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      03-31-2016, 08:58 AM   #34
CanadianGatorBacon
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Drives: M235i (holy crap!)
Join Date: Nov 2015
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cjmcdonald86 View Post
Are we sure they're not talking about the Hallogen lights? Because, they're sooo horrible!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by absoluteis350 View Post
They arent talking about LEDs, they are talking about the base 3 series headlights. Which may indeed suck compared to other vehicles.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stvding View Post
Come on! It is a halogen , what do you expect?what more do you want?
The poor rating is for halogens, but the LEDs only scored one better with a marginal rating, which is below the acceptable rating.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nelsdvn View Post
This "test" is of marginal use. Of course the federal headlight standards are woefully inadequate. Until NHTSA and the DOT allow manufacturers to offer their best technology the US market will suffer from poor headlight options.

What I find comical in particular is the 2 series detailed results. The upgraded lighting package only rates "poor" unless it is paired with the drivers assist. Only then does it rise to "marginal". Having my hi beams controlled by the car upgrades the rating? Is this a test of lighting effectiveness or an assertion that one needs the car to manage systems rather than a participating, attentive driver.

What a joke and indicative of the pathetic state of US drivers apathy and complete disengagement from driving. I have owned BMWs with adaptive lighting for nearly ten years and they blow away standard halogens. Period. I'll take my marginal to poor BMW any day and I only hope that this IIHS test brings change to the archaic federal headlight regulations.
Totally agree about the driving regs. The difference in rating between the non-auto and auto high beams is that the auto high beams simply let you see farther more often. So yes, the automation feature gives the rating a bump because you can see more when its on, therefore the lighting is more effective than a car without the feature because during regular driving the lights work better. You could achieve the same result by manually using the high beams, but that's not how people usually drive and the feature gives you an advantage over normal drivers. The car could also get a better rating by just having better low beams. So I don't really see why its comical and I don't think its an assertion that one needs the car to manage systems rather than a participating, attentive driver. It is simply a matter that using the features of the car, this car with non-auto headlights has woefully ineffective lighting using normal driving habits (i.e., low beams) and with auto high beams it has slightly more effective lighting because a driver can use the feature in normal driving to supplement the equally ineffective low beams.
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Current: 2016 BMW M235i | 2013 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wife's)
Gone but not forgotten: 1992 Buick LeSaber Limited | 1999 Acura CL 3.0 | 2003 Volvo S60 2.4T | 2006 BMW x3 3.0i | 2009 Honda Fit Sport

Last edited by CanadianGatorBacon; 03-31-2016 at 09:06 AM..
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