| Details | Stedi Copper Head | Philips Ultinon | Pro Vision Quick-Fit | Pro Vision Extreme Series | Pro Vision Extreme Plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $129 to $149/set | $230 to $280/set | $129.00/set | $189.00/set | $229.00/set |
| LED's | Philips Luxeon Z ES | Philips Luxeon Z ES | Philips Luxeon Z ES | Custom Engineered HML3 | USA Made Bridgelux |
| Lumen/Brightness | 3520lm/pair | 4200lm/pair | 5000/pair | 7000lm/pair | 10,000lm/pair |
| Can-Bus Compatibility | Yes | No - Decoders Needed | No - Free Decoders Available | Yes | Yes |
| Thermal Management | Braided Cable Belts | Body Heat Dissipation | Hybrid - Body + Fan Dissipation | Hybrid - Body + Fan Dissipation | Hybrid - Body + Fan Dissipation |
| Headlight Compatibility | Reflector | Reflector | Reflector | Reflector & Projector | Reflector & Projector |
Coming into 2020 there are a couple of new products on the market and a couple of old ones.
Of course, i may be a bit biased being the director of Pro Vision Lighting in Australia, but there are a few things to look that i have considered for 2019 and going into 2020 when it comes to led headlight globes.
I have looked at Stedi copperhead, Philips Ultinon (Not their extreme version), our Pro Vision Quick-Fit kit, our Extreme Series, and our New Extreme PLUS Series.
First of all, the Philips Luxeon Z ES chips are a definite winner, they have proved themselves over the last few years, and depending on how hard you drive them and which versions you get will determine the lumen/watt ratio.
A newcomer is the high intensity HML3 led's and a new Bridgelux led. The HML3 have proven to be a stayer in 2019 and we will keep them on in 2020 at a discounted price. The new bridgelux i suspect will be the best for 2020 as bridgelux in the USA have been around for a long time and have just as good a reputation as CREE and Philips.
So i am expecting big things from these new Extreme Plus LED Bulbs.
Another thing i have noticed in regards to the advancement of thermal management is that they are now going towards a hybrid style system whereby they are combining technologies they have been doing over the years, so that the can effectively put more powerful led's in their led conversion kits.
The only downside to the copper belts is that they are outdated and a bit suss on the safety side. Copper belts were first introduced around three years ago and have pretty much been phased out now by heat sinc and dissipation and better quality fans.
The problem with the old fans, (which came out in the first led headlight bulbs), is that they were noisy and if they failed, the led's would burn out.
Now the fans are noiseless, have a long lifespan (way longer than the actual kits), and they have coupled them with latest heat-sinc and dissipation engineering through the body.
This allows high powered led kits to have a much greater lifespan.
In a nutshell, you can now have much brighter led headlight bulbs that last for years.
There are a few companies bulbs i have not included in this blog to try and keep it short.
Like Narva and JW Speaker. To be honest, they are still selling the same bulbs they were a couple of years ago.
The Philips Ultinon are probably the best out of the lot in terms of being conservative and new, they stay well below their limits and obviously have the Philips price tag.
The Stedi copperhead are just too old now.
In the Pro Vision line, the quick-fit and the extreme series have performed very well in 2019 so we will keep them on for 2020 at affordable prices, and i am keen to see how the Extreme Plus series perform in 2020. Given that they are designed so well and use quality components like the Bridgelux led's, i expect not many kits will touch them for a couple of years.
If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact us.
Lex Boyle, Director,
Pro Vision Lighting & Electrical.
www.pro-vision-lighting.com
