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The threads you referenced the best there is. Both Holley and Octane, you won't find any better made anywhere, thousands of satisfied customers. They are engineered in the U.S.A. None better (if any) are actually made in the U.S.A. It's like Sony TVs or Nikon cameras, buy what you need.
Last edited by C3 Stroker; 04-13-2023 at 09:06 PM.
I put Holley Retrobright on my car. They’re pricey but they look like the old glass bulbs and they really light up the road. I hated to drive at night with those old dim yellow bulbs. I know there are a lot of comments about how bright led lights are but I haven’t had anyone flash their high beams at me yet. Do yourself a favor and get some new Holleys. They’re plug and play so no additional wiring is needed.
50 year old headlights use the parabolic dome at the rear of the assembly to reflect the light back out the front of the lens. Today with LEDs having a more compact directional light emitting surface, they can “direct” a higher percentage of the generated lumens through an engineered optic into a more efficient cutoff pattern.
Ever see your new Lexus headlight projected up against a wall or garage door? They’re is a level horizontal cut-off with a slight step near the center. This is because the optic isn’t throwing lumens up into space they are going exactly where they are needed.
When installed and adjusted properly, the Dapper headlights will have the same cut-off as your new car.
Have never used Holley’s stuff maybe they have great optics as well…..
Just because it has LEDs inside doesn’t mean it has good optics. Hence the $100 LED headlights throwing light every which way, appearing “too bright”, and blinding on-coming traffic (that and I’m sure most people throw them on the car and don’t properly adjust them).
Will the Dappers be brighter than the Octane even at less Lumens?
Short answer.....No. Lumens can be measured with a light meter. The higher, the brighter the light. That's like saying a Honda is faster at 30mph than a Corvette at 40 mph. The lumen is a (universal) measurement of brightness, and the correct way to compare.
Short answer.....No. Lumens can be measured with a light meter. The higher, the brighter the light. That's like saying a Honda is faster at 30mph than a Corvette at 40 mph. The lumen is a (universal) measurement of brightness, and the correct way to compare.
Sorry this not true. You can measure Lux or Foot Candles which is intensity at a specific surface or point in space on a hand held meter. In order to get total lumens from a lighting system it needs to measured in an integrating sphere.
If I have an “omni-directional” a-19 LED advertised as delivering 800lm, and then look at say a BR30 down light LED lamp also advertised as 800lm, the BR with all of is lumens within just a 110 degree beam will appear much brighter because the delivered lumens are in a narrower pattern.
Same principle here, engineered optic that meets/exceeds DOT cut-off will put a much higher percentage of its initial lumens where they are needed. A crappy reflector/optic will waste up 30% of the lumens produce at the LED (diode) level.
Sorry this not true. You can measure Lux or Foot Candles which is intensity at a specific surface or point in space on a hand held meter. In order to get total lumens from a lighting system it needs to measured in an integrating sphere.................................. ..
Understood......you have to measure cross brands side by side to be totally accurate comparing advertised lumen brighness. But compaing numbers from the same brand using the same reflector structure, their higher numbered lumen ratings will be brighter.
I know for sure that I would rather have 3000lm in a perfect cutoff pattern than 5000lm where half of them are lighting the sky or oncoming traffic.
Thats why when the OP asked for the best USA made headlights I recommended Dapper. I have installed (and properly aimed) 5 sets of these in my personal as well as customers cars (non-C3) and know how well they work compared to cheaper, less engineered products.
Like I said, have no idea how good or bad the Holley product might be as I haven’t tried them.
Just don’t buy headlights based on “advertised” lumen output alone.
I know for sure that I would rather have 3000lm in a perfect cutoff pattern than 5000lm where half of them are lighting the sky or oncoming traffic.
Thats why when the OP asked for the best USA made headlights I recommended Dapper. I have installed (and properly aimed) 5 sets of these in my personal as well as customers cars (non-C3) and know how well they work compared to cheaper, less engineered products..............
Totally agree on the Dappers. I would have bought them, but at the time my budget was protesting the price. If I had to do it over again, I'd definitely get them.
I didn't feel like the Modern White would suit the look of the car for that year (1970), plus I didn't want to wait until the end of July. In any event, either one should definitely be an improvement with what's on now.
I drove the car last summer at night for the first time and it was an experience ..... had to really concentrate to see the road ahead. Pretty scary.
Lumens is really an awful way of measuring any kind of output. Manufacturers typically use the theoretical max lumen output of the LED chips which doesn't take into consideration optical (~20%) or thermal (~10%) loss. You often see 10,000- 50,000 lumen lights being advertised on Amazon. We've tested a 50,000 lumen against our 3,000 lumen bulb in our housings and seen higher lux on ours. Imagine the bulb is a motor and the housing is the vehicle. If you put an LS3 into a 40,000lb bus, it doesn't matter if it makes 500hp, it's still going to be slow... same concept with headlights.
Our lights theoretical lumen total is 3000 lumens but we use a rough effective lumen calculation of 2400. We see about a 20% optical loss from our testing (which is in CD).
Real optical testing is all done in CD anyway so lumen/lux is kind of irrelevant.
Regardless, please take all of the lumens/lux with a grain of salt. If they don't show you output photos, they are hiding something... Hope this helps!
Real optical testing is all done in CD anyway so lumen/lux is kind of irrelevant.
Regardless, please take all of the lumens/lux with a grain of salt. If they don't show you output photos, they are hiding something... Hope this helps!
Do those lights meet FMVSS safety standards for actual headlights? Or have they been tested/approved in any European country?
If you really want to impress me, earn a (E1) ore (E4) mark for your lighting system. I'm not sure if that's even possible, although I've heard it's getting a little more in the realm of possibility for some European countries.
Of all the horrible LED "headlights" I've seen, those look to be the least horrible and least unsafe.
And to others on this thread, the danger from these headlights isn't so much the light you throw at oncoming drivers. That's annoying, but I've never witnessed an accident caused by that. The danger is the glare light thrown in useless places that actually reduces your night vision and makes it harder for you to avoid a single vehicle accident, where you strike an obstruction in the road or drive off the road because you can't adequately see where you're going. I've witnessed several accidents of that type involving a single car with horrible LED "headlights," including one where I was in the passenger seat when the vehicle struck a tree that had fallen across the road. And the body shop I use has gotten a lot of customer pay (not insurance) business from cars with LED "headlights" with damage from single vehicle accidents.
04-13-2023, 05:05 PM
Headlights made in the USA
