jtpedersen
Caught the Bug
Howdy,
Lots of discussion around LED headlights and whether they need to be heated or not.
I opted to go with unheated (KC HiLites). Worst case, I figured I'd be getting out to clear them off once in awhile...which I had to do on a rare occasion with halogens as well. If it's raining slush, doesn't matter what you've got, you'll be cleaning them off by hand.
Yesterday, I drove in my 3rd significant snowfall with them. Started out with some road spray from surrounding traffic (not much salt yet, temps around 23F), blowing snow, just a mess, as temps dropped toward 19F. It was about as bad as it gets. You could tell the Jeep was packing up snow underneath as road noise got quieter and the rebound from road bumps became a tad more muted.
After 90 minutes in unceasing blowing snow, wipers working consistently the whole way, thought to grab some pics:
This first one, you can definitely see how slush has built up on the incandescent tail lights. Actually appeared a lot more muted to the eye.
These next two, adjusting exposure so you can see it better...
shows there's just zero build-up worth talking about.
In the right conditions, sure, there will be build up. And, like any other headlight, you'd be cleaning them off too.
One of the observations I've had thus far is that, since there's no heat, there's nothing being 'baked on' that needs cleaning off with a gas station squeegee. Since they're not attracting anything to stick and dry, they actually seem to be a cleaner head light.
Not trying to persuade one way or the other. For those having yet to make their own choices, thought I'd offer up a real life example and observations.
Lots of discussion around LED headlights and whether they need to be heated or not.
I opted to go with unheated (KC HiLites). Worst case, I figured I'd be getting out to clear them off once in awhile...which I had to do on a rare occasion with halogens as well. If it's raining slush, doesn't matter what you've got, you'll be cleaning them off by hand.
Yesterday, I drove in my 3rd significant snowfall with them. Started out with some road spray from surrounding traffic (not much salt yet, temps around 23F), blowing snow, just a mess, as temps dropped toward 19F. It was about as bad as it gets. You could tell the Jeep was packing up snow underneath as road noise got quieter and the rebound from road bumps became a tad more muted.
After 90 minutes in unceasing blowing snow, wipers working consistently the whole way, thought to grab some pics:
This first one, you can definitely see how slush has built up on the incandescent tail lights. Actually appeared a lot more muted to the eye.
These next two, adjusting exposure so you can see it better...
shows there's just zero build-up worth talking about.
In the right conditions, sure, there will be build up. And, like any other headlight, you'd be cleaning them off too.
One of the observations I've had thus far is that, since there's no heat, there's nothing being 'baked on' that needs cleaning off with a gas station squeegee. Since they're not attracting anything to stick and dry, they actually seem to be a cleaner head light.
Not trying to persuade one way or the other. For those having yet to make their own choices, thought I'd offer up a real life example and observations.
