Re: Another look in the mirror

[QSHIPQ@aol.com]

In a message dated 97-01-06 13:16:56 EST, you write:

<< Where did the notion that the regular aero Euro lights have "compromised
 performance" come from and what's the reference point? The step up from
 the US lights to the Bosch Euro lights I now have was immense and was
 finished off nicely by relays and 80/100 H4s and 130 H3s, thank you. All
 this cost me more than what it would have from Metrix, but I didn't know
 about them back then and it's still worth every cent.
 
 How much would a complete setup of "better" lights cost, BTW?
>>>>

My post did offer that the euros are a step in the right direction from the
crappy US lites....  Coupla problems with the euros...  1)  H3 bulbs are east
west oriented filament bulbs, commonly found in Autobahn combination
driving/fog lites, a compromise in the design of the bulb compromises the
quality of it's lite output, the H1/2 bulbs found in the Cibie euro
conversions have a better hibeam setup...  The Bosch lites are usually
Hellas, the covetted Cibies are harder to find...  2)  Running higher than
stock wattages in the outside bulbs is a further compromise to proper light
dispersion...  The problem with an H4 is that it is designed to be both a low
and a high beam, not really effective at the latter....  3)  Euro beam
pattern is not well suited for the US of A....  It has a sharp cutoff for
about 1/2 the beam spread, then angles up to the right, the object of this is
to give a longer throw of beam down the right side of the car without
blinding oncoming traffic (yes UK patterns are the opposite) ....  It is also
meant to be turned OFF when running fogs in the really thick stuff, few
states here allow this as a rule....  The reflectance from that angle up beam
is prolly worse than the US low beam pattern.....  3)  As phil has posted
before, you "properly" aim a set of euros, your eyes deceive you, cuz proper
aiming actually (USA) aims the left side lite towards the right, clipping the
immediate LF quadrant of beam spread....  Aiming them "improperly" puts a
kind of nystagmus effect on the beam pattern, ck it out on a wall
sometime.....  4)  A quad headlite system will outperform the euros, uglyness
(got those posts guys) aside, price, alot less, expense: vanity.  5)  The
quad headlite system allows you to run z-beam patterned H4 rather than the
euros, giving you a true low beam/fog pattern (no angle to the right-up),
eliminating the need for a fog lite....  6)  The z-beam for the US is prolly
best, be advised, it is NOT available in euro housings...  To get the z-beams
(and they are hard to find btw) gives you a horizontal beam pattern accross
the front quadrants on low, and the high beam is dedicated to its own
lens/housing, controlling beam pattern much more effectively...  

Understand, I am not proposing that the euros are not a BETTER lite than the
US lites, takes little effort to do that...  What I argue, is that the euros
are STILL a compromise to a good lighting system, and given the sticker (even
Matrix good price), that can get you some correct lites for your car at the
single expense of vanity....  A quad headlite system is the best lighting you
can get for the money, and it's far from the most expensive...  I understand
living in the world of compromises, but euros are a lot of money to come up
short of a properly setup '84 5k sitting next to you with the quad four
 $200.oo z-beam conversion that out lights you at 1/3 the price...  He's not
looking in the mirror tho, either.....  A quad round system ala 328i looks
pretty decent tho....  And hardly rocket science.... 

Just my .02 at the current exchange....

Stick with those XL's and some decent 100w drivings, till somebody gets the
quad thing figgrd with the vanity equation, you are hardly compromising the
euro argument.....

Scott