Another Headlight Thread... LEDs!
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Could you post some output shots like this please?
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Originally Posted by kschachn
One can also try and position your outside rear mirrors to reflect the nonsense back to the idiot behind you.
How? Is there any write up on this? I have been trying to figure this thing out as there is absolutely no shortage of LEDs in Halogen housing in my neighborhood and just drives me NUTS, esp when sitting in Sentra.
Originally Posted by Brigadier
Nope. Even factory LEDs in Acuras and Hondas are blinding to oncoming drivers.
Totally, have many MDX around me. Add new Corolla and F-150/250 as well.
One can also try and position your outside rear mirrors to reflect the nonsense back to the idiot behind you.
How? Is there any write up on this? I have been trying to figure this thing out as there is absolutely no shortage of LEDs in Halogen housing in my neighborhood and just drives me NUTS, esp when sitting in Sentra.
Originally Posted by Brigadier
Nope. Even factory LEDs in Acuras and Hondas are blinding to oncoming drivers.
Totally, have many MDX around me. Add new Corolla and F-150/250 as well.
Very Good!
I am happy for you and that you got what you paid for. Often, it's the cost per/end result, isn't it?
I assume that your's were at a price that was right for you with a good end result, which is not often the case.
Many folks are disappointed after they've spent e.g., ~$300 and didn't feel that they've gotten their monies worth.
I'm not for or against upgrading lighting on vehicles as long as you get what you pay for and you can see better & sleep better at night knowing that you've done well.
Congrats & Merry Christmas,
CB
I am happy for you and that you got what you paid for. Often, it's the cost per/end result, isn't it?
I assume that your's were at a price that was right for you with a good end result, which is not often the case.
Many folks are disappointed after they've spent e.g., ~$300 and didn't feel that they've gotten their monies worth.
I'm not for or against upgrading lighting on vehicles as long as you get what you pay for and you can see better & sleep better at night knowing that you've done well.
Congrats & Merry Christmas,
CB
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Originally Posted by Skippy722
Could you post some output shots like this please?
Those wall shots are only useful for determining if something is grossly wrong with the headlamp output (for example, bulbs not seated correctly which wrecks the beam pattern), but not very useful for determining how good the output will be when actually driving on the road.
Normal cameras don't have enough dynamic range to capture light output accurately. You can take snapshots of two different bulbs in the same headlamp assembly shining on a garage door with the camera locked to the same manual settings and they might look very similar or even identical, but perform differently on the road.
Could you post some output shots like this please?
Those wall shots are only useful for determining if something is grossly wrong with the headlamp output (for example, bulbs not seated correctly which wrecks the beam pattern), but not very useful for determining how good the output will be when actually driving on the road.
Normal cameras don't have enough dynamic range to capture light output accurately. You can take snapshots of two different bulbs in the same headlamp assembly shining on a garage door with the camera locked to the same manual settings and they might look very similar or even identical, but perform differently on the road.
So I'm frying a turkey and that's on autopilot so I took some beam shots. They were on auto-exposure but coincidentally the same exposure. Set the camera for -1.3 EV so it'd come out better. Changed one bulb back to the stupid lousy LED that came with the car. I had tried adjusting it down... waaaay down... but the top cutoff was just too fuzzy.
So the pics are (not in this order) of two low beam incandescents, one low beam of each type, one high beam of each type, and what the LED module looks like.
And for fairness I did double check that all bulbs involved were properly seated.
So the pics are (not in this order) of two low beam incandescents, one low beam of each type, one high beam of each type, and what the LED module looks like.
And for fairness I did double check that all bulbs involved were properly seated.
Originally Posted by jeff78
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Could you post some output shots like this please?
Those wall shots are only useful for determining if something is grossly wrong with the headlamp output (for example, bulbs not seated correctly which wrecks the beam pattern), but not very useful for determining how good the output will be when actually driving on the road.
Normal cameras don't have enough dynamic range to capture light output accurately. You can take snapshots of two different bulbs in the same headlamp assembly shining on a garage door with the camera locked to the same manual settings and they might look very similar or even identical, but perform differently on the road.
They can give a pretty good idea though. As he posted, you can clearly see a big blob of light for the led that is useless on high beam and a ton of glare on low beam vs the wider, more even with a far far sharper cutoff on the halogen.
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Could you post some output shots like this please?
Those wall shots are only useful for determining if something is grossly wrong with the headlamp output (for example, bulbs not seated correctly which wrecks the beam pattern), but not very useful for determining how good the output will be when actually driving on the road.
Normal cameras don't have enough dynamic range to capture light output accurately. You can take snapshots of two different bulbs in the same headlamp assembly shining on a garage door with the camera locked to the same manual settings and they might look very similar or even identical, but perform differently on the road.
They can give a pretty good idea though. As he posted, you can clearly see a big blob of light for the led that is useless on high beam and a ton of glare on low beam vs the wider, more even with a far far sharper cutoff on the halogen.
In my area for every improper LED upgrade I see at least 5 Jeep Wrangle with blinding OE lights -the worst. Or ford trucks with their high mounted lights blinding all sedans.
Another face of the problem is older&weaker vs newer&brighter lights design
My wife's car is one example - 9004 at 700 lumens. Most halogens are 2x that and HIDs are 4x that:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/bulb_types/bulb_types.html
You can imagine that on narrow dark road with heavy oncoming traffic using also there fogs AND a SUV/pickup tailgater flooding your mirrors and interior with light - good luck seeing your lane at all.
Luckily my wife can choose a well lit divided multi-lane road and get home safe at night.
Two thumbs up for the OP finding good solution for himself!
Another face of the problem is older&weaker vs newer&brighter lights design
My wife's car is one example - 9004 at 700 lumens. Most halogens are 2x that and HIDs are 4x that:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/bulb_types/bulb_types.html
You can imagine that on narrow dark road with heavy oncoming traffic using also there fogs AND a SUV/pickup tailgater flooding your mirrors and interior with light - good luck seeing your lane at all.
Luckily my wife can choose a well lit divided multi-lane road and get home safe at night.
Two thumbs up for the OP finding good solution for himself!
ETCG headlight videos from Eric The Car Guy:
Video #1 initial test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ck2Lsfn9fw
Video#2 update test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wvpBZCot0s
Video #1 initial test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ck2Lsfn9fw
Video#2 update test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wvpBZCot0s
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
This! They drive me insane for the same reasons.
The real test is how well you can see road markings, read road signs, or discern a pedestrian or debris at a distance. Collision analysts have been checking this sort of thing for decades, and most of the aftermarket or gimmicky devices fall short in those things we actually need to be able to see. Old school halogen sealed beams still do the trick, and often much better than cheap aftermarket gimmicks.
There was a time when aftermarket headlight producers took pride.
This! They drive me insane for the same reasons.
The real test is how well you can see road markings, read road signs, or discern a pedestrian or debris at a distance. Collision analysts have been checking this sort of thing for decades, and most of the aftermarket or gimmicky devices fall short in those things we actually need to be able to see. Old school halogen sealed beams still do the trick, and often much better than cheap aftermarket gimmicks.
There was a time when aftermarket headlight producers took pride.
those pics above are plain awful for the LEDs the second one of them doesn't show well for the halogens either. The 4th one becomes more uniform but what's the big difference between left and right? The left side looks very choked, like the light isn't getting out. And is the car pointing slightly uphill to the garage door? focal point may be a couple of degrees off the ground if the drive is perfectly level. At least the halogens get the bulk of the light in a focal point near the horizon, but the bleed above and uneven distribution could be improved. But they clearly get a lot more light out, and a much better color temp, with more focus.
Originally Posted by blupupher
Originally Posted by kschachn
I'm at the point I'd like to take a hammer to anyone's headlights where they have installed aftermarket LEDs.
They are not an upgrade to the other drivers in the road whether you have aimed them properly or not as far as I can tell. If yours aren't like everyone else's then you're the only one I've ever seen that isn't.
Usually it is some young dood in a bro truck but not always.
Can I borrow your hammer when done?
They ALL glare.
I flash 10-20 cars even on 10 minute drives for their crappy blinding PnP HID/LED garbage, and I am in a full size truck. It is even worse in my wifes Scion.
I want to get a huge spotlight and mount it on my roof to blind the crap back at the drivers that do this. Or just crash into them because they blinded me.
Oh, and BTW, you light is worse, not better. All these lights give more foreground lighting, which makes you think you have more light, but your distance lighting is now worse than before. Go buy a light meter and compare, you will have less light at 100 feet now than before.
Sounds like you need a G5-EXL retrofit to blind everyone back as you flash.
Originally Posted by kschachn
I'm at the point I'd like to take a hammer to anyone's headlights where they have installed aftermarket LEDs.
They are not an upgrade to the other drivers in the road whether you have aimed them properly or not as far as I can tell. If yours aren't like everyone else's then you're the only one I've ever seen that isn't.
Usually it is some young dood in a bro truck but not always.
Can I borrow your hammer when done?
They ALL glare.
I flash 10-20 cars even on 10 minute drives for their crappy blinding PnP HID/LED garbage, and I am in a full size truck. It is even worse in my wifes Scion.
I want to get a huge spotlight and mount it on my roof to blind the crap back at the drivers that do this. Or just crash into them because they blinded me.
Oh, and BTW, you light is worse, not better. All these lights give more foreground lighting, which makes you think you have more light, but your distance lighting is now worse than before. Go buy a light meter and compare, you will have less light at 100 feet now than before.
Sounds like you need a G5-EXL retrofit to blind everyone back as you flash.
Originally Posted by DzoG20
In my area for every improper LED upgrade I see at least 5 Jeep Wrangle with blinding OE lights -the worst. Or ford trucks with their high mounted lights blinding all sedans.
Another face of the problem is older&weaker vs newer&brighter lights design
My wife's car is one example - 9004 at 700 lumens. Most halogens are 2x that and HIDs are 4x that:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/bulb_types/bulb_types.html
You can imagine that on narrow dark road with heavy oncoming traffic using also there fogs AND a SUV/pickup tailgater flooding your mirrors and interior with light - good luck seeing your lane at all.
Luckily my wife can choose a well lit divided multi-lane road and get home safe at night.
Two thumbs up for the OP finding good solution for himself!
Wranglers are one of the worst offenders for improper height adjustment, they constantly leave the factory with the headlights aimed too high.
In my area for every improper LED upgrade I see at least 5 Jeep Wrangle with blinding OE lights -the worst. Or ford trucks with their high mounted lights blinding all sedans.
Another face of the problem is older&weaker vs newer&brighter lights design
My wife's car is one example - 9004 at 700 lumens. Most halogens are 2x that and HIDs are 4x that:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/bulb_types/bulb_types.html
You can imagine that on narrow dark road with heavy oncoming traffic using also there fogs AND a SUV/pickup tailgater flooding your mirrors and interior with light - good luck seeing your lane at all.
Luckily my wife can choose a well lit divided multi-lane road and get home safe at night.
Two thumbs up for the OP finding good solution for himself!
Wranglers are one of the worst offenders for improper height adjustment, they constantly leave the factory with the headlights aimed too high.
I've noticed a lot of LED light that flicker on security cameras. It looks like the are switched on and off at some frequency close to the frame rate on the camera. All of the halo lights they are putting on everything now is getting annoying. Especially some like GM when the LED halo turns off whenever the turn signal is on.
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