Re: City Lights and aiming

[DeWitt Harrison <de@aztek-eng.com>]

On Fri, 8 Jan 1999 04:20:46 -0800, Gross Scruggs wrote:

>City Lights on the Euro conversion:  They are small bulbs that insert next
>to the H4s and are about 4 watts.  Get them at any car parts store. 
>[ ... ]

Yup. Little 4W bayonets. Much friendlier in pedestrian rich, well lit,
urban night time settings. Not enough on large busy boulevards.
The Europeans seem to be far more aware of the appropriate use of
vehicle lighting than we.

>Speaking of aiming all of this newfound wattage, I've followed the list
>recommendations... level ground, pull to wall, mark horiz position, back up
>ten meters, adjust horiz line one inch down from mark... and am unsatisfied
>with the pattern on High beam.  Low beam has a really nice pattern, lots of
>clean dispersion, no one flashing me that I'm 'too bright.'  However on
>High, in addition to lighting up the world, there is a rather distracting
>bright spot about 10m in front of the car.  Not a 'spot' precisely, but a
>large oval that could easily be called the 'ant roasting zone.'  Is this
>characteristic of everyone's experience?  Seems as if this hot spot would be
>better used were it aimed much further down the road, but to do so would
>then have the Low beams raised into the faces of my fellow travelers.

I haven't noticed this with mine. Could it be a bulb thing?

>Have I misunderstood the list wisdom regarding aiming?  Is there a remedy?

Aiming the low beams accurately must, of course, take priority over the
brights, at least vertically.  Your procedure sounds reasonable. I sometimes
double check by taking a reference point on a stick held up close to the
headlight and then walking the stick down the road several yards and
sighting back toward the car below the reference mark (the other light
being covered). If the low pattern looks good to you and you are not
bothering other (non-SUV) drivers, your aim is probably good. I usually
make horizontal adjustments on high beams, by aiming them down the
road. Oh, and don't worry about the ants. They're all safely tucked
away in bed at night.

DeWitt Harrison
Boulder, CO
88 5kcstq