Up on the F3 on the NSW Central Coast the NSW RTA have big electronic signs warning that fog lights are only to be used in poor visibility and that fines apply if used at other times.Quote:
Originally Posted by It'sNotWorthComplaining!
garry
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Up on the F3 on the NSW Central Coast the NSW RTA have big electronic signs warning that fog lights are only to be used in poor visibility and that fines apply if used at other times.Quote:
Originally Posted by It'sNotWorthComplaining!
garry
[QUOTE=garrycol; It will be comfortable in the luxobarge - I suppose your fuel consumption will go up with all that nice new gear you have.
Garry[/QUOTE]
It's so heavy now, I've almost got herself convinced of the need for a chip or ECU mods.:D
I have been spending some time up on the central coast cleaning up a property and going to the Woy Woy tip and getting weighed - the RRS with none of the type of gear that you have weighs 2.7t with half fuel, and me (no comments please) - you must be getting up near 3t with all your standard stuff before you even start loading it up.
Here in Canada, DRL's are the law now so all vehicles run with them all the time. For the most part, GM, Ford, and Dodge just use the regular low beam headlights. In the past, the headlights would run at a somewhat lower intensity, (barely noticeable), as I presume the idea was to increase bulb life. I think now however, the low beam lights illuminate at full intensity if there is no other lighting arrangement.
Mercedes, Audi, and the like, run a special pair of LED bulbs, but to my mind, if safety was the idea, (it is not), I tend to think that the regular headlights do the job better. I am not certain what the LR4 arrangement is - so few around I have not noticed, but I think only the decorative LEDs are on during the day.
I have noted that Dodge tends to have their headlights and signal lights bunched together so in the day when the signal light is actuated, the headlight tuns off for the short period that the signal light is in operation - one dipped beam stays off for the duration of the flash and not flash operation of the signal light bulb. At night, both headlight bulbs remain lit all the time.
Also in the case of the LR3 in Canada, when the DRL's are on, the tail lights and front side lights are also illuminated. This I believe is not so for Sweden, the other country that is programmed into the 2005 Car Configuration File.
Also once configured for Canada in the DDF, the only way to turn the headlights off with the engine running is to put the 3 in either Park, Neutral, or apply the EPB, (Electronic Parking Brake). In other words, the low beam lights and tail lights are on even if the headlight switch is off.
I do not know if the programming is in the 3's shipped to Oz but I suspect some variation of it is. My understanding is that not much else changes other than how the head light switch operates if DRL's are activated for whatever country.
I find that not being able to turn the headlights off with the transmission in gear can at times be inconvenient and note that the Police have a bypass as a part of their domestic Police package so the lights can be turned off.
In operation, the lights being on can be an aid on the highway, particularily during snowstorms, (or dust storms), when approaching vehicles can create an effective whiteout for maybe 1 to 10 seconds as the most one might see is the headlights of following vehicles.
The bright rear "fog" light function on the Land Rover is not required here but I would say should be. Normal brightness tail lights during the day in whiteout, (or not), conditions are simply not visible and serve no purpose. I should note that illuminated tail lights are not a legal requirement of the DRL laws as written here and most vehicles do not have their tail lights routinely illuminated.
In summary, probably the best way to get DRL's is what it sounds like you are doing already - just turning your headlights on when you think it would be a good idea.
I know of two guys that have been booked here in Adelaide for having there wa##er lights on , on nice sunny days of coarse. It was around $200 fine plus one demerit point. Im not a big lover of the OOO look at me lights either. Just drive with your head lights on , you know the ones that are ajusted correctly and stay there so as oncomming dont get blinded with missaligned lights.;)Quote:
Originally Posted by garrycol
I do not mind front ****** lights as they generally do not blind you - it is the bright red ones at the rear that are a pain when you are following them. They almost seem to be burning your eyeballs out.
Hyundais seem to be the worst so maybe there is an issue with having them on and not knowing about it.
My favourite beef...
The whole purpose of vehicle lighting is to see your way as clearly as possible... WITHOUT causing other drivers to become dazzled, distracted or enraged by your lights.
For the purpose of discussion, I'm only referring to low beam useage, not open road with no-one in front coming or going.
Forget the theory, the reality is that too many headlights are improperly aligned, or in the case of some newer cars, don't meet the current ADR's - well, maybe the letter of the Law, but *not* the spirit of it !
Then there is the issue of dust & deposits and discolouration of lenses and covers which all scatter the (now much brighter light of HID's..) low beam.
Mis-alignment also applies to around 70% of the masturbatory lights fitted to an increasing number of newer cars...
Because of this, even running in daylight with only the low-beams on can dazzle oncoming traffic, and annoy the person in front of you.
Some manufacturers have gone to strings of LED lights around the front of the car, but because each LED emits from such a tiny area, the eye perceives this as glare / uncomfortable. And is distracted.
The best daylight running light was the old VW idea of illuminating the interior of the headlight with a 5W lamp, you could see the light.... without being dazzled by it.
Add to the mix the fashion for 'projector' style low beams... coupled with the insane brightness of HID lamps and you have virtually no gain in overall road safety and a huge increase in road frustration and rage. - Never mind the unfortunates being dazzled and distracted.
Parting comment... Volvo, best known for its interest in (boring) safety, used to run 21W white lights (parking lights?) as their DRLs, on their 200 series cars (I think) but after only a few years quietly dropped them. - and I have'nt seen them since.
Wonder if they know something that the law-makers don't.
James in Gosnells.
Hang on - aren't "fog" lights supposed to be aligned as a "low dipped" lamp so as to reduce scatter from fog? So they should blind less than standard low beam. I thought the blinding lights you see on on-coming vehicles (other than some idiot on high-beam) were generally "driving" lights, not specifically fog lights.
Cheers,
Gordon
Yes but many are out of alignment and can blind oncoming drivers. Some of the low down lights are driving lights and also blind - some people do not know whether these low down lights are drivers or fog.Quote:
Originally Posted by gghaggis
The fog lights on my RRS at nothing to lighting the road when on low beam (have not tested in fog yet) so I see little point (if I was a ******) to drive around with these ****** lights on. I have my lights set to auto anyway so the fog lamps are not an option while auto is selected.
Garry
You bring up a good point.
I actually think the small round bright things in each corner of the front bumper are marketing devices to differentiate the high line from the not so high line of vehicle, regardless of manufacturer.
As such, on my 3, I changed out the "white" bulbs and put in yellow bulbs so I now claim that they are "snow" lights. I then aimed them so they kind of illuminated down low and into the ditch. If I really had my way, in a real snow storm, I would like to be able to turn off the HID dipped regular headlights and just run on the yellow lights. I find that with yellow, the flashback from the light reflecting off the falling snowflakes is reduced.
The reality is that the flat pattern at the top of the HID dipped beams helps alot. There really is not a lot of flashback compared to regular USA type headlights that are closer to stadium flood lights - light everywhere and nowhere.
The only real experience I have had with the flat top pattern yellow headlights is while driving around Noumea in New Caledonia back in the early seventies. It seems that yellow was the law for headlights. At night it was like approaching vehicles were just running their park lights except that one could see the road well. In fog at night, the yellow was a pleasure, if driving in fog ever is fun.