| | | quote | Originally posted by timgray:
... everything you can find that is "cheap" I.E. under $200 per headlight will NOT be safe.
|
|
I strongly disagree. Anything that is truly DOT-compliant will be "safe" when properly installed and aimed, but some will be much better than others. You can buy excellent quality halogen lighting for $50 per headlight assembly; even the Hella 90mm halogen projector modules you like so much (I like them too) are only about $75 each.
| | | quote |
... the hella H4 retrofit lenses, put a ton of light directly into the eyes of the oncoming drivers.
The projector system is the only one I was able to find that does not blind oncoming drivers and sends out enough light far enough to safely drive at 70mph.
|
|
Properly-aimed DOT-compliant low beams
will not "put a ton of light directly into the eyes of the oncoming drivers." And no low beam, DOT or ECE, is intended to provide more than marginal down-road illumination at 70 mph. The upper edge of a properly-aimed, DOT-compliant low beam mounted at 22 inches will intersect the road surface at 275 feet ... or about 2.7 seconds travel at 70 mph. (The minimum DOT-required aiming down angle is 2 inches at 25 feet.)
| | | quote |
If someone has found one that works, I would really like to see the light pattern as shown on a wall and on a long flat roadway using a DSLR set for manual exposure. I was unable to find anything in the H4 retrofits that did not end up making me into one of those jerks that blind everyone else.
|
|
Please see the pattern comparisons I have previously posted on PFF. The pictures were shot at standard DOT aiming distance (25 feet) and using a fixed exposure setting to allow direct quantitative comparisons. I appreciate your concern for other drivers, but once again, DOT-compliant headlights (including the Hella HL79567/H6054A conversions) will not "blind everyone else" when installed and aimed properly For the record, installing high-wattage halogen bulbs will probably void the DOT compliance of any headlight assembly, and installing a HID capsule in a halogen housing is guaranteed to do so.
| | | quote | Originally posted by FieroBobo:
Some folks seem to be concerned that using ECE bulbs poses a safety risk to other drivers since they do not have DOT approvial.
Please remember that the ECE headlights are legal in Europe and all EU contries.
As such they are perfectly safe, and do not pose a safety risk to other drivers.
|
|
They do not pose a safety risk to other drivers
as long as they are not modified, are properly installed, and are properly aimed. FWIW, I believe that both DOT-compliant and ECE-compliant headlights are legal in Canada, but DOT compliance is required in the U.S. There are a few headlights on the market (e.g. the Hella 90mm HID low beam modules) that project a "unified" DOT/ECE pattern and are accepted under both standards.
| | | quote |
The ECE headlights simply direct all of their light down onto the roadway.
The don't push any light upward and to the right which is required by the DOT to illuminate overhead road signs.
|
|
Not quite correct. I have studied the DOT standard, and it specifies both minimum and maximum light levels at several dozen specific horizontal and vertical angles from the reference axis. The ECE standard severely limits light intensity upward straight ahead and to the left (right hand drive countries), but it provides more upward light to the right than DOT allows. My comparison photos show this clearly.
| | | quote |
Incidently, I'm told that the reason ECE headlights don't divert any light upward and to the right is that in Europe the overhead signs have their own lighting.
|
|
That is mostly correct. On highways, yes, overhead road signs are generally lighted. On local roads in cities and towns, maybe, maybe not.
[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 09-23-2011).]
.jpg)
