Sunday, 13 March 2016

A journey in the dark ...


Took 't Kreng out for a test drive, in the dark last evening, to see how the new lights perform. It became clear immediately that these lights have a much better output compared to the Lucas 7" units (which in my case are fitted with halogen bulbs). The light pattern on low beam is much brighter and more "focussed" with a fairly clear beam cut. But that is not a problem.
Have to admit though that from a colour point of view the eyes need to adapt a bit. Especially on narrow country lanes without markings the white light just lights everything up. A more yellow light will highlight greens better thus accentuating the verges more. On major roads with marker lines they are perfect.
Also typical for these focussed beams is that at the edges of the beam pattern there is a narrow coloured band. This is caused by refraction on the edges of the focussing elements. Looks a bit weird when driving behind light coloured vans or passing large faced objects close to the road.

Low Beam

High beam is everything that it should be. But here there is a slight draw back. Due to the beam's projection there is a slightly "darker" area in the light pattern in front of the car. On smooth roads this is not much of a problem. But on the less smooth country lanes around here, together with more speed, it sometimes seems like the light pattern looses "contact" with the road. Clearly a small draw back from the very focussed beam pattern. And in my case highlighted by the fact that I adjusted the lights towards their upper legal limit. Lowering the beam a bit should improve this. As will reconnecting the spot lights ! (I disconnected them so I could better judge the LED lights)

High Beam

And finally it was good to drive a TR7 in the dark without lights that were vibrating madly on everything but the smoothest of asphalt!


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