[V6-12v] RE: V6-12v Digest, Vol 18, Issue 1

[The CyberPoet]

"driving lights" and "fog lights" are not one and the same, although it 
would appear that many Americans don't appreciate the differences 
between the two (and the differences in focal lengths, beam patterns, 
etc). Driving lights won't blind anyone else unless there is ice on the 
road to cast the light back up, instead offering long thin beams on the 
road surface; fog lights do exactly the opposite, generating wide area 
lighting.

Cheers
=-= Marc

On Saturday, April 2, 2005, at 09:37 PM, Roger M. Woodbury wrote:

> The beauty of European headlights is the fine cut off of the low beam. 
>  By
> focusing the low beam light on the road in front of the vehicle with 
> the
> sharp cut off, most of the light produced is on the road, and the 15 
> degree
> uprise on the right, illuminates the edge of the road.  High beam 
> provides a
> huge amount of light, and makes auxiliary lighting superfluous.
>
> Here in rural Maine we see an awful lot of Subarus that have factory 
> mounted
> "fog" lights, as well as other vehicles that have these things.  They 
> are
> dangerous in that they merely provide more unfocussed light.  Since 
> most
> people don't know how to use fog lights or what fog lights are 
> supposed to
> do, and since most OEM headlights are so poor, they crank the fog 
> lights on
> and run around that way.  They are at best annoying and at worst, 
> dangerous
> to oncoming drivers.
>
> I think the worst headlights in the US industry right now are on GM
> products.  While I haven't driven any new GM product in several years, 
> the
> headlights in my Chevrolet 1ton dually 4X4 are so bad that I run high 
> beams
> most of the time, and forget their on.  Poor beam patter, and lousy 
> output.
> I am thinking of mounting some driving lights to go along with them.  
> If I
> do, they will be something like Cibie 175's, separately switched and 
> relayed
> for use with the high beams only.  Low beams are fine for in town and 
> slow
> speed.
>
> Roger
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The CyberPoet [mailto:thecyberpoet at cyberpoet.net]
> Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2005 5:47 PM
> To: Roger M. Woodbury
> Cc: v6-12v at audifans.com
> Subject: Re: [V6-12v] RE: V6-12v Digest, Vol 18, Issue 1
>
> If the wife has night-vision issues, as does my fiancee, add more
> lights, specifically low-mounted driving lights designed to illuminate
> the road surface to a far-out distance without blinding other drivers.
> Hella makes supreme examples of these using 130 watt bulbs, but you can
> find cheaper alternatives out there as well. As a motorcyclist (as well
> as an Audi owner), I implore you to anything necessary to give her all
> the safety advantages she can have (if she wears glasses or contacts
> while driving, talk to the optomotrist about her night-vision; they
> have special processes for the coatings that will improve the contrast
> for night vision/driving).
>
> Cheers
> =-= Marc Glasgow
>
> On Saturday, April 2, 2005, at 05:10 PM, Roger M. Woodbury wrote:
>
>>
>>  We have E-code headlights in my wife's 100CS Avant Quattro.  She
>> needs the
>> best lighting possible as she is less comfortable driving at night
>> than she
>> used to be.  She finds the headlights to be amazingly better than the
>> OEM US
>> lights, and basically, so do I.
>>
>> What I have noticed from these headlights is that they have a dark
>> patch on
>> high beams about 100 feet or so out in front of the car, although the
>> total
>> illumination is outstanding.
>>
>> I had European headlights in both my Audi V8 (now dearly departed!),
>> and in
>> the '89 200 Quattro Avant that I had before we bought the 100CS.  By
>> far the
>> best combination of lighting was in either the 200 or the V8.  Of the
>> two,
>> probably the V8's were a bit better.
>>
>> The 200 lamps came from Blaufernugen, and had "standard" bulbs with 
>> all
>> bulbs relayed.  The V8's lamps came from the Fatherland and were
>> slightly
>> used.  But they came with 130v. high beam bulbs, and the difference
>> between
>> the H4 low beam side which was "standard"wattage, and the highbeams
>> qugmented by the 130V H3 bulbs was astounding.
>>
>> I am about to put my "new" daily driver on the road....a refurbished
>> 200
>> 20Valve Avant, and that car has standard oem headlights which have
>> relays
>> installed. The headlights were not terrible on the trip to Maine from
>> Washington DC when I bought the car, but I will eventually put 
>> European
>> headlamps in it, and the high beam bulbs will be 130Volt, with all
>> bulbs
>> relayed.
>>
>> Roger
>>
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>
>