Threads lilke this usually get ugly. Some people want to insist that everyone should run DRLs. Others insist that its nobody's business but their own. Let's not let that happen to this thread.

Here's my $02: I live in a State where we have lots of roads that require entering the oncoming lane to pass. For that reason alone, I'm glad I have DRLs, and I wish everyone else did.

Kenny

 

Ooooh, I definitely did NOT mean to start a brawl. I am just sincerely curious as I'm always looking for any performance improvement I can find.

 

it also serves a purpose is you have after euro spec hids or other after market hids b/c it will not stress the ballest out by throwing a lower voltage then it normal needs

 

I disabled mine, when I need them (on two lane highways and such) I just turn on the headlights. It got tiring having to replace bulbs.
There's a major performance upgrade if you disable them, a gain of 15hp at least!

 

There's a major performance upgrade if you disable them, a gain of 15hp at least!

Wow! I had no idea... Still have so much to learn about modern cars. I replaced the entire engine in my 76 Chevy van when I was 17, but I can barely recognize the components under the hood of my Passat. Perhaps it's time to put down the dot.Net books and study some contemporary auto engineering. :lol:

 

i disabled my drl's and i noticed HUGE performance gains!!!!!!
almost as big as the apr chip!!!!!!!
:thumbup:

 

i disabled my drl's and i noticed HUGE performance gains!!!!!!
almost as big as the apr chip!!!!!!!
:thumbup:

:roll:

if you have the Xenon headlamps, that is the ONLY reason you SHOULD diable the DRL's...

any other reason is simply a matter of choice... some peeps like to roll with just the fogs and parking lights on sometimes...

 

the burned out bulb thing is why i disabled ours.

the other thing i think is that they are annoying to look at on other people's cars and detract from the good looks of our car.

 

If I have the stock W8 HID's (which I do...), which seem to be the Euro HID's everyone's buying, then would disablingthe DRL's help me with that 'lower voltage' thing? :crazy:

 

31k miles coming up on the DRLs and original bulbs. Was this a B5 issue or is it still a B5.5 issue?

In most lighting conditions on open road a car with DRLs is more visible than without, you certainly notice in Alberta where I first exerienced this. In certain light conditions they also make the car vanish, but that is only for a very small percentage of situations. In WWII they realized this and some pilots attacking uboats would switch their landing lights on so that they weren't visible as a dark speck. The Leigh light was a different thing, that was for night attacks.

Anyway, just in case Cycles is believing the BS. Your DRLs consume less than 100W, even allowing for drastic generation and transmission losses that shouldn't take half a horsepower (375 watts or so) out of the car.

 

I live in Canada and we are required to have DRL's on our cars, but I pulled mine, I just run a Eurswitch and make the foglights as DRLS.

 

Anyway, just in case Cycles is believing the BS. Your DRLs consume less than 100W, even allowing for drastic generation and transmission losses that shouldn't take half a horsepower (375 watts or so) out of the car.

I was biting my "lip," actually. :wink:

 

If I have the stock W8 HID's (which I do...), which seem to be the Euro HID's everyone's buying, then would disablingthe DRL's help me with that 'lower voltage' thing? :crazy:

Don't worry about it. Your car was designed with HIDs in mind. The lower voltage is something people retrofiting HIDs to thier car need to worry about. There was a change at some point, and I think the newer cars all run DRLs at 100% because of the introduction of factory HIDs in America.

 

Some people will argue with this one but there are two reason I disabled my DRL's

1. I want my headlight lenses to remain clear as long as possible so I disabled the DRL's so that they don't keep the lights on the continually heat the lenses and allow road particles to cling to the lenses easier.

2. I have noticed that when you have tinted windows is is harder to see when you are reversing at night but when you turn off the headlight the glare and reflection from the Headlights disappeares and you can actually see out of your rear window.

I found out number two by accident one nigth. When ever I bring it to anyones attention, to anyone who tries it tell me it is easier to see.

I think this is because tint reflects tranmitted light so when you eliminate the extra light it increased you visibility.

 

i disabled my drl's and i noticed HUGE performance gains!!!!!!
almost as big as the apr chip!!!!!!!
:thumbup:

You must be joking...!
There is NO WAY that disabling 100 watts worth of headlights will give you huge performance gains. It won't give you ANY performance gains.

It's not like the car suddenly has way more electricity to send to the spark plugs... it's all electronically controlled. They build the car to deliver the appropriate spark with or without the headlights on...

Do you also notice huge performance gains when you turn the radio off? Probably not...

Sorry, I don't mean to Diss you... but you're making an impossible claim.

Jimmy

 

Why did I pull relay 173? Because it was there...

 

I changed my headlight bulbs twice in the first 6 months of ownership. After that I pulled 173 and ran 85 watt xenon look alike bulbs. Since then I have had no problems at all (1 year later)

 

I disabled the DRL's for one reason...I wanted full control of the lights, including the fogs. In heavy fog conditions, the fog lights cut under the fog. But in the OEM configuration, you can't run the fogs without also running the headlights which, in my experience, cancels out the advantage of the fog lamps.

Also, since I'm involved in amateur astronomy, I like to be able to kill all the lights while driving near other observers.