[CedarZ4]

I was debating on getting the LED that every else on this thread has gotten, but ended up getting a pair of Lux V3s instead (the design looks exactly like the ones people are buying on eBay - My guess is that this was the design that all these other companies copied due to the success of the Lux V3s released 2 years ago).

Anyway, I put them on last night, and was very impressed! But I knew to reserve my opinion until the morning because it was in the middle of the night and even OEM halogens are impressive during that time. I just got off work, and the sun was still up (but it was cloudy) but still light outside. I was very disappointed to say the least.

Straight on from anywhere greater than 5 feet, it looks like OEM brightness - not dimmer, but definitely not brighter, although the lines are more defined/look slimmer. Anything at an angle and the outer ring is almost invisible and inner ring is noticeable but significantly dimmer. Before someone comes in and says "that's the design of the angel eye optics, not the lights fault," while I agree with that, but the LEDs are a lot worse than the OEM halogens for the outer ring. The reasoning is this. While the optics doesn't change, the OEM halogen is yellow light, a very noticeable color. Even if it is very dim, you can still see a vague outline in the other ring and even minor hotspots at an angle. Therefore, even though it's dim and uneven, you can see that it is there. White is such a "clean" color that when it is that dim, it blends right into the optic fiber/that plastic thing that refracts the light/the outer AE ring, making it invisible.

To be fair, I bought it pre-owned for a little over $100 so I'm still not sure how I feel yet, but this is definitely not worth the $225+ LUX charges! Really tempted to try the ones that everyone else has to see if it's any better... thoughts? Are the ones from eBay (the Cree) just as dim/invisible from an angle? Keep in mind, this was done on a cloudy day when the sun was beginning to set. I can't imagine what it would look like on a sunny day, even when it isn't face on.

Edit: On a side note... I forgot to mention. While head-on the AE looks about the same brightness as the halogens, I think that's because white appears "brighter" even if it isn't/has less lumens. I say that because I like to roll with the lights off with just the AE on sometimes (on my street, of course) to see how bright it is/how much of the road it illuminates. With the OEM halogens, I can actually see the light shining onto objects and the road albeit very poorly. With just these LUX LEDs on, there is no brightness to speak of in terms of illuminating the road ahead and it appears as if I have no lights on.