Matrix headlights - Any good?

[Pausten]

Hi/
Just re-read the thread about automatic wipers, which I've had on my last 4 cars, & wouldn't be without.
HOWEVER! - On the other hand:-
My present car Audi c7 bit-turbo allroad has LED headlights with high beam assist, which I find worst than useless!
The lights dip on entering a bend with reflective chevrons, & can be slow to dip in other situations.
I very quickly disabled it for myself, shortly afterwards doing the same for my wife who seems to have a real problem remembering to dip, & could have benefited from a working auto-dip.
Does the matrix system actually work?

[GrolschUK]

This thread almost echos your question :)

In a nutshell the matrix lights do everything that high beam assist is pretty pants at.
High Beam Assist (http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/166345-High-Beam-Assist?p=956120#post956120)

[wildbore]

The issue with matrix lights is that, once you have driven a car with them, you will be really frustrated with every other car you ever drive. They are brilliant. In 12,000 miles (obviously only a proportion of that in the dark) I have never been flashed once and I have never had to intervene because of a late or failed reaction to another car (the only time you need to intervene manually is for pedestrians - even cyclists are spotted and traced).

If I wanted to be picky, the beam isn't as penetrating / far-reaching as my old zenon lamps, but the benefits they provide in overall illumination far outweigh that one downside.

[Nemo78]

I've only had Matrix LEDs a very short time and I love them. As wildbore post no one as yet has flashed or anything.

True value is on dark roads and it's great watching them flick on one by one and go back off when oncoming traffic or overtaking.

I'd love to know what oncoming cars see...do they see the lights dim out etc

[DJ Daddy-O]

There is one bend where the high beam assist (all weather LED) switches off due to reflective chevrons. Other than that I have found it effective. The light must also be linked to the tech pack nav because both corner lights come on when I approach a junction. I had already maxed on budget but if I did have any more room matrix headlights were next on my list. I test drove a car with them and it was very impressive how they tracked traffic. Plus you also get the very cool dynamic front indicators too!

[Bar Shaker]

They are amazing and never fail to give you the best illumination possible and you never get flashed. Worth every penny and one of the best bits of my car.

I also wonder what other cars see. Cars I am following must see this amazing light show going on around them and wonder *** is going on.

[EssexGonzo]

After 2 months with them I can only echo what others have said......driving cars without them is now a massive let down.

They really do appear NOT to dazzle other drivers unlike xenons which I have now come to regard as the lighting invented by the spawn of the devil! I can't recall having been dazzled by LEDs but many, many times by xenons (which I had in two cars prior to this one). I find the reach of the matrix lights perfectly acceptable and love the fact that it adapts - intelligently - as far as it believes to be reasonable. Better at decision-making than any lump of flesh behind the wheel.

And high-beam assist on its own, as far as I can tell, is a great idea, poorly executed.

[Bar Shaker]

Just got back from Xmas in Antigua and met the recently retired Chairman of Carclo.

Who hop would have thought that our Matrix LEDs were made in Buckingham? Wipac, their automotive division, holds the patents for and supplies LED lights to all of the world's finest cars.

The he company has a great history and I was very proud to hear that Britain leads the world in this technology.