<E46> Headlights

[SMILLER@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Tamer was bummed by a lack of E46 info...

>Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1998 15:03:09 -0800 (PST)
>From: Tamer Rashad <trashad@domain.elided>
>Subject: <E46>
>
>Dear all,
>
>I wonder why the list lacks any discussions related to E46s?
>
>Tamer Rashad
>'99 323i
>'91 325iC

... so let me throw this out there, just for Tamer and other E46 junkies to
have something to read.  I had lunch today with BMW CCA GGC member
Larry Ayers, who spends his professional career working with lights. 
He saw the E46 headlights for the first time this last weekend, and he
said that there appears to be no lens on the headlights.  There is a bulb,
a reflector, and a cover (no optics in the cover).  That means all the light
distribution is done by the reflector.  Also, the bulbs are garden-variety
replaceable units, and the same spec  bulb is used in both the low beam
and the high beam.  In other (non-E46) lights, the high beam bulb usually
is brighter.   So, in the E46, more than anything else, it is the placement of
the bulb and the design of the reflector that provides all the lighting.

Another factoid:  The E46 headlights are "harmonized".  No, that has
nothing to do with frequency or humming in tune.  It means that the same
light assemblies are used in E46s world-wide.  This apparently required
the hiring of an arbitrator to work with the factory and the various
governing agencies around the world.

Larry has suggested this to the BMW CCA as a subject for a future
Roundel article.  No, Larry said he's not interested in writing the article. 
So, if it ever happens, you can say that you read it here first on the BMW
Digest.

Scott Miller
Golden Gate Chapter
BMW CCA #44977
1990 325i/is hybrid w/ plain old non-harmonized headlights

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