[Mizer]

+1 looking forward to the announcement

[Clasik LSB]

Great write up!

[tom @ eas]

Installed on a 2003 M3:







Here are some short videos of the kit in action showing the remote feature:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIjd8_MznMc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAO7KZ6EV9U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mTRIhBNBcI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h5AtcWiFPg

These are engineered to simply be the best and brightest Angel Eye kit on the market.

[tom @ eas]

Gentlemen,

Sorry about the delay - the components are completed and are ready for assembly. Our release date has been pushed to early next week, just after the holiday weekend.

We sincerely thank those that have preordered. For those still on the fence, there are still some spots left for those wanting the best in Angel Eye lighting.

[tom @ eas]

aurora is now in house - we begin shipping first thing in the morning.

[tom @ eas]

Next on the comparison would be the aurora and “Orion II”. Unlike previous offerings, Orion is no longer manufactured from MYCARR, with both kits privately made. Aurora is designed by eas, targeting shortcomings of previous angel eye kits to make this the best kit on the market. Both kits are LED based in order to transition away from troublesome inverters, cold-start issues and long life as LEDs have a 10 year continuous lifespan.

Bench Testing

Below is a comparison of the rings, notice the visible LEDs in Orion II, aurora’s ring is designed to diffuse the light for a more uniform look and mask the LEDs to offer an OEM-like appearance. Our Orion II kit arrived in a USPS box with 4 rings, resistor packs and wiring harness – no instructions were included.

Comparison will focus on rings only since wiring harnesses have not changed between kits.

Now on to the testing….

Pictured from left to right – Orion II, aurora and Chromium/MYCARR in OFF position. Note the different sized ring used in Orion II, we’ll be coming back to this in a short while:



Powered comparison of rings @ 13.7V, typical driving voltage:






Powered comparison at 12.6V, typical operation voltage with engine OFF:


Next will be minimum operating voltage required to power up rings. Powered comparison of rings at 10.0V, note Orion II starting to fade:


Powered comparison at 9.1V, aurora and Chromium/MYCARR still almost fully illuminated, Orion II almost powered off:

[tom @ eas]

Inner workings/Design

Next, we’ll concentrate on design. In the past, CCFL angel eyes were consisted of 4 major parts:

- invertors (commonly called ballasts, but inverter is proper name)
- Ring housing with Clipping mechanisms
- CCFL tube
- Wiring harness

The inverters were the most problematic of the design, with some failing within weeks after installation from moisture or poor design. The Clipping mechanisms used were poor and commonly slipped off headlight housings if not glued into place – a design that was not changed for over 5 years.

The most dramatic change would be the light source itself, moving away from CCFL and to LED-based technology. Both Orion II and aurora use a 60LED array for lighting, but that’s where the similarities end.

aurora was designed to be modular, with a separable circuitboard, mounting clips, polycarbonate ring/lens and resistors needed for LED operation is integrated into the ring backing for a simple design, allowing for any of the pieces to be replaced easily if broken or lost. Orion II is quite the opposite, with the mounting clips and ring fastened to the circuitboard, making replacements (if needed) requiring a new ring. Below is Orion II removed from the ring lens, effectively destroying it in order to remove it – obviously not manufactured to be taken apart:

Orion II sans polycarb ring:



Once of the most noticeable differences was that Orion II uses an external resistor pack/distribution block that is mounted into the engine bay and wrapped with heat shrink, but not waterproof. Below are images of the resistor packs with and without shrink tubing:






Below is a comparison of aurora and Orion II, aurora has the resistors integrated into the ring for simplicity, removing the need for resistor packs. Since the ring is completely housed within the headlamp, it is completely weatherproof. Wiring used is 16-18AWG on both kits with 1 pair of leads for aurora and 2 pairs for Orion II:


Rear closeup of ring circuitboards, aurora on left and Orion II on right:

[tom @ eas]

Bench Lighting

Next is bench lighting. Rings were bench tested at 12.5V, simulating an ignition OFF environment to compare brightness. As seen in the 30LED kits, considerable gaps can be seen if the LEDs are not positioned close together, and losing that uniform look we are trying to achieve.

Powered comparison at 12.5, aurora on left, Orion II on right:


Alternate view:


Head on view, showing noticeable gaps/LEDs in Orion II:






Angled shots from side:

[tom @ eas]

Mounting clips

Angel eyes have a horrible reputation for mounting since the same clipping design has been used for the past 5 years. The low-beam requires the ring be placed on a slight angle. In an effort likely to reduce cost, the same mounting clips were used on all 4 rings on both mounting points.

aurora’s first job was to correct this and introduced multi-stage mounting clips offering precision alignment and a secure “bite” onto the headlight housings. Orion II followed shortly thereafter releasing multi-positional mounting clips, also offers precise alignment in mounting.

Unfortunately, Orion II mounting clips are part of the ring design, meaning if a clip is broken – the entire ring must be replaced. Aurora offers removable mounting clips in order to be replaced easily if needed.

[tom @ eas]

Reverse Light Testing - Back to Back

Most will ask why we did this. This test is to show light bleed patterns from an illuminated ring. Note the uniform look from aurora and “sprocket” effect from Orion II showing improper light diffusion and LED spacing.

Aurora on left, Orion II on right: