[Kommodore]

Has anyone attempted or thought about using an etching cream on the light pipe? To me it seems (with literally zero scientific understanding on this subject ) that you might get a decent diffused glow around the ring apart from only straight on.

[LuxAngelEyes]

Originally Posted by Kommodore

Has anyone attempted or thought about using an etching cream on the light pipe? To me it seems (with literally zero scientific understanding on this subject ) that you might get a decent diffused glow around the ring apart from only straight on.

etching the ring will help slightly with this but probably no as much as you would expect. the etching will cause a bit more light refraction and therefor make them appear to glow a bit, but it wont be as bright as looking directly at the rings still. The grooves behind the ring are what reflect the light forward so you can see it.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by Kommodore

Has anyone attempted or thought about using an etching cream on the light pipe? To me it seems (with literally zero scientific understanding on this subject ) that you might get a decent diffused glow around the ring apart from only straight on.

I've looked into it. It would help but by the time you open up the headlights you are likely better off just swapping the rings for something guaranteed to work. Also the source of the light is still farther from the outer ring then the inner ring, so there will still always be that bias towards the inner no matter what you do.

HPB and I are currently working on an aftermarket ring solution. The problem we are finding is most of the hardware available on the market has reliability issues.

So the last thing we want is to have people open up their head lights and run into a failure after a short period of time or worse if we install it and having to warranty the work.

:fingers crossed: on finding a reliable solution.

[J. Dub]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

I've looked into it. It would help but by the time you open up the headlights you are likely better off just swapping the rings for something guaranteed to work. Also the source of the light is still farther from the outer ring then the inner ring, so there will still always be that bias towards the inner no matter what you do.

HPB and I are currently working on an aftermarket ring solution. The problem we are finding is most of the hardware available on the market has reliability issues.

So the last thing we want is to have people open up their head lights and run into a failure after a short period of time or worse if we install it and having to warranty the work.

:fingers crossed: on finding a reliable solution.

So what's the latest on this?

[matteblue3er]

Celis technology that is used by BMW for the angel eyes and some taillight light bars, relies on light refraction.

If you etch the front of the light rods, you will alter the light path throughout the rings. You may actually dim the overall appearance of the angel eye since you are giving light a place to exit by etching the light rods. At the very least, you will decrease the overall definition of the light rods.

A more effective mod might be to insulate the back of the light rods with a highly reflective material such as mylar. This way any light lost out of the back of the rings is projected back toward the front of the light rods.....however if this had any significant effect, I'm sure BMW would have implemented it.

If you want to learn more about Celis Technology, Hella is original the company who developed it.