[Tom S.]

If they are so great, why do they only have a 2 year warranty? I recently had a bulb seller offer me a free set of bulbs. I turned them down. My experience with LED's has been very bad. Bulbs that are supposed to last for 50,000 hours aren't making it to 2,000. Yes, they are bright - sometimes brighter than legally allowed (as appears to be the case with yours as they appear to exceed the allowable wattage by 15 watts per bulb). But until someone designs a bulb and housing that will ensure LED's get their advertised longevity, I consider them a stopgap measure at best since they have to be replaced every 18 to 30 months. Feel free to come back in 3 years and let us know how they held up or if other drivers are flashing their lights at you because yours are too bright.

 

[Tom S.]

An LED’s lifespan has everything to do with how it is used.
The area, application, current, temperature, frequency of use, and even the way in which an LED light is used can affect the lifespan of the bulb, so while manufacturers will often provide an estimated life on the packaging, this shouldn’t be taken as the exact measurement.

The reality is that the lifespan of an LED light will typically fall within a range of about 6 to 10 years. For instance, an LED light could last 10 years, but it may only last for 8 if it’s frequently used outdoors in extremely hot temperatures, or it may last 12 years if the light is kept in a room-temperature location and rarely ever used. However, it should also be noted that even if an LED light does reach the manufacturer-indicated lifespan, the light will experience luminous decay, which reduces the light output of the LED over time.

Stock halogens never produced much light and at night we couldn’t see anything with them on.

Install LED bulbs to keep the beam pattern at to stay at 3 & 9 o clock positions, it gives that nice crisp line as the photo so do not concerned about blinding oncoming traffic due to the lumen output. While still bright to oncoming drivers and producing much more visibility to you, they won’t be blinding anyone.

While this all true, the manufactures of these lights know exactly what conditions these bulbs will be used in. After all, they are supposed to be designed for use in autos. Life span is a flexible number, but claiming a bulb will last 50,000 and having them go bad in 1,000 hours is an obvious line of crap. I had two sets of bulbs in less than 2,000 hours so it's not likely I just had a bad set. As I said, come back in 3 years and let us know how they held up.

Regardless what position you install the lights, light output is regulated by the DOT and, is determined by the lights the manufacturer uses in their DOT approved headlight. The halogen bulbs GM uses allow for an LED replacement of 35 watts. Putting 50 watt bulbs in is a violation of the law, no matter what the orientation of the bulb is. Given seller's claims of inflating life spans, lumens and most likely wattage, your bulbs may be within federal guidelines, but I wouldn't take a Chinese company's word for it. People want brighter lights, and that's what the companies are providing - without regard for safety or the law.

Go ahead and justify your free bulbs all you want, just be aware that they are most likely illegal and won't last an long as they should.