Effectiveness of Car Headlights

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
More generally... I think good LED headlights should be standard on all cars, and halogens and HIDs shouldn't even be options.


+1. Make LED bulbs in a few standard sizes that are replaceable like halogens, and it's a great thing.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
More generally... I think good LED headlights should be standard on all cars, and halogens and HIDs shouldn't even be options.


Did you read what I posted earlier? The C class use to have halogens and Bi-Xenons an an option. But I believe the 2015 refresh converted all of them to LED as standard. Now they're saying the LED are the worst. Be careful what you wish for.

Yes. Did you read what I posted?

I said good LEDs. Good, as in not worse than halogens or HIDs.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
A supposed high performance sedan only illuminates less than half the distance of around 300 ft ?

Your thread almost needs to be taken as irrelevant when you selectively remove info??

I did not selectively remove any relevant info, I just underlined the info I think was importance, at least to me.

It is clearly unacceptable to have headlight illuminates only 130 feet, while good range is 300-350 feet.

Quote:
the 31 cars tested, the Toyota Prius was the only model to receive a good rating by the institute -- but only when the car was equipped with LED lights and high-beam assist (an added cost for the consumer). When the Prius was tested with regular halogen lights and without high-beam assist, it earned a poor rating.

The halogen lights on the BMW 3 series was ranked the worst among the 44 headlight systems that were tested. But another BMW 3 series that was equipped with a swivel LED system tested in the top third.

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
So the trend we're seeing is that all halogen lights suck. And this is news how? Toyota couldn't exactly get them right in the same geometry as their "wonderful" LED lights that took the top spot.

Yet Toyota sells low end appliances to the masses, who are more likely to want the cheapest options, while BMW offers halogens (in the US; euro lights are likely different) only for the lowest end loss leader lease cars, since their buyers generally want the higher end/higher performance stuff.

I'd find the Toyota's lousy performance for what would be the common and mainstream light is more of a disappointment than a low end, low number loss leader item.

If I was buying a BMW, I would expect all their equipment(engine, transmission, suspension, headlight ...) to perform as well or better than el-cheapo name such as Toyota or Honda ... The Honda S2000 with standard HID was better in illumination than HID option of BMW Z4, MB CLK350, Porsche Boxster, Audi TT ... in 2000 and many years later.

If a low cost Honda had very good HID headlight as standard, why luxury German brands charge more for a safety equipment ?

I don't which halogen bulb is used in BMW 3 series, my E430 uses H7 bulb and when properly aim it can shine up to 300 ft.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR

If I was buying a BMW, I would expect all their equipment(engine, transmission, suspension, headlight ...) to perform as well or better than el-cheapo name such as Toyota or Honda ... The Honda S2000 with standard HID was better in illumination than HID option of BMW Z4, MB CLK350, Porsche Boxster, Audi TT ... in 2000 and many years later.

If a low cost Honda had very good HID headlight as standard, why luxury German brands charge more for a safety equipment ?

I don't which halogen bulb is used in BMW 3 series, my E430 uses H7 bulb and when properly aim it can shine up to 300 ft.


The S2000 was hardly a "low cost" Honda and was the top of the heap option from that manufacturer. How were the lights on the Civic compared to the 3-series? Honda simply doesn't produce a car at the price point BMW can command, there's no reason to get all sour grapes over that. My M5 had absolutely FANTASTIC HID's before the adjusters went south (they followed the road, do the Honda ones? legit question, not a dig, I really don't know) and I'd argue better than the HID's on my SRT-8 (which are fixed position), though not by much. BMW can produce/spec a wonderful HID projector, which is important when your product can do 190Mph.

As JHZR2 aptly pointed out, you can cherry-pick data to construe this however you want but basically the halogens from BMW suck, the halogens from Toyota suck. When equipped with the better lights, they both score well. Not really a surprise.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
More generally... I think good LED headlights should be standard on all cars, and halogens and HIDs shouldn't even be options.


+1. Make LED bulbs in a few standard sizes that are replaceable like halogens, and it's a great thing.


I don't have an exact number for LED bulb life, but in theory they should last the life of the car. Most home LEDs last 25,000 hours and it wasn't uncommon to find them rated for 50-100,000 hours. I think the limiting factor on a car would probably be the electronics, not the LED. In contrast, HIDs can be about 3500 hours, maybe halogens around 1000-2000 hours. In theory the Ultrastars I have in my other car is only rated for 200 hours, but I don't drive at night that often so they're still going after 2 years.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
The S2000 was hardly a "low cost" Honda and was the top of the heap option from that manufacturer. How were the lights on the Civic compared to the 3-series? Honda simply doesn't produce a car at the price point BMW can command, there's no reason to get all sour grapes over that. My M5 had absolutely FANTASTIC HID's before the adjusters went south (they followed the road, do the Honda ones? legit question, not a dig, I really don't know) and I'd argue better than the HID's on my SRT-8 (which are fixed position), though not by much. BMW can produce/spec a wonderful HID projector, which is important when your product can do 190Mph.

Honda is a low cost manufacture company compares with BMW, Audi, MB and Porsche. Honda S2000 was cheaper than all its German competitors by several thousands, and it had HID as standard equipment not as extra cost option of German brands(BMW Z4, Audi TT, MB CLK350, Porsche Boxster).

BMW M5 HID was okay, but according to HIDplanet.com it wasn't as good as S2000. No OEM HID was as good as S2000 until Lexus LS460. You can have a quick reading at HIDplanet.com about HID, almost nobody cares for any BMW HID projector bowl, they all want S2000 and/or LS460 HID bowl.

No, S2000 doesn't have auto-leveling, so once in a while I got high beam when I drove up steep hill on mountain road. This is the flaw of Honda S2000 headlight, maybe the cost of implementing auto-leveling was too high so they ditched it.

One thing I like to emphasize: If I buy cheap car(such as Honda) I don't expect much but when I pay premium for a luxury performance car such as BMW, MB ... I expect everything is better than cheap Japanese brands. It is not acceptable that a standard halogen headlight in a Honda illuminates better then a halogen headlight in a BMW, according to IIHS test.

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
As JHZR2 aptly pointed out, you can cherry-pick data to construe this however you want but basically the halogens from BMW suck, the halogens from Toyota suck. When equipped with the better lights, they both score well. Not really a surprise.

According to IIHS test the only good headlight was Prius with optional LED. The BMW and MB headlight were either marginal or poor even with optional LED and/or HID.
Standard halogen headlight of Honda Accord(with lousy H11) was acceptable. I replaced H11 with H9 in my daughter 2014 Accord, it seems to be a little better.

Quote:
According to Matthew Brumbelow, senior research engineer at IIHS, for some models there could be a simple fix to get more visibility.

“Many headlight problems could be fixed with better aim. This is simple enough to adjust on many vehicles, but the burden shouldn’t fall on the consumer to figure out what the best aim is. Manufacturers need to pay attention to this issue to make sure headlights are aimed consistently and correctly at the factory.”

Otherwise, it might be difficult for customers.


Quote:
The study found that the price of the car and the type of light were not necessarily indicative of the level of headlight safety. For example, halogen headlights for the standard four-door Honda Accord were “acceptable,” but the LED or halogen lights for two pricier Mercedes-Benz models were “poor.”


Quote:
According to the study, the cars that received an “acceptable” rating are the Acura TLX, Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry, Lincoln MKZ, BMW 2-series, Audi A4, BMW 3-Series, Subaru Legacy, and Chrysler 200.

“Marginal” rating included the Acura TLX, Lincoln MKZ, BMW 2-series, Ford Fusion, BMW 3-Series, Subaru Legacy, Audi A4, Toyota Camry, and Chrysler 200.

“Poor” headlights: the Buick Verano, Kia Optima, Cadillac ATS, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Chevy Malibu, Mercedes-Benz CLA, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Altima, and Volkswagen Passat.



http://www.inquisitr.com/2944917/heres-the-only-car-to-have-good-headlights-in-new-study/

Watching this CBS video at 20-25 second in will make everyone [censored] off with the "Ultimate Driving Machine"

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/study-reveals-dim-spot-in-headlight-performance/

Correction: According to CBSNEWS.COM both BMW 2-series and BMW 3-series are rated lower at marginal, not acceptable.

 

[Gasbuggy]

I modify the plug end of high beam halogens to fit the low beam sockets, and fog lights too if possible. Been doing this for years and never received a flash or complaint from friends or family I followed somewhere.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Quote:
It’s worth noting that IIHS compared the headlights’ output not against other vehicles but against a “a hypothetical ideal headlight system,” the specifics of which IIHS hasn’t shared. But IIHS does say that its test evaluates how far away from a car the headlights provide 5 lux of illumination; for reference, the agency says a full moon on a cloudless night projects just 1 lux on the ground.


Quote:
In fact, 44 headlight systems were rated Poor—over half of the tested pool. Worst of all were the halogen lights on the BMW 3 Series, although adding LED curve-adaptive tech and high-beam assist bumps that rating up to Marginal.Research showed that more expensive cars fared no better than commodity cars, and in some cases as with the Honda Accord with standard halogens, they fared even better than say, a Cadillac ATS or Mercedes-Benz C-Class with advanced lighting packages.


How can anyone defend this lousy headlight performance of the supposed "Ultimate Driving Machine" and luxury brands such as Cadillac and MB ? Paying extra for the supposed "advanced lighting packages" and don't see the road better than a cheap Accord ! What a deal !

http://www.automobilemag.com/news/iihs-study-manufacturer-headlights-need-a-serious-overhaul/

 

[Cujet]

My little S2000 comes with some really effective headlights.

While I've not driven a car with LED headlights, I suspect properly engineered LED's are even better.

 

[HerrStig]

I have an "el cheapo" Camry with 350K on the original drive train.
Anyone who calls that kind of quality "el cheapo" is a brainless car snob. BTW I do own a BMW bike. It's far from perfect.

 

[surfstar]

Well, thanks to this thread, I remembered that I wasn't impressed with my OEM lights on the new Golf SW. So I ventured off into the interwebs last night... apparently Osram H7 Ralley 65w (not DOT legal) are the best upgrade.
I went with Philips Xtreme Vision, though, as they were $29 shipped from RockAuto and have a $15 rebate. The Osram were $36 and not really legal (says off road only on the package).

$14 is fine for my wallet. The $1k "lighting package" available on already pricier trims of VWs - no thanks. My eyes aren't that bad yet.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR


BMW M5 HID was okay, but according to HIDplanet.com it wasn't as good as S2000. No OEM HID was as good as S2000 until Lexus LS460. You can have a quick reading at HIDplanet.com about HID, almost nobody cares for any BMW HID projector bowl, they all want S2000 and/or LS460 HID bowl.


I'm just going by my eyes, not a rating from "HIDPlanet". I found them excellent, and by that metric, that's all that was important to me. The rest of the car completed the package. It was a fantastic vehicle.

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
No, S2000 doesn't have auto-leveling, so once in a while I got high beam when I drove up steep hill on mountain road. This is the flaw of Honda S2000 headlight, maybe the cost of implementing auto-leveling was too high so they ditched it.


I have the same issue in the SRT-8 and I'm guessing the same reasoning applies.



Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Quote:
According to the study, the cars that received an “acceptable” rating are the Acura TLX, Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry, Lincoln MKZ, BMW 2-series, Audi A4, BMW 3-Series, Subaru Legacy, and Chrysler 200.

“Marginal” rating included the Acura TLX, Lincoln MKZ, BMW 2-series, Ford Fusion, BMW 3-Series, Subaru Legacy, Audi A4, Toyota Camry, and Chrysler 200.

“Poor” headlights: the Buick Verano, Kia Optima, Cadillac ATS, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Chevy Malibu, Mercedes-Benz CLA, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Altima, and Volkswagen Passat.





Correction: According to CBSNEWS.COM both BMW 2-series and BMW 3-series are rated lower at marginal, not acceptable.


Let's just go directly to the source:

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnew...eed-improvement

Originally Posted By: IIHS

The Prius v earns a good rating when equipped with LED lights and high-beam assist. To get those headlights, consumers must purchase the advanced technology package, which is only available on the highest trim level. When equipped with regular halogen lights and without high-beam assist, the Prius v earns a poor rating.


Originally Posted By: IIHS
Among the 44 headlight systems earning a poor rating, the halogen lights on the BMW 3 series are the worst. A driver with those headlights would have to be going 35 mph or slower to stop in time for an obstacle in the travel lane. A better choice for the same car is an LED curve-adaptive system with high-beam assist, a combination that rates marginal.


Originally Posted By: IIHS

Curve-adaptive systems don't always lead to better ratings. The Cadillac ATS, Kia Optima and Mercedes-Benz C-Class all earn poor ratings even when equipped with adaptive low and high beams.


And I love this point, as it illustrates that even Honda's LED system isn't the greatest:
Originally Posted By: IIHS

One of the best headlight systems evaluated has none of the new technology. The basic halogen lights on the Honda Accord 4-door earn an acceptable rating, while an LED system with high-beam assist available on the Accord earns only a marginal.


Basically, my take away from the whole thing is this:

The only car that did well was the Prius with its optional premium lighting package.

"Acceptable" performance came from the higher tier Japanese marques such as Toyota's Luxury arm, Lexus, as well as Nissan's Luxury arm, Infiniti. Honda's luxury arm, Acura, didn't make the grade. For less expensive vehicles, the Mazda 6, Honda Accord, Nissan Maxima and Subaru Outback.

For the German cars the higher tier marque was a single entry from the VW family, Audi. For less expensive vehicles again VW was the only marque to represent with two separate entries earning the "Acceptable" rating.

Volvo was also on this list.

Coming up in the next category, wearing the "Marginal" rating we have a solid representation from the three main countries:
Japan: Honda's Luxury arm, Acura with the TLX, the Subaru Legacy and the uber popular Toyota Camry.
Germany: The Audi A4, not performing as well as the A3 did and from BMW both the 2 and 3-series
USA: Chrysler's 200, as well as Ford's Fusion and their Luxury arm Lincoln with the MKZ.

And then we have the bottom of the list, vehicles that, no matter how they were optioned, earned the "poor" rating:
Japan: Nissan Altima
Korea: The Hyundai Sonata and the Kia Optima
Germany: Mercedes, both the C-class and CLA, as well as an entry from VW, the Passat, showing that VW can cover the entire spectrum; run the gamut, LOL!
USA: All GM products. The Buick Verano, Cadillac ATS and Chevrolet Malibu.

There were no GM products or Hyundai/Kia products to achieve better than "poor" in this test.

 

[mclasser]

Luckily my cars have good headlights. Although they can't make up for a poor design, keeping your lights aimed and oxidation-free goes a long way in improving visibility.

Seems like car manufacturers need to stop caring so much about integrating Twitter into their cars and more about designing headlights that're actually worth a [censored].

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
One thing I like to emphasize: If I buy cheap car(such as Honda) I don't expect much but when I pay premium for a luxury performance car such as BMW, MB ... I expect everything is better than cheap Japanese brands. It is not acceptable that a standard halogen headlight in a Honda illuminates better then a halogen headlight in a BMW, according to IIHS test.


One thing to keep in mind is that they just did the Mercedes C class and CLA class, which is their low end line. I wonder how the upper end like the E or S class or any of the GL classes would have compared. HIDs on German cars tended to be expensive, they did auto level and they had headlamp washers. In the later years, they also had the active curve illumination. But in their cost cutting, they got rid of them and just went with LED so they just have the curve illumination, but not the headlamp washers.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Let's just go directly to the source:

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnew...eed-improvement


Originally Posted By: IIHS
The Prius v earns a good rating when equipped with LED lights and high-beam assist. To get those headlights, consumers must purchase the advanced technology package, which is only available on the highest trim level. When equipped with regular halogen lights and without high-beam assist, the Prius v earns a poor rating.


Originally Posted By: IIHS
Among the 44 headlight systems earning a poor rating, the halogen lights on the BMW 3 series are the worst. A driver with those headlights would have to be going 35 mph or slower to stop in time for an obstacle in the travel lane. A better choice for the same car is an LED curve-adaptive system with high-beam assist, a combination that rates marginal.


Originally Posted By: IIHS
Curve-adaptive systems don't always lead to better ratings. The Cadillac ATS, Kia Optima and Mercedes-Benz C-Class all earn poor ratings even when equipped with adaptive low and high beams.


And I love this point, as it illustrates that even Honda's LED system isn't the greatest:
Originally Posted By: IIHS
One of the best headlight systems evaluated has none of the new technology. The basic halogen lights on the Honda Accord 4-door earn an acceptable rating, while an LED system with high-beam assist available on the Accord earns only a marginal.

This is clearly telling you extra cost option doesn't always pay for itself, sometime cheaper is better regardless who designs/manufactures it. Don't buy whatever manufacture and/or marketing claims.


Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Basically, my take away from the whole thing is this:

The only car that did well was the Prius with its optional premium lighting package.

"Acceptable" performance came from the higher tier Japanese marques such as Toyota's Luxury arm, Lexus, as well as Nissan's Luxury arm, Infiniti. Honda's luxury arm, Acura, didn't make the grade. For less expensive vehicles, the Mazda 6, Honda Accord, Nissan Maxima and Subaru Outback.

For the German cars the higher tier marque was a single entry from the VW family, Audi. For less expensive vehicles again VW was the only marque to represent with two separate entries earning the "Acceptable" rating.

Volvo was also on this list.


Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Coming up in the next category, wearing the "Marginal" rating we have a solid representation from the three main countries:
Japan: Honda's Luxury arm, Acura with the TLX, the Subaru Legacy and the uber popular Toyota Camry.
Germany: The Audi A4, not performing as well as the A3 did and from BMW both the 2 and 3-series
USA: Chrysler's 200, as well as Ford's Fusion and their Luxury arm Lincoln with the MKZ.

And then we have the bottom of the list, vehicles that, no matter how they were optioned, earned the "poor" rating:
Japan: Nissan Altima, Korea: The Hyundai Sonata and the Kia Optima
Germany: Mercedes, both the C-class and CLA, as well as an entry from VW, the Passat, showing that VW can cover the entire spectrum; run the gamut, LOL!
USA: All GM products. The Buick Verano, Cadillac ATS and Chevrolet Malibu.

There were no GM products or Hyundai/Kia products to achieve better than "poor" in this test.

This is the key word for the rating: "Best available headlight system for each model"

BMW 2 and 3-series with best available headlight system(extra cost option) were rated Marginal, while Honda Accord with standard Halogen was rated Acceptable, this is clearly unacceptable. Extra cost option from a luxury brand still not as good as standard equipment of a low cost manufacture.

The worst headlight system was Mercedes, they were poor even with optional system.

What stand out is Halogen headlight of BMW 3-series is the worst of all headlight system of all cars. I expected the worst headlight from 1 of the low-end manufactures such as Honda, Mazda, Subaru ... not the German luxury brand.

Why is it so hard to design/engineer a good headlight system ?

The OEM light system of my 2000 E430 was and is very good for halogen bulb (H7). It is much brighter than H4 of LS400 and it is brighter than halogen H11 of 2014 Accord. Only when I installed Philips H9 in-place of H11 the Accord illuminate better than E430, without much more glare to opposing traffic.

Lesson learn from this study: You don't always get what you pay for, the extra cost doesn't always get you better result, it may looks good but it may not perform well.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: surfstar
Well, thanks to this thread, I remembered that I wasn't impressed with my OEM lights on the new Golf SW. So I ventured off into the interwebs last night... apparently Osram H7 Ralley 65w (not DOT legal) are the best upgrade.
I went with Philips Xtreme Vision, though, as they were $29 shipped from RockAuto and have a $15 rebate. The Osram were $36 and not really legal (says off road only on the package).

$14 is fine for my wallet. The $1k "lighting package" available on already pricier trims of VWs - no thanks. My eyes aren't that bad yet.

I did learn a good lesson from this study too. The more you spend doesn't always get you better result, sometime cheaper part(s) can get you exactly what you need.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR


This is the key word for the rating: "Best available headlight system for each model"

BMW 2 and 3-series with best available headlight system(extra cost option) were rated Marginal, while Honda Accord with standard Halogen was rated Acceptable, this is clearly unacceptable. Extra cost option from a luxury brand still not as good as standard equipment of a low cost manufacture.


You keep missing the boat. Yes, the BETTER headlights on the BMW, were, as they should be, BETTER. However on the Accord, the BETTER headlights were WORSE! So how do you think Mr. Accord driver is going to feel opting for the "superior" lighting that actually delivers POORER performance? That may actually be WORSE than the BMW halogens being junk, because few people buying a 3'er or a 2'er are going to opt for the stock halogens.

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The worst headlight system was Mercedes, they were poor even with optional system.


yes, they were junk across the board.

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
What stand out is Halogen headlight of BMW 3-series is the worst of all headlight system of all cars. I expected the worst headlight from 1 of the low-end manufactures such as Honda, Mazda, Subaru ... not the German luxury brand.


I expected the worst performance from Kia/Hyundai and they were on that list. I think BMW's "excuse" will be that few will opt for the halogen lights so they probably put very little effort into making them anything beyond DOT approved IMHO.

Also, you keep calling BMW a luxury brand and we've had this discussion before. The 2 and 3 series are not "luxury" cars. They are BMW's version of the Fusion or Accord and priced accordingly. BMW does not have separate marques for the types of vehicles they sell; there is no BMW version of Lexus, Audi, Infiniti, Acura, Lincoln, Cadillac.....etc. The differentiator is the series and whether the car caries the M-designation or not.

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Why is it so hard to design/engineer a good headlight system ?


Why not ask Honda? They managed to make the "improved" lighting on the Accord actually WORSE than the standard halogens

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The OEM light system of my 2000 E430 was and is very good for halogen bulb (H7). It is much brighter than H4 of LS400 and it is brighter than halogen H11 of 2014 Accord. Only when I installed Philips H9 in-place of H11 the Accord illuminate better than E430, without much more glare to opposing traffic.

Lesson learn from this study: You don't always get what you pay for, the extra cost doesn't always get you better result, it may looks good but it may not perform well.


And sometimes it does, as in the case of BMW where the higher priced lights were actually an improvement. I think the message is do your research before you buy and perhaps a night test drive is in order to evaluate lighting performance, because just "having LED's" or the premium lighting option does not necessarily mean they are good.

 

[wrcsixeight]

On the vehicles without self levelling lights, I wonder how well the lights were aimed on the vehicles from the factory.

Their whole testing method could probably be picked apart, but it is good that this has made the news and perhaps the nations laws regarding headlamps is amended to allow for better technology to be employed.

I'd like to see more awareness of offending glare from those who simply do LED or HID bulb drop ins into halogen reflectors and elevate themselves to extra important status, while blinding others.

The new Toyota Corrola LED headlammps seem nearly as blinding as some of the worst HID retrofits.

Glare vs driver visibility will always be at odds, but an effective balance can be achieved, but not by joeblo who clicks place order on products marked as 'offroad use only' and drives around blinding other drivers.

My lighting upgrade was making a relayed 12awg harness and getting voltages within 0.3v of system voltage to the headlamps themselves. Huge improvement vs the 2.5v drop the stock harness dropped.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: wrcsixeight


I'd like to see more awareness of offending glare from those who simply do LED or HID bulb drop ins into halogen reflectors and elevate themselves to extra important status, while blinding others.


Not only awareness, but enforcement of laws already in place to deal with these type of illegal retrofits. They are one of my biggest annoyances on the road.

 

[HTSS_TR]

The headlight of 2000 MB E430 is E-code reflector with H7 halogen bulb, it is much brighter than LS400 with H4 bulb and brighter than Accord with projector and H11 bulb. Accord with H9 bulb is a little better than E430 with OEM bulb.

If MB could do good E-code headlight 15 years ago with halogen H7, the cost of this system is so minimum why BMW didn't just design similar system ?

I don't know how much LED headlight system cost, but so far I didn't see many good LED headlights on the road, their performance was very dismal with extreme hot spot on front of the car, more than 100-150 feet was very dark and totally black at 200-250 feet.