So how lousy are incandescent headlights?

A couple days ago I was phoning around town looking for a place that sells Sylvania Xtravision headlights for my '82 300D Turbo, and one place told me they only sell regular incandescent 7 inch sealed beam headlamps. This got me wondering about how North American drivers faired driving at night before 1978(when sealed beam halogens became legal). I read on Dan Stern's automotive website that non-halogen sealed beam headlights are "...extremely dangerous. At 50 mph on a dry day, you are out-driving them". I find this statement very hard to believe. I mean would you be driving without any light ahead of you at say 65mph?

So are these headlights really that bad .I figured that you classic Benz owners would be most knowledgeable about this matter.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

All of my regularly driven vehicles have sealed beam-halogens. My 1972 250 sedan has
7" GE sealed beam halogens from Walmart.
I can't answer you about 'Extravisions'.
I've also seen 7" replaceable bulb-halogens
from 'Hella' and 'Cibie' at some auto parts stores.
Happy Motoring, Mark

[awarne]

I have a 72 280sel and I figured out something cool!
I took the PIAA fog lights off of my suburban and they fit into where my high beams would be, though they didnt fit perfect but the clips on the side clipped right on the bracket holding them in place. Talk about seeing at night, I can see about 100 yards or so. And they look really cool also,maybe you could try something like this. I reccomend PIAA's though they are very expensive but worth every penny.

FYI: STAR Magazine, produced by the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, sells excerpts of older issues as "technical reprints". One reprint (from the mid 1980's) offers advice on how to replace the factory fog lamps on W123's with driving lights. Try www.mbca.org if you are interested.

Originally posted by Mr.W123
A couple days ago I was phoning around town looking for a place that sells Sylvania Xtravision headlights for my '82 300D Turbo, and one place told me they only sell regular incandescent 7 inch sealed beam headlamps. This got me wondering about how North American drivers faired driving at night before 1978(when sealed beam halogens became legal). I read on Dan Stern's automotive website that non-halogen sealed beam headlights are "...extremely dangerous. At 50 mph on a dry day, you are out-driving them". I find this statement very hard to believe. I mean would you be driving without any light ahead of you at say 65mph?

So are these headlights really that bad .I figured that you classic Benz owners would be most knowledgeable about this matter.

So, getting back to the Question...
I drove many years with regular incandecent sealed beam headlamps. They really aren't that bad. But the original European headlamps for 108 chssis cars were REAL scarry. I always figured they were not intended to be driven at night.
As for the "out driving them at 50 mph" statement...well, the guy does SELL lights, right? I could see where Einstein would disagree strongly with that statement.
Prior to the "legal" halogen lamps, we used S.E.V. Marshall and Cibe's for serious night driving and removed them before the yearly safety inspection that was once required. Halogens offer whiter light and a bit better beam or "focus"(depending on the lens). But I really don't see the sealed beam lights as a hazard.
Regards,
Randy D.

[Robby Ackerman]

Once you use halogen lights you'll never go back to tungston sealed beams. A nice setup for your '82 turbo, BTW I have one also, assuming you have the 7" round and 5" fogs, is to use a 7" E-code and a 7" Z-code Cibie as a replacement for your sealed beams. One focuses a narrow beam down the center of the road and the other throws a flared beam in front of you and off the right side of the road. The two used together make a great for great visibility.

[Roger]

My first good US headlights came with the advent of halogen lamps, initially as sealed beams, then finally as bulbs. Night driving was simply more dangerous before then.

My first car was a '47 Ford 4 dr sedan I bought in 1956. What an improvement sealed beams were over the tungsten bulbs back then! Though Sealed beams were mandated in new cars in the US in my youth because they were such an improvement over tungsten bulbs, they they did/do not meet European standards. Simply don't light up the road and handle glare well enough.

My first good headlamps were on my used VW beetle I bought in Heidelberg, Germany in 1966. Or maybe I just couldn't outdrive them. I had replaceable halogen bulbs (not yet legal in the US) that I had to replace with yellow tungsten bulbs when I was transferred to France -- French were very aware of the problems with bluish light back then, but perhaps overly so, as indicated by their recent retreat from mandated Yellow.