Better Nighttime Visibility

[mra32]

Ok so driving out here is getting ridiculous. I moved from the city into the more rural suburbs to be closer to my job. The roads out here are typically narrow and could be maintained better (see my thread about needing new wheels). I have the option to drive to work in many different ways, 3 of which would have me going over 3-4 covered bridges But typically they all are a little hair raising, especially when its dark. Due to my 9 hour days I'm either driving to or from work in darkness, necessitating the use of headlights.

 

Heres where some of my problem is. The area I live in is kinda on the richer side, so alot of people have fairly new luxury cars with bright ass headlights. The increasing brightness of the headlights that come on factory cars is another issue but this is really a problem. Its getting really hard to see where I'm going when it looks like everyone has their high beams on. Maybe my vision is getting worse, but I still feel like have better vision than most people. There are no curbs or fog lines on alot of roads, sometimes no yellow line so its a little hard to just focus on the brightest things you can see since they are typically the other dudes headlights.

 

I'm getting a little frightened of driving out here, thats also probably my problem, but when you almost get sideswiped 500 feet from your driveway (repeatedly, but today was the worst). Sometimes I get like and old man and just slow down/stop when i cant see anything, which is hard to do when otherwise the cruising speeds of these roads are around 40 MPH.

 

Admittedly, my headlights can use a little aiming, but these e36 headlights are better aimed than my stockers when i took them out. What other things do you recommend? I'm almost at the point of just saying F-it and getting an HID kit since everyone else seems like an asshole with their blinding lights. But really, I want to explore other solutions that dont just add to the general problem. What about fog lights? Arent you not supposed to have them on with other drivers around or are they legal? Alot of people have them on around here and it doesnt look like they add to blinding me so that seems like an option. Does anyone have any cheap suggestions for those? I know people rave about certain headlight bulbs but everyone seems to be really polarized about headlight bulbs? I dunno weirder shit has happened, but when everyone is butthurt about headlight bulbs, its harder to get the real informaton out.

 

I feel like any day im going to get into an accident so I want to do something quickly and effectively. Will adding to my light output make other peoples lights less blinding?

[White93z34]

Looking on ebay I see e36 bmw projector headlights are pretty affordable, I'd get a set of those plus a cheap HID setup... 4000k lamps and you should have all the visibility that you should ever need.

[mra32]

That was the plan...to mock up these and then upgrade to projectors somewhere down the line but i think those use the stock brackets whereas I can only fit the normal headlight itself, without the stock e36 brackets and adjusters. There might have been a way to mount them with stock brackets but that would have required alot more cutting and fabricaton and those brackets i had are long gone, one being chopped up. I wonder if there are any projector retrofits for these lights. Doubtful since there are so many aftermarket options. I also have minimal clearance between the back of the reflector I have and the Lumina adjuster.

[Addicted2bass]

HIDs for sure. The headlight output on my TGP was TERRIBLE. I switched over to 8000k HIDs this year and damn what a differance! I would go with either 4000k or 6000k in your case. Those are gonna have the best output.

[GOT2B GM]

6000k HID kit, or 8000k for a little less light output with a nice blue hue

[mra32]

i'd be trying not to be 'that guy' with blue headlights

 

 

Looks like 5000k is about right for what I would like to see.

[slick]

5k-6k is the range I would ever look. Blue is dumb.

[Wheels]

I would recommend HID's as well. (not the 55watt versions) I have 5k for my headlights and 8k for my fogs. I was a little worried that my 8k would be too blue, but it turns out its white with a tint of blue. It just depends on the manufacture. My visibilty definately increased since i have the mini quad lights. So i'm sure your light output would be better.

[mra32]

OK so people recommend HID's

 

Any other suggestions?

 

All im hearing up to this point is fight fire with fire. I think cutting down the glare should help. Does anyone know what causes and what fixes glare issues?

[white4d96]

Badly aimed headlights cause glare usually. Just aim the lights down more once you install them and you should be good.

[AL]

I took my grand Prix out on a country road and aimed the headlights to how I wanted them... I just parked with my hazards on and popped the hood and went at it

[mra32]

badly aimed headlights on my car will cause glare on my car?

[visitor]

OK so people recommend HID's

 

Any other suggestions?

 

All im hearing up to this point is fight fire with fire. I think cutting down the glare should help. Does anyone know what causes and what fixes glare issues?

 

 

Retrofit projectors. thats all thats going to fix glare issues. Your halogen housing arent designed to fit HID's. Please dont be a ricer.. do it right. aiming it down wont fix anything.

[mra32]

Retrofit projectors. thats all thats going to fix glare issues. Your halogen housing arent designed to fit HID's. Please dont be a ricer.. do it right. aiming it down wont fix anything.

 

 

I dont even know whats going in this thread anymore.

[white4d96]

Oh I thought you meant so YOU didn't give THEM glare. Sorry

 

Um...Not really too much you can do there that wouldn't negatively affect your visibility when there weren't freaking bright-ass lights in your face. Least not that I can think of.

[KingVee]

Sometimes, if you've got to do something stupid... just do it right!

 

[mra32]

There was a guy on here with a lumina that had all kinds of ridiculous fog lights on it. It was awesome. I'm gonna make sure my windshield is super clean, any suggestions for crap to use for that?

[Artemis]

Just noticed this thread, its like you've read my mind. It seems like every day everyone else's lights get brighter and I can't see because of the glare! Don't know how I could possibly fix this.

[KingVee]

There was a guy on here with a lumina that had all kinds of ridiculous fog lights on it. It was awesome. I'm gonna make sure my windshield is super clean, any suggestions for crap to use for that?

This will help you with the glare effect, although it won't take it away completely. My windows are always super clean (I'm OCD about this) and I will still get blinded if I run into an idiot with HID's on a fucking Chrysler Intrepid... He's gangsta dawg, pimpin' them whips!

[GOT2B GM]

wear sunglasses at night?

[White93z34]

wear sunglasses at night?

 

So I can Keep track of the visions in my eyes or, Drive to Chicago with a full tank of gas and half a pack of cigarettes????

[GOT2B GM]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLEuWEvH5GI&ob=av3n

[mra32]

damn you guys. if andrei and galen had a baby, it would be corey hart

[jrcuttymann]

a very good way to clean your windshield is to use Bon-Ami cleanser and a lot of water. Bon-ami is a non abrasive cleanser and will remove all the road dirt and grime from the glass, DO NOT try this with any other powder cleansers like Comet or Ajax as they are abrasive cleansers, Bon-Ami is the only other powdered cleanser that will work. Now for the inside I would use Invisible Glass made by Stoner and a 100% cotton cloth. this should do the trick. If you clean the inside in the opposite direction as the outside ( side to side and UP and down) you will be able to find any streaks easier. Although with these two products you should have no streaks anyway.

[mediabandit]

The best way to make sure your windshield is clean and streak free is to use vinegar and newspaper, this will also remove the "fog" that is left when using windex or any other type of cleaner. This will cut down on the amount of glare you are getting.

 

Use it on both the inside and outside, then just leave your windows down for a bit to air it out if you find the smell offensive.