Euro lights answers

[colin cohen <102621.2256@CompuServe.COM>]

There have been a bunch of postings recently about the infamous Audi lights, so
in the absence of responses from many more learned then I, I will try and give
a brief summary of what I have learned over the last 10 years on this subject.

The US Audi lighting spec was drawn up by a committee and the result until the
1992 S4 has been a disaster. Here are the faults:
 The glass is designed for safety first, and like the original spec Taurus it
absorbs light with transmission in the 70% range, vs Hondas circa 1988 at say
98%.
 The 9004 lamp is a compromise which requires very accurate filament placing
vs. the reflector. This has been optimised in vet few vehicles and for
comparison try the Lincoln Continental 1984 and compare to the Audi to see how
one can get it right given the right glass.
 The wiring is set up for 55W max. So you cannot get oaround the problem with
100W lamps. In any event with the glass problem and equally misaligned
filaments, these lamps are a waste of money on a standard Audi lamp unit.

The only thing you can do is buy the Euro spec models. But be careful, the
UK/South Africa/Japan models have the left throw which is almost worse than
sticking with the standard model. So be very careful about part #s. I have been
given the US part numbers on at least 2 occasions by reputable US dealers. Then
install at least 2 additional relays with 4 being better. You can also uprate
the lamp itself, and I am running 130/100W right now making daylight from
darkeness.

The Euro lights are made by Bosch and Hella. Cibie make one designed for use in
France and yellow bulbs. These are not available for the 100CS/A4/A6 but I have
seen them on the 4K, 5K and 100/200. They are rare and you have to buy them in
France. I dont think they are as good as the German spec.

Where to buy? I bought mine through Schaumberg Audi who have also done all the
mods to my 100CS. Their address etc is in Euro Car's back pages.