Projector Lens vs. Non-Projector Lens – What to use
Over the past few years as the humans of Race Sport Lighting travel North America visiting dealers or attending shows and events, the most frequently asked question posed to us is “Can I use an LED headlight in my projector housing?” In this article company will discuss recommending the proper headlight technology based on the lens style.
What Type of Housing Does the Vehicle Have?
When a dealer is looking for a headlight upgrade for his customer’s vehicle the first question that should be answered is: What type of housing does the vehicle have?
Meaning is it a projector or a non-projector housing? This information is essential for you to recommend the correct forward-facing technology for their setup. Every dealer wants their customer to experience the upgraded visibility and safety on the road they want without premature failures that will bring them back to the store for unnecessary warranty replacements.
Advantages to HID in Projectors
When the customer has projector lenses, company will always recommend the use of HID technology, period! Here are the core advantages of installing HIDs in projector headlights:
Projector lenses were designed to maximize HID technology
Projectors, being confined space by nature trap heat. The life expectancy of HID bulbs is not affected negatively by this environment because the projector was designed to perform with the HID’s operating temperature. The light from the HID is emitted in 360 degrees. Projectors are engineered to collect, focus and maximize the distance of the projected HID beam.
Disadvantages to LED in Projectors
The same advantages of using HID technology in projectors, become the disadvantages when using LED technology in projectors.
Projectors were not designed for LED technology.
Projectors, being a confined space by nature trap heat. The life expectancy of LED headlight diodes is lowered in this environment. The diodes need room to breathe and work within their ideal operating temperature range. You can expect premature failure of any LED kits that are installed in projectors.
LEDs by nature do not produce a perfect 360-degree illumination. Thus, as the projector collects and focuses the available light, anomalies appear in the beam, diminishing the maximum achievable distance of projection. So, if your customer calls looking for a headlight kit and the vehicle has a projector, recommend the GEN6 every time. If you insist on using an LED headlight kit here’s what company recommend.
Additional Considerations
Now, for non-projector housing you can in theory use the GEN6 (HID) or the Terminator (LED) Here are some additional considerations to narrow the conversation to the customer’s preference so you can make the best recommendation:
LED performs like a spotlight. HIDs perform more like a floodlight. What kind of LUX utilization will better suit their preference?
Is this upgrade for the high beam, low beam or fog light on the vehicle? The “Instant on” nature of LED technology lends itself to high beam and fog light applications.
Are they looking for the pure white of LED or are they looking for a hint of color? If so , this is achieved through a HID kit with the desired kelvin color.
These are the questions that can help dial in your recommendation.
Before Lumen and Lux
Do you remember PPI Art Series amplifiers for mobile audio? As you may recall, the RMS watt rating that was on the package is what you got. Then the market started changing. Overseas factories raced to have the lowest cost highest RMS rated amps as possible and company discovered that the RMS wattage that was advertised wasn’t always what you got to your speakers. The same confusion exists today about Lumen and Lux output on lighting products. But have no fear, Race Sport® is here to expose the lies and set the record straight about how to measure light output consistently and in a way that makes the measurement practically valuable. They need to learn from the past.
Story about LUX
Here is a recent example of a similar story in the lighting category. A Race Sport Lighting® sales representative stopped in to check on a local dealer whose sales had dipped. The rep wanted to assist the dealer in reinvigorating their lighting business. When he spoke with the store owner, he discovered that he was considering switching their LED headlight business to a competitor. After a short inquiry into the reasoning for this, the dealer expressed that they could get a 6,000 lumen LED kit from the new supplier compared to company 2,200 Lux Terminator LED kits. The sales rep (having faced this situation before) corrected the dealer on the misconceptions about lumen vs lux and why they at Race Sport Lighting® have been debunking myths about light output for years. They can all breathe easy though, because the dealer made the educated choice to keep his business with us. Below is a breakdown of what that rep shared with that dealer.
Some Science
Lumen
Lumens are now the most common measurement for lighting companies. The lumen (lm) is a measurement of the total amount of visible light around a light source. Let’s apply this to the LED diodes lighting manufactures like us utilize in building LED products. Each diode is measured in a rage or flux. (Resembling RMS/Peak Wattage on amps) Let’s say each LED diode used in a LED headlight kit has a minimum typical output of 260 lm. With 4 diodes present on the lamp’s circuit board, that means the raw lumen measurement is 1,040 per lamp (2,080 lm per kit). This is how you will see most lighting products measured.
In other words, Lumens are how much raw light is given off from the headlight lamp itself.
Lux
Lux (lx), on the other hand, measures luminance, or the amount of light on a surface. A single lux is equal to one lumen per square meter. Now, any change in distance or bulb type changes the lux level. As an example, if you place a 100-lumen bulb in a flood light that shines on only one square meter of a surface, that surface will be lit at 100 lx. However, if you back the flood light away to shine on four square meters, the surface is now lit with 25 lx. Thus, Lux is how bright your surface will be.
In other words, Lux is the usable light on the road
Exposing of Lies
Lie #1- Manufacturers Misdirect with Lumens
Company are not claiming that every lighting manufacturer does this intentionally, or even knowingly. What they are exposing is the habit of some to take a cookie cutter LED product from a Chinese factory, slap an unverified raw lumen output on the box and bring it to market. Let’s go back to the 12 volt manufacture who is attempting to branch out into lighting and their 6,000 lm kit they mentioned above. They investigated and found that the diode they are using measures at 270 lm typically. The lamps come with 6 diodes for a total of 1,620 lm per lamp. You can then double this because there are two lamps, for a realistic total of 3,240 lm per kit. Where the 6,000 lm measurement that is on their website and packaging came from, they don’t know. They will let you decide.
Lie #2- High Lumen Does NOT Necessarily Mean More Functional Light
When you are driving at night what matters is the light on the road. Not the raw lumens of the lamp, but the functional lux appearing on the surface. An LED headlight kit advertised with an exceptionally high lumen output doesn’t necessarily mean you will receive a functional amount of light on the surface. So, when they say a kit is 2,700 Lux (GEN3® LED) they are communicating the usable light on the surface (in this case, the road).
Closing Thought
In closing, company believe the automotive and off-road lighting industry needs to change the conversation from lumens to functional lux. Not doing so leaves the opportunity for misdirection and confusion. Race Sport Lighting® has been committed for years to debunking this confusion and communicating the actual usable light output you will see down the road. Thus helping our dealers and end users make the educated choice when it comes to lighting upgrades for their vehicles. All of our products are tested in our lab for Lux output. So, they can deliver to you a high performing solution with real specifications and functional light output. Watch the video below more detailed information about our testing procedures and the complete Race Sport Lighting® advantage.