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I was trained as a new driver to flash to pass, the duck the lights twise in thanks, and to flash to warn the trucks what was ahead. Pretty sure that's not changing for me.
Just to be clear, DOT is not an approval agency, and issues no "certificates, approval numbers, licenses, etc". Therefore, the term DOT APPROVED is not real, by definition, and when it's used by anyone it's essentially being used to increase consumer confidence in a false manner. This is a marketing issue that's compounded over time, such as how chicken is now sold stating "no steroids", as if any chicken is allowed to be sold in US with steroids injected...it's not. DOT is a set of guidelines, which describes light control, highs and lows, distance, etc AT THE TIME of manufacture. Today, lenses, injection molds, LED's, HID's all flirt in and around all these legalities, but rest assured, China will put "DOT" on a pair of knockoff rayban sunglasses and on your offroad lights, if you ask them to.
Inspection "mechanics" look for the little word on the lens...which essentially side steps examining what the actual regulation is. A light without DOT on it, can VERY well be DOT compliant, while one with DOT on the lens isn't.
LOL
Well, DOT had a good deal of authority Until last week ... when SCOTUS put the knife in "Chevron deference" concept/ruling.
The Feds still have the ability to cause grief to honest peeps.
YMMV (?)
We are currently on our 3rd generation of LED Projectors past our old HID setup.
The biggest challenge with our HID setup was maintaining a proper bulb alignment in the projector. Moving to purpose-built LED projectors, the LED chipsets are built into the projector and have perfect focus.
Based on our testing, there is practically no difference in the visible spectrum output of the 5000K HID and our first gen LED projector. Since then the biggest changes are the output of the LED chips and the increase in hot-spot width without sacrificing lux output at TDC of the pattern. The latest generation provides excellent down-road projection and width without excessive foreground glare.
HID projector low beam LED projector low beam (Gen 1) LED projector Gen 1 vs Gen 2 (low beam) LED projector Gen 1 vs Gen 2 (high beam)
We are currently on our 3rd generation of LED Projectors past our old HID setup.
The biggest challenge with our HID setup was maintaining a proper bulb alignment in the projector. Moving to purpose-built LED projectors, the LED chipsets are built into the projector and have perfect focus.
Based on our testing, there is practically no difference in the visible spectrum output of the 5000K HID and our first gen LED projector. Since then the biggest changes are the output of the LED chips and the increase in hot-spot width without sacrificing lux output at TDC of the pattern. The latest generation provides excellent down-road projection and width without excessive foreground glare.
HID projector low beam LED projector low beam (Gen 1) LED projector Gen 1 vs Gen 2 (low beam) LED projector Gen 1 vs Gen 2 (high beam)
I installed my original ACA kit back in 2010 and then upgraded to your bi-xenon ACA kit back in 2015 and upgraded all the harnesses and ballasts as well including the 4-on harness at the fuse box. Can you retrofit existing ACA housings to support the better aligned high beams? Does the new system still require the ballasts or are those removed with the LEDs?
I installed my original ACA kit back in 2010 and then upgraded to your bi-xenon ACA kit back in 2015 and upgraded all the harnesses and ballasts as well including the 4-on harness at the fuse box. Can you retrofit existing ACA housings to support the better aligned high beams? Does the new system still require the ballasts or are those removed with the LEDs?
Just a shout-out to George Argel aka TheRadioFlyer. I bought the Bi-Xenon kit in 2018 and truth be told I had some problems with them. But EVERY time I emailed he got back to me within hours, sometimes within minutes. I made a few modifications over the years, always with help from George, but I was never really happy with them. Recently I did the Bi-LED upgrade and I think this is MUCH better. Again, George was there every step of the way. I made a couple of mistakes and he diagnosed them remotely (I'm no mechanic--I'm a 76-yr-old retired guy working in my driveway).
After doing the upgrade I needed an oil change, so I asked the mechanic (a guy who owns 'vetted himself) to aim the headlights. The car came back with the left headlight "winking" and the mechanic said I needed a new motor. Parts and labor about $600. George had just helped me with the Bi-LED installation and so I asked if the winking was related in any way. He wrote "Opening and closing several times tells me the lifting arm is not hitting the bump stop. This is typically not a problem unless there is damage in that area or the headlight rotary arm is loose". A quick internet search turned up lots of info on the bump stops so I went out, found the chewed-up bump stock, flipped it over to expose the good side. Problem fixed! Less than 1/2 hour and $0. Thank you George! (I did order new bump stops and washers just to be safe but the cost was a tiny fraction of the mechanic's quote).
