It’s interesting how easy it is to take for granted some everyday common things that are in reality highly thought out and precisely engineered. Automobile headlights for example. Headlights are highly engineered precision instruments.
I’m always doing research on identifying the best bulbs to use in my headlight restorations. I admit that at one time I took it for granted that H1’s, H4’s, signal bulbs and the rest were just commodities, like potatoes. Then one of my customers (I learn a lot from my exceptional customers - that’s a whole other story that I’m going to post sometime - different demographics really create different customers - but I digress) asked me what bulbs I was going to install in his newly restored Cibié Bi-Iode headlamps. And I said the typical install was 55w in the low beams and 100w in the high beams, for which we would need a relay kit. And he said, no I mean what brand of bulb. Duh, I dunno, Hella or Bosch. So thus began the descent into the netherworld of automobile bulbs. As it turns out, there’s a lot going on...
Take a look at this illustration of an H4 bulb high beam in action for example:
The filaments in the bulb are precisely placed to project and therefore reflect the beams off precise spots on the reflectors on both the top and the bottom (and probably the sides). Now take a look at this low beam illustration:
Same precision but in this case the light beam is only reflected of the upper half of the reflector.
One of the things that caused me to dig in this area is the practice by some to install an LED bulb in a reflector headlight, a move that appears to be a clever way to get more light while saving money. Au contraire. The results are rubbish - and dangerous. A bright glaring unfocused blob of light is produced that does a poor job of illumination for the driver - and blinds oncoming drivers in the process. When I posted this at Pelican Parts and at Rennlist I was roundly criticized and ridiculed which was amusing, especially when I called it a hillbilly solution.
Headlights are precision instruments. Halogen bulbs, such as H1's and H4's, are designed precisely to work in reflector headlights. The filaments are positioned precisely on the center line of the reflector and beam out to precise locations. Sticking a glob of small LED bulbs in there makes a giant mess.
There's much, much more. I know you might be bored staying at home, but I doubt that you are bored enough to go full anorak.
Cheers,
John
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