Bright Headlights Options

[Strafin]

I have noticed a large increase in vehicles using aftermarket Xenon (?) and superbright headlights. I can't see an advantage to these, in fact I can't see at all most of the time when they are present. They make me wince on approach and when people are driving behind with them I have to move my rear view. Does anyone feel like this too or do I need my eyes testing??

[JeffG]

If those are the lights which appear blue, then I hate them too. When you say aftermarket, does that mean they are non-standard?

[Strafin]

There seems to be two types, Audi's for exaple come with the bluey ones but don't seem so ridiculously blinding. Then there are the ones fitted to Range Rovers as standard which make light up the few hectares surrounding it. These seem to be the same as the boy racers and bling motor owners favour.

[Jeven]

Yeah I completely agree, you don't need really bright lights until you get into the country side where you have full beam. I think its made worse by the 4x4 cars as the lights are higher up as well

They make me wince on approach and when people are driving behind with them I have to move my rear view.

By 'move' I hope you mean you just flick the switch to move it into 'night mode' so that you can still see behind you but without being blinded.

[Good Boy Racer]

Ahhh the beautiful Bright Xenon Lamps that blind motorists as they drive passed and yes i do use them to this day, so i will be one of those drivers that you are talking about. They are a lovely colour with a hint of blue to give it that HID look (as they say on ebay .

With my experience of them, a complete waste of money. They are cheap for a set of £10 on ebay, main beems, full beems and side lights. However i have gone through more bulbs then you ever will They keep blowing and so their reliabilty is not great. At the moment, their lasting quite some time, about a month so far.

Also, they say their much brighter than ordinary lights, ONLY when your in pitch black like on the motoway or the countryside. On normal Newbury roads, you dont even notice the lights shining onto the ground infront of you, makes you wonder if your lights are even on.

So overal, if you want to stay safe and not pee off any other drivers stick with your ordinary french orange coloured lights. If you want to be cool, pee people off and not see a bloody thing then stick with your Xenon Lamps.

Take care... and be safe!

Apologies if i blind anyone

[Exhausted]

With my experience of them, a complete waste of money. They are cheap for a set of £10 on ebay, main beems, full beems and side lights. However i have gone through more bulbs then you ever will They keep blowing and so their reliabilty is not great. At the moment, their lasting quite some time, about a month so far.

Apologies if i blind anyone

Are you getting mixed up between the "Blue" halogen bulbs which are cheap but have short life and a full High Intensity Discharge (HID) system which needs a convertor for each bulb to produce the high voltage required to fire a non filament discharge bulb. These kits are expensive and require the vehicle electrics to be modified. £150.00 a set probably. The bulbs last much longer than filament bulbs.

[lordtup]

I conclude that the whole thing is just another case of arrogance personified .
Most urban roads have some form of lighting and manufacturers dipped headlights are perfectly adequate , the rural ones are unsafe at high speed anyway whatever the cars lighting.
No it's the "mine is bigger,brighter,anything elser than yours",and therefore you are inferior to me.
Sad Pillocks.
Incidentally the real idiots are those who see fit to travel in adverse weather conditions without any form of lighting at all.

[Hugh Saskin]

In London, until quite recently, it was the fashion to drive at night just on side lights which is something you didn't see much of out here in the sticks. The reason behind this habit was that cars couldn't get up sufficient speed to charge the battery in London traffic and they only had dynamos as opposed to the alternators of today which are so much more efficient. Oh happy days -

[Berkshirelad]

Are you getting mixed up between the "Blue" halogen bulbs which are cheap but have short life and a full High Intensity Discharge (HID) system which needs a convertor for each bulb to produce the high voltage required to fire a non filament discharge bulb. These kits are expensive and require the vehicle electrics to be modified. £150.00 a set probably. The bulbs last much longer than filament bulbs.

After market HIDs are, technically illegal.

HIDS are illegal anyway in UK, but are allowed as a manufacturer fit due to EU Type Approval over-riding UK law.

HIDs also must have automatic headlamp levelling in order to meet the EU spec. This is what makes it near impossible to retrofit as all sorts of suspension sensors and levelling motors, etc are required

[Biker1]

Incidentally the real idiots are those who see fit to travel in adverse weather conditions without any form of lighting at all.

Yep, and yet they do not get "done" - just the speeders!

(Bringing in a topic from another thread)

[Bloggo]

There also seems to be a trend for twits to have their front fog lights on as well as headlights regardless of whether there is any fog or not.
Why, what is wrong with these people????

[JeffG]

front fog lights on as well as headlights regardless of whether there is any fog or not.

Although I love my car, the one thing about it that annoys is that I can't have the front fog lights on without first turning on the rear fog lights.

Quite often at night it would be useful to have the front fog lights on, but we all know how anti-social it is to have rear fogs on at night...

[ossy1]

Although I love my car, the one thing about it that annoys is that I can't have the front fog lights on without first turning on the rear fog lights.

Quite often at night it would be useful to have the front fog lights on, but we all know how anti-social it is to have rear fogs on at night...

For what purpose would you want your front fogs on!! Not being funny but unless your visibility is reduced to less than 100m then you commit and offence and I would have to give you a telling off. They still cause undue dazzle. If the weather is bad enough to warrant front fogs then your back one should be on too.

You MUST use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet). You may also use front or rear fog lights but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves (see Rule 236).


[Law RVLR regs 25 & 27]

[ossy1]

There also seems to be a trend for twits to have their front fog lights on as well as headlights regardless of whether there is any fog or not.
Why, what is wrong with these people???

You'd be surprised how many people actually don't know that they are fog lights!! Or that the little green and yellow light on the dash is telling them their fog lights are on.

[Darren]

I have Daylight Running Lights (DRL) built into the foglight unit. The operate with a standard P21W light bulb so are nowhere near as bright as a front foglight.

In 2011 DRL's will be mandatory on all new cars and light vans.
http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/resea.../snbt-01361.pdf

DRL's should not be confused with 5w side/parking lights.

[JeffG]

For what purpose would you want your front fogs on!! Not being funny but unless your visibility is reduced to less than 100m then you commit and offence and I would have to give you a telling off.

Oo-er matron! Of course I wouldn't have front fogs on unless it was foggy, but at night rear fogs cause dazzle in all but the thickest pea-souper.

(I don't think I've had occasion to use either since I've had this car in any case - but front spots would be useful sometimes on dark country lanes, even when not foggy.)

[Berkshirelad]

Front fogs are allowed in conditions of fog or falling snow. It is, in fact legal to drive on side and foglights only. Although in the 60's and 70's, Rolls Royces and Bentleys also used them as front indicators.

Current Mercedes models will light one fog light with the turn indicator - this is to provide a 'turning light'. These are technically illegally as English law requires fog lamps to be used in pairs. Once again, EU-wide type approval means that we just have to accept them.

[Bloggo]

You'd be surprised how many people actually don't know that they are fog lights!! Or that the little green and yellow light on the dash is telling them their fog lights are on.

No Ossy I am not surprised at all. What does surprise me is that some of the drivers actually passed a test. The standard of courtesy and tolerance on the roads these days is appalling.

[Iommi]

No Ossy I am not surprised at all. What does surprise me is that some of the drivers actually passed a test. The standard of courtesy and tolerance on the roads these days is appalling.

These days, with roads being so busy, driving tuition has changed. One is taught to be more agressive. What is also odd, is that it is much harder to pass the test now than when we were young, or younger.

[JeffG]

These days, with roads being so busy, driving tuition has changed. One is taught to be more agressive.

Really? Do you mean it's now bad form to allow cars to filter in one by one to a slow moving line of traffic from a side road? That's what I consider basic courtesy, and it still seems to happen. What do you mean by aggressive, exactly?