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Daytime Running Lights....


RedRobin
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We've all seen them on the latest Audis - Very cool LED Daytime Running Lights - And most of us here fully appreciate the obvious safety benefits of being better seen. For that reason, many of us drive in daylight with our headlights on dipped. Outside built up areas on the open road, I usually drive on dipped heads.

Hella are manufacturing aftermarket Daytime Running Light kits. They produce them for the Mk5 Golf but not for the higher performance R32 and GTI versions! How stupid is that?

In the UK I understand that it is illegal to use fog lights unless the visibility conditions fall below a certain distance. Some of Hella's kits replace the fogs and even look like them, so imagine being stopped by the police and trying to prove they aren't fogs. However, their front lenses display "RL" for Running Light.

The fog light law is well out of date and is the result of when rear and front fogs were all activated on one switch instead of separately. Also when front fogs were the sort of dazzlers a rally car uses.

When I first came on TSN I got well and truly flamed for my use of fogs and as a result I haven't been using them except in fog/mist. BUT, using dipped Xenons seems much brighter than OEM fogs and also the automatic headlight alignment mechanisms consume more fuel (I wondered why I was only getting 11 mpg! grin.gif). Well, until I can find an aftermarket Daytime Running Light for my car I shall now be using my fogs again.

I can hear some of you rushing to post in indignation! Come on, guys, your objection is mostly based on 'image' - You think it's chavvy and aren't taking into account those front fogs on most modern cars that don't dazzle you.

Here we go grin.gif............

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[ QUOTE ]

I can hear some of you rushing to post in indignation! Come on, guys, your objection is mostly based on 'image' - You think it's chavvy and aren't taking into account those front fogs on most modern cars that don't dazzle you.

Here we go grin.gif............

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Surely the reason for fog-lights dazzling people is that shine 'straight ahead' so that they effectively light the road 'underneath' the fog.

For the same reason, when there is no fog, you have high intensity lights shining straight ahead at other drivers, which can be dazzling, regardless of the type of foglight used.

At least that's what I think......

znaika.gif

Sidicks

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Yes they will look chavy but for me travelling on a fair few very dark country lanes the extra light that is output from fogs was just plain silly at times. They are design to benefit foggy / misty conditions ONLY and should in fact be used with the headlings on side not even dipped in the more severe fog conditions as the reflect light of the mist will let you see next to nothing and I mean a real pea souper.

Each to their own IMO its up to you but just make sure they aren't going to blind / cause problems with drivers coming the other way. If for any reason they hit you or something else as a result of not being able to see properly then I think you could have a problem. confused.gif169144-ok.gif

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I always drive with my lights (xenons) on - It really does make me feel safer, especially on Motorways\duel carriage ways.

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The auto Xenon headlights on my old BM would come on in bright sunlight if the sun was low in the sky. This is a great safety feature and allows people to see you with a bright sun behind you.

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To be honest, Ive not come accross a set of fog lights which have been on during the daylight that have caused me an issue.

I dont see what all the fuss is about***. In the night when i have a set of fogs on coiming towards me is annoying as hell as I am blinded. Same car on the same stretch of road in the daylight dont bother me one bit.

I actually think these new HID lights are more blinding than chavy fogs at times though!

***Disclaimer - I dont use mine unless it's foggy

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I definitely would be concerned about my front fogs dazzling other road users and would not want to do so. Are we absolutely sure that this is the case, given that they are positioned so low?

I would much prefer to check if a purpose made Daylight Running Light could be adapted to fit in place of my fogs. We get some heavy sea mist fogs on the hills around here but the front fog lights on my car don't really help, unless they help my car to be seen by oncoming traffic.

I've always a been a bit concerned that my dipped Xenons might dazzle others but they don't get angry reactions.

EDIT: I'm only talking about using front fogs in daylight and not at night in this thread.

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My car's sidelights are far too weak for being seen in daylight.

I'm going to asking Big Jon's opinions/advice on this subject when I do my Drivetrain course next week. As far as I'm concerned it's all about minimising risks by being seen (and heard!) by other road users, especially on bright sunny days as a result of massive global warming! grin.gif.

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[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

I always drive with my lights (xenons) on - It really does make me feel safer, especially on Motorways\duel carriage ways.

[/ QUOTE ]

The auto Xenon headlights on my old BM would come on in bright sunlight if the sun was low in the sky. This is a great safety feature and allows people to see you with a bright sun behind you.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Passat ones do this too.

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Fog lights when used when the roads wet bounce up and blind drivers. Headlights being mounted that much higher and haveing a bigger spead don't seem to get reflected too much.

IMHO £30 isn't enough of a deterent so it should be up'ed to £100. Not to earn more but simply to encourage people not to drive with them on.....oh yeah and it looks stupid.

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Fog lights blinding/dazzling/interfering with other drivers is totally valid and enough for me not to start using them again except in foggy/misty conditions.

However, thinking it looks stupid is a totally subjective opinion.

Unless someone comes up with some aftermarket RL's which fit my car, I'll be sticking to dipped headlights as I have been doing.

169144-ok.gif

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Drivers who use fogs lights shout be shot. I usually give them a long blast of main beam. The 205 has what look like fogs but are actually driving lamps. They only come on with main beam and are absolutely blinding. Serves the tossers right.

Headlights for me during the daytime unless it is perfect summer sunhine. I'm fed up of people pulling out on me all the time.

Ian

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I always run with my xenon’s on dipped even during the day. I once read a report by one of the German bulb manufactures that this drastically reduces the chances of being involved in a collision with another vehicle (about 40% IIRC)

That was enough to convince me.

Unfortunately I can't find a copy of it now smashfreakB.gif

...but I'm sure somebody will

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They are made and manufactured by Osram :

High visibility, low wattage

LED daytime running light for the Audi R8

The Advanced Power TOPLED® from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors has graduated to the new sports car with the four rings, the Audi R8. The headlights now feature LEDs and look absolutely stunning, with the tiny light sources emphasizing the sleek curves. The LEDs provide high-visibility daytime running light without placing an appreciable load on fuel consumption.

Photo: Audi AG

With their impressive performance – 18 lumen at an operating current of 140 mA – the Advanced Power TOPLED®s rank between Power TOPLED®s and Golden DRAGON®s in terms of their brightness. They achieve this through a combination of ThinGaN technology and chip-level conversion to produce white light. The yellow converter is located directly on the blue chip - which is not the case with the frequently used volume encapsulation method. The result is higher luminance and better optical efficiency.

The introduction of mandatory daytime running light in numerous countries throughout Europe is giving vehicle manufacturers a further opportunity to differentiate their products from those of competitors with unique headlight designs. The Advanced Power TOPLED® provides concentrated light from very small dimensions and has an edge length of only 500 μm. This gives stylists enormous freedom to create imaginative designs. What's more, their high-temperature behavior meets the stringent requirements of the automobile industry for this application.

In the Audi R8 the daytime running light is provided by twelve tiny LED spotlights per headlight. The advantage over using normal low-beam headlights for daytime running light is the much lower power consumption. The LEDs are housed in an SMT package and can be further processed by the customer using standard processes. The Advanced Power TOPLED® will be available on the market with these specifications from mid 2007.

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Interesting debate you've started, Red .. !

I believe the EU published research showing that countries with high road traffic incidents would see a substantial (can't remember the % figure) reduction in accidents if all cars drove with dipped lights on during daylight. This didn't just mean Scandanavian countires, it included all EU states.

So the research does prove that having an appropriately lit car even in daylight is condusive to road safety.

Personally I don't subscribe to the use of fog-lights in anything other than foggy conditions, but would imagine having dipped lights on would achieve your aims without having to break the law?

Unless you had a Knight Rider type red LED fitted above your Vortex lip?! 169144-ok.gif

kitt.jpg

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To add to this topic our new Merc's fog lights in the lower grille have a rather weird function.

1138747-190407-001-web.jpg

When the headlights are on and you put the indicator on the corresponding fog light comes on to help you see round the corner. I realise that the technology isnt new, but it looks weird with just one fog light on for that few seconds.

Quote from Mercedes Website:

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The Avantgarde and Sport feature Bi-Xenon headlamps. This also includes a headlamp cleaning system, dynamic range control and now the new cornering light function which uses the appropriate front fog lamp to illuminate the road when turning at low speed

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post-520-137914397565_thumb.jpg

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