Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptChaos
How do LED's compare with Xenon HID's from a performance perspective?
|
basically the idea of a LED is lower power and super long life, cause basic leds have been used almost for 30 years..problem is these high powered leds have not been tested long enough or in mass quantity as the basic stuff has. i have stage lighting fixtures with super high power leds and found some of them burning out or worse coloring temp changing over time (which even discharge lamps do to a point).
on a car you really won't need to change out a discharge (or xenon) lamp over the course of owning the car, if there is a problem usually its the ballast but not the lamp itself..usually. so longer life lamps like leds are almost useless compared to discharge lamps in this regard.
i can see the companies aiming the individual leds better then aiming a projector lenses used with discharge lamps though, not sure how the companies are using leds but i would imagine them aiming them to a better and flatter beam then one can get using a projector housing.
also if these high powered leds are really lower power hungry then discharge lamps that would be a big advantage when electrical driven cars come common...
ALSO
some people here say led's used today in the R8 or A4 as running lamps are a gimmick which is not true. LED's have a much higher color temp and in turn will catch your eye much easier then a halogen high beam running at low power for day time driving lights. basically you will see the car on the road and be alert of their presence better then if the car was using other forms of lighting..so running led lamps are a great safety measure