[NJ Krish]

Ordered mine a few minutes ago. Cant wait! wonder if they will deliver on my "Special Instructions"

[Waynedude]

Thanks for the great review. I bought my LUX in 2012, and one started flaking last week (i guess it''s the driver as the car is indicating the light is out on the warning system) and the left side flickers on and off, mostly off. I'm not sure why they failed so soon. It has been almost two years, but only 4K miles. I'm not really sure what to do as the warranty is only 1 year. I am not sure what version I have but I would guess V3? If the new ones are a lot brighter, I guess i will upgrade but concerned that they only lasted 4000 miles, not what you would expect with LED's. That is a lot of money for 4K miles (a halogen would have lasted longer.)

[LuxAngelEyes]

Originally Posted by Waynedude

Thanks for the great review. I bought my LUX in 2012, and one started flaking last week (i guess it''s the driver as the car is indicating the light is out on the warning system) and the left side flickers on and off, mostly off. I'm not sure why they failed so soon. It has been almost two years, but only 4K miles. I'm not really sure what to do as the warranty is only 1 year. I am not sure what version I have but I would guess V3? If the new ones are a lot brighter, I guess i will upgrade but concerned that they only lasted 4000 miles, not what you would expect with LED's. That is a lot of money for 4K miles (a halogen would have lasted longer.)

Did you already send us a PM or e-mail regarding this

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by Waynedude

Thanks for the great review. I bought my LUX in 2012, and one started flaking last week (i guess it''s the driver as the car is indicating the light is out on the warning system) and the left side flickers on and off, mostly off. I'm not sure why they failed so soon. It has been almost two years, but only 4K miles. I'm not really sure what to do as the warranty is only 1 year. I am not sure what version I have but I would guess V3? If the new ones are a lot brighter, I guess i will upgrade but concerned that they only lasted 4000 miles, not what you would expect with LED's. That is a lot of money for 4K miles (a halogen would have lasted longer.)

Let me ask you, if you buy a toaster, and it fails a year after warranty, do you post it up on a forum? What do you expect people to say? "Yeah, that's what the Lux V3's were designed to do... Crap out after xx months"

Or do you chalk it up to the fact that everything has a failure rate, and eventually some things just crap out, even earlier than their expected life, and try to deal with it with the mfr?

If there were so many failures attributable to poor quality, as you suggest, then there'd be tons of post right at the two year mark from all the V3 users.... But there aren't.

[Waynedude]

Wow.. Didn't expect that response from Lotus. I will email Lux to see what they say. Im sure things fail outside of the control of the manufacturer and these things happen. I will follow up with them before making any judgments. They were kind to post a question, Lotus on the other hand is a little rough. The high $ paid hopefully indicates quality. It is how it is handled, not that it happened. Things happen. I should have contacted them first, but couldn't see how to on the site. I will figure out how to email them and see how things work out. Then I will sing their praises..

[Lotus99]

Sorry if I came across a bit harsh, but really... What's the point of a post saying "That is a lot of money for 4K miles (a halogen would have lasted longer)"?

Clearly, the Lux bulbs don't have a useful life of 4k miles, and unfortunately it's a one-off situation when it has died before its intended useful life.

No different than any other product, as fabulously engineered and high quality as it might be even, I was trying to say.

Other than getting sympathy to get the vendor to chip in a pair at a discount in the name of great customer service (since it's now public that their products only "last 4000 miles"), not sure what else you expected?

But I guess that's why you posted in the first place, is what I was thinking...

Sorry if I'm so jaded...

[1QuikWS6]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

If there were so many failures attributable to poor quality, as you suggest, then there'd be tons of post right at the two year mark from all the V3 users.... But there aren't.

Maybe that's because most that have failures PM or email Lux privately instead of posting their problems in public on the forum...

and unfortunately it's a one-off situation when it has died before its intended useful life

I guess that makes me a 'two-off situation' with my 2 yr old V3's

Soon to be replaced with DTEC V7's

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by 1QuikWS6

Maybe that's because most that have failures PM or email Lux privately instead of posting their problems in public on the forum...

I guess that makes me a 'two-off situation' with my 2 yr old V3's

Soon to be replaced with DTEC V4's

Really? I doubt if the failure rate was as high as you claim, there wouldn't be tons of people on here going on about it, since that's what most do! Highly unlikely...

PS You might want to get caught up with what's out there... DTEC V9's are the latest. I don't think you can even buy V4's anymore.

[1QuikWS6]

Ah, I mistyped - corrected it - I went with V7's I'm not necessarily looking to go with the latest/greatest out there - just want performance & reliability. Kind of like not jumping on the newest OS for computer...

I've tried many types of AE's over the years in my car, including:

• Supposed halogen upgrades that were waste of $$ (albeit small expenditure)
• HID that were way too bright (looked like light blobs with no distinct rings) & had too many reliability problems with the ballasts
• Different styles/mfg LED's that never performed as promised & had short life span

None of these were eBay specials either - they were all from reputable forum vendors

I got the LUX V3 when they 1st came out (against my normal trepidations with new products). In defense of Marc & LUX, they were THE best option up to that time. Very good light output, more even light distribution between inner/outer, good performance. I still have the LUX LCI LED Reverse & they are hella bright

But I like to tell it like it is, state the bad with the good. My V3's lasted 2 yrs & PS started to flicker during normal operation, then went out entirely. Marc offered me a discount on V4's (apparently they no longer have/make V3's), but I'm not interested in color change, nor do I want to go back with product that is just released - so I decided to go with the DTEC's this time.

To state that any mfg. has a zero failure rate is ridiculous. If you search on here you will find numerous threads stating problems. You'll have that with any product. It's not just 1 or 2 people.

I was one of the people singing LUX praise (and I still do), but fact of the matter is - in 2yrs mine are shot...

I'm gonna guess that you haven't had the V3's in your car for any number of years & just got the V4's??

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by 1QuikWS6

Marc offered me a discount on V4's (apparently they no longer have/make V3's), but I'm not interested in color change, nor do I want to go back with product that is just released - so I decided to go with the DTEC's this time.

To state that any mfg. has a zero failure rate is ridiculous. If you search on here you will find numerous threads stating problems. You'll have that with any product. It's not just 1 or 2 people.

The V4's have not been "just released" as you say. They came out 10 months ago! http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=837934

Can you please point out to me where I said there's a "zero failure rate"??? In fact, I acknowledge there IS a failure rate, just not what the poster claimed (that their life is only 4000 miles).

The V3's were introduced early 2011, so they've been out a full 3 years now, and there aren't tons of posts, is what I am saying. The nature of these forums is that people quickly start complaining, when things break, so there's very little chance if there were lots of them failing after two years, you'd not see a bunch of posts on it.

This is what I wrote:

Originally Posted by Lotus99

Or do you chalk it up to the fact that everything has a failure rate, and eventually some things just crap out, even earlier than their expected life, and try to deal with it with the mfr?

[1QuikWS6]

Well, I'm not gonna argue with you - when my V3's started going the V4's were just released - I've been driving around with the V3's flickering on one side all this time & just recently they went out all together on one side.

Any product that is mfg. with high quality such as the LUX will obviously garner many praises initially as long as they perform as they say. But another aspect of a product is it's Service Life. This will not be known till the product has been out for years - which is now where the V3's are. So moving forward is the acid test for their long term reliability.

Heck, they changed/upgraded the V3's after I got mine - I don't even have the latest version of them...

I'm not complaining about them, they were great while they lasted. But had I stayed with the OEM halogens - they would have (and did) lasted/last longer than 2 yrs. I would have gone with another set of V3's @ a reduced cost, but they are no longer available.

I switched out my wife's halogen headlights with Silvania Silverstar Ultra's - the OEM bulbs lasted for years with nary a problem. The Sylvania last 1 yr - then they are gone. I understand this is due to their hi performance & I keep buying them & replacing them every yr because I like the light output.

The HID capsules in my headlights/fogs are aftermarket & they are still going strong after 5yrs.

I never stated a number for the Failure Rate of the LUX, but I'm quite certain it's more than the (2) cases mentioned here. Some people will be happy if a product only lasts 2 yrs and will not say anything & just move on, I'm sure some had them fail within 1 yr & had them replaced for free under warranty - they aren't gonna say anything either. To think that their Failure rate is (2) just because only (2) people in this single thread reported a Fail is nonsense...

Only the mfg. would have the true reported/updated failure rate data, & could report same either honestly or not. No one user on this forum would have that data. Most mfg. will not openly publish failure rate data for the consumer to view as it goes against what they are trying to acheive - which is sales. End users would all like to see a zero failure rate (as otherwise they figure they could be one of the unlucky ones) - but we all know that is impossible.

I'll just agree with you & say the LUX are the 'next best thing since sliced bread' & move on

[Waynedude]

Thanks for your reasoning and defense 1quikWS6!

LUX contacted me and sent an RMA form and quoted a repair fee for out of warranty product. I shipped my failed LUX back today and look forward to getting something back soon as my M3 now has a single black eye.. I did not post in hopes of stirring up the manufacturer, but because I was a little miffed that they failed. I buy high quality parts because I expect them to last. Time is critical to me and spending time fixing things that break is the last way I want to spend my time. I understand that things can fail regardless. It happens. But I shop critically and I would much prefer to pay whatever to get a product that lasts. I don't drive my car much (4K miles in 2 years), so it is even more miffing when something fails in that short a time. I am not proposing that that is the way the product is, I am only expressing my experience. Only one failed, so I assume it was a fluke. If the other one fails soon, then it will be more indicative of a design flaw.

I am a lighting designer and am very well versed in LED technology, it''s strengths, it's limitations, and the issues with heat as they relate to life of the LED. I use Gan on Gan 12W LED chips that are mega bright (and require rather large heat sinks). The failure with the LUX is not the LED chips, it is the driver that is failing. That means that a component in the driver was being over driven or had a poor tolerance specification. The advantage of a 12V system is you only need a buck/boost device to prevent over-driving the LED current. This is where the failure occurred. The LED world is evolving rapidly and the supporting electronics are starting to catch up with the longevity of the LED's themselves. The driver industry has had to completely revamp themselves to provide drivers that can last 50K hours. Anyway, enough on the technology.

I'm looking forward to hearing back from LUX when they receive my failed unit. I appreciate everybody commenting, regardless, as that is what boards are for, to share experiences and learn from others. Peace. I will update when I get a response on my returned unit.

[Waynedude]

After PM'ing LUX, and returning the failed Angel eye, they were very responsive. I decided to try the V4 before having my V3 repaired.

The V4 are brighter, and look much closer to the most recent years stock LED angel eyes. I am still trying to decide how to move forward. One thing I note are the compromises made to achieve the "full bright" in all modes (headlights on or off) behavior.

This is achieved by having the trigger voltage required to fully light the angel eyes set to below the factory "dim" voltage which is enabled when the headlights are activated. This allows them to stay bright during normal operation (both bright and dim factory modes). What this also does is create a step during the ramp up (where the factory angel eyes smoothly dim up from off when the key fob is pressed) and a step off during the factory dim to off. The step "on" shows as a flicker as the ramp voltage hits the programmed "step on" or trigger voltage. As the lights dim to off, there is a similar drop out before the lights fully dim. In this case, the two different color led's (warm white and blue) which allow the color shifting feature, ramp off at different points, leaving in my case, the blue led on longer than the white. So the fade to off is a little unstable, finally turning to a deep blue before turning off.

The blue led is also visible as an artifact at various points along the angel eye tube. This is kinda cool in that you cant really discern where the blue sparkle is coming from, but you can tell its there. The angel eye makes the color you select on the dip switches by varying the brightness between the blue and white led's. These LED's are located next to each other and are discrete LED's (X4 for a total of 4 blue and 4 white). Since the mixing of the blue and white happens in the light pipe making up the rings, there are points where you will get a sparkle of each color where it's reflection in the light pipe hasn't fully mixed. This is not a bad trait, and looks pretty interesting.

The only downside is the flicker at dim on/off because the color selection capability means there is a separate dimmer circuit for each of the two colors which behave slightly differently when the power is cut slowly (as when the car dims the lights on/off).

Enough rambling but want to let those who are interested how these new V4 LUX behave.

I am pleased with the service offered by LUX and will be deciding soon what I want to do.

[Waynedude]

Update, I got the E92 angel eyes and checked out the difference. I should have taken pictures, but know it is very difficult to capture what you see in photography. So comparing on two fronts:
1) brightness: the E92 has 8 white LED per side, while the LUX had 4 white and 4 blue (how they do the color selection). I have my LUX set to near the same white as the E92 and as close to the HID as I can get. I could not tell a difference in brightness between the two from any angle. The inner and outer rings were proportionally the same on both. I would give it a draw on the brightness front.
2) ease of install: The LUX were much easier (and I mean much!). The E92 offset heat sink was almost impossible to get your fingers behind to ensure it was seated before rotating it into place, and due to the big heat sink, it was really hard to get it in fully. It took almost twice as long to get it seated and then it still didn't feel fully in. It is easy to get one of the tabs engaged and the others not because there is no way to get behind it around the big heat sink to make sure it is in straight and fully engaged. The heat sink takes up so much room it makes an already difficult task much more so. You have to drop both down in the hole with the tip facing up and then direct the tip into the opening and pull up on the back to work it in. Then once in, you have to work it to get the tabs engaged properly so you can rotate it into the locked position. The LUX V4 has a flat portion on the heat sink so you can see when it is rotated properly (flat side up). Because it is so much smaller, it is easy to get fingers behind it and rotate it to lock. The E92 large heat sink must face up (roughly at the 1:30 position), but to get it in around the heat sink is quite difficult. once you drop it in, it is challenging to get the tip in because the heat sink hits and catches all the wires toward the back of the light compartment. If you try to use the wires to jog it in, the connector comes apart, so you have to completely remove it to reconnect it and start over. I got it in, but it was not a simple task.

Flicker: Both are LED being fed by an analog dimmer circuit in the car which is intended to smoothly ramp the lights up and down. They both flicker a bit on the ramp down as it gets to a dim point below the LED threshold, the LED turn off abruptly. On the LUX, the white Led goes off first, leaving a second of deep blue color. The E92 only has white, so the turn off happens more smoothly, and since there is only one driver, it happens consistently. The LUX has two drivers for each side (one for the blue led and one for the white) which is why the thresholds hit at different times. Either way, it is only a quick 1/8 second flash of blue. The E92 also flickers off rather than ramp smoothly off.

Cost: E92 beats the Lux on price but not by much.

Overall. I have really grown to like the way you can see blue artifacts in the light pipes of the angel eyes. It is really tough to figure out where it is coming from as it is just the way the two colors mix in the light pipe and a touch of blue sparkle shows up here and there. I vote for the LUX based on the ease of install and the blue sparkle, which I think overrides the blue flash at turn off.

My two cents. Hope this helps someone make a choice.

[LuxAngelEyes]

The LUX H8 V4 LED Angel Eyes are back and stock, and as well they are now fully patented with within the USA

[TwinPowerF30]

What are you comparing here with E92 vs LUX? Is that a brand?

Originally Posted by Waynedude

Update, I got the E92 angel eyes and checked out the difference. I should have taken pictures, but know it is very difficult to capture what you see in photography. So comparing on two fronts:
1) brightness: the E92 has 8 white LED per side, while the LUX had 4 white and 4 blue (how they do the color selection). I have my LUX set to near the same white as the E92 and as close to the HID as I can get. I could not tell a difference in brightness between the two from any angle. The inner and outer rings were proportionally the same on both. I would give it a draw on the brightness front.
2) ease of install: The LUX were much easier (and I mean much!). The E92 offset heat sink was almost impossible to get your fingers behind to ensure it was seated before rotating it into place, and due to the big heat sink, it was really hard to get it in fully. It took almost twice as long to get it seated and then it still didn't feel fully in. It is easy to get one of the tabs engaged and the others not because there is no way to get behind it around the big heat sink to make sure it is in straight and fully engaged. The heat sink takes up so much room it makes an already difficult task much more so. You have to drop both down in the hole with the tip facing up and then direct the tip into the opening and pull up on the back to work it in. Then once in, you have to work it to get the tabs engaged properly so you can rotate it into the locked position. The LUX V4 has a flat portion on the heat sink so you can see when it is rotated properly (flat side up). Because it is so much smaller, it is easy to get fingers behind it and rotate it to lock. The E92 large heat sink must face up (roughly at the 1:30 position), but to get it in around the heat sink is quite difficult. once you drop it in, it is challenging to get the tip in because the heat sink hits and catches all the wires toward the back of the light compartment. If you try to use the wires to jog it in, the connector comes apart, so you have to completely remove it to reconnect it and start over. I got it in, but it was not a simple task.

Flicker: Both are LED being fed by an analog dimmer circuit in the car which is intended to smoothly ramp the lights up and down. They both flicker a bit on the ramp down as it gets to a dim point below the LED threshold, the LED turn off abruptly. On the LUX, the white Led goes off first, leaving a second of deep blue color. The E92 only has white, so the turn off happens more smoothly, and since there is only one driver, it happens consistently. The LUX has two drivers for each side (one for the blue led and one for the white) which is why the thresholds hit at different times. Either way, it is only a quick 1/8 second flash of blue. The E92 also flickers off rather than ramp smoothly off.

Cost: E92 beats the Lux on price but not by much.

Overall. I have really grown to like the way you can see blue artifacts in the light pipes of the angel eyes. It is really tough to figure out where it is coming from as it is just the way the two colors mix in the light pipe and a touch of blue sparkle shows up here and there. I vote for the LUX based on the ease of install and the blue sparkle, which I think overrides the blue flash at turn off.

My two cents. Hope this helps someone make a choice.