11-09-2013, 01:41 PM | #45 |
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Maybe the financial analyst can point out to them that mainstream cars are now offering them as optional/standard equipment. So maybe BMW can offer it as standard equipment now to keep with its luxury brand image without up charging the customer. Otherwise the customers will wise up and leave for other brands.
I am pretty sure no one will be unhappy if BMW offers the Xenon as standard. It will be a greater selling point more sales mean more salary for financial analyst. Lets leave optional equipment place for LED for now.
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11-09-2013, 02:58 PM | #46 |
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To do xenons well, is not a trivial thing. They need a more precise reflector and often an automatic leveler. IOW, it more than just the cost of a different bulb and power supply. You get a lot more light for less input power, so it makes sense when you are trying to squeeze every bit out for corporate fuel economy (along with LED lights elsewhere in the car). And, on an electric vehicle like the I-series, every watt not used in lighting means more range, so it's important for other reasons as well.
I will say that it would be a discriminator between vehicles when making my decision. I have yet to drive a vehicle with LED headlamps (or lasers), so I can't comment on them verses other technologies, but the long service life and lower power appeal to me from a techie viewpoint. Over the last 15-years or so, and three different vehicles, I've not needed to change a bulb on the headlights, but every other car I've owned prior to those with xenons required at least one bulb to be replaced in my ownership. So, in addition to the whiter light which is easier on the eyes, the better light distribution (you can get this from halogens, but you often do not), and the longer bulb life...it seems both the LED, and xenons, any probably the laser are better. From a technical viewpoint, with fiber optics and a central laser, you could use one and light every pseudo bulb in the vehicle. |
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11-09-2013, 03:27 PM | #47 | |
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11-11-2013, 10:50 AM | #51 |
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Have to be DOT approved first. BMW stated at the unveiling in Frankfurt that as of then, they would not be offering it on the i8 in the US. Audi has also been having a hell of a time getting new lighting solutions approved. But the DOT is glacially slow in their approvals of new tech. We'll see when the full options list likely gets released at the LA Auto Show next week (the unveiling of the US-spec i8).
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11-11-2013, 01:18 PM | #52 |
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The saving grace in the long term would be if the negotiations ever get completed between the EU and the USA about cars...the goal is, if it is legal in one country, it would be allowed in the other without change. Some things would have to be different, since, for example, the diesel in the USA is still not compatible with the diesels from Europe because of the differences in sulphur (even though the US lowered the max value, it's still high compared to Europe). But, things like lighting, etc., except for left hand verses right-hand, would be okay.
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11-15-2013, 02:46 AM | #53 |
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Maybe I am missing something but using lasers for headlights seems like trying to smash a square peg into a round hole. Sure you get a lot of light per watt but it is mono-chromatic, polarized and super directional all which are not good for seeing everything in front of you.
Reading the linked thread it looks like they get around the fact lasers make bad light for vision by using it to excite phosphors to produce decent light, but then you don't get as much light out. And to me this kills the cool factor of the laser anyway. Now if it was a laser phased array, doing adaptive beam-forming to put nulls over other cars windows (light up the body but no/minimal light into other drivers eyes) and such that would be super cool but would still have the mono-chromatic issue. |
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12-18-2013, 07:38 AM | #55 |
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Just ordered the dam led adaptive on f11 lci blim blam
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12-18-2013, 07:52 AM | #56 |
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I don't mean to read into this too much, but with a physics background, I just can't resist.
Lasers are monochromatic; hence, they consist of light of a single wavelength. White light, on the other hand, are made up of continuum photons. As said in the link in the OP, the bluish monochromatic laser is converted into white light using some crystal. This means that the light that actually emerging from the lighting unit is not actually coherent. While it's true that the diode itself can be smaller than LED, the entire package including the conversion crystal is likely to be larger. The only advantage left seem to be efficiency. But let's bit forget, LEDs can also be made to be more efficient, and the quoted efficiency factor of 1.7 doesn't seem to be difficult to reach. Hence, I really don't get the point of having laser headlights.
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12-18-2013, 08:37 AM | #57 |
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^^
Bragging rights? Btw Carac is correct the Laser lights are not being offered in the US i8. I just wish the LED had the same stacked arrangement as the Laser lights. Of course at the likely cost of $10-$15k to retrofit a Euro spec Laser light, and the fact that it would be illegal, would likely leave any such retrofit ideas in the realm of "not going to happen" for most US i8 customers. |
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12-18-2013, 08:58 AM | #59 |
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Could totally light up my sons soccer field for a night game with this Star Wars technology. Would be the coolest dad ever.
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12-18-2013, 09:00 AM | #60 |
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FWIW, I've heard that the slight delay in US production (1-2 months) is partially due to HEAVY lobbying by BMW to get laser approved in time to make it available (and likely standard in the US if approved) for the US launch.
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12-18-2013, 09:01 AM | #61 |
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so freakin sick.
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12-18-2013, 09:33 AM | #62 | |
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I agree it would likely be standard because the BMW people at the SLS event said specifically there will be no options on this car, only color and interior choices and wheels. Or hopefully it will get approved for 2nd year production if not right away |
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12-18-2013, 09:34 AM | #63 | |
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Lasers can be brighter while having a much narrower cone of light. As in, they can illuminate much farther forward without polluting other lanes of traffic. Further, these are likely to be packaged with adaptive technology that will dim or turn off portions of the lights when cornering, etc. This should solve the blinding-by-SUV problem. |
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12-18-2013, 11:32 AM | #65 |
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How long will this take to filter down to the rest of the BMW lineup?
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12-18-2013, 11:57 AM | #66 |
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Now sharks have fricken "Laser"
Love my Adaptive LED. Some of the laser tail-lamp applications by Audi look pretty interesting. But Laser headlamps that light up the road for miles, erm,...
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