Rope lites for marker/running lites

[DrivingMissLazy]

Yes, I know. I just wanted to caution everybody that the headlights used in France, for instance, are not legal here. At least as far as I know. Be careful before you start changing type of bulbs or lights.

There are also hi intensity headlights used in Europe that are superior to what are common here, but again they are illegal here. Someone on the board, RJ maybe, mentioned using them and never getting stopped, but I personally would be very hesitant to try something like that. The liability, in case of an accident could be horrendous.
Richard

Richard - Clarke said amber fog  lights, not headlights. . .

[RJ]

Yes, I've used the European-code headlights since the 1960s, and have never had any problems, including an accident.

Please understand that the E-code lamps are NOT any brighter than the US-code, matter of fact, they use the same replacement quartz-halogen bulbs (H1, H3 or H4, depending on the lamp).  Back in the '60s and '70s, they were brighter, simply because they used the q-h bulbs while the US was still stuck on incandescent.

The real difference is in the OPTICS of the lens, and the way the light output is focused.  E-codes have a very sharp cut-off to the left, reducing glare to oncoming traffic, and a sharp rise to the right, concentrating the light output way down the road.

When properly adjusted, oncoming traffic will see LESS glare than with US-code lamps.  Adjusting them is simple - all that's needed is a flat wall, being able to park 25 feet away on a level surface, a tape measure, paper to tape to the wall so you don't mark it up (unless it's your own wall and you don't care), a marking pen, and whatever tool the vehicle needs to adjust the headlights, be it a Phillips screwdriver or small socket.  No fancy gadget needed.

Originally, the reason the E-codes were illegal here in the US was because they used a separate bulb inside the light housing - in other words, they weren't "sealed beam".  That argument's gone away now, because EVERY newer vehicle on the road today is using separate bulbs.  Then they weren't legal because they didn't have the three "pips" on the outside of the lamp lens for the headlight-aiming gizmos to center themselves on, so you "couldn't adjust them properly".  Yeah, right.  Some of the worst-aimed headlamps I've ever seen had been adjusted with that stupid contraption. . .

Today, the illegality of the E-codes is questionable - my 2000 Toyota Tacoma has stock headlamps that have some of the E-code characteristics.  The idiots at the USDOT can't figure it out, let alone see their noses in front of their face, and it's obviously not a high-priority item for the bureaurats.

I was involved in an accident in February of 1970, 9:30 at night, with E-code headlights.  Guy pulled up to a stop sign, looked right, and pulled out - I was on his left, and t-boned him at 40 mph.  Guy said he "never saw me coming". . . headlight type or whether or not they were on wasn't an issue with his ambulance-chasing liar-for-hire - my insurance co. squashed that immediately due to the location of the accident and the time of day (not to mention the citation given to him by the CHP for "failure to yield").  (And, for the Looky-Lous in the audience:  He was driving a Dodge Dart sedan, I was in a 66 Corvair Corsa Turbo Convertible.  I hit him right at the front wheel / firewall - another split-second and I'd have hit the driver's door, probably killing him instantly.  As it was, he ended up with four broken ribs, a concussion, and 18 stitches to a head wound.  Didn't have his seatbelt on - he bounced around inside that car like a billiard ball.  I received two bruises on my hip bones from the seat belt, that's all.  Totalled both cars.  The Corvair's front end collapsed right up to the windshield w/o breaking it - from there back, the car was intact.  Bought it back from the ins. co at the salvage auction and parted it out to other Corvair nuts. . . End of "war story".)

I realize that several of those in the busnut community cannot take advantage of the E-codes, simply because they reside in a state that requires mandatory vehicle inspections.  Sad. . . (but it would be interesting to see if an inspector even noticed them!)

I will continue to promote the E-code headlamps for our coaches, because my feeling about them is:  What price SAFETY??

FWIW. . .

[Brian Diehl]

Russ, where is a good source for these bulbs?

[DrivingMissLazy]

Russ, thanks for the great rundown. Now if I can just put it somewhere so that I can find it a year from now. LOL

BTW, really sorry to hear about the Corvair. Always wanted one of those turbo engines. I had seventeen  Corvair's  sitting in my back yard in California that I was using the engines to build sand buggies . Never could find a turbo though.
Richard

[RJ]

Brian -  www.cibieusa.com  Not cheap, a set of four stock 5" round hi/lo & hi lamps will set you back about $250.  (What price SAFETY???)  24vdc bulbs are available too.

Richard -  Yup, the turbo's were fun. . . cruise along at 3000 rpm (65 mph), just under boost.  Punch the throttle, and by 3200 it felt like you'd just gained four extra cylinders and away you went, up until 5500, when the back pressure in the exhaust would exceed the boost produced by the turbo - sort of a built-in governor.  But boy, what a ride for those 2300 rpm!!  (Of course, a 95 hp Powerglide would outrun a turbo up to about 30 mph, as the boost really didn't start to come on until the top end of 2nd gear. . .)

BTW, the entire powertrain from the wreck was sold to a friend of my insurance agent, who promptly shoehorned it into a 912 Porsche.  Talk about a sleeper!

Nader was wrong, eh?   

HTH. . .