Another review of Autopal E-code headlights - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

tenknots · #1 01-12-2006, 02:14 PM

I've had these for a couple of weeks now and I'll tell you what I think.

First, they were as easy to install as any other headlights and they were not loose in the retaining ring as others have said. I got them on Ebay for about $33 for the pair, shipped. Seem well made.

The light pattern is different and takes a little getting used to. Instead of the light coming out in two "beams," it seems more like a wide pattern in front of the car. I was a little disappointed thinking that they'd be like sealed beam and just be brighter (they are definitely brighter!). The pattern has a very fine cutoff at the top that angles up off to the right at about 15-20 degrees. This illuminates the side of the road much better - parked cars, debris, deer, hitchhikers, etc are more easily seen as are road signs. In contrast to US-spec lights which allow some light to travel up in order to see overhead signs (and partially blind on coming traffic), E-codes do not and have a very defined cut off.

The biggest difference is driving on slow back country roads. The much brighter lights and pattern do a great job of lighting up the road, although it seems to me there is slightly less light to the sides. On faster highways, there seems to be little advantage as far as range (but see below), but the pattern and brightness illuminate objects very well and the bright pattern in front of the car is comforting.

This morning it was foggy and I noticed the pattern and cuttoff made driving much easier (again because no light is directed up where it is reflected back). In fact, turning on my fog lights had much less effect than with sealed beams. They seemed to fill in a couple of spots - more of a compliment than an addition.

The best part is the hi-beams. These are two fairly narrow beams that will light up the road a LONG ways away. As I crest a hill on the road to my house, over a quarter mile away, the high beams will light up the house at the end of the road well enough for me to see the color of the front door. I noticed they have their blinds closed now... The pattern seems narrower than the sealed beams I've used for years, but it does what it should.

I aimed them using David Stern's procedure on a grocery store wall. It is possible to get a bit more light in front of the car if you move them to the left a little as he advises.

Overall I recommend them as an upgrade. Keep in mind they are not legal - the box says "Off road only." I use my headlights 3 hours a day in the winter and I really like the new look.

sailor15015 · #2 01-12-2006, 03:21 PM

Thanks for the write up! I was looking at these just last night and I'm really considering getting some. The lights on my '85 were ok but on my '84 they're pretty poor.

MTUpower · #3 01-12-2006, 06:50 PM

and which car did these go on?

tenknots · #4 01-13-2006, 01:11 PM

I put these on my '84 300D.

Was again foggy this am and I am most impressed by how they work in the fog. And the guy that flipped me off for going too slow in a traffic jam knows how bright the hi-beams are. Might have given his bald head a radiation burn.

Pete Burton · #5 01-13-2006, 01:17 PM

thanks for posting this. Hopefully the results are similar with the 200mm rectangulars they sell for the SD. We have lots of fog here, so that's pretty much the deciding factor for me.

metric · #6 01-17-2006, 09:32 PM

Afther reading Tenknots review, I order Autopal e-code headlights. I have a 14 mi. commute each night in west-texas deer country.I install today and just finish nighttime test run. These lights are very impressive for the money. Thanks Tenknots for the info.

83-240D · #7 01-22-2006, 10:03 PM

i haven't tried this yet in a two light system but back in the day the scca rally pros would have the left light sweep right and the right one sweep left to ensure seeing the edges of the curves. just a thought. maybe it works better with fogs or tge second set of lights.

tenknots · #8 01-23-2006, 01:18 PM

Just for fun, I just ordered the 100w bulbs (about $7 each) and I'll put them in and see what the difference is when I get them later this week. I know the circuit is not designed for that knid of amperage, but I'm betting it's well built enough to take it. I have a long drive on very dark roads and I've already wrecked an SD due to a deer.

softconsult · #9 01-23-2006, 02:02 PM

If you lose that bet, you will be very sorry. Much better to install relays and heavier wire. I have run Bosch Euros on two different 124's for 6 years. There is a lot of heat generated.

Euro light patterns have been that way, the horizontal cutoff and rise to the right, since at least 1968. Had a set of Cibie's on my VW Bug. At that time they were big time illegal. Now days you pretty much blend in with all the other headlights using that beam pattern. My 2001 Voyager mini-van has that pattern , but much lower candle power.

Steve

dieseldiehard · #10 01-23-2006, 03:01 PM

I am running Autopals on my 220 Gasser (115) and with a set of Narva +30 H4's (standard 55W bulbs with some Xenon gas added to allow higher temperature filaments) and the brightness is so darned bright I'd not want to see what 100 W bulbs will do

I'm happy with the plus-30 bulbs, and I don't have any worries that the bulb sockets will melt and I didn't have to run larger wire or add a relay.

The only thing I noticed with Autopals is they were loose in the mounting rings. I had to add an O-ring to keep them from rotating around in the rings. They seemed to have no keys that fit the notches in the 115 lamp holder, maybe these were an early model, it was about 3 years ago that I installed them. I don't think it was because the car was a 115 chassis but it is nice to learn that new Autopals will fit the 123 chassis fine w/ no problems.

These are the best Euro lamp for the price I would ever expect! Having installed Carellos in my '83 300D I can tell you, you will pay a bunch more for real Euopean headlights but the difference is not that great! Autopals have a nice even lighting across the road, perhaps a little closer to the car than Carellos but much better than Sylvania Silverstars and even better than some French headlamps (Auteroche?) I am running on a 300TD (lousy!), I'll be removing them and installing Autopals or maybe another set of Carellos if I get lucky and find the second one, I need one more to make a set.

That said, ANYTHING is better that the OE sealed beams that came on the 123's

dieseldiehard · #11 01-23-2006, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tenknots

Just for fun, I just ordered the 100w bulbs (about $7 each) and I'll put them in and see what the difference is when I get them later this week. I know the circuit is not designed for that knid of amperage, but I'm betting it's well built enough to take it. I have a long drive on very dark roads and I've already wrecked an SD due to a deer.

The brighter the lights the greater the deer will "freeze"

They do not like bright lights, that is a well known fact. A loud shrill noise is supposed to make them boogey, so get yourself one of the little bumper mounted whistles made for the purpose, don't throw bright headlights on them and hopefully you won't have that experience again.
I once heard the US national statistics for autos destroyed by deer, and fatalities from deer and it was not a small number! something like 3000 cars per year and three or more fatalities in a worst case year. Yuk!

Pete Burton · #12 01-23-2006, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieseldiehard

The brighter the lights the greater the deer will "freeze"

They do not like bright lights, that is a well known fact. A loud shrill noise is supposed to make them boogey, so get yourself one of the little bumper mounted whistles made for the purpose, don't throw bright headlights on them and hopefully you won't have that experience again.
I once heard the US national statistics for autos destroyed by deer, and fatalities from deer and it was not a small number! something like 3000 cars per year and three or more fatalities in a worst case year. Yuk!

I still remember the time a few years ago when a coworker drove in having hit a deer on the way in to work. The grill and fender were pretty banged up, and the deer whistle was ripped right off the bumper, nowhere to be found.

83-240D · #13 01-23-2006, 04:36 PM

a buddy of mine encountered a deer with his '63 olds coming home from colo. his sister was driving.. it was a big car with the 389. the front grilee was cracked in a couple places. bambi was toast.

in the early 90's a friend hit a deer with his '63 corvette, in the dark, leaving road america for the hotel. the damage to the car was a torn open fender. he was pisssed at that deer.

oooops just remembered this is a headlight thread.

softconsult · #14 01-23-2006, 04:51 PM

Here are two deer - car stories. I know for a fact that both are true. First the lighter one.

While on our last deployment to the Gulf of Tonkin, onboard the Ranger, CVA61?, we had spare time. So we dreamed up which car to buy when we got back to the states. We talked one of our buddies into a Triumph Spitfire.
British Racing green. He bought one and, on his first trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains, a small deer leaped from the hill alongside the road and landed on his hood. Upset was an understatement, but he was not injured.

Now for the gruesome one. I have a female customer in Indiana. About 7 years ago, on Chrismas eve, she and her husband were traveling with her sister and the sister's husband. The brother in-law was driving with the sister in the front passenger seat. They hit a deer. The deer's front legs penetrated the windshield and impaled the sister killing her instantly. Yuk!

Steve

imdavid28 · #15 01-23-2006, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metric

Afther reading Tenknots review, I order Autopal e-code headlights. I have a 14 mi. commute each night in west-texas deer country.I install today and just finish nighttime test run. These lights are very impressive for the money. Thanks Tenknots for the info.

Are you guys talking about the lights of a Euro, or are these just something to replace the sealed beam lamps?