I'm doing another TL/ZKW retro for ol' dirty_srt on here and I figured now would be another great time for a good comparison. Over the next few nights I'll update this thread with comparisons between stock TL vs TL/ZKW (no mods), stock TL vs TL/ZKW (color and forground mod) and finally TL/ZKW (no mods) vs TL/ZKW (color and forground mod). Should be very useful for those who are unsure which route to take it when you upgrade to the ZKW TL.
**Test subjects were powered by stock Gen 3 ballasts and Osram Xenarc capsules which are VERY used and colorshifted.
Here you can easily see just how much this lens swap makes in terms of output and increased width performance!
Stay tuned for a crapload of test pics in parking lots as well as wall shots.
How do projectors/retrofits light up highway signs if there is no light output above the cutoff point?
It's part of how HID interacts with phosphorus impregnated paint and reflective materials. One of the many added benefits of having HID
It's crazy with projectors as say some car with HID projectors will come up behind you on the freeway and if your approaching a overhead sign, chances are you might see the actually cutoff pattern (____/----) bouncing off the sign like a reflection. This is not that their actual headlights are aimed that high, its just how they are reflecting light off it. Wierd, I know, but cool heh!
Last edited by haknslash : 02-07-2007 at 09:59 AM.
subscribed...I have the TL/ZKW combo as well. Waiting to see which setup I'll decide to go with based off your results... Thanks for posting up these compairison pics. Can't wait to see a compairison of a TL/ZKW stock (no color mod or foreground mod) vs. a TL/ZKW (color modded with foreground limiter). I'm curious to see the output differences between the two... If the difference isn't much, I may end up staying with the color mod. Is there any other side effects of doing the color mod with the TL/ZKW combo?
The only noticeable side effects I saw back when I first did the mod on mine were that on colormod, the step can sometimes get funky at distances or say if your turning left and your beam step does weird, almost inverted things. Then again that was before I had the aiming dialed in so who know's this go around.
Unfortunately I won't have any shots of the "w/ foreground" mod as he wants to retain the stock sheild. I don't blame him as removing it cause a slightl losss in performance intensity.
On a bi-xenon projector such as the TL in particular, you have a cutoff shield that blocks the upper portion of the projector. This shield limits light from entering the foreground. When you cut this top shield off, you expose more of the reflector bowl, which provides more light in the foreground. The mod does affect the brightness of the projector beam. It will be a little less bright at the most distant point in the beam. The difference is not going to be as noticable for everyone, some people prefer the foreground and others do not.
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New comparison of TL/ZKW vs stock TL
Linear Mode
