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Originally Posted by sahajesh
Quote:
Originally Posted by TTG
Even if they are red, you can just order Euro Spec Tails and have amber turn signals.
I have been doing this for years now.
N. America is pretty much the only place where silly red turn signals are allowed.
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Exactly. WTF are red indicators all about - where is the logic in having these look like brake lights when the point of lighting is to give warning/indication of planned driving manoeuvres.
Silly is the best word to describe. |
NHTSA's logic until recently with FMVSS standards had been the size of the indicator surface area rather than just lumens or color.
As LED's have become more common, the luminous output has increased while the diodes themselves have shrunk. Under UN Regulations (what most know as ECE) it's color and intensity so fewer and brighter diodes meet the regulations. This allows more design flexibility, enhanced functions such as dynamic (wiping/sequential) indicators with less expense (Automotive Amber Spectrum LED's are fairly expensive in comparison to Red and other colors that can use a red lens). The F10 uses 14 OSRAM Golden Dragon arrays for the rear signals for example, and it's 2x's the cost for red vs amber. Since there is no regulatory demand or incentive to justify the cost of Amber, red is used instead.
One drawback is a number of US market Vehicles have absurdly bright LED Brake Lights and or Turn Signals since only a minimum luminous output is calculated based on surface area.
Beginning next year, FMVSS NCAP Safety Ratings begin to change and Amber Turn Signals based on luminous output and dynamic functions earn credit towards the Star Ratings. In 2018, these become mandatory for MY2019 Vehicles.