Lets see the Halo Projector Beams
#1
11-14-2011, 07:45 PM
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Fairbanks
Posts: 351
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Lets see the Halo Projector Beams
Been shopping for new headlights. I'm running Silverstars now in my stock Assemblies, and they are brighter than stock but I'm also looking to upgrade and enhance the appearance of my 94. Only problem is I cant find a picture of a Projector with angel eye halo installed on a late model Bronco or F series. If you got pics, post em up. Thanks.
#2
11-14-2011, 09:38 PM
[I'm gonna use some terms that many folks aren't going to know their meaning... sorry, but its the only way I know how to explain it. If you want clarification, just let me know what term(s) are a foreign language.]
Pbpbpbpbpbpb! The "projector" headlamp doesn't gain you anything. Optically speaking, all the lens in a "projector beam" headlamp does is focus the light coming out of the lamp and reflector into a "flat field". This helps keep the light "even" across the entire field that the headlamp covers. While that may seem like a great idea, the fact that the same light that comes out of a regular flood-type headlamp has been spread evenly across the entire area that the headlamp is supposed to cover means that "peak beam" light that is present in a standard headlamp assembly simply does NOT exist in the "projector beam" headlamp. Translated, this means that hot spot that punches forward ahead of you is no longer there. No hot spot means that extended vision you are used to getting from a standard headlamp assembly is not going to be there with a "projector beam" headlamp assembly. Some folks like the "flat field". Honestly, its a waste of light resource to diffuse or flatten the field of light coming from a headlamp. the more light you can get ahead of you and the further ahead you can get it, the better chance you have of seeing an obstacle in the dark in time to avoid it. There is a way to increase the "peak beam" light from a light source like a "projector beam" headlamp. the major problem... there is NO such provision in these headlamp assemblies unless you are buying a brand new high-end luxury model that actually incorporates this adjustability into the headlamp assembly by altering the lamp position within the reflector as you change from low-beam to high-beam lighting. This is a feature culled from the entertainment lighting industry where control of ellipsoidal reflector lighting fixtures is commonplace because they are one of the primary lighting sources used. However, a manufacturer of a retro-fit headlamp assembly is NOT going to build that kind of fine tuning capacity into a device that will be going into an older vehicle and fewer than 10% of those still on the road will actually get them.
Remember too that Silverstars and similar headlamps DO produce more light however there is a cost to that additional light... and I'm not talking about the initial cost to the consumer. Any time you increase the light output and you DON'T increase the power consumption, you are sacrificing lamp life (the length of time the lamp will last before it burns out). Read the packages carefully (and even then, the makers of high-output headlamps are reluctant to put life span information on the packaging at all much less out truly accurate information on it. The EPA, yes the EPA dictates light bulb industry standards does not say anything about putting "real world" lamp life information on the packaging. So, what you read on light bulb packaging is most often a "lab life" which basically means is that the lifespan of the lamp they are showing is the lifespan of that lamp in a laboratory and it is dimmed up to full intensity and cycled on and off via dimmer for several hours at a time until it finally fails (burns out). the problem with this information is that it is COMPLETELY inaccurate for the kind of snap-on, snap off, extreme temperatures and bouncing around that the lamp in a headlamp assembly gets when its actually mounted in a vehicle. So in short, buyer beware. Don't assume that the "Brightest light" is the "best light". Pick a headlamp that hits middle-of-the-road for lifespan and output. you will spend less time replacing headlamps and spend less in the long run.
Pbpbpbpbpbpb! The "projector" headlamp doesn't gain you anything. Optically speaking, all the lens in a "projector beam" headlamp does is focus the light coming out of the lamp and reflector into a "flat field". This helps keep the light "even" across the entire field that the headlamp covers. While that may seem like a great idea, the fact that the same light that comes out of a regular flood-type headlamp has been spread evenly across the entire area that the headlamp is supposed to cover means that "peak beam" light that is present in a standard headlamp assembly simply does NOT exist in the "projector beam" headlamp. Translated, this means that hot spot that punches forward ahead of you is no longer there. No hot spot means that extended vision you are used to getting from a standard headlamp assembly is not going to be there with a "projector beam" headlamp assembly. Some folks like the "flat field". Honestly, its a waste of light resource to diffuse or flatten the field of light coming from a headlamp. the more light you can get ahead of you and the further ahead you can get it, the better chance you have of seeing an obstacle in the dark in time to avoid it. There is a way to increase the "peak beam" light from a light source like a "projector beam" headlamp. the major problem... there is NO such provision in these headlamp assemblies unless you are buying a brand new high-end luxury model that actually incorporates this adjustability into the headlamp assembly by altering the lamp position within the reflector as you change from low-beam to high-beam lighting. This is a feature culled from the entertainment lighting industry where control of ellipsoidal reflector lighting fixtures is commonplace because they are one of the primary lighting sources used. However, a manufacturer of a retro-fit headlamp assembly is NOT going to build that kind of fine tuning capacity into a device that will be going into an older vehicle and fewer than 10% of those still on the road will actually get them.
Remember too that Silverstars and similar headlamps DO produce more light however there is a cost to that additional light... and I'm not talking about the initial cost to the consumer. Any time you increase the light output and you DON'T increase the power consumption, you are sacrificing lamp life (the length of time the lamp will last before it burns out). Read the packages carefully (and even then, the makers of high-output headlamps are reluctant to put life span information on the packaging at all much less out truly accurate information on it. The EPA, yes the EPA dictates light bulb industry standards does not say anything about putting "real world" lamp life information on the packaging. So, what you read on light bulb packaging is most often a "lab life" which basically means is that the lifespan of the lamp they are showing is the lifespan of that lamp in a laboratory and it is dimmed up to full intensity and cycled on and off via dimmer for several hours at a time until it finally fails (burns out). the problem with this information is that it is COMPLETELY inaccurate for the kind of snap-on, snap off, extreme temperatures and bouncing around that the lamp in a headlamp assembly gets when its actually mounted in a vehicle. So in short, buyer beware. Don't assume that the "Brightest light" is the "best light". Pick a headlamp that hits middle-of-the-road for lifespan and output. you will spend less time replacing headlamps and spend less in the long run.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post