Are blue headlights rice?
10-23-2001, 02:12 PM
#16
Nordschleife Master
The French no longer have those yellow "requirements" and I'm not sure anyone makes headlight lenses in yellow anymore. Valeo (Cibie) would if anyone did.
That is a long confused story from what I understand. Yellow is "known" to cause less light backscatter from fog and rain which is why you would see them on fog lights. Then there was something about the war and people could tell if it was a French car or German to ambush. Then of course the French wanted yellow because the Germans used white. The Frogs finally gave up on all that.
But I think there is a French Rennlister that had those yellow headlights on his 944. He would be the one to ask.
That is a long confused story from what I understand. Yellow is "known" to cause less light backscatter from fog and rain which is why you would see them on fog lights. Then there was something about the war and people could tell if it was a French car or German to ambush. Then of course the French wanted yellow because the Germans used white. The Frogs finally gave up on all that.
But I think there is a French Rennlister that had those yellow headlights on his 944. He would be the one to ask.
10-23-2001, 02:39 PM
#17
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until i purchased my 951 earlier this month, i drove an '85 ford contour. It had terrible stock headlights with marginally opaque plastic lenses. i replaced the 9004 and 9005 halogen bulbs with PIAA ultrawhite bulbs and found a very marked increase in the veiwable area at night. back then i did a lot of driving in northern vermont where at night your speed is mostly only limited by how far away you could see a deer if it ran in the road, so good high beams were something i paid a lot of attention too, and i'm positive that i got signifigantly better range with very little degredation in beam pattern by switching to the piaa high beams. as for the low beam, the range didn't change much, but the color of the light was certainly much whiter without the ricey blue "come pull me over, officer" look of those autozone halogen bulbs dipped in blue paint (trust me, i took those out when i put the piaa's in, they suck).
As for legality, state and local laws are based on the color of the light, which i beleive is where the feds comes in... as i understand there are FMVSS (federal motor vehicle saftey standards or somethign) definitions regarding certain things on cars. they require that if you have an airbag system it must have a fault warning light on your dash (there's a long story behind that...) and they also have standards for different colors of light. I beleive it is these standars upon which local codes governing light colors are based.
My piaa bulbs came with a sticker caliming compliance to some FMVSS standard (can't remember the number off the top of my head). i looked it up and it is their definition of "white" light.
Ben.
As for legality, state and local laws are based on the color of the light, which i beleive is where the feds comes in... as i understand there are FMVSS (federal motor vehicle saftey standards or somethign) definitions regarding certain things on cars. they require that if you have an airbag system it must have a fault warning light on your dash (there's a long story behind that...) and they also have standards for different colors of light. I beleive it is these standars upon which local codes governing light colors are based.
My piaa bulbs came with a sticker caliming compliance to some FMVSS standard (can't remember the number off the top of my head). i looked it up and it is their definition of "white" light.
Ben.
10-23-2001, 04:07 PM
#18
Iceshark,
I kind of figured everyone knows folks in the UK and some former colonies drive on the wrong side of the road.
I and I am pretty sure you can still get Cibie lights with the funky yellow lens. Try this site to see:
http://www.talbotco.com/cibie_main_frameset.htm
It really is too bad that E-code lights are not legal. I hate the glare hot spot you get in front of you if you get into any kind of fog or mist when driving with DOT spec lights.
I kind of figured everyone knows folks in the UK and some former colonies drive on the wrong side of the road.
I and I am pretty sure you can still get Cibie lights with the funky yellow lens. Try this site to see:
http://www.talbotco.com/cibie_main_frameset.htm
It really is too bad that E-code lights are not legal. I hate the glare hot spot you get in front of you if you get into any kind of fog or mist when driving with DOT spec lights.
10-23-2001, 07:35 PM
#19
One facet of legality is the little glass nubs on the lens. The Hellas on my past and current 944's and my VW Jetta (GTI light conversion) lack that and are thus illegal. The nubs are for aiming the lights and of course the easy alternative is a phillips screwdriver. I had a friend who got cited in his Corvette years ago because one of the nubs had broken off. E-code lights do not do as good a job lighting overhead I-state signs but that is not my biggest concern. They do send more of the beam down the right (or in UK left) side and allow more light ahead while keeping the light below the rear window of the car in front (unless it's a 914). I have also determined that Hellas with normal bulbs on low beam at night cast enough range that I can see a deer by the side of the road, realize that it might jump out at me and come to a stop from about 60-65 mph in a 944 without undue dramatics. Now if they could just do something about the idiots think they'll get there sooner by driving 10' (3M)behind my back bumper. The downside of the sharper beam pattern is that you get no satisfaction when the SUV who has been blinding you for the last 10 mi (60 KM) finally goes around and you get a chance for your lights in His mirrors!
10-25-2001, 03:02 PM
#20
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Little past due... Just went to France the other day for dinner. Yellow lights everywhere. Crazy.
Off the subject, I went to my mechanics today and saw a RS that looked like it had been driven through a swampy forest on a very narrow path. French tags. Don't want to think more about it. Too painful.
Off the subject, I went to my mechanics today and saw a RS that looked like it had been driven through a swampy forest on a very narrow path. French tags. Don't want to think more about it. Too painful.
10-25-2001, 04:23 PM
#21
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see what happens when you don't take a gander at the Board for a while...
Matt: Undoubtedly OT... I find the image tasteless because without understanding Islam (even the conservative kind) and even other cultures -it's almost tacky to put images together like that. While I said it was funny, I also think that the Taliban don't represent Islam, they represent the rogue, militant, seedy and criminal aspect of the Arab world who use Islam as a crutch for their own interests (power, greed, etc.). While the image was directed at the current "enemy", it was tasteless because it makes fun of arabs (orthodox) while at the same time appealing to those part of our "redneck" culture. Don't get me wrong, I am not fond of the fact that misogyny is institutionalized in many arab countries, HOWEVER- we are in NO POSITION to talk when there is still rape and brutalization of women in our own country. Dig?
France: Although I am an American, I've actually made it out of the country on more than one occaision - I have actually been to France - not only once, but actually _many_ times. They changed the laws re: the yellow lenses a while ago, so although one sees yellow lens everywhere, they are still around because the vehicle owners haven't bothered to change them. When I was in Paris, I saw only a few yellow lights - they are a rarity, rather than commonplace. Again, this is my experience culled from the City of Light.
discussion is cool, hhehe. yeah cool.
Matt: Undoubtedly OT... I find the image tasteless because without understanding Islam (even the conservative kind) and even other cultures -it's almost tacky to put images together like that. While I said it was funny, I also think that the Taliban don't represent Islam, they represent the rogue, militant, seedy and criminal aspect of the Arab world who use Islam as a crutch for their own interests (power, greed, etc.). While the image was directed at the current "enemy", it was tasteless because it makes fun of arabs (orthodox) while at the same time appealing to those part of our "redneck" culture. Don't get me wrong, I am not fond of the fact that misogyny is institutionalized in many arab countries, HOWEVER- we are in NO POSITION to talk when there is still rape and brutalization of women in our own country. Dig?
France: Although I am an American, I've actually made it out of the country on more than one occaision - I have actually been to France - not only once, but actually _many_ times. They changed the laws re: the yellow lenses a while ago, so although one sees yellow lens everywhere, they are still around because the vehicle owners haven't bothered to change them. When I was in Paris, I saw only a few yellow lights - they are a rarity, rather than commonplace. Again, this is my experience culled from the City of Light.
discussion is cool, hhehe. yeah cool.
