Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 21:44:53 -0400 From: 'nuther Bob <nonenopsam.com> Subject: Re: Got my Saab -- sort of
On 15 May 2003 22:01:16 GMT, davehinznopsamcop.net wrote: >Someone who looks an awful lot like Nel Frikandel <nelfrikandelnopsamail.com> wrote: >> On 15 May 2003 19:06:29 GMT, davehinznopsamcop.net wrote: >>> >>>I think my 9-5 is the "smoked" that he describes. Not sure about >>>the front, the back I'm sure is. (Black, '99 9-5 SE 2.3L turbo) >>> >>>Dave Hinz > >> I think the 9-5 have them all in smoke, don't they? I was just >> wondering about the 9000. > >Could be; I was just mentioning this as a counter-example to the theory >that it was illegal in the USA, which seems to not be the case. >> Slitt can't see why that wuold be illegal in the states, here they >> have orange bulbs, so the light is still coloured, the exterior glass >> is just white... > >The US has had some odd lighting laws over the years. Sealed beams >were the only legal headlights until fairly recently, for reasons >that don't make much sense. AFAIK, There are some DOT regulations that specify reflectivity for certain lights - your car is supposed to reflect light in certain areas so that it can be seen even with the lights off i.e. parked. The orange "bubble cut" might be there to meet that standard, both front and rear. However, red also seems to be allowed in the rear. I recall something about a # of sq inches of reflective lens. I don't think it matters if the rear is red or orange but I think the front is (was?) superposed to be orange. I know that in most states you can pass inspection as long as you have orange bulbs for the turn signals. But, I think this is more because the inspection stations don't know about the DOT reflectivity standards. Please note that I'm speculating on all this as I have never read the actual standard. I have changed my ng900/9~3 lights to use orange bulbs and to remove the orange reflectors from the front lights. I also changed the side markers over to the newer clear with orange bulbs. I think it looks a lot nicer without the orange blobs. Bob
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