Top products from r/SparkEV

> How much thought in vehicle lighting is given to the effects on other drivers?

A lot of thought is given, but not all of that thought is implemented.

Glare is always an issue. There are actually new beam patterns coming into play now with huge, unprecedented divots around the glare zone. This creates a margin of safety with today's extremely intense LED lamps, which have left even the best HID systems in the dust years ago. And the huge shaded areas are meant to kind of "game" the system, as third-party, non-government testing agencies are very strict about glare.

>I'm sure intensity is a big part, but what of coloration or "strobe" rates of LEDs, etc? (Sorry if I don't know the proper terminology here.)

Unfortunately, pretty much all OEM LED systems have extremely high color-temperatures, and the marketing people love to make BS claims about the light resembling "natural daylight" and the such, when in reality, there's very little resemblance to natural daylight, and even if there were, that's a meaningless comparison. Halogen light actually best resembles natural daylight, as halogen/filament light sources are extremely good at accurately rendering color (high CRI/color rendering index). In case you are confused about CRI, think of an old town with the high-pressure sodium lamps that emit a bunch of yellow-colored light. Imagine looking at color photos in that sort of light; everything is going to appear kinda weird looking and not exactly true-to-life. That's because the color-rending index of these high-pressure sodium lamps is extremely poor.

HID systems are not as good as halogen at rendering color accurately, which some people thought could be an issue in the 90s, when HID systems first appeared in automobiles. Is accurate color perception essential to early recognition of roadway threats? The research found that nope, we don't need super great color rendition to perceive threats.

LEDs can be good at rendering color correctly, but really, the whole issue of "color rendition" is a moot point. Sunlight is the best at rendering color accurately, and halogens closely match sunlight in that ability, but again, CRI is pretty much meaningless for driving safely.

The research does show that cool-colored light is 50% more glaring than warm-colored light. We can make LEDs warmer, and reduce glare complaints, which are going up in recent years, or we can make LEDs warmer and increase intensity, and allow drivers to see further while keeping glare complaints at a constant level. Making LEDs cool-colored is just for marketing, unfortunately.

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Back to the original topic of retrofit LED bulbs: I would not suggest that anyone install any retrofit LEDs for now. The SAE is working long and hard on defining a set of standards to which retrofit LED bulbs can be built. Until those standards are finalized, I would stay far, far away from LED bulbs.


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>I have actually been extremely impressed with the function of the Spark's halogen bulbs.

Good, and you'll probably be more impressed with these:

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-X-tremeVision-Upgraded-Headlight-Vision/dp/B00U1OLOP0/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=h13+xtreme&qid=1563828609&s=gateway&sr=8-5

I have had good success with LED's in a few of my old cars with Halogens and the output has been exceptional so I decided to give the Spark an upgrade.I have had great success with the brand Hikari ( www.hikari-led.com ) on my previous cars, specifically the Spark EV needs the H13 base here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GKCNPD1/re ... DbQAR3C5V .

Now let me tell you why Hikari bulbs win: They have an ADJUSTABLE BASE in which the bulb can rotate inside the housing. I was literally able to plug everything up and spin the bulb while watching the pattern change on the garage door. Because of this I was able to fine tune the cutoff to match the stock bulbs.

Ok, so I tried to take pictures of before and after in the same positions on the same night. Since all I have is my cell phone camera it was tricky to get pictures of what I was actually seeing, so hopefully this means something to you!

My review:

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- Beam pattern is good. An even spread of light on the road.

- Field of light coverage is wider with the LEDs, they illuminate farther to the sides and lower in front of the car. Even though they use the same housing, I'm assuming the intensity and higher lumen count adds the extra range in each direction.

- Cutoff is soft. The light has a general fuzzy cutoff of light, the stock bulb might have even been sharper.- Lumen count is MUCH higher than OEM halogen. Reflective road lane paint and road signs lit up much brighter and farther out than halogens. this is probably my favorite benefit of LED.

- The lights have mini fans for cooling that are barely audible but there, just an observation.

- No flicker resistor required! Some American brands flicker when replaced and require an additional resistor relay in place.

- Color temperature looks about 6000k, mostly pure white. This is a preference really, science proves 4300k is the perfect headlight color but suffice it to say these are much "whiter" than halogens.

- 2 Year no questions warranty!

- Should NEVER have to replace these. Any car I've had with halogens might go 1-3 years depending. I HATE when a bulb goes out at night and you're down to relying on a single headlamp. These LEDs should honestly last longer than I will keep this car.

- Standing in front of the car I don't see any glare, and against the garage there is no light bleeding above the line of site to blind oncoming drivers.

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CAVEAT! (there had to be something right?) Since the housing is a single bulb design, I lost the high beams. Flicking them on I see the light does some kind of change but it is hardly different than the low beam pattern, certainly nothing like the OEM halogen high beam! But IMO the gain in low beam performance far outweighs the use of halogen high beams. YMMV.

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https://postimg.cc/gallery/1qq01523s/90a49707/

The car only pulls 20 amps from a level 2 charger, but level 2 chargers are supposed to provide 30 amps. Remember, you can't force amps. In other words, as long as your charger can meet the car's needs, it doesn't matter if it can provide 1,000amps. The car will only take what it wants. To that end, I have a Siemens charger. It's rated for outdoor installation, was easy to install, and doesn't have any extras on it... It's pretty bare bones, and it just works.

https://smile.amazon.com/Siemens-US2-VersiCharge-Installation-Compatibility/dp/B00MFVI92S/ref=sr_1_15?crid=13RX6UE2GN636&keywords=level+2+charger&qid=1564523976&s=gateway&sprefix=level+2%2Caps%2C487&sr=8-15

In your trunk, next to where the 110v charger stows away (lift the floor) there is an electric tire pump. With it, there should be a bottle of green goo that you snap into the pump. That is tire sealant, and it takes the place of a spare tire. It has an expiration date. Replace it when it expires!

The Juicebox is a great value, and it is built like a tank.

The RMA unit is sealed in the box. They took a couple weeks to decide if the lightening/surge damage was going to be covered under warranty, and I drive the full range of my car every day without enough charge time for my L1 to completely charge me, so I ordered the Juicebox to get back up and running. They ultimately came through with the replacement, but I havent been that interested in tearing the Juicebox off of the wall since it gets the job done. My Chargepoint is the hardwire model, and you would have to add the 18 or 25ft cable, depending on what you need (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YJFHF8M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_z6FyCb51HV3E5), so I would do like $250 for it. If you bought the 25ft cable on Amazon for $280 that would be $530 vs the $700 that combination retails for.

I’m going to try this first even though it blocks a vent. I like the side window idea.


Car Cell Phone Mount, Lamicall Car Air Vent Clip Holder, Universal Stand Hands Free Cradle Compatible with Phone 11 Pro XS Max XR X 8 8P 7 7P 6S 6P 6, Samsung Galaxy S6 S8 S9 S8+ S9+ S10, Google, LG https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GQMM65Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nTZPDbVGC1590

Just got this guy a couple days ago. Haven't actually been able to use it yet, but it has good reviews and a 30 foot cord. Also, the company is headquartered domestically, which was a big plus for me.

I clip this to the center air vent (towards the driver side) and use it for my IPhone 8 Plus:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B077MTNV41/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There is a magnet that goes inside my iphone case, and that is what keeps it attached to the magnetic vent mount. Works pretty well, but sometimes the phone comes off the mount if the magnets are way out of line. No adhesive on the dash is a good selling point.

Thanks. Xacto and some patience, glow did not last so I would recommend white vinyl.

VViViD XPO Gloss White Chevy Bowtie Logo Wrap Kit (6 Rolls (11.8 Inch x 4 Inch) + Squeegee) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01MRU6P1W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_k49mDbM9CQHSS

Let them know. If it is Carvana they will ship some to your house. I got the Veepak one. Look on the Spark EV forum and there is a recent post pointing to the PID files for the spark (mostly the same as the Bolt).

Im not totally sure but all I can offer is to read through these posts. You can change the sound stage in the setting. I replaced the 4" fronts for now and had to move the sound to the rear slightly from center to reduce the high/med end audio. Try that if you haven't already. http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3446&sid=77c1c3251760be178d84073916f4a12b

One problem with rear is the sound resonates in the open back hatch space so the bass is bouncing around all over the place. I used a 4x6 speaker baffle to force the sound upward which improved overall sound quality. I still have the stock rear speakers for now.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039Z3SUM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1