Front LED lights on newer Audi's

[MagicBoy]

It makes me laugh when BMW and Audi say that the lights make the car sportier!

Makes me cringe when most manufacturers claim something makes a car sportier. It's the most overused and pointless adjective in the car industry.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

I think Audi have lost the plot with LED driving lights they have bodged them onto every model in the range now it is like they have a competition to see how many they can get on a car. They are that bright that they need to dim them when you indicate which seems pointless to me.

Mercedes have also started the trend saw a E class with them on at least they look better than Audi's offering.

On the daylight running lights all Mk5 Golfs have them but they are disabled from the factory I suspect this will be the case with a lot of cars in case some EU law came in to enable them.

 

[[TW]Fox]

It makes me laugh when BMW and Audi say that the lights make the car sportier!

Could you point me to where BMW claim the headlights on a car are 'sporty'?

 

[MagicBoy]

On the daylight running lights all Mk5 Golfs have them but they are disabled from the factory I suspect this will be the case with a lot of cars in case some EU law came in to enable them.

Check back further in the thread. The Mk6 has them enabled by default. They're mandatory from 2011.

 

[Dandle]

Saw a Vauxhall Isignia today that had led drls pretty similar to Audis only the front lights lit as well.

 

[daveydave]

On the subject of lights why is it that all cars dont have automatic ones? I cannot imagine the technology can cost much more than about 11p these days and it would rule out all of this nonsense.

My thoughts exactly, day running lights will just blend in when all cars have them.

 

[GHz]

They can be turned off if not needed, but I think they look good but they seem to have got a lot brighter since they first came available on cars.

The ones on the Mercs, the ones that are shaped like an L and are in the location of the fog lights are very bright, seen a few around the area.

Also since they have come the "in thing" on todays cars, I've noticed a lot of people reto fitting them onto saxo's, escorts and vehicles that clearly didn't come from the factory like that.

 

[Muffin`]

 

[WJA96]

I am going to run with mine on all the time now, not for safety reasons but to remind other road users in inferior cars that I am better than them and they should move out of my way.

But all BMWs have automatic headlamps anyway. They have high-speed proximity sensors and when they detect another vehicle ahead they start to flash - haven't you noticed?

 

[jamoor]

Could you point me to where BMW claim the headlights on a car are 'sporty'?

It was on their website when they facelifted the 3 series I think, it was something along the lines of giving it a sporty road presence or some such garbage, I remembered it because it was a real facepalm moment.

 

[The_Judge]

Audi should have just kept them for the S models

 

[jamief]

Audi should have just kept them for the S models

LED running lights are standard on the S-Line, optional on all other models (generally a £1200 option which comes with Xenon headlights).

The DRL on all other Audis (other than S-Line) are smaller strips (generally 3 bulbs) of Halogens.

 

[Barks]

I think Audi have lost the plot with LED driving lights they have bodged them onto every model in the range now it is like they have a competition to see how many they can get on a car. They are that bright that they need to dim them when you indicate which seems pointless to me.

Mercedes have also started the trend saw a E class with them on at least they look better than Audi's offering.

On the daylight running lights all Mk5 Golfs have them but they are disabled from the factory I suspect this will be the case with a lot of cars in case some EU law came in to enable them.

Indeed. My first car was a Mk5 Golf and I thought it was the norm for cars to have 2 different light settings and full beam.

 

[mjt]

Indeed. My first car was a Mk5 Golf and I thought it was the norm for cars to have 2 different light settings and full beam.

all cars have sidelights, headlights and main beam..
it's just these new ones have LED running lights too

day running lights in eastern europe and scandinavia just means that your headlights are always on. you can't have the sidelights by themselves with the engine running

while i can see the beneifts of day running lights in scandinavia and eastern europe, due to worse road and visibility conditions, i think it'd annoy me more than it'd benefit over here.

yes, there are still too many plebs who don't have their lights on in heavy rain, when it's very grey and at dawn/dusk, but these new LEDs on audis are far too bright

 

[Lum]

yes, there are still too many plebs who don't have their lights on in heavy rain, when it's very grey and at dawn/dusk, but these new LEDs on audis are far too bright

Plenty of plebs who put their foglights on in heavy rain too. Don't forget about those.

Oh for one of those auto-aiming rifles on the front of the car which I could use to take out foglight bulbs.

 

[Jez]

Never understood why anyone cares about fog lights. I dont even notice them. I am still yet to understand why the legislation doesnt just require all lights to be automatic as most half decent cars have had for years anyway and solves all of the problems in this thread instantly. The technology to do it must cost pennies.

 

[LostPhil]

Personally, I like the idea of DRL's, although I'm guessing at the moment it's a marketing thing for their cars to stand out from the rest. The Audi's are OK with them but I don't understand why people have to add aftermarket ones... They could just drive around with their lights on....?

Im not sure if its more a factor of Audi drivers usually being dreadful drivers, or if these new LED lights are now the problem, but the number of Audi's I encounter on the motorway in dust/dark conditons with what appears to be no lights on from behind - as I pass, arghhh those silly LED lights.

It would appear to be a counter measure to safety - because they've always got LED lights on they dont seem to think that pitch-black night conditions warrent dipped beems.

Not sure - it might only seem that way because they're brighter than the usual "Sidelight only" brigade. But then you might be right, we all know how short sighted the general public can be... And I bet half of those with just the running lights on have front fogs on too?

They're only working as a safety thing at the moment because not all cars have them.

Once all cars have them, then there won't be the advantage of having them.

Lights on during the day will help being seen when the sun is either shining off the road or behind you. The amount of times I've struggled to see something because they have been silhouetted and have no lights on is daft.

Much like rear high level brake lights - it was reported when they first were introduced that it was directly attributed to lowering the number of accidents, but the advantages since then have diminished.

High level brake lights do help when the other brake lights aren't visible for whatever reason - over the brow of a motorway slip road, through the windows of the car in front etc.

Meanwhile motorbikes (who tend to run DRLs anyway) and pedestrians (who almost never have DRLs) are now harder to see...

...Anyone who voluntarily* uses DRLs is, IMO, being a bit of a selfish ****. Give the more vulnerable road users a chance at being seen, please...

a) Pedestrians in the day time have no trouble being seen anyway to anyone who's paying attention unless they're being stupid. If anything, it'll help the pedestrians notice there's a car there.

Motorbikes wont be harder to see - they use lights bright enough to dazzle anyway and there's no way on earth a car with DRL's is going to look anything like a bike. I guess driving a motorbike at night must be the single most dangerous thing to do known to man.

b) Anyone who wants to use brighter DRL's for their own personal safety over others is being a "selfish ****".

If the total number of accidents stayed the same, yet the number of Volvos involved in accidents rose - surely that means that accidents involving other makes fell. I'd say that says more about the standard of driving of the Volvo drivers more than anything else - being used to standing out rather than driving as if they didn't.

 

[Flukester]

Motorbikes wont be harder to see - they use lights bright enough to dazzle anyway and there's no way on earth a car with DRL's is going to look anything like a bike.

Bikes lights are no brighter than a car and most have only 1 dipped beam so 50% the light

they tend to dazzle abit more as mounted higher up and change in pitch on acceleration more

but thats all a good thing....maybe when they dazzle you can actually be seen, i keep my HID aimed quite high on purpose

 

[LostPhil]

Bikes lights are no brighter than a car and most have only 1 dipped beam so 50% the light

they tend to dazzle abit more as mounted higher up and change in pitch on acceleration more

but thats all a good thing....maybe when they dazzle you can actually be seen, i keep my HID aimed quite high on purpose

I wasn't really clear, dipped beams on a bike would be brighter (I think...?) than the DRLs and it'll be a different light configuration anyway so bikes aren't going to be lost in a crowd. And like you say, the light will be moving around quite a bit anyway.

To be honest, I don't see the need to dazzle to be seen, surely it's just causing a distraction for other drivers? I'm quite certain I'll see a bike in conditions light enough for DRLs to be used on their own. I can't see the problem some people have with DRLs in that sense.

EDIT: After all this talk of being visible with your lights, they aren't on in your sig

 

[mjt]

Bikes lights are no brighter than a car and most have only 1 dipped beam so 50% the light

they tend to dazzle abit more as mounted higher up and change in pitch on acceleration more

but thats all a good thing....maybe when they dazzle you can actually be seen, i keep my HID aimed quite high on purpose

exactly
i have no problem with motorbikes dazzling me, it's better than not being seen