RE: Lights

[Joe Yakubik <75363.2524@compuserve.com>]

To throw in my $.02 on the lights thread:

According to AutoBild magazine: Rear fog lights: They can be mounted, singly or
doubly, on the rear of the car.  They can be used only when visibility is
reduced to 50 meters ONLY THRU FOG.  This applies inside and outside cities.

This is, of course, only law in Germany.  An additional rule states that when
visibility is less than 50 meters the max speed is 50 kph.  So logically, if you
have your rear fog on, then you must think the vis is less than 50 m and
shouldn't drive above 50 kph.  In practice, it varies.

For the comment about pulling off the road and turning your rear fog on.  This
is a bad idea.  The people behind you will blindly (literally) follow the lights
in front of them (meaning you) and rear-end you.  If you are getting out of the
way because of poor visibility, then get way off the road, turn your lights off,
take your foot off the brake, etc.  This goes for dust storms too.  (Jeff in
Arizona can back me up here, BTDT, "Where is that darn road, anyway?)

For equipment: I don't think Audi has ever installed two rear fog lights.  There
are lots of lights in the back; parking lights (dimmer than tail lights, but
effectively no difference - US spec) tail lights, brake lights, back-up lights,
etc.  These should come on in pairs.  

Pet peeve here: light bulbs are cheap and tend to burn out more in the winter so
take two minutes and someone else's foot and check out ALL your lights.  You
might just find some frayed wires and/or solve some annoying electrical gremlins
cheap and easy; in addition to reducing the overall aggravation in the world
(maybe a little bit).

Euro vs US Headlights: quick and dirty comparison  (200 TQ example)

US: big, expensive, sealed beam, terrible light output
Euro: bigger, more expensive, replaceable lenses, much better output.
I've just done the swap, and would recommend it to anyone who HAS to replace the
lights (accidents/stones/size-12-steel-toed-boots/etc).  The cost difference
from US spec to euro is offset by the improvement in light.  As a simple upgrade
due to poor lighting it is not cheap, but is satisfying.

Joe Yakubik