Since winter gets colder temps and even sunsets come earlier in America, you are likely to be spending more time on the road in darkened driving conditions. You would be advertised to ensure your car or truck is equipped with the best and brightest LED forward lighting. Since LED technology is becoming more mature, LED bulbs are widely applied in car headlights in the American market. In order to cater to different requirements of customers, there have been a growing number of American brands offering LED headlight bulbs with different levels of quality and designs.

 

Finding a reliable headlight bulb brand can be pretty crucial. Traffic laws are stringent in America, and have banned thousands of LED bulbs that cause glare light. Though there are various LED headlight bulb options, it is difficult to know which is legal and high-performance. This blog aims to list the top 7 best-selling LED headlight conversion kits that offer the best illumination and quality in the American market.

Content #1 Philips X-tremeUltinon Gen2 H11 LED bulbs #2 Osram LEDriving HL H11 LED headlights #3 Morimoto 2 Stroke 3.0 LED Headlight Kits #4 VLEDs Micro Extreme H8 H9 H11 LED #5 ORACLE Replacement H11 LED Headlights #6 NAOEVO ND Series H11 LED headlights #7 Diode Dynamics SL1 H11 LED Bulbs (Pair) #8 Recommendation for the best and brightest LED       headlight bulb #9 Reasons For Choosing ND LED Headlight Bulbs #10 Brightest LED headlight bulb buying guide #11 Conclusion

 #1 Philips X-tremeUltinon Gen2 H11 LED headlight bulb

 

Why X-tremeUltinon LED Gen2 LED headlight bulbs to become popular in America? Not only because Philips is a trustworthy brand with over a hundred-year history, but also because these bulbs achieve both a strikingly stylish color temperature alongside a vast improvement of light. These Philips X-tremeUltinon LED retrofit bulbs are favorite by American consumers as these bulbs offer up to 5800K white light, which is 200% brighter than stock halogen bulbs.

 

These Gen2 LED bulbs provide a power of 22 watts and 3500 Lumens per pair. Some of you might think that they are low-power headlight bulbs; are they still bright enough to see clearly at night? In this part, you can always believe Philips’ LED technology. Owing to Philips’ premium Lumileds SMD LED chips, these bulbs produce a marvelous light, up to 250% brighter than halogen. They have highly made good use of the power to maximize the brightness and remain a stable power.

 

The essential factor that makes X-tremeUltinon LED bulbs becoming popular in America is that Philips has implemented their renowned SafeBeam technology so that the bulbs can emit a sharp, distinct cutoff line. By implementing AirFlux cooling technology, Philips has designed the bulbs capable of defending against adverse weather and overheating.

 

Specifications

Wattage: 22 watts (Pair)
Lumens: 700lm low beam/ 1350lm high beam
Color: 5800K cool white
Warranty: 5 years
Waterproof: N/A
Customers’ review: 5 stars
Money: $208.79 USD

 

Outstanding Features

Pros & Cons

 #2 Osram LEDriving HL H11 LED headlight bulbs (Twins)

 

Osram has been one of the world’s biggest lighting companies for over a century year. You can buy all the Osram products in confidence. There’s no difference with these Osram LEDriving LED headlight kits!

 

The Osram LEDriving provides easy installation to upgrade your headlights with cool white LED light, stylish look, and superior brightness. These Osram LED bulbs allow high compatibility to fix 12V and 24V vehicles with the latest technology. Also, Osram provides these bulbs with a 5-year guarantee with a long lifespan.

 

These premium LEDriving developed and manufactured in a certified Osram production facility in Italy. Thus, their quality is beyond question! These bulbs produce 15watt 1215 lumens brightness, up to 220% more brightness than halogen, and 6000K cool white light similar to daylight for clear visibility.

 

Compared to most LED bulbs on the market, OSRAM LEDriving is more stable, contributing to 5 times longer lifespan than halogen. Besides, they are environmentally friendly and use less fuel consumption.

 

Specifications

Wattage: 15.4 watts (Pair)
Lumens: 1215 lumens
Color: 6000K cool white
Warranty: 5 years
Waterproof:
Customers’ review:
Money: $182.69 USD

Outstanding Features

 Pros & Cons

 #3 Morimoto 2 Stroke 3.0 LED Headlight Kits

 

 

This new 3.0 Stroke LEDs have been upgraded compared to the old 2.0 model. Three outstanding features make these bulbs one of America’s most popular LED headlights. The first must be the beam patterns; these bulbs are equipped with Osram Oslon LED chips, just 0.43mm each; no matter what headlight housing you put in, they can perfectly mimic the original headlight bulbs. There's no LED bulb more closely simulates the halogen bulb's filament position more accurately than Morimoto 2Strock 3.0.

 

A majority of LED bulb has a fan on the backside of the bulb, which transfers the heat away to the dust cover. What sets Morimoto apart is using a sealed heatsink with a fan inside the bulb to dissipate the heat forward. What does that mean? It could be similar to halogen bulbs. When it's cold outside, these bulbs help heat the headlights' lens. This sealed heatsink design also protects the fan from damage. It’s a fantastic feature since one of the drawbacks to upgrading to LED is the heat inside the headlight.

 

There is a small detail on the mounting collar of 2Strock 3.0 LED bulbs. The mounting collar is not a cheap plastic collar. It is an ingenious omni-adjustable rotating mechanism utilizing all bulbs that are press-fit or clipped into the housing.

 

Specifications

Wattage: 48 watts (Pair)
Lumens: 3720 lumens (pair)
Color: 5300K cool white
Warranty: 3 years
Waterproof: N/A
Customers’ review:
Money: $205.64 USD

 

Outstanding Features

 Pros & Cons

 #4 VLEDs Micro Extreme H8 H9 H11 LED headlight bulbs

 

 

If you are tired of the dim light from your stock headlights, then you can fix that problem by installing the VLEDs’ Micro Extreme LED headlight bulbs! VLEDs, a well-established company in the US, they have been providing high-quality bulbs on the market for many years. A significant improvement has been made in this Micro Extreme LED bulb!

 

Built with 6X Seoul semiconductor LED chips, these high-quality LED headlight bulbs generate 4500 Lumens per bulb (9000 Lumens total). Micro Extreme LEDs surpass halogen bulbs in the color, brightness, amount of usage light, and overall visibility. It is easy to tell that VLED bulbs blow the OEM bulbs out of the water.

 

Besides, VLED Micro Extreme LEDs offer significant benefits in terms of safety and comfort because this bulb comes in two options: 5K and 6K. You can choose depending on your preferences and needs.

 

Specifications

Wattage: watts (Pair)
Lumens: 4500 lumens (pair)
Color: Available in 5000K or 6000K
Warranty: 3 years
Waterproof: IP68
Customers’ review:
Money: $180,00 USD

 

Outstanding Features

 Pros & Cons

#5 ORACLE Replacement H11 LED Headlight Bulbs

 

 

With built-in Philips Luxeon ZES chips, Oracle LED bulbs allow increased Lumen output while still consuming less than half the power of halogen headlight bulbs. They create 4000+ Lumens, excellently giving you a sleek look with a cool white 6000K color that’s impressive to see clearly at night. These small chips also have excellent heat dissipation, making them stable and reliable even in harsh environments.

 

Besides, the new internal driver components were designed by Samsung and offer excellent performance in a smaller package. These high-output LED bulbs are Canbus ready, which means that they are compatible with your vehicle with any flickering. They are also plug-n-play installations, highly compatible with a variety of housings.

 

The thermal management of Oracle LED bulbs is also an attractive feature. These bulbs are constructed with copper heat pipe, 6063 aluminum and enclosed high-speed turbo fans. Thanks to its cooling technology, you can rest assured that these bulbs will satisfy your vehicle’s heavy-duty applications.

 

Specifications

Lumens: 8000 lumens output (pair)
Color: Come in 5000K and 6000K
Warranty: 2 Years
Waterproof: IP65 water resistance
Customers’ review:
Money: $149.95 USD

 

Outstanding Features

Pros & Cons

#6 NAOEVO ND Series H11 LED headlight bulbs

 

 

 Here is the premium option on this list. These ND LED headlights are from NAOEVO - one of China's largest automotive lighting manufacturers. They have been striving to manufacture high-end products at a reasonable price. They do their research and development on LED chips, LED light beam patterns, and product design. ND is one of the most popular products of NAOEVO, and the brightest LED headlight kit in America LED lighting market.

 

The output of the bulbs can be conspicuous since they are able to produce a true power of 140W 16800Lumens per pair. Yes, 70W 8400LM per bulb! You did not fool by your eyes. Why can NAOEVO manufacture such high-power LED headlight bulbs? I think that is attributed to their advanced LED technology.

 

Specifications

Brightness: 140W 16800LM Per Pair
Color: 6500K white
Warranty: 2 Year
Waterproof: IP67
Customers’ review: 4.8 stars

 

Outstanding Features

Pros & Cons

 #7 Diode Dynamics SL1 H11 LED Bulbs (Pair)

 

 

 

Diode Dynamic is the most trusted name in automotive LED lighting. They manufacture and engineer products themselves in the United States. If you are going to upgrade your headlight bulb, you may probably find many options for LED upgrades. However, most bulbs on the market are too big to install, don’t work with the electrical system or have no focus hot spot in the beam pattern. These Diode Dynamics SL1 LED bulbs set out to engineer an absolute OEM-grade solution for your vehicle and finally provide a drastic improvement in lighting performance with high reliability.

 

Before buying LED bulbs, you should notice that your vehicle’s lamp is designed as a system to focus light. If the light goes through by the system out of focus, it doesn’t matter how bright it is. To solve the problem, their engineers designed the bulbs with advanced optical design systems, perfectly matched the filament location, allowing the SL1 LED bulbs to focus light with no dark spot. This is a safe output in compliance with photometric standards.

 

Unlike other bulbs come with large straps for cooling or big fans that make noise. The SL1 LED bulbs, including a direct-solder copper core board and thermally-modeled zinc casting, get heat to the base, where base fins are designed to circulate the air, keeping the bulb running at maximum potential.

 

Specifications

Brightness: 3260 lumens pair/20.2 watts
Color: 5700K white
Warranty: 3 Year
Waterproof: IP67
Customers’ review: 4.8 stars

 

Outstanding Features

Pros & Cons

Recommendation for the best and brightest LED headlight bulb

 

NAOEVO ND LED headlight bulbs - 140W 16800LM

 

 

 

 

Performance Scores:

Reasons For Choosing ND LED Headlight Bulbs

 

■ Super High Power Count:

With LED headlight bulb technology, ND LED bulbs truly achieve a substantial output of 140W 16800LM. The large size of the flip chip greatly maximizes the lighting area. Never compromise to the darkness, ND LED bulbs to allow you to see clearly.

 

■ Strong Heat Dissipation:

Not that we think you will use that 2-year warranty. ND LED headlight kits are well-built with additional heat pipes that transfer the heat 3-4 times faster, and they are equipped with a solid aluminum heat sink and a quiet, high-speed fan for active cooling. They are designed to withstand the harsh demands of automotive use, 100% water, dust, shock, and rumble-proof, and can last for over 50,000 hours of reliable use.

 

■ Canbus Compatible:

Canbus is part of the computer system in many vehicles. Installing some high-power LED bulbs may lead to light flicking, dashboard warning, or radio interference. Some bulbs even need an extra resister or decoder. ND LED bulbs have an intelligent Canbus driver, which can fit 99% of vehicles.

 

■ Superb Beam Pattern:

High-power LED bulbs should have a standard light beam pattern, or they will cause strong glare to other drivers and lead to traffic accidents. ND LED bulbs come with the latest LED technology. The space between two beads is super thin so that it can emit light as standard as halogen. There are precise cutoff low beams and standard high beams. Significantly improve your visibility and won’t cause any dazzle to others.

 

■ Unique Heat Sink Design:

NAOEVO has an experienced design team. ND LED bulbs are endowed with infinite creativity. The design of ND comes from the spider. Spiders can always weave a variety of webs. They are full of creativity, imagination and have a strong will. We hope that these bulbs can bring you the power and the courage to make your dream come true.

 

■ Road-Legal Headlights:

The lighting position of ND LED headlight bulb greatly imitates the halogen filament. The space between the two beads is as small as possible. This design makes the light beam standard and can see wider and further without any spot. They have also passed DOT, E-mark, and RoHs certifications.

 

 

Brightest LED headlight bulb buying guide

 

What decides the brightness of LED headlights?

There are all kinds of LED conversion kits on the market, and most of them will specify the lumen and output on the package. They could be generally ranged from 3000 lumens to 6000 lumens. However, you may have ever seen some bulbs online marked with 16000 lumens, 20000 lumens, or even 40000 lumens. The question is, are they the true Lumen? To clarify the question, let’s see what will affect the brightness of LED bulbs.

 

Lumens

Lumen is a measure of the amount of brightness of a light bulb. Lumens are derived from luminous flux, the total power of light. We can see some high-power bulbs are also called “high-flux.”

 

The headlight bulb manufacturer will place the bulb inside a sealed giant sphere to measure the lumens, known as an integrating sphere. Its light is bounced around in all directions, so the flux can also be measured at one point.

 

Lux

 

Another unit to measure the light is lux. Or the light measured in 1 square meter of the output area.

You can think that luminous flux (measured by Lumens) as a measure of the total “amount” of visible light you see and the illuminance (measured by lux) as a measure of the “intensity” of illumination at a certain distance from the source.

 

Lux is measured by installing the bulb inside a housing and testing how well the lumen amounts are projected or reflected out from the housing. In this case, we can see how many bulb lumens are being utilized and turned into a usable light beam pattern by the headlight housing. When calculating the lux, several factors such as the lumens, the relationship between the bulb and housing, light beam pattern, and the distance should be considered.

 

Wattage

The brightness of LED headlights also depends on the wattage of the bulbs. If you don’t have the equipment such as integrating sphere and digital Lux meter, you can look at the wattage and make a judgment. A 1-watt diode is capable of emitting around 120 lumens. If LED headlight bulb is 30 watts, it has around 3600 lumens.

 

If you see some LED bulbs on the Amazon marked with 20,000 Lumens or 40,000 Lumens. They are just flat-out lying about their ratings!

 

Light Beam Pattern Matters

Light focusing is one of the factors to consider when purchasing LED headlights. When you find LED headlights on Amazon, you will find that almost all the headlight bulbs are described as enhanced/standard/perfect/improved light beam patterns. It is pretty easy to type these words in the product description. But how can we verify a standard light beam pattern?

 

(Light beam pattern of ND LED headlight bulb)

 

The presented LED headlight creates high-quality light distributions and very sharp cutoff low beam lines. When you installing the LED headlights, you can show the light on the wall to see if they are clear and asymmetric on low beams. And the light beam should be as focused as possible.

 

Is the brightest LED headlight bulb legal?

Whether LED headlight bulbs are legal or not should be the first consideration. Mostly, LED bulbs are legal if the light projected from the headlight allows you to see clearly between 50 and 100 meters ahead of you and won’t cause any glare to other drivers.

 

Conclusion

LED headlight bulbs can make your car look cool and provide additional visibility making night driving safer. It is worth upgrading your halogen to LED headlights. And with the brightest LED headlight reviews, we believe you have known which is the best for your car.