Will be considering changing my VRS for another in the near future. May go for a FL VRS but noticed they have changed the Bi-Xenon headlights for LEDs. It was one of the attractions for me that the Skoda had Bi-Xenons. Does anybody know how good the FL LEDs are compared to Bi-Xenon set up?

From what I have read lighting performance is very similar but LED has several advantages.

*Far longer LED life-expecatncy (4-5x).

*No moving parts for LED's should increase reliability and make replacement easier.

*LED's are more efficent. They will demand less load from the electrical system.

 

The main disadvantages are:-

*FL Octavia front split-lights are FUGLY.

*FL Octavia front split-lights are FUGLY.

*FL Octavia front split-lights are FUGLY.

 

 

 

Edited 13 September, 20178 yr by Orville

FUGLY ......maybe subjective for some but many thanks for your input 

Agreed, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

...but nobody complained about looks of the pre-FL MK3 lights.

Haven't driven a FL with the LEDs to directly compare, however saw one at the dealers and the LEDs looked good. Subjectively they looked as bright as the Xenons and a better Colour (have that awesome purple tinge near cutoff). No idea about range but the LEDs are behind a projector so it should be reasonably good.

 

As above, theoretically better long term (D3s Xenon bulbs aren't the cheapest) though the counter argument is that a Xenon bulb is cheaper than a whole LED headlamp if it goes faulty.

Having had a pre-FL and now a FL the LEDs are far better.  

Remember that Xenon's also fade over time. Every 500 hours usage reduces output by ~10%. After 3-years a typical automotive Xenon bulb will run at ~80% of original brightness. My Xenons seemed extremely bright when I first got the car, but I have either gotten used to it, or they have faded over the past 4-years. Most probably a bit of both. LED's also fade, but at a far slower rate.

 

Xenon's tend to have brighter lumens ratings than current LED's, but this will surely change as automotive LED technology improves.

 

Which would I prefer - LED's within pre-FL light clusters.

 

Edit: More info here http://bestheadlightbulbs.com/led-vs-hid-which-is-brighter/

Edited 13 September, 20178 yr by Orville

So does the LED lighting come with the exceptionally useful Tourist Mode, like the Bi-Xenons do?

What the heckky is Tourist Mode?

2 minutes ago, LemonLime said:

What the heckky is Tourist Mode?

 

Light pattern is switched to suit right side traffic (i.e. Left hand drive). when driving abroad. If you have Nav, it does it automatically too when it detects the country you're in.

Thats amazing, thanks ahenners. I never even looked at that. I'm not much of a globetrotter and the finance deal says I can't go too far for too long :(

I had a problem with the Bi-Xenons on my A4. Loose connection inside one lamp activating the pushrod.. Absolute nightmare and bumper off job but luckily i managed to repair it. (a few times as it was very tricky)

 

Otherwise circa £1000 plus fitting. Won't have adaptive xenons again. If you're not having adaptive then probably this will not happen.

Never had the bi-xenons but, I did drive one for 20 mins or so, I now have the LED on a 245 & they are awesome, far in a way better than the bi-xenons.

 

Gotta say the fl has a face only a mother could love !!!

I recently sold my 2016 Golf GTD with xenon to make way for my FL octavia next week with LED and the misses has a FL A3 that has LED.

 

I found as with any LED's they are very bright but too direct for my liking. Assurrounding areas are either dark or really lit up theres no fade like you get with halogen and xenon.

 

dont let this put you off as they are very lights and hugely better than halogen and would equal to xenon

 

Edited 30 December, 20178 yr by TTodorov

On 13/09/2017 at 13:41, Orville said:

*FL Octavia front split-lights are FUGLY.

*FL Octavia front split-lights are FUGLY.

*FL Octavia front split-lights are FUGLY.

 

 

 

 

Point 1 - wrong.

Point 2 - wrong.

Point 3 - wrong.

 

Of no interest to anyone but what I do find ugly are those god awful 19 inch Xtreme alloys that Skoda inflicts on certain VRS buyers.

2 hours ago, TTodorov said:

 

 

Good comparison video, I enjoy hollowmanvid's videos on his channel.

 

The initial comparison seems to favour the Bi-xenon, in that the bit closest to the car is better lit. On dipped there isn't a huge difference, but the full xenon beam appears to be better than the LED on full beam as there is a wider spread of light.

Edited 30 December, 20178 yr by ahenners

22 minutes ago, YMe said:

 

Point 1 - wrong.

Point 2 - wrong.

Point 3 - wrong.

 

Of no interest to anyone but what I do find ugly are those god awful 19 inch Xtreme alloys that Skoda inflicts on certain VRS buyers.

 

Yes! I agree the Xtreme wheels are shocking!

Edited 30 December, 20178 yr by Tim1631

On 13/09/2017 at 17:43, TheWanderer said:

So does the LED lighting come with the exceptionally useful Tourist Mode, like the Bi-Xenons do?

 

Yes, there is an option in the car light settings to change between Left and Right side driving.

 

The main difference I’ve found is the AFS is not the same as with the Bi-Xenon lights. There is no discernible sweep in the horizontal light pattern when driving around corners. The LED lights have an automatic change of beam pattern when driving in built up areas or on motorways. Can’t say I've seen a difference to be honest, but VCDS shows the run time of each lighting mode, so I assume it does it thing so subtlety I don’t notice!

10 minutes ago, wg100 said:

The main difference I’ve found is the AFS is not the same as with the Bi-Xenon lights. There is no discernible sweep in the horizontal light pattern when driving around corners.

 

The cornering AFS on the LEDs is provided by a separate, additional light, rather than the same light beam moving as with the Xenons, so this is correct.  From the video I saw in another thread, it didn't seem as good on dark, twisty roads. Neither the Xenon or LED setup seem bad though; they are infinitely better than halogen.

2 hours ago, YMe said:

 

Point 1 - wrong.

Point 2 - wrong.

Point 3 - wrong.

 

Of no interest to anyone but what I do find ugly are those god awful 19 inch Xtreme alloys that Skoda inflicts on certain VRS buyers.

Each to his own. I personally would avoid the 19" alloys for practical reasons.

 

Funny thing is if you google "ugly headlights octavia" and select pictures, they are of the FL model. If you remove the ugly and google "headlights Octavia" they show the pre-FL model. Somehow google's algorithims associates ugly with the FL.

2 minutes ago, Orville said:

Each to his own. I personally would avoid the 19" alloys for practical reasons.

 

Funny thing is if you google "ugly headlights octavia" and select pictures, they are of the FL model. If you remove the ugly and google "headlights Octavia" they show the pre-FL model. Somehow google's algorithims associates ugly with the FL.

 

I've said it before, FL = Fugly Lights

2 hours ago, ahenners said:

 

Good comparison video, I enjoy hollowmanvid's videos on his channel.

 

The initial comparison seems to favour the Bi-xenon, in that the bit closest to the car is better lit. On dipped there isn't a huge difference, but the full xenon beam appears to be better than the LED on full beam as there is a wider spread of light.

 

Agreed, a very good video.

 

I too was surprised to see that the bi-xenon's from the pre-facelift do seem to have some discernible advantages over the facelifts LED's...

 

This might not be problem for those of you in the warmer parts of the world, but Im kinda glad i dont have LEDs..

@Gromle, not much of a snow here so asking...

Does the Xenon emits enough heat to defrost as per your picture or this is from the washers?

What about LED...?