32 How can I improve night visibility/increase light output?
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This article is from the VW Performance FAQ, by with numerous contributions by Jan Vandenbrande others.
32 How can I improve night visibility/increase light output?
A:It all depends what you are starting from, and in what
country you live. USA: Sealed beam units till 84
required, "aerodynamic" allowed thereafter but must still
conform to a rather pointed spread. 3 DOT nipples for
alignment required. Canada: Same as USA. Northern Canada
has slightly different regulations. Europe: Sealed beams
forbidden. Light is more evenly distributed. Some
countries require yellow lights, and different settings
for city, highway and hi-beam lights.
Beware that whatever you do, you must NOT blind on coming
traffic. Some of the suggestions below are actually
illegal for street use in the US. However, judging from
the large number of misaligned lights in the US, your
"illegal" mods will be less blinding than a normal but
badly aligned set of lights. However, oncoming traffic
may automatically assume that you are blinding when they
see more than 2 lights on at once (+ it may be illegal in
some states/driving conditions). EuroCar had several
articles on lighting in 91/92.
To improve visibility, try the following:
- Align your headlights. See Bentley or your local code
for specs. I usually go a tad higher than the specs w/o
blinding.
- Change to halogen lights (yes, some of the sealed beam
units are not even halogen).
- Clean the inside of your non-sealed beam units with
some alcohol on some cotton/rag at the end of a
wire/stick. (Pretty tricky.)
- Add fog lights (very wide, low, but not far reaching).
Set up correctly, fog lights DO NOT blind, per
definition. Don't buy generic brands, but minimally go
for Bosch, Hella, Cibie and others.
- Add driving lights (narrow and far reaching). Set up
according to specs these DO blind, however, they can
often be set up lower so that blinding can be almost
entirely eliminated. - Change to one of the non-sealed
aftermarket units, which are usually the European style
lamps.
- Change to the equivalent European "aero-style" units
(e.g., A2 Jetta). These are available from a number of
sources and have much better beam characteristics than
DOT approved lamps provide. Your ability to use them
will be a function of the level of detail your state
motor vehicle inspection requires. In NJ, they have to
come out to pass inspection [Tom Coradeschi].
- Change to poly ellipsoidal, high-energy, "DE" lights.
This is the newest technology in lighting technology,
more commonly found on newer BMWs (though BMW uses an
arc lamp rather than halogen). EuroCar had several
articles about these in 91/92.
- Change the wattage of your bulbs. This is actually not
always a good solution because your lenses may crack
because of heat build-up, moisture accumulates faster,
wiring may not be able to carry the load, may blind, may
not fit in all non-sealed units [According to Andy, you
cannot not put higher wattage lightbulbs into the stock
North American light lenses.
[Unverified...jan] The 70/90 Watt versions of the H4
can be bought at off-road places such as Competition
Limited, (313) 464-1458 according to Dilmore. There are
also 45/100W versions of the standard 45/65W lamps. Some
lamps require you to trim a metal tab that would normally
prevent their use for street cars.
From Michael R. Kim: I've got 80W low beams on H4, and
haven't had any problems being pulled over. I drive with
friends a lot, and ever since installing the lights, I've
asked them about glare, for fear of getting a ticket.
They told me that since I've angled them down just a tad,
they don't notice any more glare than a car with factory
lighting. Mind you, if you've ever seen one of those
Ford F150 trucks, with their lighting, you'd question
about proper light angling. I've had the lights in now
for almost 5 months now, and have yet to even get a flick
of the high beams from someone else for blinding them
with 80 W beams. I would definetly recommend upgrading
lights, it can do wonders for your driving, but PLEASE
double check your alignment and light pattern before
going off to test how well they work.
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