For that matter a good +50 set of halogen bulbs is better than the current drop in LED technology, and worse than the dedicated LED headlights. HID drop in units in projectors can be quite nice, just hard to aim well to get light down the road without blinding other drivers.Correct... and as mentioned above the HID projector lights are still better than the current LED technology
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Update on the OPT7 Fluxbeams.
After working with the OPT7 folks, I installed the ECM capacitors (that actually came with the bulbs) and the "bulb out" warning indicator issue went away. They now run like the OEM halogens on the little toy car.
The lights are really nice. I love the "color" of white, love the idea of LED bulbs, and the brightness is very comparable with the original halogen brightness. If you have the Halogens bulbs I would definitely replace with these. As far as comparison to HIDs, I really have no reference.
also..... anyone know where I can get the plastic button clips for the wheel well covers. I broke a lot of these.....
After working with the OPT7 folks, I installed the ECM capacitors (that actually came with the bulbs) and the "bulb out" warning indicator issue went away. They now run like the OEM halogens on the little toy car.
The lights are really nice. I love the "color" of white, love the idea of LED bulbs, and the brightness is very comparable with the original halogen brightness. If you have the Halogens bulbs I would definitely replace with these. As far as comparison to HIDs, I really have no reference.
also..... anyone know where I can get the plastic button clips for the wheel well covers. I broke a lot of these.....
The cutoff is great identical to the OEM. And the light distribution is also great, as good than the OEM (which is really amazing for an LED). The luman power level is also great, as good or better than OEM.
Then why don't they look perfect.
Not the rest of this is just an investigative, nerd Engineers opinion. I am not a light Engineer.
But, from the investigation I've done I think it has more to do with the SPL (spectrum power level). The light is going the same distance, the road reflectors and white lines are bright far into the distance. But objects that are not pure white...... Almost looked bleached of color. Almost shades of grey. I have to believe that the SPL level is shifted very tight in frequency (or narrow in wavelength) and therefore little dark red or dark blue light at all.... Therefore all that is being reflected in objects that are colored are the limited photons they can reflect at there color frequencies extremes.
I think this is why the perception of limited through to my eyes. My eyes receive in a combination of Luminosity and Chromaticity. It appears LEDs are great at Luminosity, but no so much at Chromaticity.
Again if they are white or reflectors a ton of light power is reflected, if they are darker red or darker blue in color, not alot of led light there to reflect....
Again I'm no expert, just like to know why things are the way they are.
All in all, they put enough overall light power to overcome this, just a difference between being good and great.
Then why don't they look perfect.
Not the rest of this is just an investigative, nerd Engineers opinion. I am not a light Engineer.
But, from the investigation I've done I think it has more to do with the SPL (spectrum power level). The light is going the same distance, the road reflectors and white lines are bright far into the distance. But objects that are not pure white...... Almost looked bleached of color. Almost shades of grey. I have to believe that the SPL level is shifted very tight in frequency (or narrow in wavelength) and therefore little dark red or dark blue light at all.... Therefore all that is being reflected in objects that are colored are the limited photons they can reflect at there color frequencies extremes.
I think this is why the perception of limited through to my eyes. My eyes receive in a combination of Luminosity and Chromaticity. It appears LEDs are great at Luminosity, but no so much at Chromaticity.
Again if they are white or reflectors a ton of light power is reflected, if they are darker red or darker blue in color, not alot of led light there to reflect....
Again I'm no expert, just like to know why things are the way they are.
All in all, they put enough overall light power to overcome this, just a difference between being good and great.
That makes sense. Check this out for some detail.
As you can see the halogen produces lots of the light in a range we can't see, and as heat. HID is very well matched to human vision but very peaky. And LED can be quite well matched in which light it produces as compared to what we see. It still won't hit the optics ideally. That the cutoff survives suggests these headlights might be a decent match to a retrofit. I'd still go HID on preference myself. Your car, your choice.
ucsbwsr
Banned
Marcad,
You may have coincidently found an LED bulb which pairs well with a halogen projector and produces a decent light output but the reality is LED bulbs can't offer the same beam pattern as halogens in a halogen projector. The optics are specifically designed for a single light source (as opposed to 2 pointing opposing directions with likely around a 120 degree beam pattern).
The wall shots you posted are way to close to really tell anything, many headlight projectors need some distance to full develop their beam pattern. If you can find a large white wall and park ~25ft away with the headlights projecting onto the wall, this will be much more telling of what the real world output is like.
It is common for people to perceive light as being brighter with these plug-and-play LED bulbs but that is usually to A) the whiter kelvin rating and B) the poorly formed beam pattern from the LED bulbs can lead to a very strong foreground, the light immediately on the ground in front of the car. The bright foreground can actually be counterproductive as it will make your eyes constrict and make it harder to see distant light. Just like big engines (or electric motors) and poor tires; power is nothing without control.
The best solution for improving road-legal headlight performance is a proper HID projector retrofit, period. Understanding people may want to optimize the output with their current halogen projectors, installing a quality/reputable HID kit can offer improved intensity but just like with the LED bulbs, halogen projector optics are not designed for HID bulbs. That being said sometimes you can get decent results, some halogen projectors will offer a decent output which is a legitimate upgrade over stock halogen, however sometimes the HID bulb/halogen projector combo can yield output which bleeds above the cutoff line, creating dangerous glare for coming traffic. By the way, stay away from Amazon, eBay, etc. you usually get what you pay for or get a knock-off.
What I would recommend for Tesla owners with halogen headlights who want a bump in performance; get a set of HIR halogen bulbs. IIRC correctly the Model S has a 9005 bulb, so a 9011/9012 bulb can fit with some minor modification, see this link:
HIR bulb base modification
HIR bulbs has an infrared coating on the glass which reflects heat/energy back into the tungsten, essentially amplifying the output. The end result is a halogen bulb which draws the same amount of energy as stock but produces about 80% more light. Perfect optics and beam pattern are retained and a pair of HIR bulbs will only run about $40/pr for pair of Philips bulbs.
For reference this is a rough breakdown on how the the outputs should stack up:
Stock 9005 Halogen 55w: 1,000 lumens
9011 HIR Halogen 55w: 1,850 lumens
Quality 35w HID Kit: 2,800 lumens
* Keep in mind that added output of the HID kit won't necessarily be utilized properly since it is being projected out of a non-HID projector. Many of the cheap Amazon and eBay HID kits will be putting out more like 2,000 lumens due to the poor quality bulbs and ballasts.
Someone who owns halogen headlights should do a side-side comparison with a HIR bulb and HID kit, or send me a halogen headlight, I would be happy to whip up a test for the community.
Evan
You may have coincidently found an LED bulb which pairs well with a halogen projector and produces a decent light output but the reality is LED bulbs can't offer the same beam pattern as halogens in a halogen projector. The optics are specifically designed for a single light source (as opposed to 2 pointing opposing directions with likely around a 120 degree beam pattern).
The wall shots you posted are way to close to really tell anything, many headlight projectors need some distance to full develop their beam pattern. If you can find a large white wall and park ~25ft away with the headlights projecting onto the wall, this will be much more telling of what the real world output is like.
It is common for people to perceive light as being brighter with these plug-and-play LED bulbs but that is usually to A) the whiter kelvin rating and B) the poorly formed beam pattern from the LED bulbs can lead to a very strong foreground, the light immediately on the ground in front of the car. The bright foreground can actually be counterproductive as it will make your eyes constrict and make it harder to see distant light. Just like big engines (or electric motors) and poor tires; power is nothing without control.
The best solution for improving road-legal headlight performance is a proper HID projector retrofit, period. Understanding people may want to optimize the output with their current halogen projectors, installing a quality/reputable HID kit can offer improved intensity but just like with the LED bulbs, halogen projector optics are not designed for HID bulbs. That being said sometimes you can get decent results, some halogen projectors will offer a decent output which is a legitimate upgrade over stock halogen, however sometimes the HID bulb/halogen projector combo can yield output which bleeds above the cutoff line, creating dangerous glare for coming traffic. By the way, stay away from Amazon, eBay, etc. you usually get what you pay for or get a knock-off.
What I would recommend for Tesla owners with halogen headlights who want a bump in performance; get a set of HIR halogen bulbs. IIRC correctly the Model S has a 9005 bulb, so a 9011/9012 bulb can fit with some minor modification, see this link:
HIR bulb base modification
HIR bulbs has an infrared coating on the glass which reflects heat/energy back into the tungsten, essentially amplifying the output. The end result is a halogen bulb which draws the same amount of energy as stock but produces about 80% more light. Perfect optics and beam pattern are retained and a pair of HIR bulbs will only run about $40/pr for pair of Philips bulbs.
For reference this is a rough breakdown on how the the outputs should stack up:
Stock 9005 Halogen 55w: 1,000 lumens
9011 HIR Halogen 55w: 1,850 lumens
Quality 35w HID Kit: 2,800 lumens
* Keep in mind that added output of the HID kit won't necessarily be utilized properly since it is being projected out of a non-HID projector. Many of the cheap Amazon and eBay HID kits will be putting out more like 2,000 lumens due to the poor quality bulbs and ballasts.
Someone who owns halogen headlights should do a side-side comparison with a HIR bulb and HID kit, or send me a halogen headlight, I would be happy to whip up a test for the community.
Evan
Very valid points. The one thing I liked about the OPT7 was their arcbeam lens. It's a separate lens they install on top of the led to get as wide as beam pattern as they can. Supposedly 120 deg per side, so 240 total. Still short of 360 though.....
I did replace my Fluxbeam with the new Fluxbeam X. They just released this bulb last week. Supposedly 20% brighter.
I just got back from a 1700 mile road trip over Thanksgiving. Much of the driving at night. I had alot of time to review these lights (pre-X version). I would like better contrast in the distance, and less washed out colors. But something that was really interesting is there is a "black light" characteristic to the light. Everything white, near white or reflective glows extremely bright, even way off in the distance.
The X bulbs I replaced on Sunday do seem to have better throw distance, but I would still like a little more.
I have attached a picture of the new X version at 30ft from my garage door. Not quite a white door, and it was raining, but you can see the arcbeam pattern a little better than the 5 foot shots.
I did replace my Fluxbeam with the new Fluxbeam X. They just released this bulb last week. Supposedly 20% brighter.
I just got back from a 1700 mile road trip over Thanksgiving. Much of the driving at night. I had alot of time to review these lights (pre-X version). I would like better contrast in the distance, and less washed out colors. But something that was really interesting is there is a "black light" characteristic to the light. Everything white, near white or reflective glows extremely bright, even way off in the distance.
The X bulbs I replaced on Sunday do seem to have better throw distance, but I would still like a little more.
I have attached a picture of the new X version at 30ft from my garage door. Not quite a white door, and it was raining, but you can see the arcbeam pattern a little better than the 5 foot shots.
I never did a 30ft picture of the Halogens, only the side by side 6ish foot with alot of stuff in the way..... This was also the non-X fluxbeam.
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