In article >,
Richard Sexton > wrote:
> >I'm not quite sure how you'd do this? There's no problem with getting a
> >main beam to be as bright as you want, but providing a decent dipped
> >one without dazzle is the difficult one. And in the UK at least you
> >can't use 'driving lamps' to do this.

> You can have auxilliary driving lights right? I mean you aren't going to
> need them in downtown London at night but in the country you can turn
> them on and light up the next three counties.

They can only be used with main beam - and on most cars main beam is
already fine. It's dip that is the difficult one, and in a crowded country
like the UK you spend most of your time using that even on the open road
due to oncoming traffic.

> >> Yeah those blue lights sure are purdy and all, but...
> >
> >Discharge lamps of the type used on cars can be any colour temperature
> >you

> Yeah and everybody wants that damn blue.

Currently, the most efficient HID lamps do look blue compared to halogen.
But are in fact closer to daylight.

> >want. However, the eye is more sensitive towards the blue end of the
> >spectrum than it is to the red, so 'red' halogen lamps don't really
> >make sense. But of course HID lamps *are* brighter so more likely to
> >offend others.

> "brighter" than what? I've got some Marchals halogens here than will
> melt the bumper of the car in front of you if you get too close, to say
> nothing of the Cibie CSR's.

You can have HID lamps of near any power - same as halogens. Film lighting
have been using them for years with sizes in the killowatts.

> Also, blue reflects the short wavelenghts so in cloudy/foggy conditions
> (how RARE in merry 'old) they're the last thing you want. Effectove
> "fog" lamps are yellow, not blue.

You'll find as many opinions on the best colour for fogs as you will fogs
themselves - but most are now just plain old halogen. It's the beam
pattern that gives the best results.

> I'm just not sold on HID lamps. Too expensive, too useless around here -
> which is almost as foggy as ukkers.

Then you really need custom foglamps. Which could use an HID lamp.

--
*Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional

Dave Plowman London SW
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