LED headlights - how much better?

LED headlights - how much better?

Author
Discussion

Trikster

Original Poster:

818 posts

201 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
quotequote all
I'm not going to ask "are they worth it?" as I'm not sure how a headlight upgrade can be worth £1600, but I like the idea and concept so am thinking of adding them to my order.

But, just how much better are they? If at all? Dark country lanes where I live and find adaptive Xenons a major step up from static ones, so how much better would these be?

Osinjak

5,453 posts

120 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
quotequote all
I saw an animated explanation of how they work, pretty impressive to be honest. You could basically leave them on full beam and they do all the work for you. They'll even split when you come up behind a car to avoid dazzling the driver. Worth a google.

Edited by Osinjak on Wednesday 10th September 18:05

Osinjak

5,453 posts

120 months

Jon1967x

7,177 posts

123 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
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I have them on the 6 - I do a lot of both country lane driving and motorway driving. I can't say they're a massive improvement. One thing to note is that they are adaptive and they come off full beam to swivel which can be a little annoying (or at least they do if you have them on auto dipping).

If I said halogens were 5/10 and xenon were 8/10 then LEDs might be 9/10

ruggedscotty

5,606 posts

208 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
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One thing to note with LED lamps is that these dont produce a lot of heat - so winter they freeze up etc....

converted lurker

304 posts

125 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
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I recently traded down from E61 Xenons that swivelled to F10 Bog standard halogens. I do everything from country tracks to major motorways every day at all hours of the night.

The halogens are fine. They aren't quite as good as the Xenons and at first that saddened me. However after a few months i have come to realise that the halogens work just fine. You see everything and at just as much range. Its a bit like handguns - you think you need a .45 magnum but actually the guy will be equally dead if you shoot him with a little .38

LED & Lazer headlights are like packing a 10mm Desert Eagle. Its kind of fun and makes a statement but its a bit unnecessary and a lot of money.

Better to spend the money on the 300bhp engine. Thats totally necessary ;-)

Osinjak

5,453 posts

120 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
quotequote all
ruggedscotty said:
One thing to note with LED lamps is that these dont produce a lot of heat - so winter they freeze up etc....
Because of course BMW (or any car company) would put lights on a car that freeze in winter. rolleyes

HoHoHo

14,980 posts

249 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
quotequote all
Osinjak said:
I saw an animated explanation of how they work, pretty impressive to be honest. You could basically leave them on full beam and they do all the work for you. They'll even split when you come up behind a car to avoid dazzling the driver. Worth a google.

Edited by Osinjak on Wednesday 10th September 18:05
This feature isn't just and LED light thing. I have standard zenons in my F10 M5 that also do what you suggest and it's really very clever. You have to see it to believe how good it is and in winter I drive all the time at night with active lights on (or whatever it's called)

I understand LED are whiter and I think slightly brighter and probably last longer.

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
quotequote all
Osinjak said:
ruggedscotty said:
One thing to note with LED lamps is that these dont produce a lot of heat - so winter they freeze up etc....
Because of course BMW (or any car company) would put lights on a car that freeze in winter. rolleyes
It seems quite possible for snow to freeze on the outside of headlamps if there is little or no heat being produced. Why the rolleyes?

BMW sell a range of cars that can become unusable in winter, if it snows and one hasn't fitted winter tyres, so fitting headlights that might freeze doesn't seem to big a leap.

_Deano

7,405 posts

252 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
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Osinjak said:
I find this technology absolutely fascinating.
But how would it work on a motorway, such as the M25? Would the lights be on and off like a disco?

IATM

3,779 posts

146 months

Wednesday 10th September 2014
quotequote all
converted lurker said:
I recently traded down from E61 Xenons that swivelled to F10 Bog standard halogens. I do everything from country tracks to major motorways every day at all hours of the night.

The halogens are fine. They aren't quite as good as the Xenons and at first that saddened me. However after a few months i have come to realise that the halogens work just fine. You see everything and at just as much range. Its a bit like handguns - you think you need a .45 magnum but actually the guy will be equally dead if you shoot him with a little .38

LED & Lazer headlights are like packing a 10mm Desert Eagle. Its kind of fun and makes a statement but its a bit unnecessary and a lot of money.

Better to spend the money on the 300bhp engine. Thats totally necessary ;-)
Are you being serious? You sure your Xenons where not faulty! The halogens in the F10 are shocking! Coming from Xenons on three previous cars I will never ever ever ever drive a car without xenons again.

stevesingo

4,848 posts

221 months

Thursday 11th September 2014
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They will make your wallet lighter tumbleweed

getmecoat

converted lurker

304 posts

125 months

Thursday 11th September 2014
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Yes I am perfectly serious.

Shocking how exactly? Yes Xenons "appear" brighter because of the colour just like green lasers appear brighter than red ones despite the same power. But in reality I don't think I actually see anything more or further with them than I do the halogens. I have compared side by side the F10 light throw across a dark field with my Ford SMax which has (steering connected) Xenons and there's not actually much difference in range or what you see. Yes the Halogens are warmer and softer. Would I trade my comfort seats for Xenons? Not in a million years. Nor my Logic7 Hifi. Nor my Adaptive Drive.

Yes Xenons are a bit better. No they aren't the best value options compared to alternatives.


5to1

1,781 posts

232 months

Thursday 11th September 2014
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I have them on my 6GC and would spec them again for a couple of reasons:

1) They look much better when they are off. You can take a look at images and see what I mean, but in the flesh they look even better then standard.

2) They look much better when they are on. With the standard headlights when the beam is on it blends in with the Halo and the light output of the two is a slightly different temp. With the LED's the Halo remains well defined as the main beam appears to project from a smaller central area of the ring. Also the colour temp is matched more closely to the Halo. Over all the light output appears to be closer to white, rather then slightly blue with Xenons or yellow with Halogens. Pictures won't do them justice in this regard, as any photographer knows a camera is much worse at discerning contrast then our eyes, particularly when faced with a powerful light source in the frame. With the beam on, any picture will make both the Xenons and LED's look the same, but in person you will notice on the LED's you can still make out the Halo whereas the conventional lights it looks like one big blob of light (for want of a better description)

3) They look better as DRL's. The Halo looks like its floating in the cluster due to the design, rather then attached to a big bulb/etc.

4) Functionally they have a light output which is closer to white, which I find easier on the eye. The beam spread is also slightly more uniform, with no hot spots. I'm not sure if coverage is better, but if it is I wouldn't say its a massive amount.

5) I suspect they will become ubiquitous in this class of car pretty soon. The CLS Sport already has them as standard. Therefore, I feel speccing them ensures your car remains looking contemporary. I remember when the rear lights started switching to LED how it "dated" cars that were just months older.

This is in comparison to the Xenon cluster on the current 7 (I haven't driven a 6 without LED's at night so can't comment). And also from seeing my car compared to lots of others I pass daily (I see my headlights everyday as I pull in to my drive, as there is a good reflection from the window directly in front of my parking spot) .

Most of my comments are based on Aesthetics, that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't functionally better. Its just I generally drive on well lit roads, so any functional difference for me is mitigated. The colour temp is the main benefit for me functionally, as I find it easier on my eyes. But even then most street lights disrupt that benefit as most are still pumping out yellow light.

Also this isn't a case of a buyer trying to justify spending £1600. My car was a pre-reg, so I didn't tick that box or pay £1600 for them, this car although better spec'd then many I looked at wasn't more expensive (dealer was prepared to haggle smile).

Edited by 5to1 on Thursday 11th September 09:22


Edited by 5to1 on Thursday 11th September 09:23


Edited by 5to1 on Thursday 11th September 09:26

converted lurker

304 posts

125 months

Thursday 11th September 2014
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I don't mind the look of my halogen and for £1600+ I would rather have the cash towards my scrambler or some of the other lovely bmw options.

There is no wring or right answer.

I think they are massively profitable for bmw though..

5to1

1,781 posts

232 months

Thursday 11th September 2014
quotequote all
converted lurker said:
I don't mind the look of my halogen and for £1600+ I would rather have the cash towards my scrambler or some of the other lovely bmw options.

There is no wring or right answer.

I think they are massively profitable for bmw though..
I think most BMW options are massively profitable for BMW (or any other manufacturer) . If you include BMW's profit margin as a key criteria of ticking an option box I think you'd end up ticking nothing smile

Aesthetics are of course subjective, if you're happy with Halogens great, you saved yourself £1600. I wouldn't spec LED's above HUD or Comfort seats. But I'd spec them above many other options. The cost of the car would also dictate how much I spend on options. I'm unlikely to spend £1600 on headlights on a sparsely spec'd £20k car. But on an expensive already well spec'd 6 that outlay is more palletable, particularly when you think it will start to look dated as that option starts to become ubiquitous during your ownership period frown

Edited by 5to1 on Thursday 11th September 10:47

knitware

1,473 posts

192 months

Thursday 11th September 2014
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Adaptive lights are expensive new but free when buying a secondhand car with them fitted!

The adaptive lights are a marvel, I love seeing them 'dance' when night driving and the light they give off is bright and crisp white light. There's a youtube link above and they work exactly like that. There's is also the visual look for the car too. Seriously, driving with adaptive lights and high beam assist is wonderful, it really makes driving on country lanes or any dark road so much safer.

Osinjak

5,453 posts

120 months

Thursday 11th September 2014
quotequote all
HoHoHo said:
This feature isn't just and LED light thing. I have standard zenons in my F10 M5 that also do what you suggest and it's really very clever. You have to see it to believe how good it is and in winter I drive all the time at night with active lights on (or whatever it's called)

I understand LED are whiter and I think slightly brighter and probably last longer.
I've got the 2010 version of Xenon adaptive and I agree they do work very well although I don't have the split option that the LEDs have. HBA took some getting used to though!

HoHoHo

14,980 posts

249 months

Thursday 11th September 2014
quotequote all
Osinjak said:
HoHoHo said:
This feature isn't just and LED light thing. I have standard zenons in my F10 M5 that also do what you suggest and it's really very clever. You have to see it to believe how good it is and in winter I drive all the time at night with active lights on (or whatever it's called)

I understand LED are whiter and I think slightly brighter and probably last longer.
I've got the 2010 version of Xenon adaptive and I agree they do work very well although I don't have the split option that the LEDs have. HBA took some getting used to though!
That's my point - it's not exclusively an LED light option, it's standard on my F10 M5 Zenon.

Moving lights, splitting lights, moving and splitting lights, one side staying at full beam the other not, full beam split......you name it, it does it yes

Buzz Lightyear

73 posts

114 months

Thursday 11th September 2014
quotequote all
Osinjak said:
I saw an animated explanation of how they work, pretty impressive to be honest. You could basically leave them on full beam and they do all the work for you. They'll even split when you come up behind a car to avoid dazzling the driver. Worth a google.

Edited by Osinjak on Wednesday 10th September 18:05
This is wrong.

This isn't down to LED lights in particular, but down to something called "Selective Beam". This features on my 2 series and those are only xenon's.