Blinded by the light

[David Eaton]

the hid's on my s8 are stunning.  i was driving through the forest in my
jeep after dark last week and i had to stop and get out to check whether the
halogens were working such was their poor power relative to the s8's hid's.

i suggest that the issue here would be as much to do with aiming as
anything.  you can re-aim the lights using vag-com.

dave
'01 s8

 -----Original Message-----
From: "Kent McLean" <kentmclean at mindspring.com>
Subject: Blinded by the light
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2003 10:41:18 -0500

Someone on the Miata list posted this pointer to Consumer Reports
review of headlights.  Naturally, an Audi figured in the report.  The TT.
It wasn't pretty.

Quoting the report:

    "Both types of lights [HID and halogen] produced our worst performers.
    The HID-equipped Audi TT's low beams lit only to our 200-foot marker...

    "While even 200 feet of lighting may sound like enough, it may not be.
    Based on typical reaction times and braking distances, drivers traveling
    at 50 mph need 237 feet to see a pedestrian, hit the brake pedal, and
    stop in time. Wet or icy roads and higher speeds increase braking
    distance, while fog, glare, and fatigue reduce visibility."

So it seems our beloved quattro is negated by sh!tty headlights. What else
is new? To add insult to injury:

    "The farthest so far: the inexpensive, halogen-equipped Mazda Protege
    Its low beams illuminated our 600-foot marker without creating a glare
    problem."

The short link to the report:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?S300269F3