Re: A grad student in absencia - tongue&eyes firmly on the dim bulb

[audidudi@delphi.com (Jeffrey J. Goggin)]

>Jeff Goggins could do all these hi wattage bulbs for the majority of his
driving, but >his weather is hardly the rest of the US's....  Hence, all
things are not equal....

I've been having fun reading this from the sidelines and didn't plan to get
involved since I really don't know all that much about lights.  However,
since my name was mentioned...

IMHO, the very best lights I've ever experienced -- period -- are the 5-3/4"
round Cibies I used to have on my BMW 530i way back when.  With them
properly aligned, I could drive with complete confidence at 80+mph and never
had any problem with them blinding oncoming traffic.  Even when the speed
limit was 55mph, there were places around the state where you could blow out
the carbon and cobwebs for miles on end, something I used to do with
regularity [Phoenix to San Diego, 401 miles in 4 hours, 55 minutes; Phoenix
to Las Vegas, 312 miles in 4 hours, 30 minutes (including 20 minutes waiting
in line to cross Hoover Dam!), etc.].

I was thinking of replacing the lights in my '89 200q with a set of
euro-lights but could never bring myself to spend the money ... then, while
cleaning out my storage room, I came across the headlight clusters from my
(deceased) BMW complete with the Cibies and the -- ahem -- light turned on.
In less then 10 minutes, I'd pulled the light on the passenger side and
test-fit the BMW cluster in place ... it wasn't the bolt-in fit I was hoping
for but it was surprisingly close and they were tapered to match the angle
the Audi hood.

I modified them further and actually had them in the car last weekend.  Talk
about amazing!  The next task is to shape a lexan cover (a la the BMW
3-series) and make up some filler panels to cover the gaps on the bottom and
sides ... oh, yeah: I'm also using the side-marker lights from a non-turbo
5k and have added a second bulb for the turn-signal.  This means I can put
my late-model Camaro driving lights back in the turn-signal openings in the
bumper ... not the best performers, I'm afraid, but good enough for my
purposes (we rarely have fog out here and I haven't seen any snow for a
decade) and they DO fit the openings perfectly!

Stay tuned...

Jeff Goggin
Scottsdale, AZ