Bryan Irons
The quick install and great results will appease any wheeler.
Words by Bryan Irons
After 10-plus years and almost 300,000 km (186, 411 mi) of running the family patriarch’s 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee, I was getting a few family complaints (i.e. from my dad) that the headlights were leaving a lot to be desired. Sure, maybe the old man’s eyes are not what they used to be, but the stock halogen bulbs tend to lose their wattage output over time. For now, we’ll blame the lights.
After some scouring, we came across the Phillips X-TremeUltinon LED replacement bulbs for both high and low beams (9005XUX2 and 9006XUX2) from an online retailer for about $140 CAD per set. Not exactly cheap, but we expect more from Phillips than the low-grade offshore garbage we typically get pinching pennies. We also grabbed a set of CANbus communication modules (18956C2) to avoid any flickering or other errors with the dash lights. Although they are not completely necessary, we wanted to keep the number of family complaints to a minimum.
Bryan Irons
We were pleasantly surprised with the super-sharp vertical cut-off of the lamp.
A few days of thumb twiddling later, we were the proud recipients of the aforementioned lamps. The power regulators are nice and small with quick connectors for easy installation. Our particular units require fans for cooling LED bulbs as there are areas with little air movement. Heat is a major killer of LED lamps and these fans plug right into the power regulators. The whole setup simply plugs into the factory lamp ends, even the CANbus modules, eliminating the need for any cutting or splicing of wires.
After the 10-minute install on the old Jeep, we were pleasantly surprised with the super-sharp horizontal cut-off of the lamp, which was not nearly as apparent with the halogens. Of course, this was the low beams as the high beams spread light evenly and threw it a distance in front of the vehicle not seen in the past. Although the light was much whiter (they are rated at 6000 K) the spectrum of light was quite wide making objects of all different colours in front of the vehicle light up. No dark spots were apparent and to this day, we have yet to get flashed from an oncoming driver.
So, are we happy? Well, the family complaint box is suspiciously empty and the male head of the Irons clan is very comfortable night driving whenever he gets the chance. Sounds like a “win” all around. Whether used for commercial or home applications, Phillips has never let us down and again, we have a winner. Don’t consider the X-TremeUltinon lamps as a replacement bulb. They are certainly an upgrade over stock lamps and will safely lead the way in the dark.
Bryan Irons