Spot or spread?

[Franco Cozzo]

Hey guys, I'm just curious on how would I tell if my driving lights are spot or spread beams?

I bought them a while ago, had them fitted on my car, they where new boxed from the factory, the last pair of Hella 1378s (spreads) that Burson's had left in stock in their factory.

Once they arrived I fitted them to the car, but I noticed that instead of the H1s they where supposed to come with, one came with a Hella H3 instead, I thought that was a bit odd.

Anyways I swapped the H3 for a H1 back at Bursons and we've been sweet ever since, but today it dawned on me.

I turned my driving lights on facing my garage wall, and the beams are two 1m diameter circles of lights, shouldn't spread beams follow the same pattern as highbeams? For example, very long length wise?

I'm thinking that at the Burson's factory, someone must have bought the wrong lights and returned them, and Bursons put the pencil beams in the spread beam boxes and put them back on the shelf? Why would there be a H3 in the box instead of a H1 like the other?

Thanks much.

[fasty73]

Sound like spot beams to me, spreads should be wide.

[GTP 290]

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure spread beams have verticle lines in the glass and spot beams are a clear flat glass like a magnifying glass.

[fasty73]

We used to spend 30k a month with Bursons and have now switched to Repco because Bursons has gone down the drain.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by GTP 290

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure spread beams have verticle lines in the glass and spot beams are a clear flat glass like a magnifying glass.

Yeah they usually would but with free form reflectors, apparently they don't need to have that anymore. The Rallye 4000 Compacts I have all look the same, spread/spot unfortunately.

Originally Posted by fasty73

Sound like spot beams to me, spreads should be wide.

Indeed, I have to look into it more, I'll provide photos in the next few days.

[foxtrot3]

Hi. From the hella online catalog "100W Compact Spread Beam Driving Lamp - 12V" ( http://www.hella.com/produktion/Hell.../Home/Home.jsp )(follow the links) Cheers MD

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by foxtrot3

Hi. From the hella online catalog "100W Compact Spread Beam Driving Lamp - 12V" ( http://www.hella.com/produktion/Hell.../Home/Home.jsp )(follow the links) Cheers MD

Thats right, I've been sold "1378s" which are Rallye 4000 Compact "Spread beam" but I don't think they're actually spreads, might have been swapped around at Bursons.

http://www.hella.com/produktion/Hell...00_Compact.jsp

I'll take some photos of them on Friday hopefully as I'm home early from TAFE.

[foxtrot3]

Hi. A 1 metre spot at 3 metres sounds like a spread beam, I would expect about 1/2 metre spot for pencil beam if that. Both the spot and spread take a H1 but the fog lamps are listed at 55W and take a H7 globe. Cheers MD

[burkie_21]

Originally Posted by fasty73

We used to spend 30k a month with Bursons and have now switched to Repco because Bursons has gone down the drain.

down the drain is the understatement of the centry