LED lights aren't as focused?
Discussion
It's dark out here in the countryside, not many street lamps. So when driving lights from approaching cars seem brighter than they would in urban areas.
I think I've noticed... and I just wondered if it's only me or if this is the same for other people... new cars with new LED lights on them seem to emit a much greater amount of ambient light and the beams aren't anywhere near as focused as either xenon or halogen bulbs.
The leakage from a car with LED headlamps makes the cars difficult to approach from the opposite direction and it is unpleasant if one is following you as it lights up your interior and exterior mirrors which then reflect back into your face.
I think I've noticed... and I just wondered if it's only me or if this is the same for other people... new cars with new LED lights on them seem to emit a much greater amount of ambient light and the beams aren't anywhere near as focused as either xenon or halogen bulbs.
The leakage from a car with LED headlamps makes the cars difficult to approach from the opposite direction and it is unpleasant if one is following you as it lights up your interior and exterior mirrors which then reflect back into your face.
thecremeegg said:
I don't get this hate for LED lights, I can't say that I get blinded by them at all and I have very sensitive eyes? They're brighter than halogen, but not as bright as xenon, is this whole thing just placebo?
I'm not claiming they're blinding. I just don't think they contain themselves very well... and they are a bit annoying because of it. Yes i've noticed a lot of them definitely seem to lack the razor sharp cutoff that you get with some HID's.
Not sure if its related to the intensity of the LED light sources used being less than that of a HID capsule, or just general cheapening out in the optical design for regular cars.
Not sure if its related to the intensity of the LED light sources used being less than that of a HID capsule, or just general cheapening out in the optical design for regular cars.
Interestingly the LEDs are supposed to have very good cut-off.
As far as I understand it, those on mine are described as matrix LED and again as far as I understand can effectively be on full beam for part of the view with a dip pattern or 'hole' in the light just where the on-comming vehicle is.
Of course, that is the plan... not sure if it all works in practice.
As far as I understand it, those on mine are described as matrix LED and again as far as I understand can effectively be on full beam for part of the view with a dip pattern or 'hole' in the light just where the on-comming vehicle is.
Of course, that is the plan... not sure if it all works in practice.
No ideas for a name said:
Interestingly the LEDs are supposed to have very good cut-off.
As far as I understand it, those on mine are described as matrix LED and again as far as I understand can effectively be on full beam for part of the view with a dip pattern or 'hole' in the light just where the on-comming vehicle is.
Of course, that is the plan... not sure if it all works in practice.
Hmm... sounds iffy. More likely it seems to other drivers as if you have your full beams on! It's probably what I've been noticing. As far as I understand it, those on mine are described as matrix LED and again as far as I understand can effectively be on full beam for part of the view with a dip pattern or 'hole' in the light just where the on-comming vehicle is.
Of course, that is the plan... not sure if it all works in practice.
I was reading a handbook (I know right?!) on the function of a car with LED headlights and some are better than others. Some seem utter w
k, with high beam assist that does not turn off. A few cars have parameters such as the need for an oncoming car to be within a 110 degree arc and if you're slightly outside that you still get blinded. Other cars will still maintain high/higher LED output even if you are oncoming directly.
My view after driving about 20 or so cars with LEDs, is that despite people championing LEDs, they are dimwitted because of the software limitation and often don't work properly.
k, with high beam assist that does not turn off. A few cars have parameters such as the need for an oncoming car to be within a 110 degree arc and if you're slightly outside that you still get blinded. Other cars will still maintain high/higher LED output even if you are oncoming directly. My view after driving about 20 or so cars with LEDs, is that despite people championing LEDs, they are dimwitted because of the software limitation and often don't work properly.
ingenieur said:
Hmm... sounds iffy. More likely it seems to other drivers as if you have your full beams on! It's probably what I've been noticing.
Not my video - nor in fact is mine an i-Pace, but my XF does do this.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOlqR9Qu3I
If you look at the beam patterns it actually looks pretty good.
Not 100% sure it works as effectively on mine - though it is easy to get confused - you 'think' the car hasn't dipped when in fact the beam pattern is doing its job.
ingenieur said:
It's dark out here in the countryside, not many street lamps. So when driving lights from approaching cars seem brighter than they would in urban areas.
I think I've noticed... and I just wondered if it's only me or if this is the same for other people... new cars with new LED lights on them seem to emit a much greater amount of ambient light and the beams aren't anywhere near as focused as either xenon or halogen bulbs.
The leakage from a car with LED headlamps makes the cars difficult to approach from the opposite direction and it is unpleasant if one is following you as it lights up your interior and exterior mirrors which then reflect back into your face.
There is another thread on here claiming the very exact opposite, that LEDs have such a sharp, binary cutoff that anything not directly illuminated by them, such as road signs on a pole, or reflective elements, are in pitch dark.I think I've noticed... and I just wondered if it's only me or if this is the same for other people... new cars with new LED lights on them seem to emit a much greater amount of ambient light and the beams aren't anywhere near as focused as either xenon or halogen bulbs.
The leakage from a car with LED headlamps makes the cars difficult to approach from the opposite direction and it is unpleasant if one is following you as it lights up your interior and exterior mirrors which then reflect back into your face.
Certainly owner replaced LED bulbs in Halogen headlamps are generally absolute garbage, as the SMD is several times as large as a tungsten element, if not pseudo-bulb forms with absolutely ALL of the SMDs in the wrong place, and thus all completely out of focus.
Haltamer said:
Most LED Lamps seem to be sidestepping the requirements for headlight washers now (And even when they are present, they are not stunningly effective)...
The requirement for headlamp washers comes if the brightness exceeds 2000 lumens. As I understand it, the xenons for my car are ~2900 lumens whereas the LEDs are around 1800 lumens, but a much whiter light.The BMW adaptive LEDs have a very sharp cutoff (similar to xenons).
Chris
ScoobyChris said:
Haltamer said:
Most LED Lamps seem to be sidestepping the requirements for headlight washers now (And even when they are present, they are not stunningly effective)...
The requirement for headlamp washers comes if the brightness exceeds 2000 lumens. As I understand it, the xenons for my car are ~2900 lumens whereas the LEDs are around 1800 lumens, but a much whiter light.The BMW adaptive LEDs have a very sharp cutoff (similar to xenons).
Chris
I was planning to start a similar thread that was going to focus around the assertion (by myself, and possibly others) that LED headlights = good, which I'm beginning to think is not necessarily the case.
I had initially seen LED headlights as a replacement for Xenon, which I have found to be universally good on all such cars I've sat in. But it's clear that they are a universal replacement for all headlight types and as such, have a range of abilities from excellent to fairly useless.
It's not always clear whether a car will have good or bad LED's; the literature for my SEAT Leon proudly boasted of the upgraded performance of the LED headlights, yet I find them pretty poor, and worse still is that they tend to 'sag' over time, so the dip beam needs manually adjusting. The xenons in my cheap as chips Suzuki Swift, by comparison, are far better. The LED's in my 2019 Mazda MX5 were pretty good, however.
I know a few cars are still available with xenons, but that can't last much longer, which is a shame, and it's been a long time since powerful halogens were an option. My mum's old 1990 740 seemed to have epically powerful headlights, but once xenon had appeared on the options list for models after the millennium, they seemed to not bother with decent halogens anymore.
Edited by SweptVolume on Monday 8th January 12:30
I find modern (new car) lights to be ok, yes somtimes the dips and bumps can knock the light into your eyes but its not the end of the world.
The fancy adaptive headlights are brilliant.
The worse i find for standard glaring head lights, its always a Tesla (all models), they seem terrible for just throwing light everywhere. Anyone else find this?
Dont get me started on people sticking in H7 LED's in old car housings, brightness straight into your retina
The fancy adaptive headlights are brilliant.
The worse i find for standard glaring head lights, its always a Tesla (all models), they seem terrible for just throwing light everywhere. Anyone else find this?
Dont get me started on people sticking in H7 LED's in old car housings, brightness straight into your retina
ingenieur said:
No ideas for a name said:
Interestingly the LEDs are supposed to have very good cut-off.
As far as I understand it, those on mine are described as matrix LED and again as far as I understand can effectively be on full beam for part of the view with a dip pattern or 'hole' in the light just where the on-comming vehicle is.
Of course, that is the plan... not sure if it all works in practice.
Hmm... sounds iffy. More likely it seems to other drivers as if you have your full beams on! It's probably what I've been noticing. As far as I understand it, those on mine are described as matrix LED and again as far as I understand can effectively be on full beam for part of the view with a dip pattern or 'hole' in the light just where the on-comming vehicle is.
Of course, that is the plan... not sure if it all works in practice.
The matrix lights have a very clear/sharp pattern. It fascinating to watch them work.
Edited by blueg33 on Monday 8th January 14:31
The cut off is not typically defined by the LED light source.
If the light source uses a projector then it tends to have a sharper cutoff, it it uses a reflector then the cutoff tends to be softer due to the mechanics of the design.
The comments on some being good and some being bad tends to be defined by how much the system costs. It’s not as simple as saying LED good or bad.
If the light source uses a projector then it tends to have a sharper cutoff, it it uses a reflector then the cutoff tends to be softer due to the mechanics of the design.
The comments on some being good and some being bad tends to be defined by how much the system costs. It’s not as simple as saying LED good or bad.
I have found that wearing glasses (that I don't need during the day or at all from a legal perspective) massively reduces glare at night and seems to speed up rather than outright improve my vision in the dark.
This is a recent thing since I hit my 40s...
So if anyone is really struggling with glare at night, an eye check might help sort the problem.
This is a recent thing since I hit my 40s...
So if anyone is really struggling with glare at night, an eye check might help sort the problem.
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