Through The Past Darkly - Horrible Headlight History

[Warren t claim]

Because guffament, of course. Or do you think they did it because they liked ruining cars so much?

I'm waiting to read your dissertation on the federal 85mph speedometer. What the fuck was that in aid of?

[Junkman]

Some interesting info there, JM. I think Britain was slower to use halogen lamps than continental Europe, I vaguely remember looking out for Saabs, Volvos and other forrin stuff with those bright, bright lamps which made the old ones look dirty yellow in comparison.

One good reason SY headlights seemed so good was that French headlamps of the 1970s were often superb, in no small part because they had a massive reflector area - look at the depth of a Cit GS' units. I've never known better lamps, other than the massive things some 20s and 30s cars used.

I continue to use yellow lamps November-March. When roads are wet they make a big difference, allowing you to see more clearly and tiring the eyes much less on a long, fast trip on unlit, poor roads. But yes, it's increasingly difficult to find decent bulbs.

I only drove a couple of times in France before 1993, but the odd white headlamp really jarred on the eyes. Those were the days when the French had significantly better cars for driving at speed, they enjoyed making full use of this, it seemed most extremely in the dark.

Thank you.

Maybe halogen lamps weren't deemed that necessary in the UK, seeing that the main roads are very well illuminated at night, much better than on the Continent, with the exception of Belgium perhaps.

French car makers indeed designed very good headlights and probably had the edge during the 60s-70s. I always wondered whether this was because of SY.

If you have H4, there are SY glass bubbles you can fit on them, so you don't need actual bulbs in SY. having said that, I noticed that the H4s are becoming increasingly rubbish too, now that fewer and fewer cars use them.

I drove quite a bit in France in ye olde dayse and found it better by night than elsewhere. They, however, must have cursed that bloody foreigner, what with his annoying white headlights. Belting through the night at 110-130 clicks along RNs is still commonly practiced by French drivers, as Ghosty, Squire and I were able to experience last September. Their absolute refusal to lift off even for villages is fascinating, but after 8:30 pm they are blacked out anyway.

[Junkman]

Because guffament, of course. Or do you think they did it because they liked ruining cars so much?

I'm waiting to read your dissertation on the federal 85mph speedometer. What the fuck was that in aid of?

There is not much to write about. It was motivated by the same kindergarten mentality that makes the nanny state mandate shops to lock away the cigarettes. Politicians think people are dumb as fuck and they are right, because people vote for them, instead of telling them where to shove it.
A thread about daft car and traffic related mandates would be great fun, I think. Let's start with this stupid MoT money grab nobody needs.

[Frogchod]

Forget all the science.
Yellow lights just look fucking cool.
Even when they're off.

85mph Speedos are cool too. It makes it look like you're accelerating really quickly and its a piece of piss to
Get it (my Buick) off the clock.
More Speckeled Hen...

[Junkman]

Once the OMG 85 OMGMPH speedometer mandate had been revoked, a lot of people couldn't retrofit their Corvettes, Porsches, etc with normal speedometers quick enough. I think Porsche did it free of charge, even. The 85ers were binned, of course. Ironically now people pay big money for them to retrofit the retrofitted tat of the period.

[Forddeliveryboy]

.

Belting through the night at 110-130 clicks along RNs is still commonly practiced by French drivers, as Ghosty, Squire and I were able to experience last September. Their absolute refusal to lift off even for villages is fascinating, but after 8:30 pm they are blacked out anyway.

Driving through France on their old RNs, especially at night, especially East West, is one of the motoring pleasures which remains unadulterated. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys real driving, as a tonic to the heavily monitored conditions in much of congested England.

Are yellow headlamps some mild form of gilets jaunes?

[Junkman]

I couln't possibly have put it any better.

[Hooli]

The best thing about an overnight drive through france is you'll reach the border to a proper country by morning.

[fried onions]

It was easy travelling by night through France, a pleasure even, not least because there is very little light pollution or glare from needless street lamps. Our eyes adjusted to the headlamp beams which gave a perfectly satisfactory range.

[Junkman]

That was with SY halogen bulbs, for the ones that weren't there.