smo Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 what's the difference between a spot light, and a driving light?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 As far as I know they are one and the same thing. Edited: Spots and driving lights have a long and thin pattern to light up things in the distance. The differences are with spots and fog lights. Fogs have the short and wide light pattern to show up the immediate ground in front of you and the sides of the road you should hopefully be driving on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smo Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 As far as I know they are one and the same thing. I rekon this is a common misconception, hence my question...sadly not sure anyone knows!! The reason i ask is i want some Soltek Fuego lights, however they come in either spot or driving type (and wide-driving)....from this i guess there must be a difference... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 I've just looked them up, and they appear American so it may be their terms. I would say that in this country, driving lights are the same as additional high-beam lights in that they should be 55w (depending on age of vehicle) and only come on with high-beam on the headlights. Spots would be the sort of thing stuck on a bar across the top of the windscreen and would be selectable, any wattage, and definitely for "off road use only." I don't know if they are legal definitions or technical ones (which may differ from country to country). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smo Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 I've found some info on their site: Driving Lights (or Euro Beam) are used for 75% of off road driving conditions. Our driving pattern offers good peripheral vision and excellent distance while providing ample light both high and low to compensate for the up-and-down pitch of the vehicle. Imagine being able to see where you need to even while your vehicle climbs, descends, turns, jumps, and bounces. Pencil Lights (or Spot Beam) provide a longer and narrower beam pattern to illuminate farther down the trail. This is the light for high-speed running. Our spot was designed to provide optimum distance without any annoying hot spot. Additionally, this pattern can be adjusted wider or narrower by up to 4º based on your particular driving conditions. A combination of Driving and Pencil Lights provides the best overall off-road light distribution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 IIRC spot light have a narrow pencil type beam for lighting up the edge of the road driving light is a bit wider beam for longer range centre of the travelling lane illumination fog light very wide beam with a sharp cutoff for cutting under fog to illuminate the road & verges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 As always, Ralph is on the money. It's most common here in Aus to use one spot and one driving light, that way a good spread and decent distance can be achieved. Spots usually have clear glass, whilst driving lights have some diffusion in the glass. Not the best of photos, but it does show the difference (spot on drivers side, which is normal placement): Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyn668 Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Not the best of photos, but it does show the difference (spot on drivers side, which is normal placement):Paul Wow, spots and driving lights AND cat's eyes built in too... (For non UK, or non-native English speakers, cat's eyes are what we call those reflectors that are stuck to the road between lanes and on the verges, self-cleaning and a real safety feature - I heard the other day, they are about to be replaced by something even cleverer.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mortus Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 theyre replacing them with solar cats eyes, that have LED's and a solar panel in!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Homba Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 theyre replacing them with solar cats eyes, that have LED's and a solar panel in!! and they can also be set to flash if the vehicles are speeding they have them on the M8 in Scotland Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 theyre replacing them with solar cats eyes, that have LED's and a solar panel in!! Excellent.... Cats eyes that only work when the sun is out.........just what we need!!!! I can't remember where I read it, but there are some restrictions on the mountings of lights on the vehicle. It may be that it is only for fog lights, but may be worth a search on Google... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco_al Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 theyre replacing them with solar cats eyes, that have LED's and a solar panel in!! Anyone travelled the A4103 to Hereford from Worcester by Fromes Hill, or the Worcester to Kidderminster Road (IIRC) will have seen these, they are quite freaky on a clear night as you can see the road snaking away across the hills IIRC the guy who invented them is now a mutli millionaire as they have been sold to various countries around the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Guys yis have it backwards, Spots do just that (hence the internet blurb posted that claims their spot doesn't create a 'hotspot' - they're saying our spot light doesnt spot) they project a long usually narrow beam way down the road. Think of a supertrooper, you know from the Abba song, a supertrooper is the name for those live at the Palladium type theatre lights... long narrow beam Driving lights project more light into the periphery of your view, IE the verge not to far ahead of the car. Most optional or standard 'spot lights' that come with car's from the factory these days are driving lights. I have a set of both on the mini, driving for show, spots for glow Seriously if you wanna light up way down the road take my word for it - spotlight. To fill in the corners of your view - driving or even fog light. Hence the Aussies mix and matching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Going slight O/T, but someone mentioned it...so.... Anyone travelled ... the Worcester to Kidderminster Road...will have seen them Yes, the A449. I used to police that area from Droitwich. I remember when they first went in as part of a trial being run in only a couple of places in the country. We used to get calls about suspicious "workmen" digging them up. No idea who they thought they'd sell them to 'cos they were only being used in the trial sites. One chap was caught in the act and two sackfulls of the new 'eyes' were seized. I wasn't aware of this when I opened the property cupboard and was confronted with approx 200 flashing eyes (it was dark in there you see ) The first time you see them at night it is really weird - I was waiting for a 747 to land! And there is absolutely no truth in the rumour that people used to switch all their lights off and use the catseyes to guide them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco_al Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 And there is absolutely no truth in the rumour that people used to switch all their lights off and use the catseyes to guide them no one on here would ever dream of doing such an irresponsible thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 no one on here would ever dream of doing such an irresponsible thing 'specially not in a police car either... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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