2016+ Civic Led Projector Headlight from TRS

daPyr0x

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The only bulb I'll rank above halogen is a 2Stroke 2.0 or SL1
You would rank these LED models as putting out better output than a drop-in HID? Obviously projector retrofits >all, but I'm surprised to hear LED outperforming HID. It's about time, perhaps...
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Acey

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You would rank these LED models as putting out better output than a drop-in HID? Obviously projector retrofits >all, but I'm surprised to hear LED outperforming HID. It's about time, perhaps...
...no? Drop-in LED does not outperform an HID in the same application. I would rank DD Sl1/2Stroke 2.0 above stock halogen, which is what you just said also. I rank drop-in HID above Depo/TRS OEM replica, stock halogen, and drop-in LED. The variance is in the wide range of quality of LED drop-in, such that a couple outperform halogen in objective metrics of the overall low beam distribution, as opposed to what people think is actually good output. For the purpose of the rankings above, I put drop-in LED below stock halogen because I believe the majority of people are not buying LED of sufficient quality to outperform a good halogen.
 

daPyr0x

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Thank you. This aligns with my experience/expectation as well. I'm planning to go with Morimoto HID once TRS puts up their Black Friday sale, thought for a second I should be reconsidering LEDs.
 

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Yeah I think the key distinction here is that we are compromising the performance of the diodes by putting them in a projector designed for halogens. LED's in OEM application can perform very well relatively to OEM HID setups.

People in here seem to think the Touring LED are good and say they're "better than any HID I've had". In reality, they are rated as poor and noted for creating excessive glare. It's important to completely disregard anything anybody says in here about how they "think" their lights perform when they don't link to an objective video proving it or IIHS testing. Unfortunately, Touring LED are garbage.
 

NHCivicGuy

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Unfortunately, Touring LED are garbage.
Yupp they are! They look awesome on the car, no doubt on that one. But IIHS rated them poorly for a reason.

IMO: Projector Retrofit > HID Bulb/Ballast Upgrade > LED Bulb > Touring Headlights > Stock Halogen Headlights
 


daPyr0x

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Damn, I never read that IIHS report. Now I'm considering a proper HID retrofit instead of drop-in...
 

Acey

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Damn, I never read that IIHS report. Now I'm considering a proper HID retrofit instead of drop-in...
I think a lot of people are scared of doing retrofits because they've never disassembled their lights and have no experience with it. That's fair, but then they'll spend $500 on Depo lights or something. Mh1 retros are not that hard, find a reputable guy in your area that does retros and have him do it; the cost of an MH1 kit + the labour of getting them built is still probably less than a set of Depo lights.
 

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LED Bulb > Touring Headlights
Touring have filthy glare and poor width, but decent straight-line low beam performance that an LED drop-in to the stock halogens can't match. On the IIHS chart, an LED drop-in would perform a bit better than halogen but still well short of the optimal straight-line low beam, while Touring exceeds it.
 

daPyr0x

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Mh1 retros are not that hard, find a reputable guy in your area that does retros and have him do it; the cost of an MH1 kit + the labour of getting them built is still probably less than a set of Depo lights.
Any suggestions on finding such an individual? I've never known anyone local who does HID projector retrofits, much less someone who's reputable at doing them.
 

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I'd ask around in some local car groups or at meet type events, etc. Assuming K-W is Kitchener-Waterloo there should be umpteen retrofitters in southern Ontario that could do it. For me, I knew a guy that I'd see around town and wave to cause we had the same car, and that's how I got into modding headlights.
 


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Yeah I think the key distinction here is that we are compromising the performance of the diodes by putting them in a projector designed for halogens. LED's in OEM application can perform very well relatively to OEM HID setups.

People in here seem to think the Touring LED are good and say they're "better than any HID I've had". In reality, they are rated as poor and noted for creating excessive glare. It's important to completely disregard anything anybody says in here about how they "think" their lights perform when they don't link to an objective video proving it or IIHS testing. Unfortunately, Touring LED are garbage.
The IIHS test is nice as it gives us some actual useful information when comparing different headlights. Having said that, they could do a much better job of explaining whatever scoring algorithm they use to grade them.

For example, the touring headlights outperform some headlights that are rated higher, but they really don't do a good job of breaking down why one is rated marginal, poor, etc.
 
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Acey

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Yeah a breakdown would be nice. Looks to me like they're really knocking the Touring for the excessive glare, which is true... I have no idea how Honda got those approved. They look like HID in a reflector housing from another vehicle, absolutely savage glare. If they're ranking the Touring as poor because of the glare, I'd completely understand that.
 

civicdabest-foo

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Report says illumination on a curve is inadequate :crazy: I don't find this to be the case. On curves going at 70 mph, I can see quite clearly around the curve. Touring's LED's light up the road like there's arc welders in those headlamp lenses.
 

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Report says illumination on a curve is inadequate :crazy: I don't find this to be the case. On curves going at 70 mph, I can see quite clearly around the curve. Touring's LED's light up the road like there's arc welders in those headlamp lenses.
Yes, arc welders are what other drivers see when they look at Touring headlights.

You'd probably cream yourself if you drove with lights that had actual width, like retro'd FX-R for example, or something obscenely wide like an LS430. I understand the defense of the Touring lights... I love our cars and it'd have been nice if the Tourings were some sort of benchmark for OEM LED lights. They come up laughably short in every regard aside from turn signal brightness.
 

civicdabest-foo

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Indeed the turn signals are mad bright. When my Touring's parked in a lot and I need some illumination I peck at the lock button on the remote to get the turn signals to blink and I get superb illumination all around.

On a side note, as far as the aesthetics of the Touring's LED headlight assembly is concerned, there's no doubting that it is tops among its peers. :headbang:

The way turn signals and DRL are integrated into that slanting assembly is more elegant than what I've seen on GM/Kia competitors.
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