Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2011 08:33:28 -0700
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Headlights
In-Reply-To: <CAO+Ycs+oe765+-se_JoGDCo-V38HSS3-weOmbXjSdkFsLPDf3w@mail.gmail.com>
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On Sat, Oct 1, 2011 at 4:54 AM, Al Knoll <anasasi@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi JR,
>
> The aiming tradeoff works like this. To achieve optimum sharp-cutoff low
> beam pattern on the road of course not on the garage wall, you must aim the
> headlight slightly higher than it's original design height. This puts your
> high beam pattern too high for best road use.
>
> Of course you could use the shotgun on the mouse approach popular with the
> jacked up truck or FJ crowd. Just add more lights...lots more lights and
> ...
>
Exactly what my H-4 Hellas are like...They drove me nut's, trying to get
the proper aim. I asked, finally, here on the list, after about 10 tries
aiming them and tweaking the result, following Daniel Stern's procedure
without being able to get the results I expected. There seems to be too
much divergence, too big a change, between the aiming point of the high and
low beam light pattern. The best I have come up with is the high beam
lights the highway too far ahead and the low beam is right...it seems about
like the old stock-style light's high beam position. A great improvement,
but they aren't 'right'...could be better.
I also have some big KC aftermarket lights on my bumper. They offer two
style lights...a long range, tight beam "Long Range" light and a wider
driving light beam..I have the wider ones...100watts, I recall (KC 4215)
The KCs really light stuff up. I have them wired (separate power and fuse)
to a switch in the extra position on the dash pod..(with an indicator
switch) and controlled through a relay from the high beam wiring for the
main headlights. So when I am out on a remote highway, using all the
lights, and I encounter an oncoming vehicle, I click the highbeam dip switch
and the KCs go off as the headlights go to low beam. I find I don't
normally turn on these extra lights because they are very bright....when you
dim down to low beam, after driving with the KCs on, it seems almost like
you are driving in the dark ...Another drawback for the KC 4215 lamp is they
are still a fairly tight beam...they don't light a very wide area, so on
winding roads in the mountains you see very well indeed where the van is
pointed, but to the sides, it's a bit too dim... Those Big Foot Trucks, they
put about 8 lights on the roof and point some at the road shoulders....A
'bit much' for my ol brown van, me thinks.
To top off my rolling light show off, I have a single Unity spotlight
mounted on the center of my roof with the mechanical control handle inside
within my reach while driving. I can use this as a really long range
driving light, with it's concentrated 'pencil beam' or I can use it to scope
out side roads or light up campsites.
I like driving at night and I often travel backroads where stuff is
encountered on the driving surface. Having adequate lighting is nice and
quite a bit safer.
Don Hanson
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