[V8] re: headlights....

[Roger M. Woodbury]

Rated vs wattage draw?  I dunno.  All I know is that when the Euros were 
installed in my V8, the results were remarkable.  The amount of light on 
highbeam and the spread of high beam was amazing.  I didn't actually test 
anything, but it really looked like complete illumination in front of the 
car about the size and distance of a football field.  I live in a very rural 
area and there are no multilane highways within 30 miles.  On two lane roads 
the high beams eliminated dark spots entirely, both on the roadway and the 
sides of the road out as far as these eyes could recognize objects.

The DOT spec lamps in my V8 were remarkably good, I thought, and I decided 
after getting the car that I would not buy European headlamps for it.  The 
only reason that I ended up with a set, was that I found a used pair from 
Steffan Becker in Germany on eBay for $300 plus shipping, and THAT I 
couldn't resist.  The headlamps were used, but only slightly so, and the 
results were well worth the entry price.

Now, on my wife's 100CS Avant, we have H4 Euros which, while excellent and a 
big improvement over the DOT bulbs have dark places in high beam which do 
not really dminish the amount of effective light make high beams somewhat 
less than if there were two bulbs as in the Type 44 installations.

As far as the "other" type 44 cars are concerned, there is simply NO 
comparison and it is as much in the beam pattern as in the bulb wattage.

Again, I must say that if the car is used in an urban environment, or one in 
which there is a LOT of ambient light, then the cost of the Euro lights, 
plus the allied cost of relays and wire and so forth might just not be worth 
it.

It is also very true that the aiming teats are not on the Euro bulbs.  Here 
in Maine the law is that lamps cannot emit more than "X" number of 
lumens....but no one to my knowledge has a lumen output measuring device and 
to my knowledge, no one has ever had their headlights checked for 
allignment.  I take my car to one of a couple of independent shops who look 
at the car, make sure all the bulbs and horn work, and say:  "Looks good, 
Roger.  That'll be $15.00."  They then scrape off the old sticker and I am 
good to go for another year.

Roger