Going overboard with the LED daytime running lights

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SparkyJJO

Lifer
May 16, 2002
13,357
7
81
I disabled DRL on my vehicle because they are the low beams via PWM at about 70% duty cycle, which 1) kills bulbs faster and 2) I'm upgrading (eventually) to projectors + HID and the PWM will destroy the ballast.

I also disabled auto lights because they annoy me when I am under a bridge or in a shadow stopped at a light and my lights just kick on, or if it is borderline brightness due to clouds, early morning/later evening, etc so the system keeps kicking the lights on/off/on/off... REALLY annoying. I'm not a stupid person that can't figure out how to use a switch :p
 

phucheneh

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2012
7,306
5
0
You realize that cars with auto headlights also have a manual on and off option as well

uh, that was the point.

And it doesn't matter whether you're talking about DRL's or auto-on lights. Both (in the majority of cases, at least) leave the ability for their idiot driver to tool around at night with no headlights on.

Clearly the solution is to just hardwire all the lights on the car to the ignition switch to keep you out of these bewildering situations involving how to operate a switch. Oh damn, wait, how do you start the car?

Make sure the high beams are always on, too; I wouldn't want that switch to confuse you, either. Two switches? What am I, a rocket surgeon?
 

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,576
126
I disabled DRL on my vehicle because they are the low beams via PWM at about 70% duty cycle, which 1) kills bulbs faster and 2) I'm upgrading (eventually) to projectors + HID and the PWM will destroy the ballast.

I also disabled auto lights because they annoy me when I am under a bridge or in a shadow stopped at a light and my lights just kick on, or if it is borderline brightness due to clouds, early morning/later evening, etc so the system keeps kicking the lights on/off/on/off... REALLY annoying. I'm not a stupid person that can't figure out how to use a switch :p

My 1997 Chevy Z24 had DRLs. I traded it in in 2008. Never had a headlight bulb fail.

A system that kicks the the lights on and off rapidly, is probably broken. None of my vehicles ever did that.
 

Jumpem

Lifer
Sep 21, 2000
10,757
3
81
uh, that was the point.

And it doesn't matter whether you're talking about DRL's or auto-on lights. Both (in the majority of cases, at least) leave the ability for their idiot driver to tool around at night with no headlights on.

Clearly the solution is to just hardwire all the lights on the car to the ignition switch to keep you out of these bewildering situations involving how to operate a switch. Oh damn, wait, how do you start the car?

Make sure the high beams are always on, too; I wouldn't want that switch to confuse you, either. Two switches? What am I, a rocket surgeon?

Just no. If you're headlights are set to auto, it is virtually impossible to be driving around at night with the lights off. If anything they are overly sensitive, and come on well before it gets dark.
 
Sep 7, 2009
12,960
3
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You complain about every fucking thing out there. I hate reading your posts.


Huge +1. I'm about ready to start a pessimistic asshole userlist or something.. phuceneh and vdubchaos would be on the very top. Of course I would probably be third.
 
Sep 7, 2009
12,960
3
0
I like the DRL on my z4. I like the BMW halos period, but I really like that mine only has single halos.

It's a monster


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Stolen from:
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=434043
 
Sep 7, 2009
12,960
3
0
Actually some Audi's have the most obnoxious DRLs where they wrap around the headlamp.


The only DRL that actually bother me are the chrysler ones where the DRL are bright-white but the headlights are halogen-yellow. It's so incredibly cheap looking, I can't believe that their design people thought this was acceptable.
 

Doppel

Lifer
Feb 5, 2011
13,306
3
0
LED lights in general are overrated in my opinion. Talking strictly looks here, not lighting ability.

And really... why do daytime running lights exist?
I almost think the opposite. One of my cars is all LED now and it looks nice but it just doesn't brighten. Of course, more lights would solve this. But, I must say I think the look of the current gen audis is awesome. I don't know how well the lights function vs halogen though.
 

Capt Caveman

Lifer
Jan 30, 2005
34,543
651
126
The only DRL that actually bother me are the chrysler ones where the DRL are bright-white but the headlights are halogen-yellow. It's so incredibly cheap looking, I can't believe that their design people thought this was acceptable.

I just find the one's on the Q7 to look so stupid.

images
 

nitrous9200

Senior member
Mar 1, 2007
282
3
76
I don't think I've ever noticed a car in broad daylight any more because of DRL's...It just makes no sense to me when they don't actually cast any light, and it's not like I can't see the rest of the car.
Thankfully the DRL's on my car can be disabled just by pulling a fuse. I don't buy the argument that they don't affect the lifespan of the bulbs; seems to me like all of the unnecessary hours of running time and power cycles would be a bad thing, and xenon bulbs aren't cheap.
 

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,712
427
126
tbqhwy.com
yet to see attractive to me LED lights on any car. i think they all look like crap
also cars have gone way overboard with touch screens for everything, its more of a distraction/hassle to change anything vs a dial/button