[SmashD]

Hey all,

I know LED's are the current "standard" for angel eye bulbs, but for those who are like me and don't want to spend $100+ on LED bulbs I thought I'd share my recent experience with GP Thunder H8's. GP Thunders have been around for a long time now so this is NOT a review on the product. Rather, I'd like to share my recent experience with GP Thunder H8 bulbs "V1" and the bulbs referred to as GP Thunder "V2". Also, I should say that I not affiliated with GP Thunder in any way, shape, or form. Nor have I ever received any products from them for free for the purpose of review or personal use.

So the other day I bought some GP thunder V1's and some "V2's" from Amazon. After doing some research online I decided to return the V1's since I read that they were just the older outdated bulbs and that the V2's were the newer upgraded version. A few days after I shipped the return out, I got a call from am actual representative from GP Thunder to discuss why I decided to return the bulbs. We had a long and interesting conversation about the "V2" bulbs and their origin. What I come to find out was that GP Thunder has never manufactured a V2 bulb and that the creators of the "V2" bulb we see today are illegally using the GP Thunder name to promote their own product. The original GP Thunder made a name for themselves years ago because they put out the V1's which were a low-cost and attractive alternative to the stock H8's. GP Thunder still sells that same bulb today with the original packaging and manufactured in Korea. The "V2" packaging is different, it has a darker label with a white car on it and is manufactured in China. Unfortunately for me, these knock-off GP Thunders are the bulbs that are on my car today since I unknowingly returned the V1's. I will say however since I previously used the real GP Thunder bulbs I know how they compare in terms of looks to the "V2" bulbs I have on today. In my opinion, the V2 bulbs are actually purple-looking in color and less-bright compared to the crisp white look of the V1's that I had on my car prior. Your experience may be different.

I apologize if this topic has already been discussed here on the forums. I didn't see any reference to this in any of the threads so I decided to share in case anyone here is like me and avoids supporting businesses that profit from deception. The truth is however, regardless if their the "real" GP Thunder or not people will tend to buy whatever looks better. As a business consultant myself though, I like to support people and businesses that work hard to earn a solid reputation with their customers which is why I decided to share. Anyway, thanks for reading and good luck in your search for the perfect bulb!

[goblue30093]

Thanks for the write up. Do you have pictures of each?

[1QuikWS6]

Which now makes sense - waaaay back when I was trying non LED AE alternatives I used both V1 & V2, never saw any difference between the two so wondered what the V2 was all about.

Actually, the GP Thunders don't even come close to comparing to quality LED versions (but you already know that).

They really aren't any brighter noticeably from the OEM bulbs - basically only thing they do is offer color change...

[SmashD]

Originally Posted by goblue30093

Thanks for the write up. Do you have pictures of each?

I don't have the GPThunder V1's anymore because I sent them back to Amazon unfortunately. I did this because I thought the V2's were from the same company only newer.

I'm ordering a set of GP Thunder LED's tomorrow though and will post a comparison pic between that and the "GPThunder V2" which are currently on my car. The set I'm ordering are the V8 LED's from HID lights USA dot com and are a total of 120w I think so they should be a huge difference. Also FYI, the LED's made by GP Thunder are under the brand name GP Xtreme.

I'll probably do a full review on them when I get them and will post the link in this thread.

[SmashD]

Originally Posted by 1QuikWS6

Which now makes sense - waaaay back when I was trying non LED AE alternatives I used both V1 & V2, never saw any difference between the two so wondered what the V2 was all about.

Actually, the GP Thunders don't even come close to comparing to quality LED versions (but you already know that).

They really aren't any brighter noticeably from the OEM bulbs - basically only thing they do is offer color change...

That's very true. Yeah After running the V2's for a week or so now I made the decision to go LED. The V2's IMO were actually less bright than OEM bulbs. I'm ordering the LED's tomorrow I'm just not looking forward to the install!

[SIR008]

Thanks for the write up! Would you suggest the LED GP Xtreme for my Angel eye? Where did you buy it!

Originally Posted by SmashD

I don't have the GPThunder V1's anymore because I sent them back to Amazon unfortunately. I did this because I thought the V2's were from the same company only newer.

I'm ordering a set of GP Thunder LED's tomorrow though and will post a comparison pic between that and the "GPThunder V2" which are currently on my car. The set I'm ordering are the V8 LED's from HID lights USA dot com and are a total of 120w I think so they should be a huge difference. Also FYI, the LED's made by GP Thunder are under the brand name GP Xtreme.

I'll probably do a full review on them when I get them and will post the link in this thread.

[jskin1510]

After reading this I think I might have the "v2's". I got them on Amazon and I think the seller's name was GPthunder. they were like $42 or something. they look actually look pretty good at night and cloudy days and definitely a clean white light vs. the stock color. However on a sunny day they definitely aren't all the bright.

I also recently saw something about maybe the power isn't 100% all the time and they may "dim" or have decreased power when it's really bright (I guess similar to a cell phone's auto brightness feature) I think I saw someones post saying something about having their car coded for Angel eyes to be 100% all the time?

I do know my angel eyes fade on and off when Lock/unlock the car. I figured maybe they actually change power out put and that's partially why they look pretty bright at night and pretty dim on Sunny days? I don't know.