2024 XLT headlights and light pipes

[Chili]

Most of them do. This right here is another story. Would look better w/ the 23 BAP badge on the front. They should have smoked the DRL bars though and just increased the brightness. Love the blacked out look of the new lights.

That's what I mean. They only want the expensive trucks to have the signature look. They used to let us commoners have it too.

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[Chili]

US lighting regs are horribly outdated. It's why we cannot get the nifty matrix LED lighting from the European Mfgs, and the glare-free option is disabled in the US.

Comically the IIHS has tried to make headlights better by putting in a test for headlights, but I saw a headline that basically said instead of making it better Mfg have just started gaming the test. They are blanking out the test spots for glare. The real world impact is that the headlights glare worse.

I'm not sure about this tech as I have no experience. HID's however did a better job of lighting up the road for a longer distance than LED's do. The switch is just cost savings and people wanting something new. HID's took 5 seconds to warm up and then surpassed anything LED I've seen.

 

[JExpedition07]

HID’s are by far the best for output, generally they have up to 30% more field output than LED. LED’s are just cheaper. Halogen is by far the worst on brightness, if my eyes were older I’d probably have upgraded to the LED’s but my vision is still good being the whipper snapper I am. The mid-grade reflector LED were pretty good I think.

 

[HammaMan]

If the beam conformed to US law, LED is the best. This is because they can ride the very upper limit with ease. HID had to output less light because it couldn't output more or vary it. If you had an illegal HID kit, well that speaks for itself. LEDs can output maximum intensity by using more LED than is needed and reducing power via PWM. If US law was 'fixed' on max lumens for brights, cars OTA capable could get brighter headlights overnight if they're PWM limited.

The HID nostalgia comes from you seeing that type of light for the first time or using an illegal kit (just like every LED retromod today). LEDs are tuned to color frequencies us meat sacks have adapted to see thanks to that ball of hydrogen overhead. Hids that run 10k or higher color values are, yes, illegal. Of course the goods stuff is always illegal.

Furthermore LEDs can have arrays of elements to dynamically light the road. Even laser headlamps don't have that advantage. That's where the matrix headlights come in and once you use them, you'll understand they have no equal. Nobody is going to use matrix headlights and want to use any other headlight again.

 

[Pcabe5]

Just an addition to what was a great discussion.

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) rule 108, limits the power and range of headlights. Headlight intensity is limited to 150,000 candela, and limits the beam range to just 250 meters (820 feet).

 

[srmerk]

Did the 2024 XLT headlights take a step backwards compared to the 21-23 model years? I have not seen one in the wild yet, but the DRL light pipes appear to be gone.

Yes, a huge step back. The DRL are the small parking lights. While there are some who might think it’s cool to have parking DRL we use DRL for safety, there’s no comparison between have true headlights for safety. My choice is the have option for head and tail lights turn on and off with the engine. Why do headlights need to stay on anyway? Give me the option not some designer to change from 18 to 24 to not have adequate DRL

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