LED Headlights from Xenon Depot - has anyone here tried these?

[deejaaa]

Originally Posted by AlaricD

They are absolutely not legit.


Which "high end bulbs" were those? If they were "SilverStar Ultra", those are not high end bulbs, just expensive.


So you ran photometric tests and found that with these "bulbs" installed your headlamps were still compliant with the associated regulations?

"Bulbs" like these are unsafe and illegal. You're better off with a quality set of halogen bulbs, like those from the Philips X-Treme Vision or X-Treme Power range.
They are absolutely not legit.

you 2 sound a lot like Edison and Tesla arguing about what's better. feel like i am back in time, cool!

[com3]

Originally Posted by sendler

There is a good thread on ADVRider showing how to tune the vertical cut off of these new LED's with a piece of sheet metal trimmed off of a beer can.
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The newest generation of emitters are getting pretty small so the light source is approaching the accurate location of a halogen filament anyway. The best high end cars all have blazingly bright HID or LED headlights. Motorcycles are relegated to half the light of a cheap car with one 55Watt halogen. Motorcycles need more light. Not less. I am going to try these.
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my FJ09 came stock with LED headlights... they're literally the best headlight on any motorbike i've ever owned....and i used to run PIAA stuff...

i can actually see while at full lean, even with the low beams. high beams are simply epic!

regarding cutoff on my LED headlights in my Element... they're actually pretty naturally diffused. there's no sharp edges in my beam pattern at all.

granted, right after install, they were totally too high. i had to adjust them down significantly. the high beam lit up overpasses at first...didn't touch the road. i have them set low now. i never get flashed by oncoming traffic EVER, with my low beams on. just for real-world testing purposes, i left my highs on, and never got flashed either. like i said, the highs aren't as bright as halogens, tho, they do cast reflective light significantly further than the halogens did. i.e., i see reflectors on the freeway lit up much brighter and much further than before.

[com3]

Originally Posted by deejaaa

you 2 sound a lot like Edison and Tesla arguing about what's better. feel like i am back in time, cool!

hehe. no argument here. i couldn't really care less if someone disagrees with me. i'm just sharing my real world experience, as LIGHT is something i care about, giving how much night driving i do.

i just turned over 300,000 miles in my element (in 6 years)....again, most of which was driven at night (i'm a motorcycle photographer for a living, and i travel all over the country to different race tracks).

i'm always on the quest for the best lighting solutions i can find that's still legal. though, i'm about to put a 50" lightbar on my tacoma... hehe.

[freebeard]

Sendler -- That article is on point. I think I've got it backward.

Any chance you could repost the OP's illustration (with a credit link of course)? It's way reduced in size if you aren't registered for the forum.

I'd never thought about the low beam cutoff on a motorcycle leaning into a right-hand turn.

[AlaricD]

Originally Posted by com3

I'm not a scientist.

You don't have to be one.

I'm just a dude that drives 50-60k miles per year, most of which is at night.

That doesn't qualify you to make objective statements of the performance of the lights. The people qualified to make those statements use photometric testing, which is based on science and data.

Originally Posted by sendler

There is a good thread on ADVRider showing how to tune the vertical cut off of these new LED's with a piece of sheet metal trimmed off of a beer can.

LOL! And people think using these things is a good idea when they have to cobble together something like this?

If that's not a clear indication that these are absolute junk, I'm not sure what is.

What's next, a topic on how to staple a horse to the side of your car for extra hill-climbing power?

[com3]

Originally Posted by AlaricD

That doesn't qualify you to make objective statements of the performance of the lights. The people qualified to make those statements use photometric testing, which is based on science and

HAHAHAHAHA! That's gonna be my quote of the day. Hahaha!

"Well, sure, Bob...I realize you have lots of experience using such and such, but that doesn't mean you're allowed to have an opinion on it."

HAHAHA! Seriously, outside of outright trolling, your last post may have been one of the most asinine things I've ever read on a forum (and I've got hundreds of thousands of posts amongst many forums).

I'm still laughing right now. Haha

[AlaricD]

Originally Posted by com3

"Well, sure, Bob...I realize you have lots of experience using such and such, but that doesn't mean you're allowed to have an opinion on it."

You're allowed to have an opinion about it. You're not allowed to call it fact.

You're allowed to have subjective opinions about the performance of a headlamp that is using the incorrect light source. You're not allowed to conflate your subjective experience with the objective facts.

You DO know the difference between "subjective" and "objective", right?

[sendler]

Photo of DIY reflector.
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[AlaricD]

Originally Posted by com3

granted, right after install, they were totally too high. i had to adjust them down significantly. the high beam lit up overpasses at first...didn't touch the road. i have them set low now. i never get flashed by oncoming traffic EVER, with my low beams on. just for real-world testing purposes, i left my highs on, and never got flashed either. like i said, the highs aren't as bright as halogens, tho, they do cast reflective light significantly further than the halogens did. i.e., i see reflectors on the freeway lit up much brighter and much further than before.

The only right way to adjust composite headlamps is with an optical beamsetter. Sealed beams can use a mechanical aimer. The "shine on the wall" method is good for a "rough in", but that's about it.

Sounds like you've aimed the lamps so low that you're costing yourself seeing distance even on the high beam. While "not getting flashed" when on low beam is not a good indication that there aren't dangerous levels of glare, the same "not getting flashed" when on high beam is a certain indication that the aim is too low and/or the output is too poor.

Originally Posted by com3

i'm always on the quest for the best lighting solutions i can find that's still legal.

Those LED bulbs you claim are so great aren't legal.

If you want a safe, effective (*very* effective), and legal 7" round LED headlamp, the JW Speaker Evolution 8700 Evolution 2 is what you need. They have the other common "sealed beam" sizes as well. But the LED "H4 drop-in" type "bulbs" are junk.

[com3]

Thanks, alaricd!