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In Development: High-Powered LED Projector headlights for C6
The C6 Headlights were the First corvette headlights to use HID projector technology making them far superior to the C5, however over time, the bulbs fade, the reflector bowl suffers heat damage and the main lens clouds all contributing to a reduction in output. Replacing the lenses is expensive and still leaves you with the factory projectors and even replacing the bulbs may leave you with scorched reflector bowls contributing to reduced performance.
Currently, the only available headlight upgrade options are to replace your headlight bulbs or replace the entire headlight assembly with the single bi-LED projector system whose total output is less than factory.
At sharp light innovations we think there is a better way to improve night vision. If you're looking at replacing your main lens, It should also be possible to replace the projector assembly with modern high-output LED projectors. Using the same projectors we use in our C5 Stealth Light Cannon headlights I did a side-by-side comparison to the C6 projectors outside the headlight housing for best possible performance.
Test 1: pattern and Light meter testing:
Procedure: Lights 25' from wall.
Lux readings taken from top-center of cutoff (low beam) and 10 degrees off center parallel to ground. (points marked by the painters tape on the garage door)
Camera set to automatic to show pattern of each light subjectively.
Results: Factory HID projector: Center: 422 Lux 10 deg off: 172.5 Lux Notes: Relatively intense across width of pattern. Some bleed over the top of cutoff. Factory Halogen high beam (stand alone) Center: 450 Lux 10 deg off: 56 Lux Notes: Ugly yellow color, Semi-spot pattern Factory Low/High combo Center: 750 Lux 10 deg off: 190 Lux Notes: Color mismatch, High current draw, Minimal additional output. Bi-LED projector (low beam mode) Center: 900 Lux 10 deg off: 84.5 Lux Notes: Sharp cutoff, More focused hot spot in center of pattern. Bi-LED projector (high beam mode) Notes: Same intensity as in low mode, but with additional vertical spread. Dedicated LED high beam projector (stand alone) Center : 1,090 Lux 10 deg off: 45 Lux Notes: Intense center hot spot with some horizontal spread Bi-LED High beam/ LED High Combo Center: 2,030 Lux 10 deg off 137 Lux Notes: Extreme central hot spot for maximum long-range throw with reasonable side spread.
It's worth noting that my IOTA DLS 45 power convert would not simultaneously fire both the halogen and HID bulbs. I had to fire the HID bulb and let it warm up then turn on the halogen bulb. This is an indication of how much current (and heat) is going through the factory system.
Field test:
Camera in manual mode set to for each photo to objectively show each light's illumination capacity.
Using a private road, the mark for "decent" visibility is the ability to illuminate the 8" wide tree trunk about 475 feet away.
The Camera had difficulty picking up the true throw of each light due to foreground illumination, and I was able to see much further. My personal observations were as follows:
The field for normal headlight testing (Yellow circle is the tree I try to illuminate from the red rectangle)
Factory low beam: Able to Illuminate the tree, but only just barely
Factory low + high beam: Tree clearly illuminated.
LED projector combo clearly lit up the tree line 1000 feet away. (camera had a hard time picking it up)
LED low beam: Tree clearly illuminated:
LED high beam: Not only is the Tree clearly illuminated, but the Tree line 1000 feet away is clearly illuminated.
Producing 2.7 times the brightness at the center as the factory combo, the LED projectors clearly have a huge range advantage. The reduction in off-center illumination enhances long-distance illumination without substantially reducing the capacity to illuminate off-road obstacles. Keep in mind this is the output from what would be a single-side headlight.
The goal of this upgrade is to make the cost of a completely re-built C6 headlight (new lens and new projectors) no more expensive than the complete C7 style Bi-LED replacement headlight currently available. While the C7 style headlight certainly modernizes the look of your car, this system would be vastly superior in performance.
Questions to you:
1) Is this a product you believe we should continue to develop?
2) Would you prefer this over the C7 style headlights?
These look really interesting. Do you have any idea on pricing? I love the Morimoto headlights but I have a hard time stomaching the price, especially since I'd probably prefer body-color.
I'd definitely be interested in something that keeps the overall look of the C6 lights, but offers better light output. I'm not sure what condition my projectors are in but I suspect they aren't in great shape. I'm on my first set of replacement lenses (aftermarket) and they are failing because of a production run defect.
I wouldn't mind switching back to the oem style headlights for better output of light. My argument with the morimoto's the entire time is the output compared to factory is less. The only way I can see this project being profitable tho, is if you can somehow keep the cost below the morimoto's (and still make money of course). Cost is the only factor going against you only because for the same amount, I would assume people are more inclined to spend it for the better looks (my opinion of course).
I wouldn't mind switching back to the oem style headlights for better output of light. My argument with the morimoto's the entire time is the output compared to factory is less. The only way I can see this project being profitable tho, is if you can somehow keep the cost below the morimoto's (and still make money of course). Cost is the only factor going against you only because for the same amount, I would assume people are more inclined to spend it for the better looks (my opinion of course).
While I disagree that the morimotos look better, I do think staying under them in cost is important, because they're overpriced from the get go. I would prefer an option that we would swap out the oem projector from our headlights and put in a new Led projector with higher output.
For those curious, I did a side-by-side comparison to the morimotos to factory. Here is what I found:
Low beam (side by side) High beam (side by side) 24.7K lux @ 2 feet 22.1 Lux @ 2 feet Morimoto 516.3 Lux @ 25 feet (center of hot spot) OEM: 428 Lux @ 25 feet (center of hot spot)
The morimoto projectors have a slight advantage in "throw" but at a tremendous cost in overall projection. I'm considering offering a projector upgrade using the same LED projectors in our test above, however this would increase the already expensive price of the morimoto headlights and certainly void the 5 year warranty. On the other hand, They would have double the output of OEM, and a much better pattern (both low and high) than the Morimotos.
I wouldn't mind switching back to the oem style headlights for better output of light. My argument with the morimoto's the entire time is the output compared to factory is less. The only way I can see this project being profitable tho, is if you can somehow keep the cost below the morimoto's (and still make money of course). Cost is the only factor going against you only because for the same amount, I would assume people are more inclined to spend it for the better looks (my opinion of course).
I was under the impression that the morimoto lights had a higher output than factory lights. Also, from the testing pictures above and the information attached to each pic, it seems like the morimoto's have a higher output than factory. Is this not true?
I was under the impression that the morimoto lights had a higher output than factory lights. Also, from the testing pictures above and the information attached to each pic, it seems like the morimoto's have a higher output than factory. Is this not true?
I've seen no data that would suggest this. I've seen marketing that implies it, but no data. This makes me suspect they don't perform as well as OEM, as they would have created data for it if they did.
I've seen no data that would suggest this. I've seen marketing that implies it, but no data. This makes me suspect they don't perform as well as OEM, as they would have created data for it if they did.
The challenge here is understanding total light output and focal points. The raw data shows that the Morimotos create less overall lumens than the factory lights in low beam mode. The LED projector used focuses this light into a very small hot spot to give longer distance range while sacrificing pattern width. In high beam, the OEM has additional light while the LED projector opens the cutoff shield. No more light is created and the pattern changes only slightly.
Originally Posted by captain vette
plug and play?
Yes, this system would be plug and play.
Originally Posted by OlyC6
Interesting idea. Conceptually, this would require taking the OEM lens off the assembly to perform the upgrade?
Yes, however most C6 cars are at the age where lenses are needing this anyway. My goal is to create a "drop in" projector assembly that can simply replace the factory projector assembly. Aiming will be accomplished using the factory adjusters.
While I disagree that the morimotos look better, I do think staying under them in cost is important, because they're overpriced from the get go. I would prefer an option that we would swap out the oem projector from our headlights and put in a new Led projector with higher output.
The cost for a set of the Morimoto lights is less than the cost of one new OEM headlight. Not sure where you're seeing that they're overpriced.
The challenge here is understanding total light output and focal points. The raw data shows that the Morimotos create less overall lumens than the factory lights in low beam mode. The LED projector used focuses this light into a very small hot spot to give longer distance range while sacrificing pattern width. In high beam, the OEM has additional light while the LED projector opens the cutoff shield. No more light is created and the pattern changes only slightly..
Are you talking about your projectors, or the morimoto C7 style ones?
I may be in the minority here, but I don't see a real need for the low beams to focus light to go further, but would rather have more light spread. If I need to go further, thats what high beams are for.
Ive seen a few of the laser based bulbs start to hit the market with pretty limited applications. They create a spot, which is more or less useless, unless it's combined with a bi mode projector, and was just acting as an auxiliary long distance spot beam... So a bimode projector that can give you a wide pattern with the addition of a laser bulb in the factory high beam could work great... Assuming laser bulbs live up to the hype some day.
The cost for a set of the Morimoto lights is less than the cost of one new OEM headlight. Not sure where you're seeing that they're overpriced.
I just feel like 800 bucks for non OEM headlights is overpriced. In the market, it's rare to see aftermarket headlights for more than 300 bucks. Thus, overpriced IMO.
01-26-2020, 07:41 PM
In Development: High-Powered LED Projector headlights for C6
