Big John
Well-Known Member
Okay, this will be a long post about my own experiences and opinions. Pass now unless
you are bored.
I lived in Europe for 42 years and in the USA for 23 years and the headlight differences are enormous. Every European car I ever saw had low beams which had a very sharp cut off
and an almost 45 degree ramp up on the right hand side except in England where the ramp
up was on the left hand side. The majority of American cars (driven by G.I.'s) on low
beam had two circular headlight patterns which, when you put on the high beams, were
still circular but just slightly brighter and a few degrees higher. This frequently resulted in the Europeans flashing the Americans because they were blinding even on low beam. It does seem that American cars began improving their patterns starting about 20 years ago. Some of them but certainly not all of them. It was so annoying that you could tell whether the approaching car was European or American.The regulations concerning headlight design are vastly different between here and there.I am not knocking anybody here, just stating my observations.
I drove a Wrangler in Germany and swapped out my headlights for European headlights and
was never flashed again.
Well, in 2019 I bought a Gladiator with the LED headlights and I truly believe that they are the best headlights of any American car I have owned. They are bright and have a sharp cutoff with a 45 degree ramp on the right. Well done Jeep!
I live in a rural part of Texas where there are not a lot of cars at night. I love to drive fast (but not faster than I can see) so I bought a pair of Baja Design LP9's with a spotlight pattern and linked them to my high beams. Now I can see every detail (deer etc.) in the next 1/2 mile.
Every time I see oncoming headlights or any tail lights I turn them off immediately.
They are legal in Texas but I try to not blind other drivers.
On the subject of Jeep LED headlights; I can always tell when the oncoming vehicle is a
Jeep because their low beams appear to be much brighter than other cars, but not as
annoying as oncoming high beams.
When I am absolutely certain that the oncoming car has it's high beams on, I will give
them less than a 1/2 second flash of the LP9's and they always switch to low beams.
This is the most long winded and boring post I have ever made and kudos to you if you
got this far!
you are bored.
I lived in Europe for 42 years and in the USA for 23 years and the headlight differences are enormous. Every European car I ever saw had low beams which had a very sharp cut off
and an almost 45 degree ramp up on the right hand side except in England where the ramp
up was on the left hand side. The majority of American cars (driven by G.I.'s) on low
beam had two circular headlight patterns which, when you put on the high beams, were
still circular but just slightly brighter and a few degrees higher. This frequently resulted in the Europeans flashing the Americans because they were blinding even on low beam. It does seem that American cars began improving their patterns starting about 20 years ago. Some of them but certainly not all of them. It was so annoying that you could tell whether the approaching car was European or American.The regulations concerning headlight design are vastly different between here and there.I am not knocking anybody here, just stating my observations.
I drove a Wrangler in Germany and swapped out my headlights for European headlights and
was never flashed again.
Well, in 2019 I bought a Gladiator with the LED headlights and I truly believe that they are the best headlights of any American car I have owned. They are bright and have a sharp cutoff with a 45 degree ramp on the right. Well done Jeep!
I live in a rural part of Texas where there are not a lot of cars at night. I love to drive fast (but not faster than I can see) so I bought a pair of Baja Design LP9's with a spotlight pattern and linked them to my high beams. Now I can see every detail (deer etc.) in the next 1/2 mile.
Every time I see oncoming headlights or any tail lights I turn them off immediately.
They are legal in Texas but I try to not blind other drivers.
On the subject of Jeep LED headlights; I can always tell when the oncoming vehicle is a
Jeep because their low beams appear to be much brighter than other cars, but not as
annoying as oncoming high beams.
When I am absolutely certain that the oncoming car has it's high beams on, I will give
them less than a 1/2 second flash of the LP9's and they always switch to low beams.
This is the most long winded and boring post I have ever made and kudos to you if you
got this far!
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