[V8] Makes me cranky....

[Roger Woodbury]

I think there are two reasons why so many cars have fog lights and the
drivers leave them on all the time...well, maybe THREE reasons.

Reason one:  The "cool" factor.  The cars look "cool" that way.

Reason Two:  Low beam headlights are so terrible both from a lumen output
and from a beam focus standpoint that in order to see much of anything, fog
lights are needed all the time.

Reason three:  the driver doesn't even know that they are on, forgot that
he/she turned them on, and has forgotten or doesn't know what that little
light on the dashboard is supposed to mean.  Pretty hard to remember all
that stuff while also trying to remember what all the little buttons on the
cell phone are supposed to do.

Subarus are the worst.  Their great big fog lights are just great big orbs
that are pretty bright.  I imagine that they are useless in real fog.  

A very long time ago, when I has aspirations toward being a world class
rally driver, I did a lot of research into fog and driving lights.  I got to
know a guy from Sheboygan Wisconsin by the name of Eugene Shermeister.  He
had a business called "Apogee Enterprises", and was a member of the Society
of Automotive Engineers, among other credentials.  Anyway, he imported ALL
the major brands of driving and fog lights from just about everywhere.  Even
some Japense brands and that was a time when Toyota was just starting to
import cars.

I actually became a sub-distributor for him and sold and did a some
installation of driving and fog light systems in the southern New England
area...even some in southern Maine for people who belonged to the Cumberland
Motor Club.  Anyway, learned a lot about lighting from Shermeister,
including which fog and driving lights were the best (Cibie); which types
were the best (GREAT BIG ONES), and even experimented with light aircraft
landing lights (don't even think about it!).

My Volvo station wagon had 8 inch driving lights and Marchal 850 fog lights
(I think they were 850's).  Stock SAE 7" headlamps since I was in
Massachusetts and didn't fancy changing the headlights every spring for
annual inspection. 

All the lights were wired separately, as I seldom used them except for night
rallys when there would be very little oncoming traffic.  One night I was
driving down a dirt road between Osterville and Centerville (Yep!  In those
days there were a LOT of dirt roads on Cape Cod!) and I met some jerk in
some sort of vehicle with very bright headlights.  I had three customers in
the car and was trying to show them the magic of great big, round driving
lights.  Anyway, the other guy just wouldn't dim for me, and since the road
was narrow, windy and dirt, I just had to....well...

I hit the master switch and lit em all up.

When I carefully drove past him, he was sitting by the side of the road with
his head resting on the steering wheel....

Then there was that other time when some guy in an oncoming car wouldn't
dim...he was turning left into a driveway, and out of patience, I gave him
the full treatment.  You'd be surprised how bright the emblem of the
Massachusetts State Police glowed when the side door was lit up by 300,000
candlepower....

Roger

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Simmons [mailto:indischrot at gmail.com] 
Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007 11:06 PM
To: rmwoodbury at roadrunner.com; V8 Audi Fans
Subject: Re: [V8] Makes me cranky....

I live in Rural Kansas.  And, well, yeah, all the stereotypes are true.  
Especially when it comes to domestic vehicles.  These guys don't add on 
a cold air tube to their Honda econobox, they raise their dualie Dodges 
6".  And yeah, their headlights are now even with my cabin. 

And while I'm on a headlight rant... why is it that half the cars these 
days have fog lights on all the time?  And why are they sometimes 
brighter than the headlights??

~Scott S.

Roger Woodbury wrote:

>You betcha!  I'm gonna get even with those set up Ford and GM trucks now!
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Scott Simmons [mailto:indischrot at gmail.com] 
>Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:21 PM
>To: rmwoodbury at roadrunner.com
>Subject: Re: [V8] Makes me cranky....
>
>When I read news reports of mass blindings on the East coast due to a 
>second star appearing on the Earth's surface every night...
>
>...I'll think of you. ;)
>
>~Scott S.
>
>Roger Woodbury wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Yeah, that's about what I figure it will take.  It will make me VERY
>>    
>>
>cranky,
>  
>
>>but I will get over it once I light up Christendom with those big
>>    
>>
>lights....
>  
>
>>R
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Scott Simmons [mailto:indischrot at gmail.com] 
>>Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007 11:53 AM
>>To: rmwoodbury at roadrunner.com
>>Cc: v8 at audifans.com
>>Subject: Re: [V8] Makes me cranky....
>>
>>I don't know on the 100, but I do know on the V8.  I removed all the 
>>other screws and mounting hardware and that allowed the unit to flex a 
>>bit.  At which point I had a 1/4" driver with an extension and a socket 
>>on it, and flexed the bit of trim in front of the headlight and the 
>>headlight unit itself enough to wiggle the makeshift nut-driver down to 
>>that bottom bolt.  I didn't like flexing the trim, but I had no choice, 
>>other than pull the entire bumper off.
>>
>>~Scott S.
>>
>>Roger Woodbury wrote:
>>
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>>>Well, I finally have the time and weather in place to tackle two
necessary
>>>projects for The Old Gray Mare.  First up will be the replacement of the
>>>heater/ac flappy motor.  I anticipate that to go easily.
>>>
>>>Next will be to rip out the two old headlights and replace them with the
>>>   
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>new
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>>>European headlights that I have received.  That will be the tough task,
or
>>>so it seems, because in my brief inspection of the nose of the car, it
>>>   
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>would
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>>>appear that the trim along the top of the bumper will have to be removed
>>>      
>>>
>in
>  
>
>>>order to gain access to the bottom mounting points of the headlamps.
>>>   
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>Either
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>>>that or the bumper itself will have to come off...either way, it looks
>>>      
>>>
>like
>  
>
>>>a pita.
>>>
>>>Naturally the garage is chockablock full of stuff, so the entire project
>>>will have to be done in the driveway.  
>>>
>>>Cloudy and cool here today.  Not terribly COLD, but chilly, and that will
>>>undoubtedly make me VERY cranky by the time I figure out how to do the
>>>headlights.  
>>>
>>>Anyone know how to get access easily to the bottom mounting screws for a
>>>Type 44 Audi 100? 
>>>
>>>First I have to go to the transfer station for the regular Saturday
>>>   
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>morning,
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>>>ritual, and then I will stop at the NAPA and get some new relays.  
>>>
>>>We're supposed to have a nice weekend here, but it is very overcast now,
>>>   
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>and
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>>>if it rains, I will be VERY cranky!
>>>
>>>Roger 
>>>
>>>No virus found in this outgoing message.
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>>>   
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>11/10/2007
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>>>10:41 AM
>>>
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
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>>>
>>>You can help keep the audifans site running by shopping at
>>>   
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>http://audifans.com/shop/
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>>>   
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>No virus found in this incoming message.
>>Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
>>Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.28/1122 - Release Date:
>>    
>>
>11/10/2007
>  
>
>>10:41 AM
>>
>>No virus found in this outgoing message.
>>Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
>>Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.28/1122 - Release Date:
>>    
>>
>11/10/2007
>  
>
>>10:41 AM
>>
>>
>>
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>
>No virus found in this incoming message.
>Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
>Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.28/1122 - Release Date:
11/10/2007
>10:41 AM
> 
>
>No virus found in this outgoing message.
>Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
>Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.28/1122 - Release Date:
11/10/2007
>10:41 AM
> 
>
>
>  
>


No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.29/1124 - Release Date: 11/11/2007
10:12 AM
 

No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.29/1124 - Release Date: 11/11/2007
10:12 AM