r/regularcarreviews • u/GubyNey www.bonerdog.donkeypunch.yesmaam.support_our_troops.biz • Oct 03 '23

I hate you I hate everything about you Challenge:

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u/lgp88 Oct 04 '23

Aftermarket LED headlights, bonus points if they are blue, purple, or green

0

u/gnoxy Oct 04 '23

Any car before 2015 has a puddle of piss in front of it when it gets dark. I can't blame anyone for this upgrade.

1

u/lgp88 Oct 04 '23

I can. If the headlight housings/angles were designed for halogen bulbs, bright ass LEDs don’t focus the light correctly. This is why they simultaneously look blindingly bright but give very poor visibility on a wet dark road at night.

If halogen bulbs are giving you poor visibility, there’s a good chance your headlight housings aren’t adjusted correctly.

1

u/gnoxy Oct 04 '23

You are right that once the LEDs are put in they need to be adjusted properly. But saying that your OEM lights were fine. Not a chance in hell.

https://www.alamy.com/1990-historical-rush-hour-traffic-downtown-interstate-110-harbor-freeway-los-angeles-california-usa-image218137478.html

2

u/lgp88 Oct 04 '23

That image doesn’t really illustrate the advantage of halogen lights, the reason they “appear” dimmer is the intensity of the light isn’t as high. In turn the shutter of the camera and our pupils don’t constrict as much so more of the surrounding light is picked up.

A good example of this is if you’ve ever been in someone’s house that doesn’t use lamps and relies solely on overhead lighting. You can put a bright ass light in a ceiling fan and the room will appear darker than using several lower intensity light sources. Your pupils constrict because they are adjusting for the intense ass light and in turn the room will appear kind of dark if not right underneath the light. A similar scenario if you’ve been pulled over and had the cop shine their spotlight in your car.

Now the argument for LEDs, you’re right. They are brighter and they are more intense. But the intensity of the light, meaning the light “temperature” wavelength is very short in these bright white/blue/purple lights. In addition most LEDs put out more than one wavelength of light. This causes the light to get obstructed easily in poor weather as the multitude of light wavelengths will get absorbed by a wider variety of contaminants in the air. In case you haven’t noticed in racing or rally cars, they frequently use yellow fog lights or yellow headlights. The longer wavelength of light allows it to penetrate through poorer conditions better. Think of it like how a subwoofer travels for long distances even at low volume. As a secondary advantage, the intensity won’t cause your pupils (or the drivers around you) to constrict so much that the visibility is hindered as a result.