Upgraded Headlights Again With Holley RetroBright LEDs

[jeepguy03]

Can't think of any reason yours would be any different. The Holley logo on the lens will confirm you have them installed correctly.

Yep just went and looked and they are correct.

 

[chili_pepper]

I will say this much, pretty clear where the money is in these lights as the replacement LED cartridges run $130 per. Though to put that in perspective, relative to what I've paid for Xenon replacement bulbs in other vehicles, that price isn't so bad in and of itself.

 

[Longwhitejeep]

Yep just went and looked and they are correct.

What color did you get? I think they come in 2 or 3 color outputs I think. My brother has the squares in his c10 and they work great.

I'll end up with these and blaines tail lights at some point

 

[MikekiM]

I will say this much, pretty clear where the money is in these lights as the replacement LED cartridges run $130 per. Though to put that in perspective, relative to what I've paid for Xenon replacement bulbs in other vehicles, that price isn't so bad in and of itself.

Candidly, the fact that I could change the cartridge (is that what they are actually called?) was a huge pro for me. Yeah, not cheap but if at some point I want to change the LED temperature, or maybe sell the TJ and want to put the Koito H4's back in and use a different color output for the next vehicle I can. I put a set of euro spec Xenon lights in one of my Audi's and they cost much more than the Holley's. I guess it's all a matter of perspective...

What color did you get? I think they come in 2 or 3 color outputs I think. My brother has the squares in his c10 and they work great.

I'll end up with these and blaines tail lights at some point

I have the 5700 k. The picture in the first post of this thread tells all. They are exactly what I was looking for.

Yesterday the weather broke here in the NE, at least for the moment, and I was able to install the BMB billet aluminum tail lights. They've been in my gear bin for a few months. Those are the real deal as well.

 

[jeepguy03]

What color did you get? I think they come in 2 or 3 color outputs I think. My brother has the squares in his c10 and they work great.

I'll end up with these and blaines tail lights at some point

The modern white, 5700k.

 

[Gymguy]

After only two nights of driving with the Holley RetroBright LED Headlights, I can say these are an absolute winner.

My LED headlight experience has been less than stellar. Fortunately I have never had to deal with the stock lights. The first replacement set, installed by the OP were a feeble excuse for headlights. I found something similar to them on Amazon for $29. The second set, highly recommended by the folks here and a knock-off of the TruckLite headlight, had a pattern that pointed straight up I hated them. I am trying to keep a period-correct appearance and both looked severely out of place on a 2000.

I switched to the $45 Koito / Toyota H4‘s and that was a vast improvement over any of the prior sets for a crazy cheap investment and an absolute steal for the price. For many of you this would be a great place to stop. With the addition of the HD harness and 100/80 bulbs, the output was far better and the pattern was fairly clean though a bit blotchy. I added Lamin-X film to protect the glass lenses which were the period correct look I wanted, but at 3000 kelvin the color was far too warm for my eye. I searched for replacement bulbs that were a cooler temp, but in the end everything I found was a kin to making a silk purse from a sows ear. The color change was achieved via coatings which no doubt reduced output (while I craved more) and LED replacement bulbs all had horrible reviews.

When I came across the Holley RetroBright housings I found what I was looking for (I purchased from Summit Racing). The output far exceeds any of the options I had tried thus far. The daylight 5700 kelvin temperature is spot on and visually these look like very much the same as the Koito and IPS H4 conversions I’ve used in the past. Visually, they appear to be classic sealed beams, until you turn them on.

Installation was a ten minute job. Maybe twelve since I refreshed the Sema Trim Black paint on the trim rings. I plugged into the heavy duty harness that was installed to run the upgraded bulbs in the Koito H4s. Surely overkill for the low draw on the LEDs but too much work to remove and better off feeding power direct from the battery.

The pattern is great with a clean upper cutoff with a gentle rise on the passenger side. Gutter illumination to the right is great. There are absolutely no dead spots and no annoying extraneous hot spots illuminating the under of the trees.

Switching on the high beams has no negative impact on the low beams, which surprised me.

The LED modules are replaceable in the event a different color temperature is in order or if an LED burns out.

The only negative is that the lenses are polycarbonate and hopefully will have longevity. The subtle Holley logo in the center of the lens is raised slightly and that likely will prevent any kind of Lamin-X protection and no heat to reduce ice freeze in winter.

The Koito H4 in 100/80 on the passenger side and Holley RetroBright on the driver side.. 3000 Kelvin for the H4s and 5700 Kelvin for the Holley.
View attachment 356693


Housing with integrated cooling fins is made by Philips, where ever Philips makes housings and the removable light module is made Morimoto. Plug-n-play three prong plug works in the stock harness or in the ungraded harness for the Koito H4 housings.
View attachment 356694

They look period-correct to a 2000 and even up close you can’t tell they are LEDs, until they are illuminated.
View attachment 356696

Are you still happy with these? Debating these vs truck-lite vs KC

 

[jjvw]

Are you still happy with these? Debating these vs truck-lite vs KC

I moved from TruckLites to RetroBrights about a year ago. There is no comparison between the two. Trucklites make everything a bright grey. RetroBrights are full of bright color and are very easy to look through.

 

[gbirk]

I moved from TruckLites to RetroBrights about a year ago. There is no comparison between the two. Trucklites make everything a bright grey. RetroBrights are full of bright color and are very easy to look through.

I will second that. The RetroBrights are great. A little more splotchy than the Hellas I took out, but so far the best LED I have tried. Also, they still look like the factory sealed beams. I do wish they were glass though.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

I moved from TruckLites to RetroBrights about a year ago. There is no comparison between the two. Trucklites make everything a bright grey. RetroBrights are full of bright color and are very easy to look through.

Don’t you miss the X’s, Josh?

 

[jjvw]

Don’t you miss the X’s, Josh?

Mine were dark floating V V's in a sea of bright grey. They annoyed me for about 8 years.

 

[MikekiM]

Are you still happy with these? Debating these vs truck-lite vs KC

100% pleased with them.
I have a set of KC Gravity LED Aux lights up front as well and candidly, I never need the KCs.

I will second that. The RetroBrights are great. A little more splotchy than the Hellas I took out, but so far the best LED I have tried. Also, they still look like the factory sealed beams. I do wish they were glass though.

I have no issue with them being polycarbonate. I am in the NE and the Jeep is my year round daily. Never an issue with ice on them. And I put Laminex protection film over them early on so no worries about sandblasted, cracked or chipped lenses.

They still work and look like they did the day I installed them.

 

[gbirk]

100% pleased with them.
I have a set of KC Gravity LED Aux lights up front as well and candidly, I never need the KCs.


I have no issue with them being polycarbonate. I am in the NE and the Jeep is my year round daily. Never an issue with ice on them. And I put Laminex protection film over them early on so no worries about sandblasted, cracked or chipped lenses.

They still work and look like they did the day I installed them.

I will have to look into doing laminex. That seems like a good solution.

 

[MikekiM]

I will have to look into doing laminex. That seems like a good solution.

Silly easy to do. Once you squeegee the water out hit it lightly with a hair dryer and the film will suck in around the Holley logo.
A day or two later and it's invisible.