Tested: The Best LED Headlights of 2023

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Navigating the road comes with its share of eye-opening experiences—and mine came a few months back when my charging system died while I was driving on a remote country road. While objectively dangerous and frightening, what truly struck fear in me was when the headlights ceased functioning, and I was left looking at an unbroken pitch-black expanse ahead.

But folks don't have to experience a headlight blackout to appreciate the role of being able to see clearly while driving at night. This is where the evolution of lighting technology enters the scene, with LEDs leading the charge. Their ability to offer an expansive, bright field of vision has made LED headlight bulbs a favorite of drivers, especially those in rural areas. Join us as we check the hype and dive into the top picks for LED headlights, as tested by the Gear Team.

Things to Consider When Buying LED Headlight Bulbs

Legality

Technically, aftermarket LED headlight bulbs are illegal to install. If your vehicle did not come from the factory with LED bulbs in the headlight assemblies, you aren't supposed to install your own. However, that hasn't stopped companies from making them and people from buying and using them.

Why are they illegal? It's simply because aftermarket LED headlight bulbs are hard to regulate. Authorities can't ensure the recipient vehicle's headlight beams are directed toward the road safely and out of other motorists' eyes. If you do decide to buy and install LED headlights, it's imperative that you adjust the beams properly. Be smart, research the laws, and understand the risks before making a purchase.

Safety

While LEDs excel in brightness and energy efficiency, they are often criticized as being too bright for oncoming drivers, causing glare that can blind them temporarily. If you purchase LED headlights, you need to remain cognizant and considerate of your fellow motorists, and install them with the correct adjustment toward the road.

Vehicle Compatibility

While many LED headlights are plug-and-play, you must first determine the correct bulb type for your vehicle. You can usually find this information through a simple online search, trusted retail websites like Advance Auto Parts, or your vehicle's owner's manual.

However, in the aftermarket world there are additional compatibility considerations, particularly with makes and models that have dust covers:

• Before purchasing an LED headlight, assess your headlight assembly. If your assembly has a dust cover, check the clearance inside the dust cover, ensuring the heat sink or fan body is short enough to fit into the space.

• If your housing is off-center, you may want to consider a model with a slimmer fan body or heat sinks.

• You'll want to purchase an LED bulb similar in length to your original bulb. Otherwise, it may not fit in the housing.

Beam Pattern

LED headlights will emit different beam patterns depending on a few factors, such as headlamp assembly type (projector or reflector) and correct adjustments. Generally, it is recommended that the LED chips are pointed at nine and three to achieve optimum light distribution.

Installation

Most LED headlight bulbs are plug-and-play, but some headlights require hard-wiring. If you have reservations about electrical wiring, we recommend searching for easy-to-install headlights.

Color Temperature

This isn't the brightness of the bulb but the color. Color temperature is referred to by a "K" rating, as in Kelvin. The higher the Kelvin rating, the bluer and "cooler" the light. The lower the Kelvin rating, the "warmer" the color appears. The highest Kelvin rating you can get in bright white before it starts turning blue is 6000K.

Cooling Mechanism

Make sure your LED lights have built-in fans or heat sinks. Otherwise, they're at risk of overheating—and you've just lost your money.

Flickering

It is not uncommon for people to experience flickering with their LED headlights. This is because the Controller Area Network, or CAN bus, which measures the resistance in the electrical circuit, detects a different voltage with the new LED bulbs. If this is the case, you must install either a capacitor or resistor so the CAN bus reads the circuit correctly and the headlight ceases to flicker.

How We Evaluated LED Headlights

We wanted to be as objective as possible, so we chose to test LED headlight bulbs rated at or near 6000K from a variety of popular brands. To test these bulbs fairly through the same lens, we parked a 2004 Toyota Corolla in a dark parking lot, installed each LED headlight, and assessed the following parameters:

• Installation

• Light intensity (using a lux meter)

• Beam pattern

Here are the physical distance markers in the comparison photos below:

• 5 feet: beginning of tape measure

• 15 feet: end of tape measure

• 25 feet: shoe

• 50 feet: closest tester

• 100 feet: farthest tester

Ready to shop for LED headlight bulbs for your car or truck? Here are the results of our LED headlight test.

Stock Halogen Low-Beam

For a visual baseline, here is a view of the light distribution from the stock halogen low-beam headlight on our 2004 Toyota Corolla.

Stock Halogen High-Beam

For comparison, here's the light distribution from the stock halogen high-beam on our Corolla.

Sylvania

When it comes to headlights, few names are as widely recognized as Sylvania. Like the brand's halogen counterparts, Sylvania's LED headlights performed at the range you'd expect from a renowned brand. The lux readings landed squarely in the middle compared to the other units we tested, and the lights showed a brilliant white color. The beam pattern displayed a seamless and sharp quality, with a well-concentrated distribution and no noticeable dark spots.

A noteworthy aspect of Sylvania is its widespread availability; you can find its products at nearly every major automotive retailer and even at Amazon and Walmart. This is helpful for folks seeking precise or unusual dimensions to fit a specific headlight housing.

Ultimately, we felt that the Sylvania hit the balance with performance, color intensity, and ease of installation, so we named it our top pick.

Sylvania Low-Beam

Sylvania High-Beam

Fahren

If you're searching for raw, powerful LED headlights that provide unparalleled illumination to the forward path, Fahren has you covered.

In terms of installation, we found these, like most all the LED bulbs we tested, straightforward to install and easy to adjust with the set screw.

However, in our test we found these headlights push the boundaries of being too intense. Seriously, these bulbs can be blinding—but with the correct adjustments, you can take advantage of their outstanding luminescence without burning the corneas of oncoming motorists.

In the end, we know the Fahren is designed to excel as an LED headlight, but they do so with such effectiveness it's almost a double-edged sword. We recommend these headlights as long as this word of caution is heeded: Ensure you've adjusted the beams correctly, and never drive facing oncoming traffic with your brights on.

Fahren Low-Beam