2013 A6 LED Headlights v HID Headlights
10-29-2012, 09:01 AM
#21
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10-29-2012, 09:05 AM
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10-29-2012, 09:08 AM
#23
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Back in 06 when I got my Lexus GS, the sales guy said those HID lights last longer. Well, in 3 years, the first HID light bulb went out. $375 for part, plus labor. Another 2 years went by, the other went out. Between the two, it was over 1k. Sure the LED will last longer but it will be costly to replace.
But in the grand scheme of things, nothing will be cheap to repair in a 60k vehicle. They sure are cool to look at though.
10-29-2012, 09:21 AM
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I'm afraid to find out how much it would cost.
Back in 06 when I got my Lexus GS, the sales guy said those HID lights last longer. Well, in 3 years, the first HID light bulb went out. $375 for part, plus labor. Another 2 years went by, the other went out. Between the two, it was over 1k. Sure the LED will last longer but it will be costly to replace.
But in the grand scheme of things, nothing will be cheap to repair in a 60k vehicle. They sure are cool to look at though.
Back in 06 when I got my Lexus GS, the sales guy said those HID lights last longer. Well, in 3 years, the first HID light bulb went out. $375 for part, plus labor. Another 2 years went by, the other went out. Between the two, it was over 1k. Sure the LED will last longer but it will be costly to replace.
But in the grand scheme of things, nothing will be cheap to repair in a 60k vehicle. They sure are cool to look at though.
10-29-2012, 09:28 AM
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I still remember when I called Lexus about the HID light and told them the sales guy said those HID last a very long time... the service manager replied: "well... nothing last a very long time." LOL!
10-29-2012, 09:31 AM
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My wife's BMW X5 does something similar to that by turning on the fog lights in the direction you are turning (and turning off the other in the same process) to provide better road clarity and visibility. I agree it's pretty cool looking.
10-29-2012, 11:12 AM
#28
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The C7 A6 also has all weather lights that turn on left or right at slow speeds at night when making a turn. They are the diamond shaped LED lights just below the DRL strip. They can also be activated with a switch as "fog" lights.
10-29-2012, 07:09 PM
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Very Long Life
The “life” of an LED is generally accepted to be when the luminous output drops to 70% of its original intensity. A power LED industry group, Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies (ASSIST) conducted tests in a commercial lighting environment that showed people generally did not notice a gradually diminishing LED light output until it had dropped by 30% of its original brightness. This value is known as L70.
Most quality LED’s available today offer a L70 of 50,000 to 60,000 hours.
So, if an LED light is used on average for 2.5 to 3 hours per day, then it will reach L70 in around 50 years.
10-30-2012, 04:22 AM
#30
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Either I, my A6 or likely both will be long dead in 50 years. However, I suspect there's more chance of a defect or other related component failure occurring in the light system requiring replacement before the 50 year useful LED life. I just hope it occurs after my useful life.