| General > General Technical Chat |
| Insane overengineering of a car headlight |
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| SilverSolder:
If new prices are high enough, and supplies are low enough, used cars can only go through the roof... At some point, it becomes cheaper to use Uber... |
| amyk:
--- Quote from: trevers on February 14, 2022, 07:40:08 pm ---Bah! We don't need all of these things... The old way was cheaper and simpler. Safety Glass - Non laminated was cheaper Fuel injection - Carbs were great just a simple mechanical device, none of these new fangled computers telling MY engine how to run! Seat belts - Just adds cost and besides isn't it safer for the passengers to be thrown clear of the wreck? Airbags - It's a plot to sell more airbags after a crash by the automotive cabal! Crumple Zones - Who needs all of that complicated engineering and fancy materials. I want my engine to pushed into the passenger compartment after the crash, it's faster to check for damage that way. Radial Tires - Man give me back my bias-ply retreads, another conspiracy! Anti-lock brakes - Again with the computers? My old non-power assisted drums worked fine. Power steering - Just more over-engineered extras I get a free workout when parking! etc. etc. etc... Seriously the only person who would complain about modern headlights is someone who has never driven a car with them. --- End quote --- There's a difference between insane overengineering with planned obolescence and multiple points of failure, and simple reliable systems which are actually worth their cost. A seatbelt is the perfect example of the latter. I agree with the others here about how much worse the headlights on newer cars are --- both from the perspective of the driver in the car with one, as well as in the oncoming car. They are brighter, but that's actually worse for driving because you end up with much more contrast (that sharp cutoff) between the bright and dark area, and it really messes with the eyes' light adaptation. You end up with an area of high visibility right in front, and much worse off to the sides where moving objects might appear from. The older lights were dimmer, but had a wider and softer fade-out, so your eyes aren't only adapting to the very bright spot in front and can actually see better to the sides. All the talk about these fancy systems keeping the bright spot "in your lane" is the complete opposite of what good headlights should do - provide even illumination at a brightness that doesn't blind oncoming drivers. Maybe the focus can be slightly brighter, but there's a reason night driving is more dangerous, and it's not because of the darkness --- it's because of the contrast. During the day, you can see hazards from all around because it's bright and even illumination. At night, all you have is a "tunnel of light", and making that brighter while keeping everything else just as dark isn't going to improve things. |
| Ed.Kloonk:
Mike ('s electric stuff) did a video of a fancy headlight too, in case you missed it. Car headlights had a surge in the late '90's. Prior to that they were universally terrible. |
| tooki:
--- Quote from: amyk on February 15, 2022, 04:14:47 am ---There's a difference between insane overengineering with planned obolescence and multiple points of failure, and simple reliable systems which are actually worth their cost. A seatbelt is the perfect example of the latter. I agree with the others here about how much worse the headlights on newer cars are --- both from the perspective of the driver in the car with one, as well as in the oncoming car. They are brighter, but that's actually worse for driving because you end up with much more contrast (that sharp cutoff) between the bright and dark area, and it really messes with the eyes' light adaptation. You end up with an area of high visibility right in front, and much worse off to the sides where moving objects might appear from. The older lights were dimmer, but had a wider and softer fade-out, so your eyes aren't only adapting to the very bright spot in front and can actually see better to the sides. All the talk about these fancy systems keeping the bright spot "in your lane" is the complete opposite of what good headlights should do - provide even illumination at a brightness that doesn't blind oncoming drivers. Maybe the focus can be slightly brighter, but there's a reason night driving is more dangerous, and it's not because of the darkness --- it's because of the contrast. During the day, you can see hazards from all around because it's bright and even illumination. At night, all you have is a "tunnel of light", and making that brighter while keeping everything else just as dark isn't going to improve things. --- End quote --- Except that you’re just plain… wrong. Look at the actual beam patterns of modern adaptive lights, and they light the edges better. Old headlamps had to limit their wide-pattern brightness to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. Adaptive ones solve that a different way and thus can have a wider throw. |
| SiliconWizard:
--- Quote from: SilverSolder on February 14, 2022, 10:13:43 pm ---If new prices are high enough, and supplies are low enough, used cars can only go through the roof... At some point, it becomes cheaper to use Uber... --- End quote --- The "new normal" is heading towards the point where "you'll be happy not owning anything". Subscription-based business models, which are quickly becoming the norm, are a step towards this already. Making products too expensive to repair, by design, is also inevitably leading towards the same, whether this is intentional or not. Anyone here is free to judge whether or not this is desirable. |
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