[GCinFLA]

Originally Posted by x5mad

Finally found it! For you US guys here is the US adaptive LED specs.

So for the LB/HB and DRL they are the same as the EU ones.

Originally Posted by x5mad

And US non adaptive LED.

You do know that watts is not a measurement of light output?

If it were, virtually every incandescent bulbs would be brighter than ANY LED.

[oonowindoo]

Yes. Actually LED would be the least bright light bulb there is since it uses so little.

[x5mad]

Originally Posted by GCinFLA

You do know that watts is not a measurement of light output?

If it were, virtually every incandescent bulbs would be brighter than ANY LED.

Ummm where did I say watts was a measurement of light?

If you read the thread you will see I said nowadays leds have approx 100 lumens per watt efficiency or more.

[GCinFLA]

Originally Posted by x5mad

Ummm where did I say watts was a measurement of light?

If you read the thread you will see I said nowadays leds have approx 100 lumens per watt efficiency or more.

They can be.

But you are leaping to a conclusion based on wattage.

According to measurements, the headlights are nowhere near that bright.

[x5mad]

Originally Posted by GCinFLA

They can be.

But you are leaping to a conclusion based on wattage.

According to measurements, the headlights are nowhere near that bright.

Not leaping to any conclusions. Am making educated guesses as to why people may be seeing different things based on what led headlights they have but am mainly referring to adaptive vs non adaptive as it would be more apple to apple.

It would make sense that given both are led the higher wattage led would provide more light (im not using wattage to compare led to hid here as efficiency is different). So either there are more leds to make total of 36w for the low beam in the adaptive or they could be more powerful leds to make 36w. I'm guessing more leds to perform their adaptive function.

Unless bmw are using leds with different efficiency it would make sense that the more powerful adaptive would be brighter than the non adaptive.

And I agree the measured output is not that bright as you say but again if you read what I wrote I referred to the source light. The "road lumens" being a different story.

[Mauricio Palacios. MD]

Originally Posted by x5mad

I worked out that the first number is the low beam and second number is high beam.

I.e.
Adaptive low - 36w
Non adaptive low - 22w

Efficiency of leds nowadays are approx 100 lumens / watt or more. So assuming this we get 3600 lumens vs 2200 lumens. For reference hid approx 3200 lumens

So now perhaps why we see people so divided on this led vs hid debate. Some saying so much brighter than hid and others saying it's rubbish vs hid.

Now remember the numbers above refer to the source light and not the "road" lumens i.e. what you actually get on the road

Originally Posted by x5mad

Not leaping to any conclusions. Am making educated guesses as to why people may be seeing different things based on what led headlights they have but am mainly referring to adaptive vs non adaptive as it would be more apple to apple.

It would make sense that given both are led the higher wattage led would provide more light (im not using wattage to compare led to hid here as efficiency is different). So either there are more leds to make total of 36w for the low beam in the adaptive or they could be more powerful leds to make 36w. I'm guessing more leds to perform their adaptive function.

Unless bmw are using leds with different efficiency it would make sense that the more powerful adaptive would be brighter than the non adaptive.

And I agree the measured output is not that bright as you say but again if you read what I wrote I referred to the source light. The "road lumens" being a different story.

Any headlamp unit that emits 2000 lumen (or more) MUST equip a washing system and an automatic leveling mechanism. Since LED units (adaptive or not) do not have such anti-glare measures, I would say they are not as powerful as HID Xenon units, which will equip both systems by law ...

As I said before... Cost reductions.

[Whatavar]

I received my new F36 yesterday and drove it at night. It has the non adaptive LED headlights and visibility was excellent. Any brighter and it would start fires imho. I really do not recognize the negative comments...

[oonowindoo]

Originally Posted by Whatavar

I received my new F36 yesterday and drove it at night. It has the non adaptive LED headlights and visibility was excellent. Any brighter and it would start fires imho. I really do not recognize the negative comments...

I do not doubt your observation since excellent visibility itself is very subjective.
It depends on your previous experience, your own standard and etc..

But i can tell you from my personal experience, my initial reaction to the LED was the same as yours. I was blown away by the white color on the ground vs. my previous HID, which were all yellowish on the ground regardless what they look like from the headlights themselves.

It was not until several months into the ownership, i start noticing some of the negatives. So i was looking for ways to adjust them to make them aim slightly higher. But since it has reflectors instead of projectors, it is difficult to aim them to a satisfactory level without blinding others.

[Winslow211]

Its Factory Set..and does not shine far enough ahead on the read..
I am thinking of getting the LED option on the 2019..
Any Comments or Recommendations..Thank You

[IK6SPEED]

Comical to see all the mistaken assumptions over the past 2 years in this bumped thread.

Since that time, US Govt has tested headlights and we know BMW non-Adaptive LED are rated poor (as are Halogen) but the halogens actually perform better than the non-Adaptive LEDs.

Even the BMW Adaptive LEDs only get an acceptable rating (only 3 ratings are Good, Acceptable and Poor). They were not even rated Good for 2 years in a row.

Adaptive Xenon HID are still the best lighting for BMWs in the USA.

[SilverGrey]

Originally Posted by Whatavar

I received my new F36 yesterday and drove it at night. It has the non adaptive LED headlights and visibility was excellent. Any brighter and it would start fires imho. I really do not recognize the negative comments...

I also have an F36 with standard, non-adaptive LED's and find them excellent. The pre-LCI F36 had xenons as standard, so I would hope that the LED's are comparable, but there seem to be so many negative comments from 3 series owners. Does anyone know if the F30 and F36 have the same system?

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by SilverGrey

I also have an F36 with standard, non-adaptive LED's and find them excellent. The pre-LCI F36 had xenons as standard, so I would hope that the LED's are comparable, but there seem to be so many negative comments from 3 series owners. Does anyone know if the F30 and F36 have the same system?

The F32, F36, M3 and M4 all share the same part.

[Savageenterprise]

I have a 18’ 340 with non adaptive leds and I find them plenty bright at night time. I also noticed that they’re self leveling even though they’re non adaptive which is pretty cool

[BuefordTjustice]

I have the adaptive LED's, coming from my 2011 S4 with xenons. I immediately noticed how much whiter and better the LED's illuminate the road, especially with the fogs on. I can't imagine why they would be rated poor or anywhere near the performance (or lack there of) of halogens

[jebs2k]

im confused at everyone saying non adaptive aren't as bright. I just picked up a '19 f36 with standard led and they are the projector style (like bixenons) and look just as good as my '16 f32 with adaptive ( 4 reflector style)

did they change to projectors in later Model years?

[reddemon73]

I have adaptive LED with HBA. Had the car coded to euro specs HBA. Seeing high beam split as you comes up to the car in front of you. It is the coolest thing ever.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by jebs2k

im confused at everyone saying non adaptive aren't as bright. I just picked up a '19 f36 with standard led and they are the projector style (like bixenons) and look just as good as my '16 f32 with adaptive ( 4 reflector style)

did they change to projectors in later Model years?

Considering the way the non-Adaptive have been destroyed in the IIHS tests over the past 3 years, even losing to Halogen, one would certainly BMW has finally changed them for 2019.

https://m.iihs.org/mobile/ratings/mo...s-4-door-sedan

[natesi]

Just aim the non-adapative LED lights up a hair and they are great -- seriously. From the factory they ARE too low, for sure.

[The Airman]

A few cars ago, I had a Lexus with Adaptive LED's and they were the best headlights in any car I had been in or owned. They had an additional reflector halogen high beam that I had replaced bumped up to 100 watts per side from 55 watts.

The adaptive LED's on my 2018 are every bit as nice. I like the way the fogs come on in the corners and with the turn signals. I just wish they could be coded for anti glare like the earlier ones, but oh well.

ADAPTIVE LED (36 watts):


NON ADAPTIVE LED (22 watts):


AIMING GUIDE:

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by The Airman

A few cars ago, I had a Lexus with Adaptive LED's and they were the best headlights in any car I had been in or owned. They had an additional reflector halogen high beam that I had replaced bumped up to 100 watts per side from 55

35 watts is brightest allowed in the US.

55 or 100 watts would have to be aftermarket and most likely will blind other motorist, if not aimed properly..

Were they worth the upgrade ?

https://www.thecarconnection.com/new...for-headlights

[supermarket]

Originally Posted by Poochie

35 watts is brightest allowed in the US.
…
https://www.thecarconnection.com/new...for-headlights

Don’t read more into that than is there. The recall in that article is very specific to that one car.

55 or 100 watts would have to be aftermarket and most likely will blind other motorist, if not aimed properly..

High beams at basically any power to be useful will blind oncoming motorists. If you’re using high beams properly, switching them off when there’s any oncoming traffic, there won’t be any problem.

[Cyanfall]

I have adaptive but I hardly notice it doing anything. maybe im just blind