| Author | Message | ||
| Mitch Alsup (Mitch_alsup)
Member Username: Mitch_alsup Post Number: 887 Registered: 4-2002 |
Sounds like one of two problems. 1) aim of the headlights. 2) is the INSIDE of the glass lens scrupulously clean? (i.e. is there a film?) | ||
| PSk (Psk)
Member Username: Psk Post Number: 742 Registered: 11-2002 |
Turning your headlights on is usually a good start, and then hammer it as normal. Less traffic = great fun. Personally I love open road travel at night times as it = higher speeds which = happy Pete  Pete | ||
| Bart Duesler (The_bart)
Junior Member Username: The_bart Post Number: 225 Registered: 1-2003 |
Carefully! | ||
| Steven R. Rochlin (Enjoythemusic)
Member Username: Enjoythemusic Post Number: 589 Registered: 4-2002 |
Al, Technically, Jeff's car does reside here for me to use as i see fit :-) Enjoy the Drive, Steven R. Rochlin | ||
| Al Johnson (Bigal)
Junior Member Username: Bigal Post Number: 121 Registered: 3-2002 |
Steven, did I read your post correctly, you now own Jeff E.'s 308? If so, I thought that engine bay looked familiar. Jeff-apart from the TT and bigger engine, what diffs have you noted between your present car versus your previous one? You ought to change your username to "TTguy". | ||
| Steven R. Rochlin (Enjoythemusic)
Member Username: Enjoythemusic Post Number: 587 Registered: 4-2002 |
Peter, >>>Amir, the only part of night driving that bothers me is light glare from the rear-view mirror (and the side mirrors too) from cars behind me.<<< Drive faster :-) i enjoy the Italian saying "When driving, whatever is behind me is of no concern" :-) Enjoy the Drive, Steven R. Rochlin | ||
| Steven R. Rochlin (Enjoythemusic)
Member Username: Enjoythemusic Post Number: 586 Registered: 4-2002 |
Dr. S is 100% correct, when driving at night during the bug months, your car WILL be splattered. It is good to keep a bright light (like a Sears work light) in your garage and after driving use detailer and micro fiber cloth to clean them off ASAP. Their guts are like acid to your paint! A small time/cleaning procedure price to pay for driving fun :-) Enjoy the Drive, Steven R. Rochlin PS: if you have pop up lights like the 308, remember to pop them up for cleaning | ||
| Dr. Shelbee (Shelbee)
Member Username: Shelbee Post Number: 431 Registered: 12-2002 |
Beware of NIGHT BUGS | ||
| Rikky Alessi (Ralessi)
Junior Member Username: Ralessi Post Number: 227 Registered: 5-2002 |
Thanks a lot Peter, I will have to try that. | ||
| '75 308 GT4 (Peter)
Advanced Member Username: Peter Post Number: 2936 Registered: 12-2000 |
Rikky, with the car parked on level ground, facing a wall 25ft away, mark out points on that wall which correspond to the centres of the headlights (height from the ground and spacing inbetween). The intense part of the beam should focus about 3" below the points horizontally (and should still be the same spacing inbetween). Amir, the only part of night driving that bothers me is light glare from the rear-view mirror (and the side mirrors too) from cars behind me. | ||
| Mike Charness (Mcharness)
Member Username: Mcharness Post Number: 752 Registered: 8-2002 |
Jeff: I take it that Jim's xenon kit wouldn't work for your car? | ||
| Rikky Alessi (Ralessi)
Junior Member Username: Ralessi Post Number: 221 Registered: 5-2002 |
Would you mind posting details on how to align the headlights correctly? I figure that this is something simple that I could do on my car that would help some. | ||
| Steven R. Rochlin (Enjoythemusic)
Member Username: Enjoythemusic Post Number: 581 Registered: 4-2002 |
Ed, Jeff Edison, the previous owner of the 308 here, did the Xenon change to main beams so he can tell you the details involved. The fog lights are standard Hella 450. i simply added better fog lights to replace the old units, though these can easily be changed to LONG THROW flame driving lights in about 30 minutes. The fogs are needed here due to deer/fog/etc. on these mountain roads. Light-wise, Jeff is right as the 308 here dominates. Have seen NOTHING come close (unless they have long-throw flames versus my fogs). Enjoy the Drive, Steven R. Rochlin PS: naturally proper light alignment is CRUCIAL and i carefully first aligned the housings of the mains for both UP and DOWN positions, THEN i aligned the lights themselves for optimum throw. When replacing the old fog versus new, aligned those as well for maximum coverage. The difference IS NOT subtle! PPS: the locals know me for my occasional 2am drives on certain roads... and seem to not only NOT mind, have had a few wake up to wave me by in a friendly manner. They appear to enjoy hearing her and seeing her whip past. Go Steve racer go... | ||
| rich (Dino2400)
Member Username: Dino2400 Post Number: 396 Registered: 10-2001 |
Amir, I'm going to guess that the lights in your car in north america are different from what european customers got since the usa has such stupid laws about headlights. The european lights have a much better beam pattern. With the well defined pattern, you can have brighter lights and not blind anyone else and keep the light right where you need it on the road. I've always converted my cars to euro lights and the difference is staggering. DGS's point about voltage is an important one. Halogen lights are at full strength at 13.5v but if they are getting only 90% of that, the light output is 67%, and it gets worse from there. | ||
| Ed Christophersen (Dr_c)
Junior Member Username: Dr_c Post Number: 57 Registered: 12-2002 |
Steve: What is involved in switching to xenons? How difficult? a DIY job? Approximate cost? | ||
| Jeff Edison (Euro308guy)
Member Username: Euro308guy Post Number: 398 Registered: 7-2002 |
Steves 308 DOMINATES. I'm sure its far superior to drive at night than my 348TT. I drove it just the other evening, it NEEDS Xenon. | ||
| Steven R. Rochlin (Enjoythemusic)
Member Username: Enjoythemusic Post Number: 580 Registered: 4-2002 |
Fog/Driving lights and changed to Xenons... Enjoy the Drive, Steven R. Rochlin  | ||
| DGS (Dgs)
Junior Member Username: Dgs Post Number: 191 Registered: 5-2003 |
Don't look directly into the headlights, Bambi! (Sorry; couldn't resist.) If your headlights aren't putting out much illumination, you might want to check the voltage at the bulb. You get some voltage drop on the wires, but a poor ground can leave you putting six volts across the bulb. Also check your light alignment. You don't want to waste your lighting on the road three inches in front of you. I set my high beams to be parallel to the road, which usually gives me good results on the low beams. I also wear one of those flat brimmed "driving caps" when driving, so I can position the brim to block overly bright HID bulbs (or the sun on the horizon) just by inclining my head. But night does limit your visibility, so you're not going to be able to drive as fast as daytime. | ||
| Amir H. (355spiderman)
Junior Member Username: 355spiderman Post Number: 130 Registered: 5-2002 |
The 355 is soo low that when oncoming traffic is coming i get blinded for a second or two because the car is so low. Also the 355 lights do not project enough light ahead unless using the high beams. What are your solutions and does nighttime driving bother you? |