The Best Things About HID vs LED Comparison

led vs hid light

The overall best thing about an HID kit is that it’s still the top dog in the lumen numbers. There’s these different LED headlight bulb companies that are saying 10,000 lumens, it’s BS, don’t believe a single word of it. The best ones that we’ve seen have been advertised in that 3200 to 3700 lumen range per bulb. And we test these three to 3700 lumen bulbs against these six, seven, eight, nine, 10,000 lumen bulbs and they blow them out of the water. It’s a total marketing BS. 10,000 lumen LED bulbs don’t exist. 5000 lumen HIDs do. So when you’re looking at differences between the brightness of an LED and an HID, it’s not all apples to apples. For example, this bulb, way less bright than a 35 watt HID. This bulb, as bright or brighter than a 35 watt HID, but none of them come even close to a 55 watt HID kit.

Pros and Cons of a New Technology

So there’s pros and cons. LED is a new technology, it’s getting better, but there’s a lot of options. How do you know which one to pick? LED has generally better color, but with HID you can get more options and brighter light. 10Carbest LEDs is way easier to install, with an HID kit for, like, this Tundra, you have a dual beam relay harness. You have two bulbs with four wires. Two ballasts that you have to mount to sheet metal. So it’s kind of give and takes. What are your big priorities? Ease of install, maximum light output, the style of the light, or do you just want the best beam pattern? It’s really up to you and your personal preferences.

Still an Exciting Option

With an HID kit, it’s tried and true. They’re a little bit more to install, but you have a lot of flexibility. Different colors, different power levels, and when comparing the best of LED to the best of HID, 55 watt HID kits still come out on top as the brightest option, and they’re still pretty reliable. But LED headlights bulbs are still an exciting option, it’s a new technology that’s quickly surpassing the brightness of most HID kits. They have awesome color, they have amazing beam patterns with that new CSP style LED system. But the tricky part with LED is you don’t really know what you’re getting. You could spend $30 on these, $300 on these and $200 on these, and without doing your own tests, you won’t even know which one’s best. I do because we tested them.