Tail light trivia
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From: Shawnee, KS, USA
Tail light trivia
As I've been doing LED upgrade experiments recently, I happened to notice a little detail that I've never noticed before.
If you look really carefully at your tail lights (S4 and later only) when they're on, you'll see that the lens right in front of the bulbs (the two lower outer parking light bulbs, not the inner lower combination brake/park bulb), you'll find that there's a 3 cell wide by 7 cell high area of extra rough lens in front of the center bulb and a 2 cell wide by 8 cell high area of extra rough lens in front of the outer bulb.
These two areas are outlined in green below.
You are now just a little bit wiser than you were before you read this.
This does give you some idea of just how much attention to detail there is on beam patterns and such in light assembly design. And why the results of lots of aftermarket light conversions often leave a bit to be desired.
If you look really carefully at your tail lights (S4 and later only) when they're on, you'll see that the lens right in front of the bulbs (the two lower outer parking light bulbs, not the inner lower combination brake/park bulb), you'll find that there's a 3 cell wide by 7 cell high area of extra rough lens in front of the center bulb and a 2 cell wide by 8 cell high area of extra rough lens in front of the outer bulb.
These two areas are outlined in green below.
You are now just a little bit wiser than you were before you read this.
This does give you some idea of just how much attention to detail there is on beam patterns and such in light assembly design. And why the results of lots of aftermarket light conversions often leave a bit to be desired.
I totally see it, man...
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From: Camarillo, CA, USA
Not easy with a digital camera. But by blacking out the center portion of the side marker (with black electrical tape), It's much easier to photograph the "sparkle" effect of the reflector surfaces.
This is the rear (red) marker light, but the CCD sensor on the camera is more sensitive to amber. So, the eye has a difference response than the camera.
What your seeing here is the incandescent bulb filament glow reflected by the reflector. Notice as I change the camera angle, how the bright spot moves around. This sparkle, is what I'm trying to reproduce/enhanse with the 194 wedge type LED bulb.
This is the rear (red) marker light, but the CCD sensor on the camera is more sensitive to amber. So, the eye has a difference response than the camera.
What your seeing here is the incandescent bulb filament glow reflected by the reflector. Notice as I change the camera angle, how the bright spot moves around. This sparkle, is what I'm trying to reproduce/enhanse with the 194 wedge type LED bulb.
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Originally Posted by 928ntslow
(*sssssssssssssffffffffffuht...snort snort) DUde!...I think he's right (hehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh *cough) Oh no, wait...did that just move?
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From: Shawnee, KS, USA
Originally Posted by Bill Ball
It's much easier to photograph the "sparkle" effect of the reflector surfaces.
And laugh now, you guys, but just wait until you're stranded out in the desert somewhere, broken down because of a tail light beam pattern nonlinearity and then we'll see who's laughing...