Sponsored

Are LED headlights worth $900?

Armycop

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jay
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Threads
13
Messages
616
Reaction score
522
Location
Yelm, WA
Vehicle(s)
2012 JK Wrangler, 2010 Camaro SS, 2017 Passat R-Line
Careful basing your decisions on responses to a post like this one. Simple psychology says you’ll mostly draw responses from folks defending their decision to spend $900 extra. You’ll get at least 2 out of 3 responses saying to order them when a much smaller fraction of JL buyers actually are. You could have asked about any other option, and the same thing will happen- it makes no difference which one.

No you don’t need them. Buy them if you want them. It’s a simple as that.
x2... My advice is to go to the biggest Jeep dealer near you that has both LED equipped JLs and standard ones. Go at night. Drive therm and make a decision based off fact not the opinion of biased people. Make your own decision. The internet is full of "experts" who will tell you whatever they own is the best. Go see it for yourself, for me $900 is a lot of money and I want proof of why I'm spending that much.
Sponsored

 

PutnamJeep

Member
First Name
Pete
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Threads
0
Messages
15
Reaction score
19
Location
Putnam, CT
Website
www.putnamchrysler.com
Vehicle(s)
Wrangler
Occupation
Sales
I'm a huge advocate of LED/HID Headlights. Years ago when I was into Modding vehicles, I would make HID Retrofits. Partly because I love the look and more so the ability to see on a rainy night. With Halogen, it would be incredibly difficult for me to see. Now that there are more LED headlights out there from Factory, that's the way to go. Well worth the short money for the viability.
 

Torero

Well-Known Member
First Name
J. Diego
Joined
Apr 21, 2018
Threads
24
Messages
831
Reaction score
817
Location
Illinois
Vehicle(s)
JL Rubicon, FJ Cruiser, BMW Z3, F650,GL63 AMG, STI
This is tricky question. There are two parts to it. Are the LEDs worth $900? I would say it’s fair price. Are LEDs worth to YOU? Is a different question. If you don’t buy them with the idea that you’ll be buying an aftermarket kit to fit LEDs in your Jeep, then yes, you are better spending the $900 upfront.
But if you are ok with halogens, then you better hold to your money.
 

Poseidon

Well-Known Member
First Name
Eric
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Threads
14
Messages
335
Reaction score
511
Location
New York
Vehicle(s)
2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport JL
The LED package, in my opinion, is definitely worth it. While $900 is a lot of money, aftermarket headlight options can be quite expensive, too. Check out the cost of JW Speaker or any other major headlight products, and you'll see that even the aftermarket stuff is expensive. Plus, the LED package offers a full set of LED's, not just the headlights. They're the first Jeep Wrangler headlights, on any Jeep I've owned, that actually light up the road. Good luck with your decision!
This was so helpful buddy. I think I’ll just wait till there in stock again and get the factory LED Lights :)
 

WXman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2017
Threads
61
Messages
2,855
Reaction score
3,076
Location
Central Kentucky
Vehicle(s)
2018 Wrangler Unlimited
Occupation
Meteorology and Transportation
Hi Everyone, long time reader first time poster. I’m in the process of ordering my 2019 Rubi (through Craig at Koons) and I’m wanted to get the collective opinion of the forum on two options. wondering if the LED headlights are really worth the extra $900. Won’t some kind of LED aftermarket lights be available forb1/5th the cost?

Also is the hardtop headliner worth it? I had a 97 Sahara back in the day and it didn’t seem that noisy with the hardtop.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks-mike
As others have mentioned, the LED package is a decent deal because ALL the lights are LED. If it was headlights only, then it would be a terrible rip-off because you can retrofit halogen housings with LED bulbs for $150 and outperform the factory LED headlights. This has been documented on the forum as well as on YouTube tests.

The headliner is neat but on the JL it seems like most of the wind noise comes from the seal at the windshield and the headliner can't do anything about that.
 

Sponsored

Kevman

Well-Known Member
First Name
Kevin
Joined
Dec 10, 2017
Threads
1
Messages
107
Reaction score
82
Location
Dallas TX
Vehicle(s)
2018 JL Wrangler Sahara Granite Crystal, Audi A5
I have the LED and no cold weather package, but I'm down in Texas where you don't need heated seats for 10 months of the year. You're up in PA, so you might want to think twice about keeping the cold weather over the LED. Are you doing cloth or leather? If you do leather, then my opinion is to take the cold weather over the LED.
 

Goin2drt

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2017
Threads
48
Messages
2,572
Reaction score
3,198
Location
Kentucky
Vehicle(s)
18 Rubicon, 17 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk
CYou’ll get at least 2 out of 3 responses saying to order them when a much smaller fraction of JL buyers actually are.
Can you please provide this data. I would love to know the % of Wrangler orders that got the LED option (and other options) for that matter break down.
 

DanW

Well-Known Member
First Name
Dan
Joined
Mar 2, 2017
Threads
159
Messages
8,404
Reaction score
11,073
Location
Indiana
Vehicle(s)
21 JLUR, 18JLUR, 08JKUR, 15 Renegade, 04 WJ
Vehicle Showcase
2
Hi Everyone, long time reader first time poster. I’m in the process of ordering my 2019 Rubi (through Craig at Koons) and I’m wanted to get the collective opinion of the forum on two options. wondering if the LED headlights are really worth the extra $900. Won’t some kind of LED aftermarket lights be available forb1/5th the cost?

Also is the hardtop headliner worth it? I had a 97 Sahara back in the day and it didn’t seem that noisy with the hardtop.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks-mike
Absolutely 100% YES, they are worth it, in my opinion. I put a small light bar (spot beam) on the bumper to throw some extra light out at a distance, and it is barely noticeable because the LED headlights are so good. I'm probably going to remove that little light bar.

If I had to choose between the two, I'd keep the LED's and lose the cold weather package. Heated seats are nice, but with cloth and the blast furnace heater Jeeps have, they aren't necessary. The heated steering wheel gets super hot, so I hardly use it. I never use the engine block heater. Especially not with 0w20 oil in the engine. It would start in Eagle, Alaska, with that stuff.
 

Goin2drt

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2017
Threads
48
Messages
2,572
Reaction score
3,198
Location
Kentucky
Vehicle(s)
18 Rubicon, 17 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk
If it was headlights only, then it would be a terrible rip-off because you can retrofit halogen housings with LED bulbs for $150 and outperform the factory LED headlights. This has been documented on the forum as well as on YouTube tests.
Where would I find this? I have seen LED bulbs put in halogen housing and sure they may be brighter but they are also not functional for non off road use and the housings are not conducive of the LED or HID beam and the projection housing it takes to be effective. I would love to get educated on this as an option.
 

Wanderingwheelz

Well-Known Member
First Name
Daniel
Joined
Jul 28, 2018
Threads
14
Messages
527
Reaction score
567
Location
Delaware
Vehicle(s)
2018 JL Sport
Can you please provide this data. I would love to know the % of Wrangler orders that got the LED option (and other options) for that matter break down.
I was proceeding on the fact that the LED option isn’t available on the Sport models at all. I don’t have any hard data in what the percentage of Wranglers that roll of the assembly line with LEDs is, but with 0 Sports having them I was figuring it’s on the lower side of 0-100%.

I was simply trying to use my common sense :). That’s not to say I’m not wrong.
 

Sponsored

DanW

Well-Known Member
First Name
Dan
Joined
Mar 2, 2017
Threads
159
Messages
8,404
Reaction score
11,073
Location
Indiana
Vehicle(s)
21 JLUR, 18JLUR, 08JKUR, 15 Renegade, 04 WJ
Vehicle Showcase
2
Careful basing your decisions on responses to a post like this one. Simple psychology says you’ll mostly draw responses from folks defending their decision to spend $900 extra. You’ll get at least 2 out of 3 responses saying to order them when a much smaller fraction of JL buyers actually are. You could have asked about any other option, and the same thing will happen- it makes no difference which one.

No you don’t need them. Buy them if you want them. It’s a simple as that.
Big deal. He asked for opinions. I think he knows what an opinion is.
 

Goin2drt

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2017
Threads
48
Messages
2,572
Reaction score
3,198
Location
Kentucky
Vehicle(s)
18 Rubicon, 17 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk
I was proceeding on the fact that the LED option isn’t available on the Sport models at all. I don’t have any hard data in what the percentage of Wranglers that roll of the assembly line with LEDs is, but with 0 Sports having them I was figuring it’s on the lower side of 0-100%.

I was simply trying to use my common sense :). That’s not to say I’m not wrong.
Cool. I thought there might be some data. I know when I had a GT500 they would provide at the end of the production run a spreadsheet with basically every car with all the options and colors so you could see the %.
 

Wanderingwheelz

Well-Known Member
First Name
Daniel
Joined
Jul 28, 2018
Threads
14
Messages
527
Reaction score
567
Location
Delaware
Vehicle(s)
2018 JL Sport
Big deal. He asked for opinions. I think he knows what an opinion is.
I was only giving my opinion. Same as you and everyone else.

Just because you might not have agreed with my opinion, doesn’t make it invalid. Would I have ordered LEDs if I was given the choice on my Sport? No.
 

Iwant2poop

Well-Known Member
First Name
Abe
Joined
Apr 12, 2018
Threads
0
Messages
86
Reaction score
105
Location
Laredo, TX
Vehicle(s)
2014 Wrangler Sport, 2002 Grand Cherokee (Sold)
Where would I find this? I have seen LED bulbs put in halogen housing and sure they may be brighter but they are also not functional for non off road use and the housings are not conducive of the LED or HID beam and the projection housing it takes to be effective. I would love to get educated on this as an option.
The keyword is retrofit. What you're describing is when people just buy LED or HID bulbs and pop them into the stock halogen to "upgrade" their lighting. People see that they're brighter and attribute that to automatically being able to see better. This usually brings about a slew of problems that people either don't notice or just ignore, such as hotspots, bleeding, poor distance projection, blinding oncoming traffic, etc just to name a few.

But it's cheaper and easier compared to the proper alternatives which are buying an actual proper housing or retrofitting a stock halogen housing to safely project LED/HID lighting.

If you want to become educated on the matter I suggest taking a stroll over to The Retrofit Source. Pretty knowledgeable place on the matter.
Sponsored

 
 



Top