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      05-01-2019, 12:36 PM   #94
Calamari
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Drives: 2024 G21 330d, 2008 E87 118i
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Croatia

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I just went on a night test-drive to check the light output of mid-level Adaptive LEDs (ZCV - non-Laser ones) before finalizing my order and here are my impressions. I do a lot of high-speed night driving on highways so a good light output is essential to me.

Below are my impressions on the Adaptive LED (ZCV) headlights.

Positives:
- Overall light output is higher than my current bi-xenon HID system
- Beam pattern is very consistent
- Projected light is wide enough to cover a 3 lane highway, and long enough for comfortable and safe high-speed highway driving (150km/h and above)
- Light swiveling works good. Lights follow the position of the steering wheel naturally and pretty much follow the curvature of the road in front of the car.
- Auto high-beam works great and responds fast to any vehicle in front of the car

Slight Negative:
- Color of the LED light is definitely in the colder part of the spectrum. It's definitely close to 6000 Kelvin. On a clear night without rain or snow this is not a problem. However, on a damp road contrast is definitely lower than with 4300K HID which gives a significantly warmer white light.
It must be said that this is just a general limitation of LED technology because it is very hard (read: expensive) to produce high-powered LED chips in warmer color (4000Kelvin).

Overall, I am very satisfied and pleasantly surprised with the quality of this system compared to standard LEDs in the 2017 F30 that I drove on a recent long night trip. G20 adaptive LEDs (ZCV) are a whole class above standard LEDs in the F30 where I found the main beams too short, and way to blue.

Therefore, I'll be skipping on lasers and will go with this regular Adaptive LED (ZCV) system for my G20.

Last edited by Calamari; 05-01-2019 at 04:26 PM..
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