What is the best headlight for the money?

Hella e-codes with the standard H4 bulbs is a cheap simple solution that is a drastic improvement over stock. It was really the first mod I did because I drove home at night after purchasing it. The sealed beams sucked so bad. I like they still look stock, since I am not a fan of the high tech led headlights on a TJ.

A few months ago I added the beamtech H4 led and am very pleased. Surprisingly they were a definite improvement over regular halogens. This is the first and only led bulb that seems to work with standard headlight reflectors. I only have 2 knocks on the beamtech. First the high beam has a funky pattern, but I rarely use it since low beam is so good. Second, you have to cut the dust boot to get them to fit, but you can test run without the dust boot to see if they meet your expectations before cutting.

FYI , the Harley led projectors are JW Speaker 8700 Evo 2 rebadged for HD. I have never found anything with an HD logo to be cheaper. In all fairness though, it has been years since I swapped out the headlight on the bike (for JW Speaker).
 
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WDE said:
Hella e-codes with the standard H4 bulbs is a cheap simple solution that is a drastic improvement over stock. It was really the first mod I did because I drove home at night after purchasing it. The sealed beams sucked so bad. I like they still look stock, since I am not a fan of the high tech led headlights on a TJ.

A few months ago I added the beamtech H4 led and am very pleased. Surprisingly they were a definite improvement over regular halogens. This is the first and only led bulb that seems to work with standard headlight reflectors. I only have 2 knocks on the beamtech. First the high beam has a funky pattern, but I rarely use it since low beam is so good. Second, you have to cut the dust boot to get them to fit, but you can test run without the dust boot to see if they meet your expectations before cutting.

FYI , the Harley led projectors are JW Speaker 8700 Evo 2 rebadged for HD. I have never found anything with an HD logo to be cheaper. In all fairness though, it has been years since I swapped out the headlight on the bike (for JW Speaker).
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Almost identical to my experience - except I never drove the TJ with the stock sealed beams at nite. I swapped them out for the H4 Hellas 3 days after I bought it simply because I found a pair LNIB for $20/pr! So I installed those, and never ran them at nite either with the included H4 bulbs, I put BeamTechs in a couple of weeks later - and it was still months before I was able to test them. So I don't know how much of an "improvement" either are vs their predecessor, but I do know I like the combination compared to anything else I personally have driven. Yea, the high beam sort of splatters, but its still quite usable, and the lows are fantastic! I had to cut the boot too to get them installed.

With all that said, swapping out sealed beams for a set of NEW sealed beams is never a bad thing - they get dim with age/use. Every once in a while I'll see some idiot trying to sell a set of used sealed beams - oftentimes for more than new ones cost! Throw them away, nobody wants a used light bulb...
 
I installed my HC Gravity 7" Lights last week. I think I need to "Aim" them. I assume those hot spots are supposed to line up (or at least be parallel).
My bother got me the hook up on the lights for $445 otd

Super easy to install. Just plug-and-play.

I would have preferred a glass lense/cover, but I guess I'll see how this goes.

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Update-

Hella H4 with halogens were some better than stock....I put in
Beamtech 2 led bulbs, they seem to give me the white light I've gotten used to and way more output, especially on high ...I'm open to tips on how to adjust them.

My Chinese glass housings were a fitment issue in a couple of ways .

I'd definitely say the Hella H4 with the Beamtechs gives is a good value at this point.
 
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I have knockoff JB Speaker style with halos. I like them, they were like $50. They're stupid bright, have them aimed properly and still get people flashing their high beams at me.

I can't see spending $500 on headlights. They better last forever, and even then it's questionable.
 
I know its illegal but people put lensed xenons into our round headlights in russian cars,trucks here. I wouldnot do it if you live in adequate country, but livong with wolves makes you also a wolf. Most cars here have eyeball boiling chinese headlights that makes you blind. I dont feel to pay 500$ for non german,non japanese optic lights.

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WallyWest said:
I have knockoff JB Speaker style with halos. I like them, they were like $50. They're stupid bright, have them aimed properly and still get people flashing their high beams at me.

I can't see spending $500 on headlights. They better last forever, and even then it's questionable.
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That's a sign that it's not a good headlight. Sure it's bright and throws plenty of light but without a proper beam pattern/cutoff it's throwing that light into oncoming driver's eyes and blinding them.

Not saying you need to spend 500 on a good headlight but some cheaper ones are better than others.

 
RipSteakface said:
I really really wanted the KC Gravity headlights... but I just couldn't bring myself to drop that kinda bread on headlights. I ended up 'settling' for the KC HiLites H4 halogen lights but it turns out I couldn't be happier. At first I told myself I'd run these until I got the major fixes/upgrades out of the way, then I'd get the Gravity lights... but I ended up loving these so I'll probably stick with them for a long time.

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I did the same. I'm surprised these are so far down in this thread. They are a significant upgrade over stock and don't break the bank either. I love mine.
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+1 on kc hilites h4. My LJ has unknown leds with unknown miles, looks really clean and bright without blinding anyone. I put kc hilites in my 97 before selling it and it seemed to give the same visibility as my leds with xx miles on them.
 
I bought the TruckLites knockoffs from Amozon.
They've been great lights, but I'll pony up the difference and get the real one's next time instead of sending my money to the ChiComs.
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Tangerined said:
That's a sign that it's not a good headlight. Sure it's bright and throws plenty of light but without a proper beam pattern/cutoff it's throwing that light into oncoming driver's eyes and blinding them.
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The pattern and cutoff is better than stock. Has a very well defined cutoff. It's just that they're on a lifted Jeep, and more of a daylight color temp, so people in cars think my brights are on.
 
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Good posts . Sooooo many options.

Can anyone recommend Hella H4 Housing to run an led in ?


I like mine and don't even know the one I got, again...confused by all the choices.
 
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