Angel eyes lights have been used for over 10 years now. They are simply
light rings around the outside of the headlamp which can be switched on
independently of the headlight itself. They replace the more conventional side
light.
Until recently, most
brand companies use angel eyes light rings have been illuminated using normal
halogen headlamp bulbs. Each pair of rings requires a single bulb because the
light is transmitted along a channel using a fiber optic type principle.
Therefore, a pair of bulbs illuminates all four angel eyes.
More recently, BMW
have moved with the times and have replaced the halogen illumination of the
angel eyes to a brilliant bright white LED light source. These new angel
eyes led look much better than the old yellowish glow of the halogen
illuminated rings. They are especially popular because they are a much better
match for xenon headlights. Previously, owners of cars with xenon lights had to
put up with the slightly out of place looking yellow angel eyes around their
very white xenon headlights. Now that cars angel eyes have LED illumination,
the rings match the xenon lights and complete the package.
No sooner had car
manufactures started to produce these LED angel eyes than owners of halogen lights
illuminated rings started to ask how they could convert them to achieve this
new bright, white LED light. It wasn't long before aftermarket LED lights were
being produced which replaced the original halogen bulbs to achieve the white
LED angel eyes that many so desired. These LED lights are often referred to as
LED markers and are available in a variety of colors including white, red, blue
and green.
Whilst most of
these new LED markers require no more effort to fit than changing the original
halogen bulb itself, some required slight modifications such as those for the
preface lift E90 models with halogen headlights. Good guides may be found on
You Tube as to how these markers can be fitted.
However, one
question that I often get asked is why brands angel eyes with aftermarket LED
markers are not as bright as those fitted to the latest brands models. The
answer to this is simply that the design of aftermarket LED markers is
compromised to allow them to fit into lights that were never designed for them.
Looking at this in more depth, it is to do with the ability of the LED to
dissipate heat which is generated. It is a myth that LED lights do not generate
heat because they do. The ratio of emitted light to heat generated by an LED is
high, meaning that an LED generates far more light than heat. However, the heat
still has to be taken away from the LED otherwise it will drastically shorten
its life as well as the life of any other electronic components in the same
circuit. The usual method of dissipating such heat is connecting the LED to a
device called a heat sink. This is a piece of metal with a large surface area
open to the air. The larger the surface area, the more effective the heat sink.
It is quoted that for every 1 watt of LED light; there should be around 9
inches of surface area in a heat sink. By now, you should be starting to see
the problem. Aftermarket LED markers have to be fitted into very tight spaces
which were designed for halogen bulbs. It is very difficult to include a heat
sink large enough to dissipate the heat so a compromise is made by reducing the
power of the LED, thus producing a dimmer light than those fitted to new brands
models. It is true that some aftermarket manufacturers produce high powered
aftermarket LED markers but they often last only for a relatively short time
before they fail.
I also often get
asked about the color temperature of LED markers. Color temperature is a
measurement given to the color of a light. It is measured in Kelvin K). Halogen
lights have a relatively low color temperature, possible less than 4000K, and
are a yellow or a warm white. As the color temperature increases, the emitted
light becomes whiter and eventually, it will start to include shades of blue at
higher color temperatures. Daylight is around 5500K - 6500K. LED markers that
we sell are around 7200K. At this color temperature, the light is generally
white with only minor shades of blue. At color temperatures higher than this,
more blue light exists and in my opinion, it detracts from what we are trying
to achieve in terms of brilliant white angel eyes.
The combination of
a lower powered LED and light with a color temperature similar to daylight
often makes car angel eyes with LED markers look inconspicuous when used in the
daytime. However, once daylight starts to fade, they become much more
noticeable and will make your car look modern, stylish and far more dynamic
than it did with those old yellow halogen bulbs.
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