2021 Kona EV (Preferred) conversion to LED (exterior and interior)

Good info! All the pieces are falling in place, still I am just wondering if all the hassle worth it? Maybe I am getting too old for crawling under the car for the rear lights. Still undecided.

Thoughts on headlight LEDs. There are many LED designs for replacing Halogen bulbs. Not surprisingly the issue is heat dissipation of these powerful LEDs. If they get cooked you have no heads - not good! Check out this video:


Beyond proper physical fit there the issue of "light beam spread" and the need to check/adjust headlight alignment after a new bulb is installed.

Just saying.

 

Here is more educational material one should check out before deciding on an LED bulb:

 

Let us know how it goes. The "make a fake bulb" with black felt pan idea is funny, hope it works - ask the Porsche guy As for the backup lights - I am with you 100%. No problem there.

I do have concerns about the heads.You don't want to blind anyone. Even if one gets the beam shape etc. right, there is the question of heat dissipation. I am sure the swap to LED can be done, but it is a tricky thing to do correctly.

Lars

 

Its pretty easy to manage with the stock projectors, you can easily lower the beam pattern if your annoying oncoming traffic.
These are my 55 watt 5K HIDs on the Kona, nice and bright with a good cut off pattern. I get no complaints.

 

Good test, good proof! But you have HIDs not LEDs.

And just to go off topic for a minute - man the snow! We had an unusually cool September so far in SW Ontario. We know "winter is coming" but not just yet. This should be still windsurfing time not snow boarding time.

 

I like this thread because we pretty much all have a common goal

that said, near my work there are cops on bicycles, so I asked one of them to ride behind the Kona at a distance of 10-15M and for me to use the flashers

He pretty much told me to change them ASAP.... blinding to the point that he literally had to blink a few seconds, did he exaggerate ? Maybe, but it was the identical reaction to my neighbor the porsche mechanic... both of these were in the daytime

In my case I'll order new bulbs for the front and rear flashers... won't adventure into covering any of the LEDs, if I have to get under there to take the **** out.... im changing it (LOL!)

as for the reverse LEDs, those as well I'm changing, (remember I said I'm pretty OCD about these things earlier in the thread lol)..... NAVGUY for me I noticed when I was reversing in a dark spot/area such as my parking, the LEDs are so bright that they create a blur on the reverse camera, which actually hinders visibility

honestly I'm tossing the idea to go back to the halogens but at the same time I got Philips LED bulbs on my wifes previous Nissan Juke and they were always just the right brightness. I actually got the Philiips for the Kona's license plate and they're perfect, blend in like it was the natural bulb.

The only reason I didn't get philips, I wanted to try these bulbs and the philips are more expensive

As for the headlights, I have the 45W LED installed (they arrived faster than the 55W) I adjusted them perfectly, but there are dark spots, no go (returning those, thank you Amazon!). The 55W arrived today but didn't have time to make the swap.

I have to admit, the heat is a small worry but I'll still install the 55W since I have them, just so we can get all this "testing" done even if we don't keep any of these bulbs on.... @apu how did you install the HIDs ? Don't those aftermarket kits come with a box and you need to drill into the cover to pass the wires and stuff ?

 

I was just wondering if it is better just re-installing back your original Halogen signal bulb? Although the halogen bulb may not be at the desired brightness, but at least it is expected to be more reliable than any aftermarket LED bulb.

 

I ordered the front,rear flashers and reverse lights LED Philips.....

Will update what I get from it, they'll only all be here next week. I started the return process with Amazon for the other ones, like I said just too bright in my mind. I'll also compare with the stock bulbs (at least for the front since it's easy) just to get an idea Philips LED vs Stock Halogen

Headlight 55W LED review to come tomorrow or friday night, because of that adapter it's an easy swap now, it takes more time fitting the box and original H7 bulb holder than swapping the actual bulb

 

My Kona just passed its Massachusetts safety inspection with a pair of LASFIT modules
in the low-beams, and the super-bright LED bulbs I put in the reverse lights (here's why).
Nary a whimper about non-spec lighting or inappropriate cutoff.

I did find that the LASFITs do need to be pulled back from the fully-seated position in the
adapters a mm or two, to optimize light output and beam shape. Basically the backs of the
fan housings are right up against the dust caps, and it bugs me that the modules are basically
held in place by O-ring friction. I really need to get that webpage worked up about them, I think
I've got enough pix to warrant it...

_H*

 

This is the model I’m getting for the Philips

I got these in the past and they were perfectly fine lights.....let’s not forget Philips as a brand can’t afford having LEDs that blind folks. So they definitely turn it down a notch.

I didn’t install the 55W led yet. Tomorrow night is my expected install. Was busy prepping for the electrician coming to install my FLO X5 charger tomorrow

 

I haven't noticed any issue with shaking despite my initial concerns. I had to adjust the beam down a lot more than 2 turns and still need a bit more. I loosened the three screws to install because the adapter fit was so tight that I was worried about damaging them. I may try the small axial position change hobbit used but overall I like the results.