Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 20:10:27 -0800
Reply-To: Karl Batzler <KBatzler@EMAIL.MSN.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Karl Batzler <KBatzler@EMAIL.MSN.COM>
Subject: Re: Vendors for E-code OEM Vanagon Low-beams (longish)
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
E-codes for UK based vehicles are different than for the rest of Europe (the cut-off is angles the opposite direction). Most Europeans really don't know how bad our sealed-beam or DOT lights are. E-code lights for 85 and earlier are standard 7" round w/H-4 bulbs of your choice. Cibie, Hella, Bosch or whatever all seem to work fine to me. But on 86 and later Vanagon with square lights, factory E-code lights are a VAST improvement over the DOT lights that unfortunately came to the US and Canada. At the time that our beloved Vanagons were built, DOT required an incredibly ridiculous beam pattern far short of what was required in Europe...you'd think that DOT's intention was to light 10' in front of the bumper and no more!!!! In the earlier and mid-eighties, police would pick out these illegal e-code lights on the Mercedes and Porsche cars (it was pretty obvious because most had small round or 5x7 sealed beam lights). I don't believe that this is the case anymore because modern lamps look like e-codes but aren't. I suspect that the DOT specs have changed since then because the new Porsche and Audi cars have a much better pattern than ever before in the US. I've heard that European lamp manufactures have developed a new duel standard lamp for US and LHD European cars.
There I've said it. I finally got it out of my system. Sorry for taking so long.
Karl Batzler
84 Vanagon
87 Audi 5000 S
La Quinta, CA
-----Original Message-----
From: Otmar Ebenhoech <Otmar@EVCL.COM>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 7:23 PM
Subject: Re: Vendors for E-code OEM Vanagon Low-beams
>I was just speaking to a friend, who was asking another friend in the UK
>about E-code lights in general (not Vanagon specific). The second hand
>report is that E-codes are nothing special, just another certification.
>
>This brings up my question:
>
>Has anyone on the list actually used E-code Vanagon lights? How do they
>compare to standard Hella and Cibie H4s?
>I had a pair of Cibie's in my old stretch with 80/100s in them so I'm a bit
>spoiled. I'm looking for similar beam definition from whatever I put in the
>new stretch.
>
> -Otmar-
>86 Syncro (front) 82 (rear) Stretch GTI Westfalia. "Power of two"
>Several EVs (Electric Vehicles)
>http://www.evcl.com/strvan/strvan.html
>http://www.evcl.com/Picprev.html
>Electric Vehicle Components Ltd. (650) 494-9255
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