[gaifaun]

Many of you know I changed AE's again because i couldn't stop experimenting with them. Well I have recently gotten my hands on a set of LUX H8s. the catch is this is the V1. Don't panic. I did my homework and this batch of V1's is the pre-recall version, meaning the V1 doesn't need to hang its power supply externally, everything can be tucked inside exactly like the V3's. In a nutshell, the V3 has gone back to its V1 roots with the mission of hiding everything inside the housing.

Product

so whats the difference one between the V1 and the other versions? according to LUX, V1, V2, and V3 are the same in brightness. the difference is a very slight change in color temperature: V1 (6000k) and both V2, V3 (6500k). The change is minor and the 500k difference is negligible as all versions match the stock Xenon bulbs perfectly. the last difference is the amount of LEDs used. the V1 uses 2 LEDs per side while the V2 and V3 uses 4 LEDs per side. Again differences are negligible but the change to 4 smaller LED design is said to have more evenly lit rings. In person, no one can tell. Heck you wouldn't even know I'm writing a review on V1 if I didn't tell you.
Remember what i said earlier, the light output and lumens are the same for all versions.



the LEDs on the V1 are huge! the new ones have 2 smaller LEDs in place of 1 big one, they all do the same job. Also the heatsink is just beautiful. these aren't like the other AE bulbs i've tested in the past, this should run hotter than the rest and it means business. Considering the design, craftsmanship, labour and materials, the LUX's price is very fair!

Installation

Honestly, the LUX were the hardest to install among the other bulbs. Not only is the heatsink large, but it is also round too, making it hard for me to grip on. I know i should have worn gloves to provide more grip so i can't blame them. In order to make the heatsink fit into the LCI housing, the instruction calls to remove and cut a plastic nub inside the housing. I was turned off by this idea at first which is one of the reasons i held back from getting the LUX but there are reports that cutting the nub is not necessary to make the LUX fit, Only thing i had to do was to pry off this plastic cover over the nub and I will have enough room to work with. Full install guide here.

1) getting that plastic nub off was easy, i used a flathead screw driver and simply pushed it off.

2) The next thing i did was to orientate the LUX properly with the housing. I used the "T" method. There are 3 locking plates on each LUX spaced evenly apart. I turned the LUX until i see a "T" shape formed and tried my best to hold that position steady while blindly lowering it and inserting it into the housing. there are other methods but this one works best for the LCI. It took a few attempts but I managed to get it in.

3) Next comes the hard part; twisitng and locking the unit in place. For the driver's side turn counter-clockwise and for the passenger side, turn clockwise to lock the unit. The instructions from LUX were a bit misleading as this is the correct way to install it.

I should've worn gloves, but at this point, my fingers were sweating and it was extrmemely hard to grip onto the unit and twist. Be ready to receive minor scrapes! The trick is to not let the LUX fall out of the housing while you are attempting to twist it in place as the unit is back heavy with the heatsink; otherwise you will have to realign it into the housing all over again.



What a feeling it was to get these bad boys in! LCI guys should give themselves a pat on the back because there is no way to look at the bulb or inside the housing during the install. The E92 guys can at least see what they are doing and mark the bulb with a Sharpie to make it easier to align and use pliers and whatnot to get a better grip! Not to mention we have that stupid nub in our way... It is possible to install without cutting up anything in the housing so don't cut it!, as always, patience is the key when installing any Angel Eyes.

RESULTS:

The results were well worth it. The LUX H8 needs no introduction. We all know its bright. As this is an unbiased review so I captured as much footage as i can for your judgement. I attempted to capture the true performance of LUX units with multiple angles, multiple settings during the day and even with some video clips.

One thing is for certain. these are the best replacement bulbs money can buy for AEs. OSS and other options which require baking the headlight cannot be compared as it involves a entirely different process and is much more expensive. I will only be comparing apples to apples.

As with all AE bulbs, these look best when viewed head on, and at a distance. In addition, if you sit inside a car and look at the LUX through your rearview mirror, it looks awesome, bright and clearly visible. This is because you are sitting down and you are at a distance when viewing the LUX through the rear view mirror. This goes to be the same for any AE. My buddy was following me with city visions installed during the day and it looked awesome! I can easily make out the rings.

ALL PICTURES ARE UNEDITED. Taken with Canon XSI DSLR 18-55mm kit lens.





Low Light set

Xenons OFF


Xenons ON (no dimming)


color matched to OEM xenons


in low light situations, the outer rings show perfectly despite at an angle.







Overcast set

head on, ~ 15 feet away


viewing the LUX at 5 feet; hence the wide angle distortion effect and the uneven rings. overcast


top angle. overcast


side angle. overcast







Sun is behind the car

top angle


~15 feet. head on. notice how eye level makes a difference?


HD video taken ~15 feet away. different angles were used.

Direct noon Sunlight

~15 feet. head on. perfectly visible


~15 feet. head on. passenger side


HD video taken ~15 feet away. different angles were used.

Extreme direct late afternoon sunlight


~15 feet. head on. Its so bright my camera cannot properly capture the lines on my car! LUX put up a good fight.


~15 feet away. head on passenger side.


extreme sun behind the car. note the lens flare and the long shadow casted by the car. this is the most blinding sunlight situation one can encounter. (GP thunder 7500k fogs)


~15 feet. head on passenger side






Overcast, Dusk

~ 15 feet. head on. the last bit of direct sunlight before the sun sets


~15 feet. head on. dusk.


~15 feet. head on. xenons on. perfect match!


The xenons make up for the dimmer outer ring when viewed at an angle


~10 feet away. side angle, eye level.






Indoors set

the inner rings will always be brighter than the outer rings. (not as obvious in person)


The LUX looks good in any angle during low light situations.


top angled



In summary,
the LUX is very visible in low light situations; very bright even. Still bright enough to be visible under sunlight. However, in direct sunlight situations, its harder to make out the lighted rings. Its there but most wouldn't notice as the 6000k blends in well with the housing and the day. In this extreme situation, the best way to view the LUX is sitting in the car infront with the LUX following you behind. Either that, or look at it eye level. In Vancouver at least, most of the time is overcast and raining so extreme sunlight situations are not as common.

As much as people want to claim, our rings will never have equal brightness. LUX is not to blame here but rather BMW. they didn't do a good job of designing the lgiht distribution optic tubes resulting in the inner rings being brighter. The H8 bulb is closer to the inner ring than the outer. Every single H8 angel eye does this, even stock. LUX tries to mitigate this issue by designing the brightest solution. True the outer ring is now more visible because its brighter but equally so, the inner ring will light up more. Its a design flaw and its BMW's fault.

Also one may notice by now from the pics LED angels can exhibit different colors when placed in different lighting situations. In low-light, its more blue/purple especially when indoors. During the day its pure white. Never does it turn even the slightest yellow.


This is my best attempt at capturing the difference colors LEDs exhibit when under different lighting.

notice the color differnce LED's produce when there is sunlight hitting the passenger side while the driver side remains in the shade.






COMPARISON


Not surprisingly LUX excels in brightness compared to the competition. the failure rate is surprisingly low, neglibilbe even (after market halogen bulbs tend to burn out easily). Plus their service is second to none. As long as one has LUX, regardless if one buys it new or second hand, Marc @ LUXangeleyes will gladly provide you with support and address your concerns!

how much better is the LUX? is it worth the price?


LUX vs GP thunder
LUX is more visible during the day and leagues better at night since the GP Thunders dim to an ugly yellow while the LUX are always running at full voltage. not even close here. its LEDs vs halogens... LUX wins hands down. The only reason why I'm comparing it to GP's is because GP's can be had for $20 while LUX is $245 now.

LUX vs E92 LCI LED
completely different headlight design making the E92 LCI angels superior. Its not fair to compare these but I get ask that all the time. The E92 LCI has more purplish color yet its brighter and the rings are 100% uniform regardless of viewing angle. LUX is your best bet without going the OSS route. It may look similar in pictures but don't be fooled. the lux may come close if its in overcast situations and when you are comparing both cars head on.

LUX vs City Vision
LUX is brighter by a good 15-20%. There is absolutely no dimming for the LUX while the City visions dimmed very slightly (not as bad as GP thunders). City visions are more blue in color in comparison. the little increase in brightness makes no difference in low light situations but in direct sunlight, the LUX is a bit more visible. Not by much but the difference is there. The only thing i miss from the City visions is the fading feature when you unlock your car. It was classy and "oem" when the lights faded in along with the puddle lights and tail lights. City visions cost under $150 and LUX costs $245.

If you can justify paying $100 more for the LUX go for it. I couldn't justify spending that much which is why i waited for a used set to go on sale. I love my LUX.

Sorry, I do not have any comparison pics with other competing AE bulbs because i was dead tired after installing and i did not want to take the bulbs out and repeat the installation process.

What do i like about the LUX?
The brightest H8 replacement.
Immediate, constant full power (no dimming)
color match OEM xenons perfectly
power supply can be safely housed in the head light housing
no strobing / flickering
error free
quality and service

What I would like LUX to have in the future
fading function when locking/unlocking the vehicle. (It would be a nice touch but I honestly do not mind my lights not fading since the LUX goes full power as soon as i unlock, no need for ignition to be on.)
I'm nitpicking here but theres always room to raise the bar, make it even brighter

Conclusion:
Just because of the different versions out there, don't be mistakened V3 is superior to V2 or V1. They are just as bright and if any lucky V1 owners who are not in the issued recall, you essentially have a 6000k V3
Well done LUX.

[AllydNYC]

Whoa that is a great write up. Thanks for sharing with the community. Too bad I have LCI halogens with Lux 5.1 halos instead of Xenons with this setup as these look great!

[Shazmonkee]

very good

[samchoi604]

Thanks For The Excellent Review!

[Black Sheep]

Great review

[Eugeinus]

Awesome review! I'm thinking about switching from my weisslicht's to lux. This may have just convinced me!

[CasperSYTFU]

Eugeinus, I ditched my weisslichts the day after I bought them to go for LUX.

[c_jeong89]

very good review. I'm sure this will help most people pull the trigger on buying a set

[ucsdsig]

Great review

[lpphreakx06]

Nice review, low angle shots FTW.

[KC335]

WOW the best review I've seen for Lux AE! Lots of different angles and with different lighting. Great job again Gaifaun

[bkrM3]

The LUX H8s are a great product.

Holy quality review batman.

[drummer12]

One thing I don't like about LUX is that is that stock bulbs seem to look better from all angles vs. the LUX LED. Ah well, I still keep them in

[drummer12]

Also, they don't really match the stock xenons...stock xenons are around 4300k, not 6000-6500k. Even the OEM AEs aren't a perfect match (slightly purpleish), but they are def. closer

[Eugeinus]

Originally Posted by CasperSYTFU

Eugeinus, I ditched my weisslichts the day after I bought them to go for LUX.

I'm upset I didn't know about lux before I got the wl's - planning on ordering soon!!

[johnsonz1122]

Nice review. It looks really good at overcast and night. But I guess if we want fully visible during the bright sunny day.we need hid angel eye. Too bad they look like crap at night.

[Belarus]

Originally Posted by Budz135i

Great review

+1

[mugendc5]

well..this just helped me choose..

[scoobsBMW]

Great Review.. Now I challenge you to buy MTech or Philips H8 Halogen bulbs that cost 30-50. Perform the same test and I would be interested to see the final outcome on difference between LED and Halogen bulb with teh same color. You maybe shocked at the final results.

I have nothing against Lux8 but hard for me to justify on paying 245 for light bulb. On the side note, halo rings were manufactured for an out put of halogen bulbs, not LED.

[DigitalDawn]

I installed my Lux H8 LEDs a couple of weeks ago, and one is brighter than the other. Both, appear to be tight, Any ideas?

[gaifaun]

thanks for all the compliments guys! Holy long review batman indeed, it took me a few days to compile the footage and upload them online and then another to organize and type it out so I won't some some praise! Hope I helped the community and made your decisions on buying AE's easier.

If you guys want anymore shots let me know. the reason I didn't do night shots is because we all know they are bright at night. so bright that my camera cannot capture the light. The true tests are daytime shots.


@drummer12: nothing is perfect perfect, but its close enough. i'd say 90% matching. I've asked around and including myself we all think its a "perfect" match! yes xenons are 4300k and the LUX are 6000k but one is HID technology the other is LED technology. I'm willing to bet if i put 6000k Xenons in with the 6000k LUX, the color match wouldn't be as good.
OEM LED ae's found on the LCI are more like 8000k in color temp. LUX matches better than OEM LED's do.


@scoobsBMW. I've done that. Look at my review for GP Thunders 7500k V2. cost me $20 bucks and its a very good mod. however I am not shocked at the results. The Mtecs are the same as GP's. OEM halogens are Phillips. I've seen Mtecs in person and they are dim. Because these bulbs are "whiter and bluer" than stock phillips, they are also dimmer.
admittedly, it does look good when the xenons are off. when xenons are turned on, they turn dim and yellow, to a point where its hard to make out the rings. Thats where the LUX shines.
Lastly, halogens are halogens, as white or blue as they are advertised, you will always see the "yellow" halogen color through the white and blue if that makes any sense. Its like tinting the halogen bulb blue so to speak. LED technology, is pure white.
Speaking of which, the picture in my signature is GP Thunders 7500k. notice how its still yellow in color? I can't explain this but LED lighting is more "crisp and defined" compared to halogen lighting when its more "diffused". This makes the inner ring look like a blob of light and the halo rings look "soft".
our ae's are originally manufactured for halogen bulbs but with the right applications, albeit more expensive, LED's will look better than halogen.
you should really have a chance to see them side by side!
I agree with you justifying $245 for LEDs which is why i got mine used.


keep the comments coming!

[franzzz]

Great Review
Good performance in low luminosity condition.
Daylight performance very low

Don't like to loose the dimmer functions

Price too expensive (20$ for 4 5W power led......)