bought the car like that) and I am obviously not satisfied with the quality.

I already have an idea of what kind of thing I would like (4300K bulb either HID or LED, 35 or 55 Watts, better ballasts and lens) and price is not the main concern. Safety when driving at night is my main concern. Now I need to find a valid shop that can source the correct products and for them properly.

So if you can recommandes a shop that has the right skills, please let me know.

 

Thanks :)

They don't look like Xenon that's the one I can see. Xenon bulbs have a long clear bulb with a thickish outer wire running from back to front of bulb normally blue. Your ones don't seem to have those. They look like normal ones to me. But I could be wrong as the snap isn't that clear.

I can assure you that if they were good Xenon they would light up the roads at night like driving during the day, it's what the aircraft use for landing lights.

 

Have just googled Xenon head lights lot's of snaps on there of both LED and Xenon bulbs if you care to look you would see what I mean with the outer wire on Xenon bulbs. They also come in several colours Think the best to go for are white, or blue white. Yellow ones look twee but they are not so bright.

Edited August 20, 2017 by fredob43

[fredob43]

38 minutes ago, fredob43 said:

They don't look like Xenon that's the one I can see. Xenon bulbs have a long clear bulb with a thickish outer wire running from back to front of bulb normally blue. Your ones don't seem to have those. They look like normal ones to me. But I could be wrong as the snap isn't that clear.

I can assure you that if they were good Xenon they would light up the roads at night like driving during the day, it's what the aircraft use for landing lights.

 

Have just googled Xenon head lights lot's of snaps on there of both LED and Xenon bulbs if you care to look you would see what I mean with the outer wire on Xenon bulbs. They also come in several colours Think the best to go for are white, or blue white. Yellow ones look twee but they are not so bright.

You could try DK Xenon BKK for fitment. They seem to fit lights and other things. Their Phone No: is 0844574574 you might need to speak Thai or get someone that speaks it do for you.

Tip fit one first and see what the improvement is. Before paying out for the full lot.

Please let us know how you get on as it helps everyone.

Edited August 20, 2017 by fredob43

[JoeW]

My recommendation:

 

1. Headlights: a decent xenon kit will be more than sufficient and as you have the projector lenses already, I would recommend it over a LED set-up.

 

In case you go for Xenon: I recommend going for an Osram Xenarc kit. They have 2 color options available: 4300K and 6500K.

I have 6500K in my civic and I am very happy with them. 

 

In case you really would like to go for LEDs then I can only recommend buying PIAA or IPF headlights.

IPF retails for around 8,500 THB in Thailand and comes in 2 color options: 2400K and 6500K (I have 2400K as fog lights).

PIAA retails here for around 9,500 THB. Only one option for headlights 6000K. 

Both are Japanese brands and both design and manufacture their led lights in Japan in accordance with strict Japanese law.

This means, correct cut-off and no blinding of on-coming traffic.

 

2. High beams: stick with halogens for your high beams as LEDs are not useful for them.

 

3. Fog lights: white light looks good, but won't do much when there is fog (not sure there is fog in your heck of the woods).

I got yellow lights as it looks good with the white paint ;-)

[JoeW]

My recommended shop: 

 

1. My shop up north in Thailand ;-)

 

2. Autobacs in Bangkok. They have English speaking staff, are run according to Japanese standard and carry PIAA and IPF ;-)

[gummy]

Why not just upgrade from your current 55 watt to 100 watt 6000 k.  You will get a brighter light  and focus in line with your current reflector design. And much cheaper. ( around 450 to 550 baht for a decent make per pair ).  However also get your beams checked and adjusted if necessary, (something 98%  Thais  never do)  so avoiding the risk of dazzling oncoming traffic.

[mortem]

Hi All,

 

Thanks for the info. Very useful. Autobacs being close to my place, I will try to go check there next Saturday.

If you have other recommendation, feel free to let me know.

BTW, I still did not make my choice between the Xenon or LED yet

[JoeW]

imo, xenons have a more even throw of light over a much wider area than LEDs :-)

[fredob43]

13 hours ago, mortem said:

Hi All,

 

Thanks for the info. Very useful. Autobacs being close to my place, I will try to go check there next Saturday.

If you have other recommendation, feel free to let me know.

BTW, I still did not make my choice between the Xenon or LED yet

Having had both Xenon and now the new LED I can tell you both are fab but the Xenon are a tad better. Had white fitted in my Fortuner on all 6 lights. They did put yellow in one at first but found the white much brighter/clearer. Unlike Joe W I didn't like the look of yellow. Personal choice.

[Sam Lin]

Autobacs is a parts store, DK Xenon is a retrofitter. For what you're describing, you need the retrofitter. New projectors and HIDs will make it feel like a completely new car.

 

Sam

[steve187]

optiongt in bangkok do lights.

[mortem]

Hi All,

 

Wanted to inform that I had new bi-xenon 55w headlight installed at DK Xenon and I like the result. They job was good, fast and the were friendly. I recommend them :)

Edited September 8, 2017 by mortem
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