Comparing the brightness of Halogen vs Xenon vs LED headlights Find me on FB here kiwinicktube Find me on Twitter here nick_murray Find me on Instagram here droppedbaby1 My email address is nick@kiwinicktube.com
I agree that the Xenon headlights look more "classic". but the LED really looked cool to me. In addition, I did read about how much more closer to daylight LED is. Thing is, I didnt have a choice anyway because the 991.2 Turbo S comes with LED as standard. Loved this video. Thanks for taking the time out to do this. This is one of those videos many wanted to see but didnt have the time to ask for :) Congrats again on your 911 Nick!
I really wish auto makers would use a more neutral color temp on their led designs, say 4500-5000K. I get that they want them to stand out by making them with higher temperatures (aka more blue). But in my mind 4300K of the HID headlights is a nice clean white light thats revealing, yet easy on the eyes. Not to mention now with high CRI led dies available they could really improve color rendition of road objects and rival natural sunlight.
Tim Fritz not to mention the warmer (more yellow) the light, the better visibility. My car came with those blue ass HIDs and it's damn near impossible to see during rain. I swapped the bulbs for 4300K. So much more output and visibility.
Actually I found the Xenon light more evenly distributed. So while LED measure brighter, the bottom of your garage door was a lot dimmer on LED than Xenon. Hence, I think Xenon should do a better general job illuminating the road than LED. That's actually the issue with LED lights in general. They're very directional and not as wide as halogens or Xenon. I'd still pick Xenon.
If you have a look at the freezeframe at about 2:25 , you can easily notice how much more glare (above the cutoff) the LEDs are producing in comparison to the xenons. It can be a good and bad thing. Good thing is it'll light up distant road signs much better than Xenons can; bad, it may cause irritating glare to other drivers, but I'm sure Porsche has engineered the glare to be "just right" in addition to the dipping feature. It's all about usable light so xenons, better colour temperature and light distribution, LEDS better road sign visibility and longevity (less light output loss over time).
@@stevenlam4802 LEDs are not long lasting. Most of my home LEDs have lost their brightness or died after 5 years. It’s a fallacy. Yes they may last long, but lose light output every year.
Nick Murray exactly. If you look at the Garage door, the bottom of door was more dim on LED vs. Xenon. So Xenon while not as bright, does a better job distributing lights and that to me is more important.
That does not mean anything. Relevant is not the projection on your garage door, but how well the light cone illuminates the actual tarmac and sides of the road in the distance. And if you have ever seen graphical representations of what those are like, the newer ones have always been better. You can be sure that they have put the lens design of the LEDs through a computer for the best results on the road - not on your garage door...
Good video. I have a 2016 Turbo S and didn't know the LEDs were that much brighter than the Xenon. I bought them for the auto dimming and speed variable length. Not sure you mentioned but if you go over 80Mph the LED lights will raise to increase length of beam down the road. Also, I find this annoying, the auto High beam will not come on at speeds below 45Mph. The manual says this is a consideration for inter city driving whatever that is. You can manually override it.
Baerchenization actually it does matter. Not to you but everyone else on the road. If you have sloppy beak masking and brighter lights it blinds the hell out of the incoming traffic. That's one reason the EU cars have a higher power permitted and their inspections specs, driver discipline and roads result in less blinding of incoming traffic than in us conditions where folks routinely drive down city steers with hightbeams on and most states don't verify the beam shape settings regularly.
Its so simple and obvious: 1. Regardless of how good Xenons/HIDs are, their light output deteriorate relatively much faster vs LEDs. Hence, in any Xenon headlights, the brightness is noticeably much dimmer after 2yrs if used for 2-3hrs every week. And replacement bulbs are expensive. LEDs and Halogens do not hv this issue. LEDs can maintain the same light output for many years. 2. Reflector LED headlights are cheap to produce, enable slim designs to be achieved (current Honda Civic), but the distance penetration is dismal. If you want the brightness and dependability of LEDs, then choose projector LED headlights. 3. If you are pursuing distance penetration, and a wide even swath of bright light, with little emphasis on aesthetics and are prepared to replace bulbs every 2-3yrs to maintain optimal performance, any factory Xenon/HID with a big projector is my favourite choice. 4. The super white light from LEDs only look impressive when it falls onto light and medium grey tarmac or sandy paths or concrete highways. On a wet, black asphalt on a rainy night, your white LED light is not noticeable at all and it appears your headlights are not switched on.
JK Low to be honest with you bro... led could not last a weak in my country bcaue of its hot weather... led cannot be to hot thats why they have a fan...
Its amazing how controllable the more modern bulbs/projectors are. Such a level and even dispersal vs the conventional bulb spreading light everywhere.
I prefer xenon for the pattern, and there is something on the light that seems more comfortable and reliable on them (at least for me), plus LED is brighter on short distances i think, you could have done the video focusing the road instead of the sidewalk for a better comparison, after all you are ment to be looking forward most of time and there is where the beams should stand out, great vid anyways
i like the fact that u love Porsche , and your very thorough with your video and explanation but not over thorough which is great. some people go into details and u spend a day watching to one or 2 useful info, thats called waste of time, your videos are so good, thanks buddy keep the good work.
Videos like this are why you have a subscriber count in six figures, Quite a simple idea but we all appreciate the time and effort that went Into this 5:12 video.Another well deserved thumbs up from me.
Nick: thanks a bunch for following up and producing this video. I have bi-Xenon's, and have wondered about the difference between the LEDs and the Xenons. Good stuff. Cheers. -S
Great vid again, educating too. The choice is ours, now. And that's a good thing. Porsche itself presents graphics on its website to mark the differences. They could do however, with a video like yours. Some things you really need to see with your own eyes. This is one of them. Thumbs up, Nick!
I think Audi got them in North America on the 2017 R8 (at least in Canada I can confirm), but yeah like in this video they coded all the fun out of it. I think its only laser on high beam in certain situations. Its a damn shame, when all we want is to make driving safer and its illegal...
headlights are getting too bright - what used to be a bright is now a standard headlight - as someone who does extensive traveling - it is extremely annoying with these people behind you and creates a danger for the drivers in front of these cars. they either need to put some sort of sensors in that vary the light when behind other vehicles, or they need to bring the power down. you don't need a headlight that bright. people do run into deer and animals, yes, but reaction time is much more important and honestly a headlight may or may not save you. And while the mfg are making one driver safer, they are endangering others.
Johnny Knoxville I agree with you. Many newer and especially luxury vehicles have headlights that are crazy bright on low beams and are very hard on the eyes especially when driving in very dark unlit streets
This is only a problem if the person's headlights are misaligned or their high beams are on. Even if you don't have auto-dim mirrors, the headlights are designed to not illuminate above a certain height.
Johnny Knoxville it's not that they are getting too bright, it's that they aren't aimed properly. It's known that certain cars like the Corolla and Explorers are aimed too high and glare a lot... from experience (and info from owners of both) the lights don't even shine very well on the road, they just create a lot of glare. A poorly controlled halogen will appear worse than a correctly controlled HID (ignoring cresting hills and hitting bumps)
Another issue is that OEM headlights have softer cutoffs.... which increases the amount of light shone above the true cutoff. this is to allow illumination of road signs, but is also a form of glare. Car companies are moving towards the 6000k-6500k range for headlight color, which is that cool white look. Cooler color temps are harsher to our eyes than a warmer color (such as warm white to halogenish yellow). Cooler color temps cause eye strain after long periods of driving, and also perform worse in bad weather. You can even see in this video how the LEDs have more blue in them than even the HIDs, which will contribute to the bright appearance when driving past you
You should do a video on longevity and replacement costs. I think the LEDs look better here (it's the ones with the distinctive 4 little lights design, right?), but I wonder about those 2 factors. LED was crazy expensive to replace from personal experience vs xenons.
Nick, You say it's not scientific but I say it is - your measurements were accurate enough compared to the light differences. You gave a very good picture for all of us - thanks! I also choose the regular lights for my 991.2, purely for the looks. Cheers!
JP & Co. actually there not, the DOT sets the max brightness not the mfg. as in most high end cars the LED lights are set around 83% that’s so you don’t blind the driver in front of you.
I don't see any reason to do any coding on the Porsche. On the BMW there were a bunch of annoying features I wanted changed but I don't have that problem on this car
Nick Murray Nick, I have a 2016 VW TSI sport with adaptive Xenon headlights. I love them, I'm sure they're the same output as your Porsche's. But.... how could I code them if I wanted to see what they're really capable of? Thank you!
CCFerrariF1 not sure if you want to code your xenons to be honest. Unlike LEDs, they have a much shorter life span so increasing output and operating temperature will probably even shorten their life.
Damn fine video, Sir. A regular Consumer Reports, you are. The noting the readings on the screen was very nice. The video side by side by side was especially impressive.
I actually wish they would stop with this headlight brightness stuff. It's getting to the point where it's pretty ridiculous driving at night and being blinded by one of these new headlight things. Yes they are on low beam and they are legal, but they are still blinding at night.
Thank you for making this informative video. The best part was driving with all three headlamps. Anytime I'm not sure what to order I simply scan for your videos on the subject and end up making the right decision. Thanks again.
Very interesting video , congrats about the idea . Very nice results , we learned something today. The other thing i noticed is that xenon lights keep the same intese light everywhere . The projector just does an excellent job. On the other hand , halogens and leds (that are not projector lights) tend to have brighter and darker spots . So the result with xenons is much more uniform , and that's what i want from the lights . Even light everywhere , whether is bright or not. It makes driving more relaxed. So that's another unmentioned aspect of the results! Do you agree? Thanks Nick.
The thing is, is it actually worth the extra money for the LED's when the difference isn't that big? Sure the LED's are slightly brighter but I'm not sure they're worth the money Porsche charges. Also, headlights are getting way too bright these days. I live in the UK and outside of London, the roads are very twisty so when you turn round a corner to find another car, when its headlights are n (and they're not even on full beams) and they often blind you for a few seconds which is quite scary sometimes.
i agree i drive a quite low car and when one of those suvs with led -light comes around i get severely blinded. these new lights creates more dangerous situation then safety to the one who owns the led car.
Great video. Excellent comparison.I have PDLS plus , I am used to xenons in my BMW & Audi since 2009, but I can see clear difference when I drive with PDLS plus.
Nick, Thanks for the objective testing. The real question is how much lux is enough? Unless one is doing high speed runs, guess either is fine. Keep up the good work.
The concern I have with coding the LED lights to be brighter (assuming that is possible) is the potential impact on long term reliability. My guess is pushing the LEDs that much harder with the same heatsinks would result in a significant increase in diode junction temperature and ultimately a lower MTBF. Probably not an issue if you trade cars every 3-4 years, but for those that prefer to own for longer periods, well, let's just say that the replacement cost will likely be significantly more than the option cost.
Nice practical comparison Nick Murray. I prefer the distribution of my Porsche Xenon's over my wife's BMW LEDs and since the high beams are about equal I would opt for the Xenon again.
My ND Miata has LED lights. They are honestly amazing! They light up the road and swivel around corners. One thing is most people think you have your brights on in certain situations even if they auto level.
I, like many others, am obsessed with the way the Xenons look with the 4 bulb look on the DRLs. I can't tell by looking at your friend's car if LEDs provide that same look. Enlighten me?
Very well done. I really appreciate it. I have read quite a few articles that the insurance folks are now rating headlight system effectiveness and Xenon and LED systems are really the only systems that meet their standards, I think there are maybe two cars with halogens that can meet the standard so I think halogen's days are numbered. I am hoping that the insurance folks will push the Feds to allow European levels of headlight performance and laser technology used at its full potential because from what I have seen of the BMW laser system that is the best of all worlds, shapes the light to protect oncoming drivers and lights much further than any system before it.
Damn, Nick! Ha ha Great video... your vids only get better and better. They're informative and appreciated. Although, I do love my Xenon setup, I'm leaning towards the LED investment/ upgrade. Thanks again.
I’m with you Nick I opt. For the Xenon on my M5. There just the better looking light and I do like how they follow the road. You should have demo’ed that in your video, in park just turn your wheels the light follow in that direction.
Hi Nick, if you have a chance to re-visit this, maybe lining up all three against a wall from a greater distance and shooting a picture - with the same settings - one-by-one would show off the differences nicely.
Nick, I have been informed that the standard HID system on the Porsche is a 25 watt system. If it was the typical 35 watt it would definitely be brighter. A lot of manufacturers seem to be putting out 25 watt systems for some reason (my TL has a 35 watt system)
You came to the same conclusion as me, while using different methods. Drove a Volvo with LEDs (they call them "Thor's Hammer":)))))) two weeks ago and to my surprise, the light was "whiter" than Audi's or Mercedes' Xenon lights...which were looking quite yellowish in comparison (same for Porsches, 3:28). Oh men, are the LEDs bright! It was the same feeling I had when I drove my first car with Xenons after cars with H4/H7 headlights. Now, if Porsche would pack them like the Xenons...you are right, the former looks better.
Well done... especially with the light meter. A head on comparison shot of both Carrera's with the lights on would've been nice though. I'm a biased Xenon fan myself.
Cool video! Anything is better than halogens. My car has Xenons and I'm happy with that. Bright, lights up very well. I think the xenon light covers slightly more area then LEDs imo.
You came to the same conclusion as me, while using different methods. Drove a Volvo with LEDs (they call them "Thor's Hammer":)))))) two weeks ago and to my surprise, the light was "whiter" than Audi's or Mercedes' Xenon lights...which were looking quite yellowish in comparison. Oh men, are the LEDs bright! It was the same feeling I had when I drove my first car with Xenons after cars with H4/H7 headlights. Now, if Porsche would pack them like the Xenons...you are right, the former looks better.
thanks for the video nice! surprised at the results. I never would have considered the LED until now. I'm with you the styling on the HID does look better but you can't deny the light output on the LED.
Nick, you mentioned how the Porsche with the LEDs had PDLS+ and would automatically dim upon detecting an oncoming automobile. When you were testing with the lights projected onto the garage door, would there have been any attenuation with the LEDs because of detecting light reflecting back at the mirror bouncing off the garage? From what I recall, the PDLS+ uses a sensor in the mirror. I'm just wondering if the attenuation if discrete (switch strictly to low beam) or if it's a gradual analog roll back on brightness depending on how close the oncoming car would be. Probably not that technical by design but I wondered for moment about the possibility.
Nick, thanks for the comparison, well done. You should consider a RaceDeck floor for your garage, it would be a huge improvement. I am not affiliated with RaceDeck. 😉
Great comparison, Nick! I have High density light on my 2011 GT3RS, the beam turn as turn of the steering wheel.(now i got 7,500 miles) As I know you're a respectable car guy! Could you tell me when would be a good time to sell the car?(RS market). What would you consider to purchase to replace the GT3RS?! So far, I couldn't find a similar price range car to be comparable to the RS driving sensation and involvement. I drove a Huracan, it looks amazing w/ jet fighter interior but the steering feel a bit remote. The only car I found that I feel the driving sensation and perhaps as exciting to drive would be 430 or 458. But i know the repair and maintenance is outrageous to me. I really like the headlight technology, I noticed the 2017 LED headlight is whiter and brighter beam on my niece Rav 4 than my business delivery fleet 2013 Prius V (whiter light than Porsche HID but not as white as new 2017 Rav 4). How is the headlight tech on Porsche vs,. BMW laser headlight? I saw Merc offer intelligent LED headlights. Audi got their own headlight tech too.. have you get a chance to check them out yet? Please let me know... cheers 🍻 🦅🦅🇺🇸
Interesting comparison! Certainly if it were a $2K bump from halogen to LED I would consider it, but I don't think I'd spend that to go from Xenon to LED. I have always been delighted with the Xenon lights on my BMWs.
These super-bright lights are great for the driver of that car, but on a typical night here you are blinded because some idiot doesn't know how to aim low beams. I think these lights are a real danger to oncoming traffic.
You only get blinded if they're on high beams, led doesn't on normal beams doesn't blind you especially when the headlight is calibrated correctly and facing slightly down.
The xenons automatically adjust the height of the beam and the LED's even dip the beam when they detect oncoming traffic so there's not really an issue here. The only problem is when some idiot fits aftermarket HID lights to their car incorrectly.
InlineSix is right about aftermarket installation and cars with self adjusting lights. However I will assure you that many stock SUV's will blind the hell of you and it's because the headlight are mounted too high off the ground not too.
Interesting video Nick ! It's quite cool seeing the LED beams in my Audi in action as they constantly change their beam. The xenons look great and your car is tastefully specced as well ! Enjoy
Living in Finland, I do know about driving in the dark, for 39 years now. Modern lights are great, no doubt of that. I don't see much significant difference in brightness between xenon/led, but led is more versatile when you need to switch between low/high beams. But it is a double edged sword. I am getting older and my night vision is not what it used to be, thus getting blinded by oncoming traffic is more likely when everyone is driving with modern led light. And worse, when they do not know when to lower your high beam. Certainly, automated light systems are a short term answer, but in a long term, we just let cars drive by themselves. That will be much safer.
Great video Nick thanks for your time & effort, regardless of the look of the xenon which you like it..in your opinion is it really worth it to choose LED over Xenon regarding brightness wise ??
Quite interesting, I just had to change a single xenon bulb on an Audi Q5, $404 with labor, and only 5 years old. I appreciate the test showing the brightness but it would be interesting to know which has the longer life and which costs more to replace.
I would let it all come down to the kind of 911 I was going for. Yours is incredibly stylish and elegant and somewhat classic looking, so the round-eye classic looking xenons fit the car tremendously. Also on a focused car like a GT3, I would go for those. On a Turbo or an all-out bold looking version like a GTS, the LED's give the car a great look. I just wish you could have the Xenons be adaptive without having to paint them black.. I want the lights to swivel but not allways have them i black.
Is it true that you need to replace the whole LED headlight, not just bulb. Been looking to buy a new car recently and many car makers have sealed LED headlights, meaning you can't access the bulb. Wondering if it's the same with all full LED headlights.
Another brilliant video Nick. We are missing all of your regular video updates! Do you know if it's a straight in/out replacement if you wanted to replace a 991.1 Xenon headlights with LED headlights?
I don't know if they are worth the extra money but in the side by side comparison part of the video you can see that the LEDS are definitely much brighter then the Xenons, the difference is very noticeable. In terms of looks I agree the Xenons look better in the Porsche which I think is opposite of BMWs where their LED headlight look much better then xenons.
Xenons are already bright enough. LED's ( and new-tech Lasers ) are really bad with oncoming traffic. I get blind spots for a couple of seconds when they hit my eyes even for a few moments. So dangerous and annoying when someone's still have them on even when parked. Besides Porsche, some top of the line Audis' also have electronic sensors that re-directs them but not all. Brighter doesn't necessarily mean better.
Gr8 job. One thing I need to throw in though, Xenons are notorious for losing luminosity over time. People are not really aware of this. So how old is your car? According to Philips, in 3,000 hours of use they lose half the brightness, and on average at 1000 hours of use they lose 10%. Where I live law dictates I must drive with lights on during the day. So, as you can imagine they fade quite quickly.
I ordered my 2017 C4 with Xenon lights although I might have considered LED had I seen this video. On the other hand, the Xenon seemed to do a bit better brightness wise on high beam, but that doesn't address the quality and "throw" differences between Xenon and LED. Given that most of my driving is done in a well lit city, I wonder whether i'd notice much of a difference from day to day (or night to night) driving. On the highway, I wonder if the Xenons don't do a bit better. that would be of interest to me.
Very interesting video mate. My previous car had xenons and my current car has LEDs although they're early, entry-level LEDs and not as advanced as those found in more expensive cars. I must admit the xenons were a little brighter in main beam and a lot brighter in high beam. I'm still happy with the LEDs though overall.
The thing about LED in North America is you need to code the anti-dazzle function back! I coded my f32 4 series with 1500 dollar optional LED, huge difference
That would be for the 911 series of sports cars. The 718 Boxster and Cayman have single unit LEDs when you get that option. I too prefer the look of the Bi-Xenons on a 911 over LED, but if you're considering a 718, the LEDs look fantastic.
