Crazy driving laws in your state or country

It's no different then anything else in the car. You look at it when it's safe to do so, just like when you monkey with the radio or heater controls, etc. Putting it on the windshield or dash means that 100% of the time its blocking your view of something. It's all a tradeoff.

Reply to
Ashton Crusher
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Sounds like a "harmonized" beam pattern not a true E-code. E-codes have a sharp kickup to the right for the purpose of illuminating roadside signs, deer, other random fuzzies. Overhead signs are the one notable drawback of the E-code design but in practice I have not found it to be such, not the least because non-illuminated overhead signs are very rare at least in any areas that I drive. Even so unless it is a truly pitch black moonless night. It sounds also like your BIL's headlights might have been adjusted down a little too much? And with E-codes, if you are alone on the road, you really do need to use your brights (but that's OK, because all the ones I've tried have been fantastic, even with the normal 60W bulbs.)

nate

Reply to
N8N

Yeah, and if it's 10" away from your head, in your eyeline or flashing away just out of your eyeline, it's far more of a distraction than if it's 3ft away at the base of the windshield..

The mind boggles with the stupidity of some of the posts in this thread.

Reply to
Mike P

He probably had a VOL cutoff instead of the more typical Z or upsweep cutoff (that are typical with E-code headlamps). VOL typically, but not necessarily, has a low cutoff on the right as well (as shown below)

______.-------

IME, they pretty much give you very little upward light towards the offside. Also, IIRC, the typical DOT light distribution puts more of it towards the cutoff and less towards the road itself. That leads to more glare and less light on the road itself (making everything appear to be dimmer--believe me, I've compared DOT and E-code lights side by side in the same car with the same set of bulbs).

My e-codes have a cutoff more like this.

.-------- _____/

Where the height difference between the left and right side of the cutoff increases as the distance from the car increases (to a certain extent).

His headlights were not aimed properly. If the horizontal axis of the headlamp is 2 feet off the ground, they should light the road up for about 200 feet ahead with the left side of the cutoff (assuming a 3 inch drop for every 25 feet of distance). A 2.1 inch drop per 25 feet (according to the VOL aiming spec would result in a forward illumination distance of about 285 feet.

In any case, if the right side of the cutoff was like it was with my E-codes, it would illuminate much further out.

That's par for the course with typical shitty FMVSS 108 compliant headlamps.

Reply to
Arif Khokar

These had the sharp kick up to the right.

-------------/'''''''''''''

^^best I can do ^^ but it really angles up at the kick, not just flat.

Reply to
Ashton Crusher

I'll say it again, I think your in a disadvantage not having the lights. That's my vote. Prove me wrong.

Another gripe, why don't they put the tv screen on backup cameras, in the REAR. No, they put it so you have to look forward. real dumb.

Greg

Reply to
gregz

.

I like that insofar as the lights are still separate from and a different color from the directionals. I'm ASSuming that the reason that they turn off when the directionals are active is to make sure that oncoming traffic sees the directionals. Seems commonsensical that it would provide a safety benefit, wonder if it actually works that way in practice?

nate

Reply to
N8N

 Most cars, except for the cops, seem to comply.

I know our 2006 Toyota Highlander uses dimmed high beams as the DRLs

-- in our garage the cutoff of the DRLs just happens to line up with a seam on the wall when in the perfect position, but if the regular low-beam lights are on, you hit the wall before the lights line up so have to remember to turn them off when entering the garage at night :-)

And I'm pretty sure my 2007 Civic is the same, but the parking indicator is on the side for that car so not as obvious from inside the car.

Those Saturn DRLs were extremely annoying; I suspect those cars that use high beams dim them more now, as I don't notice the glare as much. Josh

Reply to
Josh

though.  Most cars, except for the cops, seem to comply.

I'm sure you're right, due to the revised regs that gpsman alluded to in one of his posts. I still just am opposed to the concept of using the high beams as DRLs on principle because of the possibility of increased glare. However, I think that it is likely more attractive to mfgrs. as they don't have to provide dedicated lights, and they are resistant to using reduced power low beams for DRLs as they are worried about customer complaints due to decreased headlamp bulb life (the lows are almost always the filaments that get the most usage, unless you live in a very rural area, so they're the ones that are going to burn out first.)

That said my '02 GTI used low beam DRLs and I didn't replace a single bulb of any kind the entire time I owned the vehicle. I think the only lighting modification I did was to install a Euro headlight switch to get the parking lamp position (was actually rather important at the time, as I didn't have a company car but had to visit various government/military bases for work occasionally, and they don't like it when you roll up to a guard shack and don't turn your headlights off.) Never did get around to enabling the rear fog light.

nate

Reply to
N8N

My 82 Suzuki 650 had one of those always-on headlight switches.

Funny thing, you could just file down the tiny plastic nub and voila! The switch worked again.

That way, you could have your headlights on or off, as you prefer. Of course, most of the time you had it on, but the point is that you decided. Not some cager in an office.

Reply to
Vinny P.

That is a great way to make a profound point.

Reply to
WaIIy

I thought most DRL's would shut off if the parking brake was set?

Reply to
Tom $herman (-_-)

True, but the TURN OFF HEADLIGHTS is usually before you stop.

The gummint rules can be quite different than the state the facility is in. One time my Corvette club went to an event on Camp Pendleton, which (at the time, anyways) had a rule against running lights under the car. One guy had running lights under the car on, MP's going the other way saw it, turned around, and pulled over another guy with a very similar car. They couldn't figure it out.

I also worked there for several years, it would have been a perfect commute for my bike (Yamaha Vision), but they required a 3 day safety course, and I wasn't about to use up my vacation for it.

Another base I worked on, we had a department luncheon off base one day. One of the gummint managers had just bought a new Corvette, and switched a temporary pass from another car. When we came back from lunch, the MP at the gate spotted it, and they all surrounded the car, guns pointing and ready. The guy was lucky his boss was in the car behind, it still was a big deal. I could understand wanting to short the system, when I had gotten my pass, I had to sit there for an entire day, since they order by rank, and I was a contractor, aka pond- scum in that ranking. Even being paid, I could hardly tolerate just sitting there doing nothing. Your tax dollars at work.

jg

Reply to
jgar the jorrible

On many vehicles, one "click" of parking brake application is enough to turn the DRLs off, but not significantly apply the parking brakes. Even if the brakes are slightly applied, it would not be a big deal for a couple hundred feet at low speed.

Uh, some of us happily use our vacation time for riding classes. Track school is particularly fun.

Of course, those who do not think they need a riding class are usually the ones who need it most.

Reply to
Tom $herman (-_-)

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