blitzebill
Member
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- '18 Sport AWD
These halogens suck. Anyone try to install LEDs? too tricky? too expensive?
My CX-3 had LEDs and they were the best.
My CX-3 had LEDs and they were the best.
LEDs for CX-5?
- Thread starter blitzebill
- Start date
Non-oem LED is not safe, there is a way to install OEM led to your car but you need to purchase the whole headlight unit from Japan(EXPENSIVE) and cut some wires to give a shot see if it will work. If you want simple upgrade buy a TRS H11B kits for your cx-5, it works great.
blitzebill
Member
- :
- '18 Sport AWD
No, No, with a side of No.
LEDs like this throw light sideways, while halogen bulbs give light in almost all directions.....so, the headlight system is designed FOR halogen bulbs, NOT directional LEDs. Some people try and throw in HID bulbs into halogen projectors....with mixed results.
What you can try and do, if you are handy, is retrofit the halogen projectors with HID projectors (or hell, even LED projectors if you can afford that....)
A lot of times, it simply means opening the headlight, un-bolting the old projector, and puttign in the new one. Sometimes you have to get/make brackets, or full cutting/JBWelding the new system in. I did this for my Honda Fit years ago (halogen reflector headlights), and holy hell, the simple quick retro using the MH1 35w HID projectors were night and day!!!!!
Check out some stuff at www.theretrofitsource.com (TRS) and a FB group called Headlight Junkies. They are both a world of knowledge when doing this. Just for the love of hell, NEVER ask if LED bulbs can be put into other headlights...they will eat you alive.
LEDs like this throw light sideways, while halogen bulbs give light in almost all directions.....so, the headlight system is designed FOR halogen bulbs, NOT directional LEDs. Some people try and throw in HID bulbs into halogen projectors....with mixed results.
What you can try and do, if you are handy, is retrofit the halogen projectors with HID projectors (or hell, even LED projectors if you can afford that....)
A lot of times, it simply means opening the headlight, un-bolting the old projector, and puttign in the new one. Sometimes you have to get/make brackets, or full cutting/JBWelding the new system in. I did this for my Honda Fit years ago (halogen reflector headlights), and holy hell, the simple quick retro using the MH1 35w HID projectors were night and day!!!!!
Check out some stuff at www.theretrofitsource.com (TRS) and a FB group called Headlight Junkies. They are both a world of knowledge when doing this. Just for the love of hell, NEVER ask if LED bulbs can be put into other headlights...they will eat you alive.
I second that. I have never seen LED plug-ins give results anywhere close to good in a halogen projectors. Light gets thrown everywhere, and mostly right in front of the car where it is useless and screws up your night vision.
A TRS HID kit is pretty good, but there are a few drawbacks. You can decide if these are acceptable to you or not by reading this thread:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123842433-Morimoto-HID-kit-from-TRS-review
This is for an older kit, but pretty much everything should still be the same.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
No, you get only halogens for non-Tech. No more HIDs with Tech.
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blitzebill
Member
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- '18 Sport AWD
Mazda dealer and AutoZone said I could just swap out bulbs for something a bit brighter like these...
https://www.pepboys.com/product/details/447867/00236
not going for HID or LED the way you folks describe the problems.
https://www.pepboys.com/product/details/447867/00236
not going for HID or LED the way you folks describe the problems.
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Yes that will work and give you a beam pattern as good as OEM, and possibly slightly more light (avoid blue tinted glass though). The reason why I went with HIDs is that these brighter halogen bulbs tend to burn out fast (because they burn hotter) and can become expensive in the long run. There is no such thing as a free lunch!
blitzebill
Member
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- '18 Sport AWD
nope there isn't. And yes as along as they give more light than the oem halogens, I'm happy. My CX-3 had LEDs and I loved them.
You can also try to mod an H9 bulb to fit in the H11 socket. It's just a matter of filing down a plastic tab. Just Google it. H9 will give you almost twice the light as H11, not as much or as white as HID, but not bad.
blitzebill
Member
- :
- '18 Sport AWD
TRS said this will work if I want go as far as putting in HID.
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/hid-systems/morimoto-elite-hid-system-h11.html
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/hid-systems/morimoto-elite-hid-system-h11.html
Yep, that is exactly what I did (slightly older kit, but practically identical). I posted a link above with a full review I did along with comparison pictures. I also have an installation post in that thread. It's really an easy procedure. I think you have several options to consider (just not LED!), up to you to weigh the pros and cons of each. Tell us what you end up doing!
blitzebill
Member
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- '18 Sport AWD
thanks for all the help!
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- RDX Aspec Adv.
I guess my Touring 2015 has Halogen?
blitzebill
Member
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- '18 Sport AWD
yes, why Mazda couldn't at least have included HID as standard equip, is beyond me. Halogen should be outlawed by the Fed agency and HID standard by now.
Just a heads up, as another guy said there is no free lunch.
I wanted brighter lights in my ford ranger pickup, and got lights like the one you linked to. I knew about the running hotter and shorter life and was fine with that. I usually got around a year of life out of a set. Problem was once one went after a year it was hard to find a matching one, so you ended up having to buy another pair or end up with 2 different looking lights.
But the bigger problem was the lights melted my sockets/plugs. The part of the truck that has wires running to sockets the lights plug into. I noticed one of the lights stopped working, so I bought a new pair. When I went to change the bulb I found out the socket was completely melted, and had almost fused with the housing. After fighting to get it out, I found a replacement socket that said it could handle high temps, and was a lot more expensive than the basic socket Advance Auto sells. And turned out when I went to check the other bulb, it has melted the socket too, but the bulb just hadn't died yet.
Just be prepared to pay for the whole lunch.......................
runtohell121
Member
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- 2014 Mazda CX-5 Touring AWD Soul Red
If one was to stick with halogen bulbs, it might be a worth consideration on getting H9 bulbs, just have to modify the tab slightly to fit it.
blitzebill
Member
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- '18 Sport AWD
dang!
well this puts my thinking into a kink. Maybe I should go the HID route with the TRS model.
With this kit, the low beam gets upgraded to HID, but the highbeam remains halogen, correct?
