[s-cars] Headlights aging?

[Fred Munro]

Hi Varon;

The UrS low beam and fog projectors are prone to haze build-up on the
projector lens which considerably reduces the light output. Your first step
should be to clean the lenses to see if it restores your satisfaction with
the lights. You should also inspect the reflector surface - if it is hazed
be very careful cleaning it, the coating is applied directly to plastic and
is not what you'd call robust. You'll have to clean the lenses very 1-2
years.

The DOT low beams are mediocre at best. The highs project a lot of light to
the sides and are great for illuminating the shoulders to check for empties
as you cruise the back roads, but they don't throw light very far up the
road.

The Euro lights have a tighter high beam and a slightly better low beam, but
the real strength of the Euros is the ease of getting 100w H1 bulbs for some
serious light output. Note that using 100w bulbs in the low beam projectors
will give you great low beams until the heat lifts the reflector coating off
the plastic body - that's why the HID retrofit is a better idea here.

This assumes unlimited funds, of course - or if you collect enough empties,
you can cash them in for the new lights. :o)

Fred Munro
'94 S4 (Euros, HID, 100w highs)


-----Original Message-----
From: s-car-list-admin at audifans.com
[mailto:s-car-list-admin at audifans.com]On Behalf Of Varon H. Fugman
Sent: February 18, 2003 5:20 PM
To: s-car-list at audifans.com
Subject: [s-cars] Headlights aging?


When I got my '95 S6 almost 3 years ago, I was delighted with the
headlights, especially the high beams.  They were so good I was amazed that
they were US DOT legal!  I couldn't understand why someone would spend $600
to upgrade to Euro lamps.

However, 3 years later I'm not as pleased with them.  They are still good,
but not great any more.  What happened?  Here are my theories:

1. The stock S6 lamps are so much better than my old car's headlights that
they seemed fantastic at first.  Now I've gotten used to them and want more!

2. They aren't putting out as much light as they used to either through (a.)
aging of the bulbs and/or (b.) a film collecting on the inside of the lens.

3. I'm do more night driving on country roads that I used to and I need/want
better lighting.

I'm trying to figure out if I should try the lens cleaning procedure (I read
through the procedure and was a little leery of breaking open the headlight
assemblies) or just starting thinking about upgrading.  Of course, unless I
get whole new lenses I'd want to clean them anyway, right?  For those that
have done the lens cleaning, how dramatic was the improvement?

Varon "thinking about HID"
'95 urS6


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