Modern headlights..

[bricol]

I think getting older has a lot to do with it - I used to love driving at night, "making progress" in various underpowered vehicles on back roads. Now with way more performance, even with better lights, and nowt coming the other way, I notice I'm a fair bit slower than i used to be.

Older eyes simply don't work as well.

 

[doubleboost]

I've got Projector lights on my Skoda with standard bulbs in, they are totally useless, I'd rather have a pair of Lucas sealed beams! I asked the Skoda service manager about them, the answer yes they are useless aren't they

The Lucas sealed beams were not that good at all

 

[voipio]

To make it worse, shorter (blue) wavelengths of light are scattered more strongly than longer (red) wavelengths, to the 4th power of the frequency, i.e. blue is scattered 16 times more than red. Modern LED and HID and even laser lighting systems are extremely rich in blue light energy. Not only are they brighter as sources, the light is scattered to a greater extent, exacerbating the glare. The glare from modern headlights and DRLs has a distinct blueness to it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayleigh_scattering

Lucas sealed beams weren't bad. Well, some were, and some weren't, but they didn't glare like they do nowadays.

 

[anjum]

Keep toying with the idea of fitting a suitably angled reflective strip along the top of my rear screen.....

 

[fizzy]

The biggest cause of first time mot failure is incorrectly adjusted headlights.
A lot of the problem with the new HIDs is people retro fitting them. They don't have the self levelling built in.
The thing that annoys me the most are the H7 bulbs - they are useless and very easy to fit upside down. How often do you see a car with one beam low the other lighting up the sky? The old H1 or H4 bulbs were far better and almost impossible to fit the wrong way round.
The best headlights I have EVER used were on my old SD1. Huge reflectors with 4 bulbs. I put in 80/100s for the dipped/full beam and 100w in the mains. 400W on full beam. Really did light up for miles! On dipped never dazzled anyone.

There was one slight drawback - sometimes when I flashed my headlights the relay would stick. I got it down to a fine art to open the passenger glove box and tap the relay.................................

 

[Olderisbetter]

We had a SUV or Nissan 4x4 lookalike coming towards us a few nights ago with modern lighting and the beam was high but as it went over a bump it looked like it had an amber tint at the side of the head light, For a moment we both thought it was indicating but it was just an odd colour the light was emiting.

 

[Farside]

We seem to get this every few years as new technology is introduced, I'm old enough to remember being dazzled by the "state of the art" Quartz halogen lights that would never catch on . I do find the current new LED lights bright, but I'm sure we'll get used to them.

Yes, it's nothing new, and my experience is exactly the same as yours.
In my opinion, the amount of badly-adjusted lamps is probably the same percentage (only there are many more vehicles on the road now, of course), but when everything was fitted with sealed beams or some crappy low-wattage bulbs, the odd maladjusted light didn't really bother me much.
When halogens were introduced on mainstream motors, there was an upsurge in the number of cars that annoyed me, but thinking back it wasn't actually really any more the fault of the lights, just the numpty at the wheel not knowing how to set them properly, or deliberately setting them too high (surprising how many do that).

 

[Farside]

When I bought my Volvo 760 turbo years ago, the lights were brilliant!! upon inspection it was fitted with H4 bulbs, But 140W main beams, I still have them somewhere as I used to swap them to my next vehicle. Didn't even know that they were made in that wattage.

Rally use only, I think you'll find. I never bothered with that high a wattage, as they burned out too quick.
You don't get something for nothing with filament lamps. Anyway, I found that a good well-designed lamp unit and a bulb from a decent maker would do nicely.

 

[Cobbler]

The Lucas sealed beams were not that good at all

Yes I know, but my projector lights are even worse!

 

[pedrobedro]

Yes I know, but my projector lights are even worse!

I don't believe that you have ever enjoyed the Lucas, Prince of Darkness experience if you think your headlights are worse. In my old Mini I had to get out to check if the headlights were on on more than one occasion. From the original post if you think driving with modern headlights is bad it must be hell driving in bright daylight. I have an older model Berlingo and owners say how bad the headlights are but I find mine perfectly functional on dip and main.

 

[gordon stephenson]

Interesting to read that the 140W bulbs were for rally use, However for the filament lifespan, these bulbs were swapped into at least three vehicles, and are still ok now,(If I can remember where I put them)

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

From the original post if you think driving with modern headlights is bad it must be hell driving in bright daylight.

Except the sun doesn't have the habit of disappearing leaving you in darkness then suddenly leaping out over the crest in the road at eye level. Also sunglasses can be used if the suns low in the sky. Can't do that at night.

 

[wookie]

I don't believe that you have ever enjoyed the Lucas, Prince of Darkness experience if you think your headlights are worse. In my old Mini I had to get out to check if the headlights were on on more than one occasion.

Granted they might not be the best but by running thick cables direct from the battery via a relay to the lights you can improve them quite a bit, there is a lot of voltage drop in most standard car wiring. I've usually improved the voltage at the bulb by at least 1.5 volts by this method, and since light output is massively affected by voltage with incandescent bulbs you often end up with 30% to 50% more light output.

Oh the other trick is to clean the headlights, I'm amazed how filthy some are. There is nowt like a load of traffic muck and salt on the lens to reduce you're headlights to glowworms.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

The Lucas sealed beams were not that good at all

My 1976 XJ6 3.4 used to have halogen sealed beams

 

[Robotstar5]

I was installing a robot at Carello (ex-Lucas) at Cannock and had some flat front RR Quartz Halogen units built into steel buckets to fit my old Lightweight, the light output over the standard 45 watt Tungsten "candles" was impressive

 

[mangocrazy]

I've recently converted my 52 plate Transporter T4 to LED bulbs and the difference is quite frankly astonishing. The old 55/60w H4 halogens were awful, but the new 25/25w LED bulbs are about 3-4 times brighter from half the wattage. But I do notice the light scatter - motorways signs light up like Christmas trees as I go past, and that's with correctly adjusted headlights.

 

[Olderisbetter]

It is not very in keeping but my moggy 1000 run about has hella golf head lamps in incase i need to see at night, The old lucas sealed beams just gave a orange glow...

 

[Olderisbetter]

I've recently converted my 52 plate Transporter T4 to LED bulbs and the difference is quite frankly astonishing. The old 55/60w H4 halogens were awful, but the new 25/25w LED bulbs are about 3-4 times brighter from half the wattage. But I do notice the light scatter - motorways signs light up like Christmas trees as I go past, and that's with correctly adjusted headlights.

I am going to convert my Toyota granvia to LED are they easy to get hold of?

 

[mangocrazy]

I got mine from Aliexpress (i.e. China). They arrived quickly, very well packaged and a lot cheaper than UK sellers. I'd go for the later, lower voltage 4000 lumens bulbs every time. The pace of development in LED bulbs is rapid, and it's easy to get caught with old spec stuff. The lower voltages means all the wiring has a much easier life.

 

[Cobbler]

I don't believe that you have ever enjoyed the Lucas, Prince of Darkness experience if you think your headlights are worse. In my old Mini I had to get out to check if the headlights were on on more than one occasion. .

I've driven many thousands of miles with Lucas lights, with the old ones with replaceable bulbs as well, then fitted sealed beams as an upgrade. That's all that was available then.