[spacedogg]

I am helping the manufacturer beta test these LEDs on my "high" mileage E90 (currently have 77,000 km on the odometer). I'm pretty impressed with these LEDs so far. I wanted to post a few comments about them.

A couple caveats before I start. I really respect mds82 and his LUX product. I have owned both LUX 3.0 and LUX 5.0. and I think Marc makes a great product and takes care of his customers. Please do not think I am knocking LUX in any way. Ultimately, I believe in more choices is better for the consumer...and the DDC-273A will definitely give the BMW community more choices.

Second of all, the DDC-273A is not released yet. So any comments made thus far are subject to change as things are tweaked or changed. So take my comments with a grain of salt.

With that in mind, here goes:

Brightness:
Everyone's biggest question is...how bright the DDC-273A is. In particular, they want to know if they are better than the current market king LUX 5.0. Well the LEDs on the DDC-273A is definitely more brighter than LUX 5.0 (as you can see in the pictures in the thread). The LEDs used on the DDC-273A are bigger LEDs and have a higher lumen rating than the LEDs used on the LUX 5.0. So no real surprises there.

But when you actually install the two products, there isn't as a big of a difference in how bright the angel eyes are. As mentioned earlier, there seems to be some limitations of how much light can be "thrown" (for lack of better terms) into the light tubes that form the angel eyes.

If I was forced to pick, I would say installed the angel eyes with the DDC-273A is a hair brighter than LUX 5.0. But to my eyes...it's a hard decision to make. We will have to wait to see if the manufacturer can make any adjustments by using lenses or otherwise focusing the light into the tubes.

Even if no further improvements can be made, I would have to say that that the DDC-273A is still impressive. I have always been impressed with how bright LUX 5.0 is...and the DDC-273A definitely competes brightness to brightness.

Colour:
One of the chief complaints about LUX 5.0 was the colour. It gives off a slightly warm-white hue...if I had to guess...it is about 4300K or so. In fact, many LUX 4.0 customers preferred not to upgrade to LUX 5.0 simply because they preferred the bluer-white of LUX 4.0.

The DDC-273A definitely has a cooler white look which is more visually appealing than LUX 5.0. If I had to guess, it would be around 6500k or so. I will have to compare next time with LUX 4.0.

Basically, the DDC-273A delivers the best of both worlds--the cool white colour temperature of LUX 4.0 with the brightness of LUX 5.0.

Build Quality:
No contest really. I love LUX...but you have to remember that Marc slaves away in his garage making these things. I believe he uses some form of hot glue to attach the fan and capacitor to the heatsink. While functionally it doesn't make too much of a difference, on one of my LUX, I have noticed that the fan separate itself from the heatsink. On another one of my LUX, the capacitor separated itself from the heatsink. Basically, Marc needs to use stronger adhesives!

The DDC-273A seems to be solidly made. The metal is machined perfectly to fit and the fan is screwed onto the heatsink (and not hot glued). Appears that strong epoxy has been used instead of glue to keep the heatsink attached to the metal backing holding the circuit board. DTD tells me that thermal paste has been used between the heatsink and the LEDs to make the cooling efficient.

Both serve their purpose, but the DDC-273A is beautifully made...

Price:
No doubt the pricing is fair. Marc now has made so many LUX 5.0 that he has the economies of scale to offer them at a cheaper price than the DDC-273A.

Personally, I would say the colour temperature alone is worth the higher price than LUX 5.0. But that's my personal opinion, and I'm sure others may not agree.

But that's the beauty of modding...everyone can disagree...but there are always more than one way to skin the proverbial cat.

spacedogg out.

[flukey]

can't wait until these are finally released!

[paullo]

Well written Spacedogg. Hopefully with some refinements and further development the DDC-273A will offer up the total package and provide yet another avenue for aftermarket customization.

It's worth remembering that not too long ago (no pun intended) the only solution available was the PMB's; and that was simply a tinted piece of glass that changed the colour temperature of the angel eyes; it worked, and ideas to improve took flight. Marc and his LUX design changed everything. Duke Dynamics is simply taking the bar and raising it up another notch.

Everyone wins.

Originally Posted by spacedogg

I am helping the manufacturer beta test these LEDs on my "high" mileage E90 (currently have 77,000 km on the odometer). I'm pretty impressed with these LEDs so far. I wanted to post a few comments about them.

A couple caveats before I start. I really respect mds82 and his LUX product. I have owned both LUX 3.0 and LUX 5.0. and I think Marc makes a great product and takes care of his customers. Please do not think I am knocking LUX in any way. Ultimately, I believe in more choices is better for the consumer...and the DDC-273A will definitely give the BMW community more choices.

Second of all, the DDC-273A is not released yet. So any comments made thus far are subject to change as things are tweaked or changed. So take my comments with a grain of salt.

With that in mind, here goes:

Brightness:
Everyone's biggest question is...how bright the DDC-273A is. In particular, they want to know if they are better than the current market king LUX 5.0. Well the LEDs on the DDC-273A is definitely more brighter than LUX 5.0 (as you can see in the pictures in the thread). The LEDs used on the DDC-273A are bigger LEDs and have a higher lumen rating than the LEDs used on the LUX 5.0. So no real surprises there.

But when you actually install the two products, there isn't as a big of a difference in how bright the angel eyes are. As mentioned earlier, there seems to be some limitations of how much light can be "thrown" (for lack of better terms) into the light tubes that form the angel eyes.

If I was forced to pick, I would say installed the angel eyes with the DDC-273A is a hair brighter than LUX 5.0. But to my eyes...it's a hard decision to make. We will have to wait to see if the manufacturer can make any adjustments by using lenses or otherwise focusing the light into the tubes.

Even if no further improvements can be made, I would have to say that that the DDC-273A is still impressive. I have always been impressed with how bright LUX 5.0 is...and the DDC-273A definitely competes brightness to brightness.

Colour:
One of the chief complaints about LUX 5.0 was the colour. It gives off a slightly warm-white hue...if I had to guess...it is about 4300K or so. In fact, many LUX 4.0 customers preferred not to upgrade to LUX 5.0 simply because they preferred the bluer-white of LUX 4.0.

The DDC-273A definitely has a cooler white look which is more visually appealing than LUX 5.0. If I had to guess, it would be around 6500k or so. I will have to compare next time with LUX 4.0.

Basically, the DDC-273A delivers the best of both worlds--the cool white colour temperature of LUX 4.0 with the brightness of LUX 5.0.

Build Quality:
No contest really. I love LUX...but you have to remember that Marc slaves away in his garage making these things. I believe he uses some form of hot glue to attach the fan and capacitor to the heatsink. While functionally it doesn't make too much of a difference, on one of my LUX, I have noticed that the fan separate itself from the heatsink. On another one of my LUX, the capacitor separated itself from the heatsink. Basically, Marc needs to use stronger adhesives!

The DDC-273A seems to be solidly made. The metal is machined perfectly to fit and the fan is screwed onto the heatsink (and not hot glued). Appears that strong epoxy has been used instead of glue to keep the heatsink attached to the metal backing holding the circuit board. DTD tells me that thermal paste has been used between the heatsink and the LEDs to make the cooling efficient.

Both serve their purpose, but the DDC-273A is beautifully made...

Price:
No doubt the pricing is fair. Marc now has made so many LUX 5.0 that he has the economies of scale to offer them at a cheaper price than the DDC-273A.

Personally, I would say the colour temperature alone is worth the higher price than LUX 5.0. But that's my personal opinion, and I'm sure others may not agree.

But that's the beauty of modding...everyone can disagree...but there are always more than one way to skin the proverbial cat.

spacedogg out.

[xbaie90]

price? i ll jump on this if it's a right price

[mds82]

Hey - I have been out of it, but i wanted to comment on this item.

Normally I would never comment about another vendor's items, because that is not very ethical, but this is not a vendor section.

The quality of the item does, of course look very good. I have been designing the same thing myself, but been running into road blocks due to the new / different LED's now on the market.

Creating a custom power source is well - ballsy and also impressive. The overall package is well built. My only concern is however - there is a fan on the outside of the unit, and that fan is exposed the the elements. True it is inside the engine bay, but water / moisture / salt / debris can and will get up there. Unless this is a waterproof fan ( which i dont think it is ) expect a short lifespan on the fan, and therefor the unit.

To comment on what DTD said "As I said, the optical tubes on the E90 are limited. No matter how bright is your LEDs/Bulbs you still cannot get halo to grow as you wanted because of the way they designed the halo rings. " - I agree Completely!!!! I have some similar LED's i have been testing with, and its almost impossible to tell the difference between 500 lumen and 1800 lumen. Of course the light is over 3x brighter - but with the plastic fiber optic ring, only so much light can be seen.

To add to this point - you could put 2000, 3000 + lumen into these rings and no one would see the difference.

That being said - I think we have found a limit to how bright we need to make the LED units. The Duke Dynamics is a little excessive on how much light is produced to how much light is really needed. Basically, is it worth the extra $$$ for little difference?

Also - one more note on the color. LUX 4.0 LED's were rated around 9,000k - 10,000k but due to the Fiber optics of the headlight, they make the coloring look much warmer then it really is. Even LUX 5 is rated at 6500K, but appears warmer. The Cooler color LED's are near impossible to find sometime.

-Marc

[who's ur daddy?]

Originally Posted by spacedogg

I am helping the manufacturer beta test these LEDs on my "high" mileage E90 (currently have 77,000 km on the odometer). I'm pretty impressed with these LEDs so far. I wanted to post a few comments about them.

A couple caveats before I start. I really respect mds82 and his LUX product. I have owned both LUX 3.0 and LUX 5.0. and I think Marc makes a great product and takes care of his customers. Please do not think I am knocking LUX in any way. Ultimately, I believe in more choices is better for the consumer...and the DDC-273A will definitely give the BMW community more choices.

Second of all, the DDC-273A is not released yet. So any comments made thus far are subject to change as things are tweaked or changed. So take my comments with a grain of salt.

With that in mind, here goes:

Brightness:
Everyone's biggest question is...how bright the DDC-273A is. In particular, they want to know if they are better than the current market king LUX 5.0. Well the LEDs on the DDC-273A is definitely more brighter than LUX 5.0 (as you can see in the pictures in the thread). The LEDs used on the DDC-273A are bigger LEDs and have a higher lumen rating than the LEDs used on the LUX 5.0. So no real surprises there.

But when you actually install the two products, there isn't as a big of a difference in how bright the angel eyes are. As mentioned earlier, there seems to be some limitations of how much light can be "thrown" (for lack of better terms) into the light tubes that form the angel eyes.

If I was forced to pick, I would say installed the angel eyes with the DDC-273A is a hair brighter than LUX 5.0. But to my eyes...it's a hard decision to make. We will have to wait to see if the manufacturer can make any adjustments by using lenses or otherwise focusing the light into the tubes.

Even if no further improvements can be made, I would have to say that that the DDC-273A is still impressive. I have always been impressed with how bright LUX 5.0 is...and the DDC-273A definitely competes brightness to brightness.

Colour:
One of the chief complaints about LUX 5.0 was the colour. It gives off a slightly warm-white hue...if I had to guess...it is about 4300K or so. In fact, many LUX 4.0 customers preferred not to upgrade to LUX 5.0 simply because they preferred the bluer-white of LUX 4.0.

The DDC-273A definitely has a cooler white look which is more visually appealing than LUX 5.0. If I had to guess, it would be around 6500k or so. I will have to compare next time with LUX 4.0.

Basically, the DDC-273A delivers the best of both worlds--the cool white colour temperature of LUX 4.0 with the brightness of LUX 5.0.

Build Quality:
No contest really. I love LUX...but you have to remember that Marc slaves away in his garage making these things. I believe he uses some form of hot glue to attach the fan and capacitor to the heatsink. While functionally it doesn't make too much of a difference, on one of my LUX, I have noticed that the fan separate itself from the heatsink. On another one of my LUX, the capacitor separated itself from the heatsink. Basically, Marc needs to use stronger adhesives!

The DDC-273A seems to be solidly made. The metal is machined perfectly to fit and the fan is screwed onto the heatsink (and not hot glued). Appears that strong epoxy has been used instead of glue to keep the heatsink attached to the metal backing holding the circuit board. DTD tells me that thermal paste has been used between the heatsink and the LEDs to make the cooling efficient.

Both serve their purpose, but the DDC-273A is beautifully made...

Price:
No doubt the pricing is fair. Marc now has made so many LUX 5.0 that he has the economies of scale to offer them at a cheaper price than the DDC-273A.

Personally, I would say the colour temperature alone is worth the higher price than LUX 5.0. But that's my personal opinion, and I'm sure others may not agree.

But that's the beauty of modding...everyone can disagree...but there are always more than one way to skin the proverbial cat.

spacedogg out.

This is how a review is written ladies. Well done spacedogg!!!

[Lodaka]

I am helping spacedogg beta test these. We met up last night to compare my Lux 4.0 with Lux 5.0 and Crystal 273A.

These are the photos taken last night. When looking at the pictures, the right car is my car with Lux 4.0 and the left car is spacedogg's car with Lux 5.0 (left of spacedogg's car) and Crystal 273A (right of spacedogg's car).

On the pictures, exposure levels decrease from top to bottom. One thing that spacedogg and I noticed (with my untrained eyes) were the following, although differences are at best miniscule:

1. Lux 4.0 seems to be the brightest.
2. Lux 4.0 seems to be the bluest.

Note: Not sure how accurate this is but #2 point above can be seen from the reflections on the wet surface, definitely bluer.

This doesn't make a lot of sense as we all know Lux 5.0 is brighter on paper than Lux 4.0. I think it's the bluer tone of Lux 4.0 may make it appear brighter.

I can't reach any conclusion based on these pictures. One thing that I can say for certain however is that Crystal 273A is bluer than Lux 5.0.

The next plan is to meet up during the day and see if the daylight makes any difference. We think it might.

Pics:


Shot with slightly more exposure than the rest, hence the glow. Of note is the reflection on the ground.


Close-up, with slightly less exposure than the above. Colour differential seems most obvious on this shot.


A similar shot as last with less exposure.


Slightly more zoomed in.


Close-up of Crystal 273A (left) and Lux 4.0 (right).


Close-up of Lux 5.0 (left) and Crystal 273A (right).

[who's ur daddy?]

fook me, i can't tell the difference looking at the lights themselves. the reflection on the ground tells me the lights on the car on the right is much brighter though...

[jeho]

what i dont get is...

why continue making another "better" angel eye upgrade for E90 when there are quite a few out alrdy when E92 are the 1s that dont have thaat much choice compared to E92 ?

and DTD got banned?!?!

[MolanM3]

Originally Posted by mds82

True it is inside the engine bay, but water / moisture / salt / debris can and will get up there. Unless this is a waterproof fan ( which i dont think it is ) expect a short lifespan on the fan, and therefor the unit.

I believe the heatsink are designed to work without the fan; since the are quite large. They can use the outside air to cool the led/heatsink.

Originally Posted by mds82

That being said - The Duke Dynamics is a little excessive on how much light is produced to how much light is really needed. Basically, is it worth the extra $$$ for little difference?

Originally Posted by jeffE92TT

what i dont get is...

why continue making another "better" angel eye upgrade for E90 when there are quite a few out alrdy when E92 are the 1s that dont have thaat much choice compared to E92 ?

Why buy LUX, PIAA or RD? If they are only a little bit difference in term of brightness. Some are cheap and some are expensive than others.

It's the same question for the wheels as well. Why don't we get the same wheels? why everybody got a difference wheels?

that's my 2 cents.

[jeho]

Originally Posted by MolanM3

Why buy LUX, PIAA or RD? If they are only a little bit difference in term of brightness. Some are cheap and some are expensive than others.

It's the same question for the wheels as well. Why don't we get the same wheels? why everybody got a difference wheels?

that's my 2 cents.

I am referring to E92 wasnt I?
I would buy the 1 that gives me the best output and quality which LUX/RD/Predator Ice has for the E90 ALREADY but not for the E92...

lets talk about E92 options like I originally did....
U buy GP thunder/nokya cuz its cheap and u dont want the yellow OEM look..
U buy RD because they are the only decent LED ones for E92
U buy PIAA for the NAME and b/c ppl THOUGHT they were bright for E92 but they thought wrong and most tried to sell them asap

No lux for E92 yet so why not make it for E92 first before LUX as these ones look to be pretty good and get sales going first before LUX are available,
it is obvious that once LUX comes out for E92 that there will be many many ppl buying it...ppl even post they are waiting for LUX for E92 on RD LED thread lol and pm'ing marc to make it like me

the market for an angel eye LED for E92 that is in terms as bright and good quality as the E90 LUX is much bigger than E90 market dont u think?

Thats my 2 cents....

[dkvby]

Originally Posted by jeffE92TT

what i dont get is...



and DTD got banned?!?!

may be is the side by side with the Lux?

[jeho]

i did state that these are looking to be real good but we already have something like this already for E90 and u can PM marc for LUX for E90 as he still has some for sale the last time i asked...

We just dont have something looking this good for E92...
would people sell lux to buy this? I'd say No.
Most ppl with E90 who want LED angel have LED angel already, I doubt they will sell and take the hit to get something like this when they knew from the start they could have gotten LUX if they didnt...
if they like the output not as strong, of coz there is other good options...

whereas for the E92...either u get the RD or wait for LUX since Marc said he was making it...
OR... DTD coulda made these for E92 and the E92 buyer's who were waiting for LUX would definately jump on these based on the pictures provided in this thread cuz they look damn good imo! but too bad it is for E90

Wouldn't you agree that if these were for E92 first, you would sell more than for E90?
and from a marketing point of view..u would already have customer sales from ppl who were waiting for LUX but buy this first cuz we dunno how long we need to wait for lux and then marc will be forced to make LUX even faster if he wanted to make much $$ if he was to sell the LUX for E92?

btw i am not shitting on this thread in anyway, just that too bad it is for E90 and not E92

[Gen_E92]

whats up with all the long posts today jeff?

but I agree...DTD said ppl were scared when he announced the price for E92 LED angel eyes then dropped the almost finished project

like u said...the E90 market has almost been filled with LUX/Predator...so there aren't that many ppl looking for angel eyes, the DD unit being the most expensive one in the market(I think) doesn't help either

Even though the DD E92 angel eye will be $$ but at least it'll be the FIRST proper solution and some ppl tired waiting for E92 LUX will get it. I didn't even consider RD one cuz it's even dimmer than GP thunder during daytime

[mds82]

Originally Posted by MolanM3

I believe the heatsink are designed to work without the fan; since the are quite large. They can use the outside air to cool the led/heatsink.

You need a heatsink - the Duke kit is drawing close 3 times the amount of power, and that all needs to be dissipated somehow..

Originally Posted by jeffE92TT

No lux for E92 yet so why not make it for E92 first before LUX as these ones look to be pretty good and get sales going first before LUX are available,
it is obvious that once LUX comes out for E92 that there will be many many ppl buying it...ppl even post they are waiting for LUX for E92 on RD LED thread lol and pm'ing marc to make it like me

Dude - NOT EASY - So much less space, and it needs to be so much brighter......
the e92 headlights are designed so much differently its not even funny

[Prodipper]

I think Jeff has a great point.... attracting a new crowd (e92) will definitely increase your business since they too want to upgrade to those nice bright white halos. I think the E92 crowd really needs it and to compete with Lux which has establish a reputation in the e90 crowd is basically taking a challenge...... I think you guys should make these Crystals for both E90 and e92 and you business will be a lot more profitable. Great Job and keep up the great work.

Originally Posted by jeffE92TT

I am referring to E92 wasnt I?
I would buy the 1 that gives me the best output and quality which LUX/RD/Predator Ice has for the E90 ALREADY but not for the E92...

lets talk about E92 options like I originally did....
U buy GP thunder/nokya cuz its cheap and u dont want the yellow OEM look..
U buy RD because they are the only decent LED ones for E92
U buy PIAA for the NAME and b/c ppl THOUGHT they were bright for E92 but they thought wrong and most tried to sell them asap

No lux for E92 yet so why not make it for E92 first before LUX as these ones look to be pretty good and get sales going first before LUX are available,
it is obvious that once LUX comes out for E92 that there will be many many ppl buying it...ppl even post they are waiting for LUX for E92 on RD LED thread lol and pm'ing marc to make it like me

the market for an angel eye LED for E92 that is in terms as bright and good quality as the E90 LUX is much bigger than E90 market dont u think?

Thats my 2 cents....

[Blistex]

Originally Posted by pcarela

I think Jeff has a great point.... attracting a new crowd (e92) will definitely increase your business since they too want to upgrade to those nice bright white halos. I think the E92 crowd really needs it and to compete with Lux which has establish a reputation in the e90 crowd is basically taking a challenge...... I think you guys should make these Crystals for both E90 and e92 and you business will be a lot more profitable. Great Job and keep up the great work.

They did make the Crystals for the E92 but people were turned away when they saw the price. That's why the dropped project and not making them anymore. Because people are cheap out with the GT Thunder and RD brands.

As far I know they use the technology from E92 LED and make another version for the E90.

link:
http://www.dukedynamics.com/forums/v...&t=38&start=40

[Hedges]

Anyone selling some lux? pm me! :P

[Prodipper]

pm sent

Originally Posted by Hedges

Anyone selling some lux? pm me! :P

[BoostedCosta]

Originally Posted by Hedges

Anyone selling some lux? pm me! :P

o me to me too
PM ME if anyone got a set of lux lol

[Prodipper]

Pm sent

Originally Posted by 335i82108

o me to me too
PM ME if anyone got a set of lux lol

[jeho]

PM mds82 (marc) he may have some brand new 1s left!