Driving Lights

[TomoHawk]

One overy odd thing I read while researching Aux driving lights was the statement, "shall be so directed that no part of the beam will strike the level of the roadway on which the vehicle stands at a distance of more than seventy-five feet from the vehicle."

What use would driving lights be if they could only project about 4 or 5 car-lengths ahead? That sounds like how you'd aim fog lamps.

[texasz]

Lots of newer trucks (especially GM) have moved the DRL out of the headlights and down low on the bumper/valance. Very common these days.

And my most recent experience is with our new 2007 Silverado...a GM truck.

A good point was made about them being part of the headlight though, on my 2000 4Runner this is the case and the lower lights under the bumper only come on when the headlights are turned on. So with that said I beileve I should be eating a bit of crow. :embarrass:

One overy odd thing I read while researching Aux driving lights was the statement, "shall be so directed that no part of the beam will strike the level of the roadway on which the vehicle stands at a distance of more than seventy-five feet from the vehicle."

What use would driving lights be if they could only project about 4 or 5 car-lengths ahead? That sounds like how you'd aim fog lamps.

That does sould like how fog lights would be aimed. Completely as an aside, I remember in the mid '80s having to adjust my driver side headlight down because it was aimed too high and the guy at the inspection place said that the reason the driver side is lower than the passenger side is because it if it's aimed too high it hits the driver's side view mirror and reflects directly in the driver's eyes. Makese good sense...just have a big truck come up behind you when you are in a smaller (lower) auto and you are blinded by their lights reflecting in your mirrors (I fixed this with 5% window tint all the way around including a 10" eyebrow on this car...though none of that was legal).

[Arne]

One thing to bear in mind - the definitions of terms like "driving", "auxiliary" and "fog" vary from state to state. Not at all standard. In some states, an "auxiliary lamp" is what I call a "driving light", in others it's a "fog light". You can not compare the regulations directly without determining what they are referring to.

[26th-Z]

Perhaps a little off topic, but as an option, fog lamps for the S30 could be purchased from Datsun. The conversation is buried in the archives along with conversations about the switches, wiring.

Personally, I think the best way to break a fog lamp is mount it to the underside of the bumper.

I prefer the sealed bulb directional lens Cibie to any other replacement headlight. Great light. Well worth the $$$.

[TomoHawk]

I still need to put in the additional wiring for the driving lamps, which probably won't be fun.

[Oiluj]

Here's where I installed mine. They are mostly for looks, but do provide some benefit in foggy conditions in lighting the road edge without blinding drivers coming the other direction.

They are basically H4 bulbs in a wide-angle lenses, so they are not super bright.

[richard1]

and i was in my first college year. From my student part time job, i started to make improvements and among them, installing driving and fog lights.

I was living close to an independent parts store and I bought and installed a set of the big 7" Marshal driving lights on top of the bumper and a set of Cibie 7" fog lights below the bumper.

I will always remember my buddies telling me my car was a Christmas tree.

I was living in Canada and the driving lights were never used in town because they were too powerful. Well adjusted on the bumper, the were shedding a beam to half a mile. I have enjoyed this car so much.

[Carl Beck]

In 1970 I installed a set of CIBIE Biodes in my 70 Z. Wish I could buy a new set today...

They were among the first 7" round halogen replacements for the OEM headlights. They had two halogen H1 bulbs - one for the low beam that utilized the standard large reflector.. and one for the high beam that was inside it's own smaller reflector.. a projector beam more or less.

When the high beams were on, both H1's were on. Very directional lens and the high beams were amazing! You could see highway signs light up as the light from the projector beams hit them more than a half mile away at night.

When installed in the Z - you had to insulate the metal mounting taps on the back of the lights - otherwise they would short out to the body - and that would burn your engine wiring harness out!! The sealed beams that are OEM have glass mounting tab's on the back of the glass lens.... and as we know the ground for the headlighs runs through the wiring harness.

Picture courtesy of TRE Motorsports

FWIW,

Carl B.

[Arne]

In 1970 I installed a set of CIBIE Biodes in my 70 Z. Wish I could buy a new set today...

I'm with Carl. I'd love to have a pair of Biodes, or their Marchal equivilents—Ampliluxes. Very cool and great lighting. Ampliluxes were made in several variations, most of them were rather large and required bucket mods to accept them.

I can't recall when I last saw a pair of Biodes anywhere. Ampliluxes show up on eBay every now and then, but they tend to be $200 per pair and up.

[TomoHawk]

This place might help you with those lamps: http://www.italparts.com/overzicht.php?id=103 (Page 3)