Quote:
Originally Posted by famoroso
I am a lighting nerd and I love modern and bright. That being said, I am a stock wattage, relayed H4 guy when it comes to air cooled 911s, thru 964. Of course, my use case doesn't include a lot of night driving. I'm not running any midnight rallyes.
Anywho, my own proclivities notwithstanding, you didn't use the suggested/ recommended aiming procedure AND you have a fluted lens (intended for a parabolic reflector setup) over the projector's poly ellipsoidal lens?
I'd factor out at least two variables (confirm proper aim and replace the fluted fresnel lens with a clear cover*), before I could make a determination on a (your) setup's efficacy.
*Rennline calls their clear cover a "lens." It's a cover. One of the aftermarket LED headlight manufacturers, I forget which, offers a semi-fluted cover, with a clear area in front of the projector, allowing the unit to work as designed (i.e. unfettered). This is the best compromise I've seen for aesthetics vs lighting performance.
Admittedly, it's been a few years since I've taken a detailed look at everything the market offers, but the last time I did, I felt that they were all suboptimal. At one point, none of the units offered a provision for aiming the beam with the housings mounted on the car. You had to take the housing off, guestimate some amount of adjustment, reinstall and either A) hope you were right / lucky or B) try again and again (and again...). At best, a joke. At worst, asinine. |
Just to reinforce a couple of your points.....relays are an absolute must plus I ran new wires from the fuse centre to the bulbs to reduce resistance which was a noticeable improvement.
I did not know the aiming was as you described, but I can speak from experience with some pretty long distance night driving at high speed under my belt, and that is that correct aim, whatever the system, is crucial both for catching the signs (the side cut off), low enough to not blind oncoming traffic but high enough to get the range you need.
My eyes are very glare sensitive as I am a ginger, so eye fatigue is also a factor - another reason why I do not go for higher wattage bulbs or the newfangled headlights. Lots of light from those things for sure, but lots of glare.
I always aim by finding some parking lot with a brick wall....put the nose of the car right at the wall and mark the centre of the headlights with masking tape - vertical and horizontal.
Back straight back maybe 10 or 20m - as much room as you can whilst keeping level - and then adjust to your masking tape aiming points.
Takes some practice to get back straight, but it's not that hard...and the difference between well aimed and crappy aim is highly illuminating....
Once you have it spot on, then you are good for quite a while, but I redo every time I take the headlights out for whatever reason.
D.