I drive my sedan quite a few times at night, problem is that I lose about 50% of my vision after dark. I rebuilt the headlights with halogen bulbs which helped a lot but still not the result I was hoping for. So now I want to install a set of auxiliary driving lights. What brand/type should I be looking for? Plan would be to run them any time the headlights are on. Really need some good advice here. Got caught in a heavy downpour tonight and about crashed because the lights were so poor. Help!!!!!!!!
Sounds like me. 35 years ago, when it was sports cars, I used a variety of lights. Outside Seattle, first thing you learn is the "pencil beams" don't work any better in heavy rain than in fog, too much reflection back from the water. The driving beams work in light rain, to some degree, but I never found much better than the European style lights with the rise to the right, cut off to the left. I think they use H4 bulbs or something now, but in my day they had separate bulbs for high and low. Don't know if theyre still around. I've been unable to find anything that looks right in my hot rod that does this. I ended up driving on the fogs, set a little high and outside, but those don't work either, in a rod. If someone has a solution, I'd like to know as much as you. Half my friends won't drive at night unless it's close to home. Getting old is hell.
What kind of car are we talking about? Year/make/model? Singles or duals (lens)? What kind of mounts? Bumper mount or custom flush mount in the front end? Too many factors for all different types of cars. I have always liked the 6" round amber driving lights in the front end of 75-83 Mercedes Benz (great at night and look cool in daylight), but they wouldn't work with every car. Options are going to vary with the style of the car they're going on.
Ive been involved with rallies for over 40 years, so Ive had quite a bit of experience with headlights. Heres my 2 cents: If your car has 7 round lights, this is the type of headlamp you should be using: http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=739 These lights are usually sold with bulbs rated for 60 watts on high beam and 55 watts on low. Susquehanna Motorsports (aka: rallylights.com) lets you choose your poison. Ive found that you can usually get away with 100/80s and not get hassled by the cops, as long as you aim them properly. If your car uses something besides 7 rounds, go here: http://www.rallylights.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=354 You really DONT want to run driving lights all the time with your headlights. All youll do is get brighted a lot. You also dont want to make them switch on with the high beams, as thats useless in fog and heavy rain. The simple thing to do is to put them on a separate switch so that you can use your lights in whatever combination works best for the conditions youre in at the time. And, remember that lamps intended to help your vision in inclement weather work much better when mounted low so that the beam goes under the weather and illuminates the road. Heres SMSs selection of driving and fog lamps: http://www.rallylights.com/hella/AuxiliaryLampsGrid.aspx Make sure that your wiring is up to the task of supporting your brighter lights. I always suggest that all the lights be powered directly from the battery, using good quality relays and wires of a gauge heavy enough to support the added wattage. Heres a good explanation and diagram of that type of system: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html As a final note there are a lot of suppliers out there. I have no affiliation with Susquehanna Motorsports other than the fact that Ive been buying from them for years and really like their service. Buy what YOU like but I think youll be happier in the long run if you buy high quality lights!
Daylighters 285,000 candle power. I like the stainless case. Make sure you get the 130 watt and use a relay. Seriously bright long range lighting. http://www.amazon.com/KC-HiLiTES-634-Daylighter-Driving/dp/B0007O8S58
As Above Convert your headlights to H4 [ if they're not already ] then install a pair or 140/90w bulbs in it. You'll need to run these through a pair of relays . 280w on high beam and 180w on low beam is the end of your problems. You'll need to make sure they are not adjusted too high, and the charging system is healthy. I did this years ago when I was on the road a lot, I also had spots as well but they were totally useless [the normal headlights would shine through them ]
When I was in HS, back in hte 80's my friend had a motor cycle with headlights called "Z beams". They were illegal on cars supposedly. I know that the beam for motor cycles have a butterfly spread to the pattern. Car lights go kinda to the right shoulder on low beam and up to the left on high beam. I really hate that. I couldn't afford the Z beams so I found some other super bright motor cycle lights and used them. The fact that the beam is equal on left and right side of the pattern made them priceless in the canyon and mountain roads in the Angeles National Forest. I found them very good in the early morning fog going to work too. Sure helped the contrast in the night time driving. Try a performance cycle shop. Since some shops are anal on selling things for illegal use, don't let them in on your secret idea. Just remember to buy two Some cops might be on to you if they love to write up hot rods and know what they are looking at. Living in Los Angeles, they really don't care as long as you point them at the ground where they belong.
Dave B. Agreed! And, the newer bulbs (from a certain Large Manf. w/Germanic ties) are able to cast in both Euro and US patterns, that of above, and to the right, for reading sign-age on low beam stting. If a car uses driving-style lamps when on low beam it serves to blind the oncoming driver, not-so-good and far less safe.
Doc,I know you have a couple of Deuces and I assume you are still running the original headlights. I installed the newest Bob Drake chrome plated plastic headlight kits in my pickup and I couldn't believe the difference in them & the older style silver reflector kit. No more shadows and dim lights even on high beam,,they work as well as late model headlights. HRP
I'm sure this has been linked here before: http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/brighter-headlights.shtml Good read on this topic, relays are cheap and easy to install. Just did my ot 70s truck and it made a world of difference.
There was a kid (mid 20's) I worked with who had trouble seeing at night. Turns out he had night blindness. Unfortunately, because the job required sometimes working in dark environments, he had to be let go. Everyone should get their eyes checked.
hate to ask this question, is the headlights fault. or do you have a vision problem you have finally noticed. i had cataracts taken out and it made a huge difference. you may have some poor headlights but maybe a trip to the eye doctor might not hurt
I was just going to say the same.Riding a bike at night I would wear yellow lense glasses,it seemed to improve the vison alot.
I kinda dig these. Old school look with the bright amber lens. Can be bumper mounted or fender mounted.
Getting old isn't so bad if you consider the alternative. The problem with driving in rain is that the rain basically turns the road into a smooth mirror that light reflects off from and doesn't return to you but goes into the oncoming drivers eyes. Unfortunately, the light does reflect back to you from the rain droplets in the air. Brighter lights just mean more light to bother the oncoming driver and reflect off the rain drops. If the lens in your eye is turning translucent, it spreads the light out inside your eye making it more difficult to see.
Well at least I won't be the first one to mention it but an eye exam might be in order, especially if you haven't had one in awhile and you are of "a certain age". At night do oncoming headlights and street lamps have a glare, haze or "aura" around them? They did for me and were caused by cataracts in my case. I've had the surgery done on my right eye already and the improvement has been almost unbelievable. I'm anxious to have the left eye done as well in the next week or two. Just something else to consider if you're getting tired of shopping for new headlights.
Hey if your lights are genuinely sub-par, by all means fix them up by whatever means necessary. But increasing you lighting to compensate for a 50% loss of vision after dark isn't a good way to solve the problem. There's a good chance you will be blinding the opposing traffic then THERE WILL ALWAYS BE TWO DRIVERS WHO CANNOT SEE! A visit to the eye doctor is the wisest and healthiest thing to do. For folks with normal vision, the yellow glasses add quite a bit and the difference is amazing. For folks with compromised vision, I can't say but its worth a shot to check out.
I'm having more trouble seeing at night too. But I notice that driving my 59 chevy truck, it's easier to see. The headlights on it are about three feet off the ground, and my eyes are at least 5 feet off the ground. Look at the geometry of it...someone mentioned that a wet road acts like a mirror. If you are looking down on the road, instead of across it, then you can see better. I guess the gasser look is coming back in style for a practical reason?
Wouldn't hurt to add more Vitamin A to your diet as well. Nyctalopia (which I was diagnosed as having years ago) or "night blindness" is common. I've been taking fish oil capsules and Vitamin A supplements to keep it in check, and it really does help. With my condition, night vision was normal until an oncoming headlight came into my field of vision. Even at a distance, the only thing that would become visible is the headlight and the halo surrounding it. Everything else would go black. For a few seconds, I would have to concentrate on the headlight and try to steer past it without clipping it to stay on the road. I've got it under control now for the most part, thanks to the supplements, and oncoming headlights no longer cause a COMPLETE blackout. As stated by others, get an eye exam. You only get one pair. Gotta keep 'em healthy.
The problem I have driving at night is reflections off the window glass. In a Model A like other cars of that era the glass is all flat and parallel. If I don't pay close attention I'll get a surprise.
A brand new windshield can make a BIG difference for a few years. It doesn't take much fine pitting to really create a lot of glare. It's too bad clear Polarizing lenses block so much light cause polarized lenses cut glare well.
They actually sell anti-glare coatings that work WELL. I believe Rain-X even makes it, too. (If I can find one of my old Mil SPEC anti glare kits I'll send you one, but I'll have to dig around out in the workshop.) You put it on the inside of the windshield, let it dry, then wipe it off. It's actually quite amazing how much it reduces the glare from street lights, headlights, etc. Might want to try it.
I was looking at these for my 32 but they do not make them with signal/parking light mount. That is what I am running now and did not want to add another fixture.
Doc I got a pair of '36 Ford auxilarry lights with pencil beams in them for night driving. My headlights flood real well and I have them down enough to no dazzel me on low beams and the pencil beams have a 5 mile reflective rating. They are focused real well and shoot a straight line without dazzeling. I got the lights here in the HAMB for 15 bucks and have about 30 tied up in the seal beams.
Believe me this kit is the best thing to come along to retro fit the original big headlights,it's worth the minor inconvenience of changing the location of your turn signals. I have the older Drake type like you with the signals in the reflector on my '32 sedan but I have a new kit ordered to replace them,,I personally put a higher priority to seeing in the dark. It's like the difference in a 6 volt lighting system with a bad ground to a new mini cooper,,which has a chrome plated reflector very similar to the new Drake kit. Young or old eyes have a problem with the flat glass of Model A's and Deuces,,compound that with dark & rain and oncoming traffic which reflects in the windshield and rear glass really necessitates the best lighting you can get. HRP
Do they make Zenon kits for 7" rounds? I have Zenons on all my modern cars, and they make all the difference in the world, not only is the light brighter, but it's better controlled and aimed so you can see the road better, without blinding oncoming drivers. In my old Jag, the original 7" got replaced with halogens, which were better, but I tend not to drive it at night much anymore because of the lights.....if they make 7" Zenon kits, I could go that route and be OK I'll bet..... I know the lenses won't look "traditional", but isn't being able to see more important?
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