Is it time to ban LED Headlights

chriscatt said:
Most definately my A4 Matrix headlamps are vastly better than the xenon's that I had on my A3. Forgive the pun but the difference is like night and day. Been driving a lot using them ovef the past week on auto high beam and not one driver flashed me. To see each LED operating is a wonder...
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I second this.

I specced the HD Matrix LEDs on my new A6 and the way it moves light around the cars on both sides of the road is incredible. Not one car has flashed me so far.
 
I'm yet to have anyone flash me in my Mk3 Facelift Octy with LED lights.
"Light Assist" is rather hit & miss and I think the key word is "assist". I have rounded a corner and I've noticed the assist has kicked in before I had a chance to respond.
However I've also had the lights dip for no reason and then switch back to full beam with another car heading towards me, albeit a fair old distance away - no way I could just sit back and let that system work by itself.
 
chriscatt said:
Most definately my A4 Matrix headlamps are vastly better than the xenon's that I had on my A3.
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Because of the matrix functionality not because they are LED. It's rare but this function exists on Xenon lights too, for example the facelift F10 5 Series high beam assistant has the same beam splitting functionality which is indeed absolutely incredible.

On the flipside, some of the LED systems frankly suck - the F30 3 series was diabolical.
 
The F10 M5 split beam light tech was beyond a wonder. Auto High Bean in the Audi is a suck ass place to be and literally just turns the high beams on / off, albeit normally accurately, it's a very crude system. The BMW system was incredibly intelligent at both lighting my way, the way of the car in front, and assisting cars oncoming in the opposite direction.
 
Swapped cars with a mate tonight and it’s quite marked going from a Velar to Discovery 5 with LED auto high beam assist just how good the adaptive beam/matrix lights are. Feels like I’m sat waiting for the road to turn back on with binary nature of switching between dipped and main in comparison to the constant illumination you get with matrix.

Proper impressive tech, next step is pixel where lights with offer rows aswell as columns to give even better resolution to the lighting “grid”
 
Jonnycoupe said:
next step is
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this - for the proleteriat (did anyone own up to running it on oc?)

Key Benefits of BMW Laserlight Headlamps
Laserlight headlamps, BMW says, are much brighter than traditional systems. That alone might be enough to convince you of this feature’s greatness, but there are plenty of other benefits. They include:

  • Greatly Improved Sight: In tests, BMW said the laser-powered headlamps cast a light nearly a half-mile down the road. Traditional systems are only capable of half that. Simply put, BMW Laserlight is a must-have for rural drivers.
  • Spotlighting Animals and People: Another feature: The Laserlight system has the ability to spotlight animals and pedestrians up to 300 feet away. Laserlight is equipped with an infrared camera that illuminates these obstacles.
  • GPS Enabled: Laserlight is built with GPS functionality, which enables the system to predict upcoming turns in the road. Laserlight can then help drivers to better see curves in the road.
  • Hands-Free Functionality: With Laserlight, there’s no need to turn off the lights when oncoming traffic is approaching. Instead, Laserlight uses a camera Selective Beam system that detects oncoming vehicles or those that are overtaking the BMW, and then, the beam is automatically dimmed to prevent blinding these vehicles.
  • Heads-Up Display Capabilities: BMW has also said that the system’s “high power diodes” can essentially turn the road surface into a head’s up display. The lights can literally project information like MPH onto the road in the driver’s field of view.
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Current laser is impressive but doesn’t work below 50mph, when Street lights are in view or other cars. That sounds impressive, also things like beaming a snow flake onto the floor when temperature drops.
 
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Merc Laserlights? Cripes- they must cost more to replace than my entire Panda! Is that why those high spec cars have so many 'driver aids'?
Seems like autonomous cars are being the way forward. No need for lights, horns, wipers, windows, brakes...……..:rolleyes:
 
I've all singing all dancing BMW Icon headlights and I love them. Main beam on all the time (almost) not been flashed yet..But they have saved me from a deer.
 
This. Usually an SUV which is then usually a Range Rover or variant. Even when behind you they often dazzle the wing mirrors. I think part of the issue is the lights on these vehicles being virtually at eye level to those of us in normal cars.

CaptainRAVE said:
Brighter headlights, that’s what we need on the road. Absolutely sick of being dazzled by headlights every morning.
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And said:
This. Usually an SUV which is then usually a Range Rover or variant. Even when behind you they often dazzle the wing mirrors. I think part of the issue is the lights on these vehicles being virtually at eye level to those of us in normal cars.
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I notice this a lot more in the US (at least in the Bay Area). Everyone is driving massive SUVs and trucks with the headlights at a higher level.
 
grudas said:
still the worst for me are the new minis..
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My wife's Mini has adaptive LEDs which are unusable on country roads as you get flashed all the time on less hilly straighter roads it works well the light output is incredible. It's been checked by the dealer who carried out a software update that made no difference.
 
Whilst I can see the advantage of having a pair of portable suns strapped to the front of the car for rural driving, or when there's no one around, I'm not sure sure they are needed for a lot urban driving. Our Kia has halogens and the Toyota xenons, and whilst the xenons have a clear advantage on unlit roads, in urban environments, the difference is negligible. In fact, I'm pretty sure I could confidently navigate most built-up well-lit urban areas, without the aid of headlights at all.

And now I cycle to the station regularly, and have done through the winter, I can see the argument for headlights being unnecessarily bright sometimes. There's been several times where I'm riding down a busy road against a queue of stationary traffic, all of them at a standstill with bright headlights illuminating the bumper of the car 2 feet in front of them. I don't particularly find it all that dazzling, but in a situation like that, I think less light might actually be helpful, lessening the contrast between the cars and their surroundings a bit more, which would help spotting hazards like unlit pedestrians...and just generally reduce strain on the eyes. It would also be helpful when the weather is bad and all that light is reflecting off the wet road surface.

With the above in mind, I think it would actually be more beneficial if, rather than striving endlessly for more lumens, manufacturers concentrated on my making lights smarter. Keep the retina-burning laser show for unlit rural roads, sure; but perhaps build in power modifiers which dim the headlights when the car is moving slowly in well-lit areas, or when it's stationary with another car in close proximity in front. Obviously they shouldn't be too dim, as lights are as much about being seen, as seeing, but if the car is in an environment where being able to illuminate the road 3 miles ahead really doesn't give an advantage, why not dim the lights 50%, save some energy and perhaps reduce the risk of dazzling others needlessly.
 
On a somewhat related note; does anyone else with very bright lights find themselves not using them to flash oncoming drivers on unlit roads, purely out of guilt? The instantaneous bright flash of HID/xenon/LED/laser at close range can actually be quite uncomfortable, so whilst I still give a quick flash in the Kia when someone yields to me, with the Toyota, I tend to either switch the lights off and then on again quickly, of give a quick flash of the halogen fog lamps.
 
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