TheoryCraft- 4th gen Retrofit Projector LED?

[BlackWorksInc]

So I've been planning for a HID Retrofit in the future for my '04 headlamps and I see so many new LED infused headlamps, from Audi's LED only to Honda using a LED DRL.

So then this lightbulb goes off in my head, "HID Projectors are good, modern automotive grade LEDs are pretty damn good, what happens when you stick the two together?" So I found a thread on another website where a guy took a cheapo LED flashlight and shined it through a old BMW Projector Assembly and the cut-off was super crisp. That got me thinking, what if we took the high quality LED lights and used a projector housing to better control the beam pattern?

Now this is all just theory and I really don't have the money or time to make a working prototype to test my idea, but I figured I'd mention it in hopes of inspiring others and or getting good engineering feeback to plan a future design?

 

[who done it]

They've tried this on HID Planet, but the problem is with the dispersion of the light. The LED does not fully light up the entire road. Instead of a half-moon created like a HID bulb does, the LED is more of a spot effect.

WHen they tried this they got the far regions of the road to light up but the road nearest to the car was dark. I think they tried this with 6 LED's but it just wasn't as good as a HID bulb.

I think if we were to take the bowl of a regular projector and fill the entire inside surface with Cree LEDs we could make something that would be insane. But I'm not sure how much power that would use and if it would be too much for the wiring to handle. But then the light wouldn't reflect, sorry just thinking out loud.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

That's what the thread is for, thinking and theorizing.

 

[StacieStaci]

That's what the thread is for

 

[riceandpho]

Dont forget about the heat from leds, u have to have some good cooling pad/fins.

 

[ChaosStarter]

Just go with a good HID projector like I'm about to do. I have the FX-Rs sitting at home waiting for me to have a day to myself to do it. For the money, the FX-R's are the best ones out there and the output is one of the best (besides s2k, Ls430/460, etc)

I also need to find my damn dremel kit. :redbrick:

 

[riceandpho]

Man we should meet one time, the fxr is good, but oem fx's with clear lens will be better. Use oem projectors if u want the best, i use aftermarket and oem projectors before, big difference in light distribution.

 

[bimmage]

Dont forget about the heat from leds, u have to have some good cooling pad/fins.

HID bulbs give off way more heat then LED's

 

[BlackWorksInc]

HID bulbs give off way more heat then LED's

Yeah, but they give off heat in the form of IR directed usually outwards. What he's talking about is the heatsoaking that LEDs produce since they act as resistors along with the associated circuitry gives off a lot of excess heat through the assembly itself that could melt and/or damage the LED lights themselves and possibly the housing. Another issue to take into consideration is icing of the headlamps and as was stated before producing a better beam pattern.

The thread isn't so much a HID vs. LED, but rather a think tank into the possible benefits and possible gains of integrating newer technology such as LED lighting for automtive applications with something as robust and effective as an HID projector.

 

[CookieRoe]

I haven't looked into LED lighting, but do know that the Prius does have them as optional equipment. The only thing I can think of is aftermarket companies (read: TRS) offering the projector to the public, much like they do with Denso Ballast (the majority of them are from Prius HID equipped cars), then you can "build" around the LED projector, you know, retrofitting them into other headlights like some of us do.

I think it's a matter of time before aftermarket companies "figure it" out.

 

[riceandpho]

I think u can try to retro the led headlamp from the prius to the 4runner.