UUC * First ever DOT-compliant LED headlight system - installed.

[JoeyBones]

P.S. Rob, if I can get the final prototypes done this week on something else, I may be up for taking a day off to come down and talk with you anyways...so, my e90 headlights will be up for a comparison!

[Wh33lhop]

hell a 4 year warranty is pretty dang impressive for an LED, heck the angel eye LED replacements people use in e90's have a horrible reputation for going out within months. Well, for a GOOD set of HID lights including a GOOD projector you're looking at something pretty expensive as well... i think it's all relative. Personally I don't think I'd put HID's in the ellips. I"d want to retro a tsx projector into the housing and put in a good phillips bulb and ballast. Not trying to put down the less expensive kits as I've never used them, but again....typically get what you pay for.

You'd be surprised how much the cost of projectors and HIDs has gone down, a few years ago I got a set of TL bixenon projectors and Hella gen 3 bulbs/ballasts for $500 shipped. Now you can probably get them for half that (and get less expensive projectors, TLs were pricey as hell), and even go for an aftermarket ballast system to cut costs even more.

The problem with retrofitting projectors into an E30 housing, though, is that you still have to project through the E30 lens (or you can get a clear lens that looks like anus), meaning there's thick glass with patterns molded into it that softens your cutoff and in general screws up the attractive sharpness and color pattern of a good HID projector. I personally don't really mind as I am more interested in the width, uniformity, output and bixenon capability of a good HID projector, but the bottom line is that you don't get the same result retrofitting into an E30 as you do most other cars, not without wearing some ugly clear lenses at least.

[Dominic49]

a set for the e34 would be tits. Can't wait to see them in person on sunday!

p.s.
better yet i know you want to throw those crappy old smoked elippsoids on my equally crappy race car

I should have some room for a uuc sticker somewhere on my car

[JoeyBones]

hell a 4 year warranty is pretty dang impressive for an LED, heck the angel eye LED replacements people use in e90's have a horrible reputation for going out within months. Well, for a GOOD set of HID lights including a GOOD projector you're looking at something pretty expensive as well... i think it's all relative. Personally I don't think I'd put HID's in the ellips. I"d want to retro a tsx projector into the housing and put in a good phillips bulb and ballast. Not trying to put down the less expensive kits as I've never used them, but again....typically get what you pay for.

[Wh33lhop]

Attractive and uniform. The partial flare is nice too, if you aim these correctly it seems like it would be great.

[Rob@UUC]

Incredible. I want a set right now now now now.

So what Kelvin are the LED's and that sort of jazz? Instant on for high beams?

They appear very white, noticeably so more than my 5000K HIDs which look blue-ish in comparison.

High beams are instant-on, quicker than a bi-xenon BMW light flicking back and forth. So quick, it's almost startling.

wanna compare to my stock e90? :)

Definitely, I'd be very interested!

My only concern is overall longevity of them. There seems to be a decent bit that could go wrong, especially dealing with heat. If they prove out, or aren't priced outrageous, I'd totally put them on my car.

JWS gives them a 4-year warranty. Theoretically, the lifespan of LEDs is hyper-long compared to conventional halogen or xenon HID lighting.

Just so there are no surprises, when these kits are offered, they won't be inexpensive. In fact, compared to other options, I do expect you will think them to be outrageous. They are the exotic car of the lighting world, a price comparison for LED versus HID would be like Ferrari 599 GTO versus Corvette.

- Rob

[ZM Blue Devil]

Rob,

When ready please let me know, Id like to hold a tech session on install and fit/finish at Guten for the NY/NJ/CT/PA crowd.

Thanks for bringing new E30 products to market, its not for everyone perhaps but not everyone will always be happy. Better to have options then no options at all.

L

[Fidhle007]

I just looked at the pics on your sight and I'm in love. I agree a trim ring might be the missing link to tie the look together for some but I'll save that judgment for the future. If you give me a discount I'll totally pimp these at my shop!

[Wh33lhop]

Yes, there would be no warm-up period and the high and low beams could be flickered on and off instantly without potential damage to any ballasts (although we are mostly past that point now in HID technology).

I just checked out the J. W. Speaker website: http://www.jwspeaker.com/catalog/for...odel_6130.html

Looks like the LEDs in the low beams put out 1200 lumens, which is cut down to 525 after projection losses. The average 35W 4300K D2S bulb puts out ~3200 lumens, take half of that away for the cutoff shield and you've got about 1600 effective lumens, probably cut it down to 75% or so for other losses and you're still at 1200 lumens, final output. So, it seems that modern HIDs will still have the total output advantage, but that's far from the total picture when it comes to lighting. I'd really like to see some good shots of the final beam pattern next to some modern HIDs, as well as some 3/4 shots of the car with the lights on and off to give a better idea of how the car wears 14 eyes.

I am sure, either way, that they will be much better than aging ellipsoids with the paint flaking off of the reflector housings. :p

[JoeyBones]

wanna compare to my stock e90? :)

also, i think these look great, are awesome from a tech stand point, and present what this community desperately needs....SOMETHING NEW.

My only concern is overall longevity of them. There seems to be a decent bit that could go wrong, especially dealing with heat. If they prove out, or aren't priced outrageous, I'd totally put them on my car.

[Ray Smoodiver]

Incredible. I want a set right now now now now.

So what Kelvin are the LED's and that sort of jazz? Instant on for high beams?

[Rob@UUC]

3. Do you have a comparison with any recent HID systems? Like a direct comparison with some S2k, TSX or TL projectors instead of 22 year old ellipsoids with a DDM kit in them would be awesome. I get that most E30 guys just toss a kit in their ellipsoids so it's sort of a relevant comparison, but not all of us are going to go that route.

I do not... they have been functional in my car literally just three days. If anybody wants to meet up here in GA and compare lights, that would be great.

I know subjectively that the LEDs are superior to my E36 with <2 year old Euro ellipsoids and HIDs, driving the same roads in the dark with both cars.

[Jean]

The lowbeam isn't bad, but the high beam is just nasty looking. Also those visible allen bolts should at least be black if not all hidden imho.

[e30e]

I think a "trim" ring around it will help with size difference between the two. I would be very interested in something that covers up the screws and just order some lamin-x tint to hide the "techy" stuff.

[Wh33lhop]

A few things

1. I have secretly been hoping for something like this for a long time. I really like the idea of LED headlights.

2. Headlights are one of the most distinctive parts of the E30--they're kind of like the eyes of the car. But (really mainly with the high beam) you've given the car kind of an insect-like appearance with all the lenses you've put in the high-beam enclosure and, while it obviously may be different in person, it seems like it might upset the distinctive and simple four-light pattern on the front of the car. The low beams aren't bad though.

3. Do you have a comparison with any recent HID systems? Like a direct comparison with some S2k, TSX or TL projectors instead of 22 year old ellipsoids with a DDM kit in them would be awesome. I get that most E30 guys just toss a kit in their ellipsoids so it's sort of a relevant comparison, but not all of us are going to go that route.