Super bright headlights

[zachary_amaryllis]

what's the deal with the super-bright lights? the newer blue-white ones seem like they're in the 'high-beam; range of brightness. and how many headlights does a car need? i have two and do just fine with them. i see vehicles with 4, sometimes 6 headlights coming at me all the time and its like staring into the sun. especially the newer blue-white ones.

my understanding is that the additional lights, usually mounted low in the fenders, are supposed to be like 'road' lights and aren't supposed to blind oncoming traffic, but in practices they do, at least they do me, since i have a smallish low-to-the-ground car.

[kphoger]

... since i have a smallish low-to-the-ground car.

I generally dislike the newer, brighter headlights–although I think I've kind of grown accustomed to them by now.

But I do want to mention that, if you have a low-to-the-ground car, then things like this are just going to be a problem.  With short vehicles and tall vehicles on the road, someone is going to get headlights in their eyes, no matter what.  I'm fortunate in this regard, in that my vehicle sits pretty high (I bought it for the ground clearance, after all)–which, now that I think about it, is probably the reason I've "grown accustomed" to the headlights you're talking about...

[index]

IIRC a lot of the people who use these have it in a way that it's at the wrong angle, or something like that, so at night it looks like they're driving an exposed fusion reactor core for anyone who's in front of them.

Not completely related, but I also saw some idiot using their high beams in a parking garage the other day. It was one of those above ground ones, so it wasn't completely dark. I was almost totally blinded. How do you just not notice those things are on?

[Max Rockatansky]

I only usually find them annoying when approaching vehicles with upright front ends like trucks. 

[1995hoo]

Question as to what the OP means here: Are you referring to brighter headlights that contain multiple bulbs in a cluster, such as the one seen below on an Acura TLX, or are you referring to people who have additional lights installed below the bumper and drive with them on all the time? I don't generally notice the former, even though they're brighter than old-fashioned headlights; it may be that driving in the DC area there is simply so great a variety of cars with different types of headlights that I'm simply used to the newer ones. I notice the latter when they're installed on a jacked-up jeep or truck such that they wind up being at a height other than that at which they were intended to be used. To some degree, I think the same thing must happen to someone who drives a low-slung car, including people who lower the suspension from stock (not saying the OP did this)–the ride height becomes non-standard and thus you notice this type of thing a lot more.

I definitely remember in 2004 when I first got a car (a 2004 Acura TL) with what were then called "HID" headlights, people would periodically high-beam me when I had my low-beams on. I assumed it was because they didn't like my headlights. Depending on my mood, I sometimes gave a Crocodile Dundee response: "Those aren't high-beams. [Flicks stalk.] THOSE are high-beams." But nobody's done that to me in years now, and I suspect it's for the reason noted in my prior paragraph–that type of headlight is ubiquitous by now and people are used to them.




Edited to add: This thread is making me envision Cra_shIt having adverse reactions to headlights he deems unacceptable. 

[bwana39]

what's the deal with the super-bright lights? the newer blue-white ones seem like they're in the 'high-beam; range of brightness. and how many headlights does a car need? i have two and do just fine with them. i see vehicles with 4, sometimes 6 headlights coming at me all the time and its like staring into the sun. especially the newer blue-white ones.

my understanding is that the additional lights, usually mounted low in the fenders, are supposed to be like 'road' lights and aren't supposed to blind oncoming traffic, but in practices they do, at least they do me, since i have a smallish low-to-the-ground car.

My wife struggles with the super bright lights especially the high beams but the lows can get her as well.

The multiple bulb headlights are supposed to have different focus points for each bulb (or LED Cluster). They should be similar in focus to the respective high or low beam foci. The LED Clusters tend to be brighter than traditional lights just like the Xenon and advanced Halogen

[JayhawkCO]

I'm probably one of the people you don't like.  My Jeep has the LED lighting package and I've never felt the need to even use my brights because they're so effective.

Chris

[machias]

I find the new super bright headlights annoying as well. LED headlights are fine, but not a number of them in a cluster to be blinding anyone coming at the car in question. To be fair though, I don't find them as annoying as folks that think the headlights just magically turn on no matter what and drive a black car in the desert in the dead of night with no headlights on (but their instrument panel is lit up).

[formulanone]

I think I found a bigger annoyance; sometimes an old vehicle appears behind me with retrofitted HID/LED lamps, and sometimes they're ever-so-slightly loose. The slight oscillation of the lighting in the rearview mirror is a little jarring. 

[seicer]

I'm probably one of the people you don't like.  My Jeep has the LED lighting package and I've never felt the need to even use my brights because they're so effective.

Jeeps pretty much need retrofitted lights because they are so god-awful to begin with. I wish headlight usage would be more regulated and uniform in the states because our standards lack in comparison to Europe and Asian countries.

But this post is pretty vague. One of the best upgrades I did to my 2016 Outback was swapping out the Halogens with LED bulbs. Not only do they consume far less power, they are brighter and throw farther, which is great in a vehicle that doesn't have have swiveling headlights. (Newer Outbacks have LED bulbs and swiveling headlights stock.)

[kphoger]

Not only do they consume far less power ...

How is this noticeable?

[hbelkins]

I remember posting an inquiry about the brighter/more purpleish or bluish headlights in MTR years ago and triggering a flame war.

[zachary_amaryllis]

I'm probably one of the people you don't like.  My Jeep has the LED lighting package and I've never felt the need to even use my brights because they're so effective.

Chris

Oh I'm sure you're fine it's just your headlights I can't stand

[zachary_amaryllis]

Question as to what the OP means here: Are you referring to brighter headlights that contain multiple bulbs in a cluster, such as the one seen below on an Acura TLX, or are you referring to people who have additional lights installed below the bumper and drive with them on all the time?





Edited to add: This thread is making me envision Cra_shIt having adverse reactions to headlights he deems unacceptable. 

i'm talking about the cars that have additional lights under the bumper etc. if they are supposed to light up things close to the car, seems like the things they'd light up are too close for you to react to anyway..

i could never rise to the level of douchebagginess that the person you mention embodies and expect to told if i somehow do.

[zachary_amaryllis]

I think I found a bigger annoyance; sometimes an old vehicle appears behind me with retrofitted HID/LED lamps, and sometimes they're ever-so-slightly loose. The slight oscillation of the lighting in the rearview mirror is a little jarring.

good point, i've seen these. sometimes i've seen a 'strobe' effect also, you don't notice it looking right at it but from the corners of your eyes it's strobing.

[kendancy66]

I long for the days when cars had pairs of headlights.  It was easier to tell when an oncoming car had its bright lights on. Then you were certain that you could flash your lights at them to get them to turn off their brights.

[paulthemapguy]

Brighter headlights are a scourge.  In the darker areas of the country, they're downright blinding and will cause accidents.  Bright lights, strobe lights, and lights that cause great contrast against a dark background are damaging to vision and give me migraines that take days to fully recover from.

[1995hoo]

i'm talking about the cars that have additional lights under the bumper etc. if they are supposed to light up things close to the car, seems like the things they'd light up are too close for you to react to anyway..

....

Yeah, I don't understand why some people keep those on at all times. My wife's TLX has fog lights under the bumper (mine has them next to the headlights), but we only use them in a bad weather. Not just in fog–we've found that they help in heavy rain, especially when the road lacks reflectors such that it's hard to see the lane striping–but it doesn't make any sense to me to waste the bulbs using them when you don't need them.

[zachary_amaryllis]

Brighter headlights are a scourge.  In the darker areas of the country, they're downright blinding and will cause accidents.  Bright lights, strobe lights, and lights that cause great contrast against a dark background are damaging to vision and give me migraines that take days to fully recover from.

i live up a twisty-ish mountain road, and sometimes these cars come around the corner and its like [someone upthread said this] the exposed core of a nuclear reactor. i can see when someone's coming around the corner, i would think they'd have access to the same information (i.e. could tell that i'm coming around the corner too)

[kphoger]

i'm talking about the cars that have additional lights under the bumper etc. if they are supposed to light up things close to the car, seems like the things they'd light up are too close for you to react to anyway..

....

Yeah, I don't understand why some people keep those on at all times. My wife's TLX has fog lights under the bumper (mine has them next to the headlights), but we only use them in a bad weather. Not just in fog–we've found that they help in heavy rain, especially when the road lacks reflectors such that it's hard to see the lane striping–but it doesn't make any sense to me to waste the bulbs using them when you don't need them.

Fog lights illuminate the road better, even in clear conditions.  I don't know why someone wouldn't prefer to use them over not using them.  (I actually hardly ever use mine, because I didn't realize our car even had them for the first couple of years we owned it, so I got used to not having them on.  The car replaced our old one of the same model, which didn't have them.)

As for "wasting the bulbs", a replacement fog light bulb generally runs less than $20, and you can generally go years without replacing a bulb.  (We've had our current car for about 70,000 miles now and I've only replaced one bulb total).

[wanderer2575]

i'm talking about the cars that have additional lights under the bumper etc. if they are supposed to light up things close to the car, seems like the things they'd light up are too close for you to react to anyway..

....

Yeah, I don't understand why some people keep those on at all times. My wife's TLX has fog lights under the bumper (mine has them next to the headlights), but we only use them in a bad weather. Not just in fog–we've found that they help in heavy rain, especially when the road lacks reflectors such that it's hard to see the lane striping–but it doesn't make any sense to me to waste the bulbs using them when you don't need them.

Fog lights illuminate the road better, even in clear conditions.  I don't know why someone wouldn't prefer to use them over not using them.  (I actually hardly ever use mine, because I didn't realize our car even had them for the first couple of years we owned it, so I got used to not having them on.  The car replaced our old one of the same model, which didn't have them.)

The fog lights on my vehicle also provide some illumination to the sides of the road, which makes me feel a little more secure since I totaled my car hitting a deer running across the freeway at 2:00 in the morning a few years ago.  (Whether the additional lights will actually help my reaction time should the situation repeat is another matter.)

I'm amused when people say something should or shouldn't be used based on its name.  A lot of car enthusiasts would say I shouldn't use the fog lights if there's no fog.  Does that mean a passenger shouldn't use the map light to read a book?  Am I not supposed to open up that big hole in the roof during the day because it's called a moonroof?

[seicer]

Not only do they consume far less power ...

How is this noticeable?

For the average person, it isn't that important unless they have a garbage battery and leave their lights on just for a short time in accessory mode or when the car is off. I use a dual-battery setup because I use my car for overlanding and so knowing the draw of my various electronics and lights is important.

--

For the driving that I do, fog lights are practically essential. I had a pair of 3000K lights that provided excellent illumination in fog, snow storms, etc. They really do make a difference if you are traveling frequently in adverse weather.

--

I am reminded of the collapsed sun clip from Top Gear

[Bruce]

The aftermarket headlights make me wish we had strict vehicle inspections. There are so many car mods that just make things more dangerous for other drivers and road users to the point of being criminally negligent.

[seicer]

Inspections are nothing more than a way for a state to pad the books. If my experience in New York and parts of Ohio was any indication, they couldn't care less about the condition of a car and would find any fault so they could force a repair. In one case, I had to get a second opinion from my personal mechanic and then from a garage sourced from my garage to get a pass. Just doing a simple query brings up so many fraudulent cases that have occurred in garages in the Philly area, for instance.

Plus, aftermarket accessories may be necessary for people - and who can say what can be used when its not on a public roadway? My buddy runs with PIAA lights and a lightbar while overlanding out west - they are not road legal in some states (and fine in others). It would just be as silly as what Australia does - people will simply unbolt the lights and re-install them to pass inspections.

[Rothman]

Inspections are nothing more than a way for a state to pad the books. If my experience in New York and parts of Ohio was any indication, they couldn't care less about the condition of a car and would find any fault so they could force a repair. In one case, I had to get a second opinion from my personal mechanic and then from a garage sourced from my garage to get a pass. Just doing a simple query brings up so many fraudulent cases that have occurred in garages in the Philly area, for instance.

Plus, aftermarket accessories may be necessary for people - and who can say what can be used when its not on a public roadway? My buddy runs with PIAA lights and a lightbar while overlanding out west - they are not road legal in some states (and fine in others). It would just be as silly as what Australia does - people will simply unbolt the lights and re-install them to pass inspections.

In nearly 20 years, I've never had an inspection that resulted in the need for a repair.