I just installed a HID kit in them, and the difference is night and day. It’s not even comparable. It was a wider cast without bleeding over the cutoff and is subjectively twice as bright.

4300k (warm white) HID bulbs vs 6000k (cool blue) LED bulbs. I think that makes a big difference in addition to the lumens/output. It’s much easier to see with the less blue light.

In my opinion HID is still vastly superior, you just trade wiring/complexity/reliability for light output. Side benefit that I expect it to do a better job melting snow as well.

That being said, if I could find a comparable LED I’d love to switch. I greatly prefer set-and-forget to fiddle setups.

 

i have yet to find any stand alone led bulb that can compare to a good hid setup. that being said i have led headlights in my CJ7 but they are one piece units, i didn't just stick a bulb in them. they are quite amazing. unfortunately i installed them a couple years ago and can't recall the brand but it wouldn't mean much to us - they were only available in the standard 7" round sealed units.