The OPT7 Fluxbeam X LED headlight bulb blazes a trail for the automotive lighting industry which is keen to embrace the energy efficient, solid-stately robust and long lasting LED technology despite a litany of technical challenges. Increasing installations of vehicle electronics and the ballooning fuel cost have conceived a need for high efficiency lighting systems to mitigate the load on the alternator and the drain on the battery. On the other side, although halogen bulbs have low upfront costs, they are quite inefficient and unreliable for high intensity forward lighting for which many people aspire to enhance driving safety and experience. While HID (high intensity discharge) conversion kits yield higher luminance, their illumination performance is far from perfect especially when driving at high speeds on roads with limited visibility. Moreover, these lights are still not very efficient in conversion of energy to light. They are expensive and installation can be complicated and time consuming.
With Fluxbeam X, uncompromising energy efficiency and superior driving visibility are just a plug-and-play installation away. The ultra-bright LED headlight virtually outshines any OEM-grade lighting systems or aftermarket conversion kits. Throwing out a powerful, uniform and accurately defined beam with a luminous flux of 4,209 lumens while drawing only 30 watts of power per bulb, Fluxbeam X takes vehicle lighting into new territory. The astounding light output not only far exceeds the 1000-1500 lumen output typical of halogen headlight bulbs, but also outperforms the 2500-3000 lumen output of Xenon HID bulbs as well as other LED headlight bulbs. Engineered with OPT7's proprietary Arc Beam optical control technology, Fluxbeam X produces a light pattern that perfectly matches the optical design of factory equipped reflectors. This means practically every lumen from Fluxbeam X is harnessed to produce a beam with maximum forward distance and peripheral visibility.
The Fluxbeam X LED bulb is a marriage of Cree's advanced LED technology and OPT7's industry-leading expertise in automotive lighting. Brilliant illumination is provided by the XLamp MK-R LED arrays which are built on Cree's revolutionary SC³ Technology™ LED platform. These high power LEDs deliver high lumen density for exceptional beam control and boast the efficacy and reliability required by the automotive lighting market. The LED arrays are overcoated with domed silicon lenses which change the directional emission pattern of LED chips by uniformly distributing light over the arced surfaces. In this way bilaterally mounted LEDs combined to produce omnidirectional light distribution that mimics the optical pattern of halogen bulbs. This makes Fluxbeam X optically suited to headlamp reflectors that were designed for halogen bulbs. Ultimately you get a pure, uniform and powerful beam of light that keeps the road ahead brightly lit and cuts out your way through the wicked weather. The XLamp MK-R LEDs shine in a cool white 6000K color temperature which emulates the characteristics of daylight at noon. This light spectrum allows human vision to differentiate colors more accurately while supporting mental acuity, vitality and alertness.
Thermal engineering is the universal struggle in LED lighting and is especially challenging in automotive forward lighting. High operating temperatures at the LED junction negatively impact the light conversion efficiency and optical characteristics of the LEDs. LEDs which operate above their maximum rated junction temperature will suffer a 30 to 50 percent reduction in their useful life for every 10ºC increase in temperature. Consistently high junction temperature accelerates permanent lumen depreciation and creates a perceptible color shift toward the higher end of the spectrum. As a consequence of tremendous heat generation from the high power LEDs and limited space for thermal energy dissipation, automotive LED headlight bulbs experience the highest degree of thermal stresses in practical applications, which in turn results in increased complexity in automotive engineering. That's why halogen bulbs are still the mainstream high beam and low beam light source in the OEM market notwithstanding the ubiquitous application of LED technology in other parts of the vehicle lighting systems.
Exceptional thermal management is one of the competitive edges that differentiate Fluxbeam X from its competition. The LED headlight combines passive heat sinking with forced air convection to keep the junction temperature under control. The Cree XLamp MK-R LEDs are mounted to metal core PCBs which uniformly spread the heat flux in the heat mass. The Fluxbeam X LED bulb features a heat sink made of 6063 aluminum alloy and is cold forged to provide lower thermal resistance (higher thermal conductivity) than traditional extruded and die cast heat sinks. Integral high-aspect-ratio fins increase surface area over which the heat can be dissipated. A TurboCool fan spinning at up to 10,000 rpm resides in the hollowed heat sink and shoots cold air directly through the aerodynamic vent to provide active cooling. Integrated thermal management ensures the bulb runs at maximum potential over the rated lifespan of 50,000 hours. The Fluxbeam LED heat sink requires open air flow and has to stick out into the engine bay. Several small holes or one 4.5 cm hole into the dust cover have to be drilled if your light housing does not have a pre-drilled dust cover.
The Fluxbeam X LED headlight bulb is powered by a dual driver system which accepts multivolt input from 8V to 32V. The dual driver system includes an LED driver and a Turbo driver which operate the LED module and cooling fan respectively for improved system reliability. The dedicated Turbo driver syncs with the LED ASIC to provide variable speed control of the cooling fan based on the junction temperature. The dedicated LED driver provides tight constant current regulation to ensure the output current is matched to the electrical characteristics of the array of load-sensitive LEDs. The driver chipset has been tuned to prevent flickering or flashing commonly associated with aftermarket lighting. The Fluxbeam X LED conversion kit also comes with a pair of ECM capacitors designed to eliminate flicker and “Error-out” warning lights caused by the incompatibility (CanBus issue) between LED bulbs and the vehicle computer system. If your vehicle is equipped with a TIPM (Totally Integrated Power Management) integral computer system, make sure to add the OPT7 TIPM stabilizing resistor to address the flickering or on/off inconsistencies. The Fluxbeam X electrical system does not produce electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) that could adversely affect the on-board electronic system.
The headlight bulb has a rugged construction that withstands the most demanding conditions. Strong solder interconnects between the LED thermal pad and the MCPCB eliminate the risk of open circuit failure and make the bulb impervious to shocks and vibrations. The LED bulb is sealed for IP67 level protection against the intrusion of dust and ingress of water. The cooling fan remains watertight even when submerged in water. The driver circuitry is encased in a fire-resistant, thermally efficient aluminum housing. FluxBeams are sized to OEM bulb size standards including H1, H3, H4 (9003), H10 (9140, 9145), H11 (H8, H9, H16), H13 (9008), 5202, 880 (893, 899), 881, 9004, 9005, 9006, 9007. The LED headlight bulbs use the same style of plugs and connections as OEM bulbs.
