IIHS test of headlamp performance

[-Virgil-]

It would be interesting to see the same test run, after each vehicle had had its headlights very carefully and professionally aimed.

Hit the link given in post #33 of this thread (on page 1).

This test means a lot.

No, it really doesn't. Not once you've seen the stackup of guesses, assumptions, and apparently random, pseudoscientific numbers that have gone into the test protocol.

99.9% of drivers dont know you can aim lights.

That might be true, and even if 99.9% of drivers did know headlamps can be aimed, most of them aren't near a shop that can or will do the job correctly (though there's no shortage of shops that will claim to do it).

Unlike in the EU the US has no culture of correct aim.

Very true.

This test will force manufactures to either aim them correctly or develop better lamps

Don't bet on it! You're being a lot more optimistic than realistic here.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

Thanks. I followed the link.

. Post hoc adjustment of the demerit scores to account for this effect would double the number of systems rated as good (demerit score ≤ 10) or acceptable (10 < demerit score ≤ 20).

 

[SubLGT]

Some very interesting comments from a Senior Research Engineer at IIHS, as published by DVN in their newsletter:

..."But as we've built up test experience, we've found enough vehicles have such vertical and/or horizontal misaim that FMVSS 108 limits don't correlate to real-world glare...….In some cases we see as much glare from the low beams as we see from the high beams…….. FMVSS 108 is not limiting real-world glare on a lot of vehicles. That was a surprise to us.

Additionally, in response to technical criticisms from the vehicle lighting professional community, IIHS is making adjustments to their headlamp test protocol:
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/statusreport/article/51/10/2

 

[SubLGT]

IIHS has released their list of top safety rated 2017 vehicles.

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/deskt...fety-pick-winners-meet-new-headlight-criteria

….Good or acceptable ratings in the Institute's new headlight evaluations set the latest crop of qualifiers apart. Thirty-eight models earn the "plus" accolade, and 44 earn TOP SAFETY PICK...

...Among 2017 models, only seven are available with good-rated headlights. They are the Chevrolet Volt small car, Honda Ridgeline pickup, Hyundai Elantra small car, Hyundai Santa Fe midsize SUV, Subaru Legacy midsize car, Toyota Prius v midsize car and Volvo XC60 midsize luxury SUV...

...IIHS launched headlight ratings in the spring after finding that government standards based on laboratory tests allow for huge variation in the amount of illumination headlights provide in on-road driving. Nighttime visibility is critical to highway safety because about half of traffic deaths occur either in the dark or at dawn or dusk…

 

[alpg88]

my 2016 sonata rated poor, and i believe that, they really do suck.

 

[SubLGT]

Some interesting info about how difficult it can be to maintain correct headlight aim during vehicle operation (from this weeks DVN newsletter)

Hamm explained that a headlamp system's actual, real performance is a mixture of the lamp's inbuilt photometric performance and the effective lamp aim (including not only how the headlamp is set but also the factors listed [below] plus movement of the car body in response to road dynamics).

• Factory aiming tolerance ± 0.1°
• Visual aiming tolerance ± 0.25°
• Load tolerance + 0.3° per 75 kg load
• Fuel tank tolerance ± 0.1° per half tank
• Temperature tolerance ± 0.15°
• Tire pressure tolerance ± 0.1° per 0.7 bar (10 psi).

There has been lot of activity from automakers in the area of "smart" autonomous vehicles. Before we make that giant leap, how about giving us some "smart" headlamps that maintain their aim during operation?

 

[-Virgil-]

There has been lot of activity from automakers in the area of "smart" autonomous vehicles. Before we make that giant leap, how about giving us some "smart" headlamps that maintain their aim during operation?

It's not either/or or first/next. The smart headlamps you ask for already exist; they're called ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) -- including matrix beams, pixel beams, etc. They're not yet allowed in the USA. Until recently it looked like they would be permitted soon, but that was under the previous administration. The current administration has a fervently anti-regulation agenda, and while I have read dozens of editorials and essays and white papers in the last few months joyously celebrating what they're sure will be a reduction of regulations that apply to the auto industry, I think they're forgetting that regulations don't necessarily prohibit things; they can also permit things. If the rule is "Federal agencies, we're gonna slash your budget, you're gonna slash your personnel, and don't even THINK about issuing any new regulations until further notice", then ADB won't be coming to roads in the United States for the foreseeable future.

 

[archimedes]

This is not the proper venue for a discussion of forum rules, nor any open discussion of moderation.

Time to move on, here....

 

[SubLGT]

... they're called ADB (Adaptive Driving Beam) -- including matrix beams, pixel beams, etc. They're not yet allowed in the USA...

Do the LED headlamps in the 2018 Lincoln Navigator deserve the ADB label?

The all-new Navigator offers speed-dependent adaptive lighting, a new Lincoln technology that provides a wider spread of light at lower speeds for increased visibility – helpful when driving through residential areas. As the vehicle accelerates, the beam of light narrows to help eliminate the glare off signs or other distractions.

https://media.lincoln.com/content/lincolnmedia/lna/us/en/2018-lincoln-navigator.html

 

[-Virgil-]

No. ADB is not available (because it's not allowed) in the United States. "Adaptive headlights" are not even close to the same thing.

 

[Bill Idaho]

So this thread started on 03-30-16, and just today (06-13-17) the IIHS report finally makes Fox News......?

 

[Alaric Darconville]

So this thread started on 03-30-16, and just today (06-13-17) the IIHS report finally makes Fox News......?

Maybe only now it looks like it'll drive clicks to their site. Remember, their primary goal is not to inform, but to make money.

 

[64.5vette]

Remember, their primary goal is not to inform, but to make money.

When journalist report on something we're knowledge about we laugh and shake our heads, yet flip/click to the next page and trust their other reports. Understanding this really helped me sift through poor quality news.

 

[SubLGT]

The latest test, of midsize SUVs:

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/deskt...e-suv-headlights-tested-rate-marginal-or-poor

...The 37 SUVs that IIHS evaluated have 79 possible headlight combinations...More than half of the 79 headlight variants evaluated have too much glare. In 17 of those cases, the headlights would be rated poor based on glare alone….

...The Ford Edge is another poor performer. The Edge's base halogen projector and optional HID projector low beams provide inadequate visibility in all test scenarios, including the straightaway, on sharp curves and on gradual curves. The high beams on both versions have inadequate visibility, too. Both types of the Edge's low beams also produce unacceptable glare...

 

[-Virgil-]

Notice the very strongly blue appearance of the oncoming lamps at 1 minute, 20 seconds in the video on that linked page. I can't discern what make and model vehicle it is at a glance.

I'll need to spend some time parsing through the results to see what interesting nuggets they contain. At first blush it looks like the same situation as described in post #33 and #24 in this thread. Still, even though the IIHS tests don't really measure what the headlines say they measure, they still indicate a real problem, and the auto and lighting industries are putting a lot of effort into figuring out how to get better IIHS grades on their headlamps. Mostly through better aiming, which is good, because poor aim is most of the problem.

 

[SubLGT]

Notice the very strongly blue appearance of the oncoming lamps at 1 minute, 20 seconds in the video on that linked page. I can't discern what make and model vehicle it is at a glance.

I can't make it out either. Perhaps it is the Lincoln MKC with HID projectors. On the straightaway, the low beams exceeded the glare threshold by 266%.

 

[64.5vette]

Notice the very strongly blue appearance of the oncoming lamps at 1 minute, 20 seconds in the video on that linked page. I can't discern what make and model vehicle it is at a glance.

My educated guess is a Santa Fe sport (headlight), based on

but to be fair, it seems like they either have the blue cranked way up or that shot is very poorly color balanced.

 

[SubLGT]

IIHS reports that the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport with halogen projector low beams exceeded the straightaway glare threshold by 100.6%. The version with HID projectors exceeded the straightaway glare threshold by a whopping 534.7%.

 

[SubLGT]

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/deskt...rs-join-ranks-of-iihs-top-safety-pick-winners

The E-Class is available with two different [LED Projector] headlight systems. One earns a good rating, while the other is acceptable. The good-rated [LED Projector] headlights, which come on the E-300 trim when equipped with the Premium II or Premium III package, earn the highest score of any headlights IIHS has rated. The low beams provide enough light on the straightaway and all curves, though they create a bit of glare for oncoming drivers. The high beams provide fair visibility on the left side of the straightaway but good visibility everywhere else. The good-rated headlights also come with high-beam assist.

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/mercedes-benz/e-class-4-door-sedan/2017

 

[SubLGT]

The latest from IIHS:

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desk...ove-but-base-models-leave-drivers-in-the-dark

...In all, IIHS engineers evaluated 424 headlight variants on 2018 models. Of these, 67 percent earn a marginal or poor rating because of inadequate visibility, excessive glare from low beams for oncoming drivers, or both.

"In the past two years, manufacturers have made changes to improve headlights, whether through better aim or the light source itself," Aylor says. "But we still see a lot of models where the base headlight is poor, so buyers really have to do their homework to make sure they are getting the best available headlights."

Domestic manufacturers, in general, have room for improvement, especially when it comes to pickup trucks. Poor-rated headlights are the only ones available on Ford's popular F-150 and Chevrolet's Silverado 1500, for example. That is also the case for the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon and Nissan Frontier.

Subaru is among a handful of manufacturers that made running changes to certain 2018 models to improve ratings, mostly by readjusting headlight aim. As a result, the Crosstrek moved to a good rating from poor for its best-available headlights, the Forester climbed to acceptable from marginal, and the Outback rose to good from acceptable. Other manufacturers that made similar running changes are Hyundai/Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Volvo.