How many "near death" experiences....

MojaveDesertKJ · **Joined:** Sun Jul 31, 2005 1:18 pm **Posts:** 17

....due to the sharp cut-off point on the KJ headlights?
I count 4 so far and have only had my '05 since the summer.
Don't get me wrong, I love the brightness they provide in the limited area in which they provide it.
I live in the mojave desert where the highways are hilly and twisty most of the time.

1. While driving on a long stretch at a posted 65mph, I came up on a broken down old pick-up towing a wooden, hard to see in the dark, trailer full of dead branches. He must have had an alternator problem because the only light he had burning was one extremely dim headlight. The sharp cut-off point on the KJ never even lit him up until I was right on his tail doing 65 to his 25.

2. While driving at night, I went into a curve to find a large animal parked right in the middle of the road. He looked at me as if I was invading his space. I was. But again, had the headlights not had that sharp cut-off point, I would have seen it much sooner that I did.

3. While driving during flash flood conditions, I came up on a place in the highway that had been covered with rocks,sand and branches that Caltrans had not yet been able to get to. The way the hilly road was, the KJ headlights never even lit it up until I was already right on top of it.

4. While desending down a long grade at a posted 55mph, I came up on an active swift moving flash flood that was nearly 100' accross and at least 2' deep. The KJ headlights lit it up just in time for me to get out a single sh** word before entering the river. The water carried the KJ across the highway to the other side before the tires hit pavement and I was able to correct my direction and continue. Had the river been 5' wider, or my speed been slower, I would have been on the evening news.

I know it seems as though I might be at fault here. And I have certainly learned new driving habits with my KJ. But I have driven these roads for years while behind the wheel of any of my 4 XJ's and have never had any problems like I do with this Jeep. Oncoming traffic makes it nearly impossible to always have the brights on.

Just blowing off some steam while I have the free time to do so.
Thanks for looking.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:07 pm

Theres a screw on the headlights to change that, did it to mine but ive not driven since to see how they do.

Im pretty sure you loosen it to get the headlights to go up. Dont got to far or you may blind people even with the dims on. I turned it to times while watching the lights go up on the garage door. Ill check it then see if it needs to go higher. I had to change mine be i got a lift that lifted the rear more then the front, so they did about as good as the fog lights did before the lift.

ohh, and ive never about died, some cats have though, im glad the brakes are good on the libby, i like cats. I thought for sure one little kitten was gone, couldnt even see it, i had to look in the rear view to see if it was on the road, he made it though.

Does anyone else ever stop and get turtles off the road, ive wanted to so many times and have only once.

MojaveDesertKJ · **Joined:** Sun Jul 31, 2005 1:18 pm **Posts:** 17

Thanks for the reply. My lights aren't out of adjustment, just that the sharp cut-off point makes it hard to see things when you're driving the kind of roads I drive. On flat roads they work much better that the old sealed beams of the XJ.

auggy · **Posted:** Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:49 pm

I've noticed that as well. The Renegade fogs really help to lessen the extremity of the cut off, but it's still not perfect. I still find myself leaning foward to see around corners even at low speeds.

I wish KJ's had the turning headlamps that the lexus has

Robby_T · **Posted:** Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:51 pm

My 2002 Limited has a switch on the dash labelled 0-4 which alters the height of the dimmed beam lights from way out in front to near the front of the car which is useful when going from town to country driving. I believe this is standard fit in the UK....do you not have this?

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:59 pm

Robby_T wrote:

My 2002 Limited has a switch on the dash labelled 0-4 which alters the height of the dimmed beam lights from way out in front to near the front of the car which is useful when going from town to country driving. I believe this is standard fit in the UK....do you not have this?

What?!?! Never heard of this. That would be awsome. Got any pics of your dash or what makes the light move?

The UK jeeps get better and better! U.S. jeeps suck compared to UK jeeps.

m0th · **Posted:** Mon Jan 16, 2006 11:39 pm

There's really no excuse (other than cost) for not putting in headlight levelling switches, rear fogs, side indicators, etc. on all models, export or domestic.

This is my first vehicle since my 1979 Ford Fiesta that didn't come with a headlamp levelling switch. It's also my first vehicle since leaving the UK.

But one thing to be aware of, go check a UK Jeep dealership and do the dollar conversion. UK Jeeps are also way more expensive.

MikeD0106 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:26 am

I had the same complaint with the headlights when I bought my '03. It did improve when I installed a pair of Sylvania Silverstars. If you haven't done that yet then you may consider it.

snowsport · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:52 pm **Posts:** 1211

I can relate to this topic. I had a couple of close calls with things suddenly taking shape out of the dark (one of which was a very old Unimog with no taillights going, oh, about half the posted speed on a main highway). I fixed the situation with a pair of driving beams that I mounted on the bumper. These are long-distance PIAA lamps that completely light up the road ahead. The difference really is like night and day. You might want to consider some auxilliary lamps, but be sure the beam is fairly focused, like about 20 degrees or maybe even less. This is best for highway driving, and you can augment them with flood or "fog" beams for off-roading. Have fun! James.

zeero · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 1:27 am

Here's what I do...because I know exactly what he means....I find it difficult to see beyond a certain point on very dark roads (I live in the country side)....and that certain point is very close and very YIKES!! at times....if I were to adjust the lights I would be blinding most other drivers...not good...anyway, at night I always have my bumper fogs on...one because they look cool, and two...I get a little more light on the road close to me....also, when no other cars are coming towards me I throw on the roof lights....why not....with them I can see a mile down the road....its great....anyway, thought I'd share. :wink:

dog_party · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:31 am

I think your cheapest bet is to get the replacement bulbs. They're a bit brighter, but they're still sitting in the same little cans.

Aux lights are definitely the best solution, especially considering the seriously hazardous situations you described. Get about thirty of them and run a generator in your cargo area...

...I'm thiking something like this might work...

Quote:

My 2002 Limited has a switch on the dash labelled 0-4 which alters the height of the dimmed beam lights from way out in front to near the front of the car

It's my understanding that staged leveling light systems is law in Europe. VW has leveling systems for their Euro models and so does Ford. I wish that this leveling system would jump the pond (and bring the 6-speed manual CRD tranny with it!).

jeeplikens · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:06 am

dog_party hit in the head :lol:

Short of putting some 1mil candle powered spots on your rig, your not going to stay legal and do any better then putting a set of KC's on the front to complement your high beams. And trust me.. in the rain, snow or fog, your visual abilities will be even more limited. But, just about any config short of infra red or night vision isn't going to give you ample notice of a camo'd truck hauling brush in the middle of the desert.. :wink:

Use to see this problem in Kentucky during the early sprint/late fall when fram tractors were on the road. Thanks to those cool reflective triangles, most were seen before accidents occurred. However, too bad the cows just didn't get onboard.. :cry:

Just a note: My 94 LHS had the bubble leveling system on it. Took all the guess work out of making sure your car was adjusted to specs I guess. But the lights sucked on those cars anyway so even with those worthless projector lights in addition to the headlights, still couldn't see on a rainy dark night.. Hated driving it in the rain at night..

brpn#1 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:35 pm

many times... we now live in the NC mountains.. the roads in our county are just 2 lanes.. even the hwy is 2 lanes.. no 4 lane major hwys in our county.. so they are all curvy.. i run fogs all the time to see up close.. its usually not something far away that will surprise me.. its usually something around the corner jumps out.. almost had a few deer.. dogs.. cats.. squirels.. possums.. saw a bear twice but both times ran off the road..

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:57 pm

zeero wrote:

Here's what I do...because I know exactly what he means....I find it difficult to see beyond a certain point on very dark roads (I live in the country side)....and that certain point is very close and very YIKES!! at times....if I were to adjust the lights I would be blinding most other drivers...not good...anyway, at night I always have my bumper fogs on...one because they look cool, and two...I get a little more light on the road close to me....also, when no other cars are coming towards me I throw on the roof lights....why not....with them I can see a mile down the road....its great....anyway, thought I'd share. :wink:

Driving lights are great. I cant even tell when i switch between brights and dims b/c my hellas are so bright. Its not fun driving other cars after driving my jeep.

Best picture i have of them.

brpn#1 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:58 pm

Jeepjeepster wrote:

Does anyone else ever stop and get turtles off the road, ive wanted to so many times and have only once.

see.. im like you.. not many people care about animals and just run them over.. i try to avoid anything in the road.. i see many animals everday near the road.. dogs.. cats.. etc.. and i see a lot of road kill.. i know sometimes you cant avoid hitting something and i hate when it happens.. we are animal lovers here.. tons of animals.. people joke that we should charge admission to our 'zoo'.. i have stopped MANY times and gotten turtles off the road.. i usually take them to my land and let them free.. we have a stream that runs thru our land.. lots of trees.. etc.. perfect place..

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 1:06 pm

haha, funny story. The one time that I did stop and get a turtle, a car was coming up behind so I hurried and put in my floorboard and it started crawling around. I kept hitting it trying to make it go back into its shell, but it wouldn’t. I pulled off the road a little ways and put I on a hill that went down away from the road into a creek.

My girlfriend really makes me mad sometimes b/c she could care less about possums, i could too but i never try to hit them. Thats one reason i would like to break up with her b/c she has no heart for animals. Only her dog and cats.

brpn#1 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 1:52 pm

Jeepjeepster wrote:

haha, funny story. The one time that I did stop and get a turtle, a car was coming up behind so I hurried and put in my floorboard and it started crawling around. I kept hitting it trying to make it go back into its shell, but it wouldn’t. I pulled off the road a little ways and put I on a hill that went down away from the road into a creek.

My girlfriend really makes me mad sometimes b/c she could care less about possums, i could too but i never try to hit them. Thats one reason i would like to break up with her b/c she has no heart for animals. Only her dog and cats.

well.. i hate people that dont have compassion for animals.. we try to help as many as we can.. we have a cat now that we saved last year.. it was in the road and almost got hit by a Beavis who didnt stop or even slow down.. i stopped traffic and got out and got him.. he was a lil kitten barely 5-6 weeks old.. but anyways.. here is a picture of one turtle I had to dodge and i got out and took the pics then moved him to a safer area off the main road.. the fire trails and old roads up here in the mountains i see all kinds of wildlife..

kkkustom · **Joined:** Fri Sep 16, 2005 8:33 am **Posts:** 160

after I heard a story about one of my moms friends at work... i will never try to miss anything smaller than a deer in the road.

she was driving with her child in the back seat, when she swerved to miss a squirl and ended crashing the car and killing her child. She was also in very bad shape physically and you can only imagine the mental issues now.

what does it cost to scrub a little bit of road kill off your car, i bet it is alot less than repairing a wrecked car or worse replacing a life. I cant stand that doo doo when I am driving behind someone and they lock up the brakes to avoid a flock of crows or a squirl, with out looking in the rear view before the do it. And for thoes of you who say... ohh but it was a dog or a cat... i dont care one bit, if the owner cares about the thing it would not be in the road. I bet if you crash your car becaue of a dog, the dogs owner would be liable wouldnt it? humm something to think about too.

on another note... my 8000k HID's really project a sweet beam! nice and crisp, and i am not stretching the truth at all when i say it is atleast 300 times better than stock!

brpn#1 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2006 2:04 pm

kkkustom wrote:

after I heard a story about one of my moms friends at work... i will never try to miss anything smaller than a deer in the road.

she was driving with her child in the back seat, when she swerved to miss a squirl and ended crashing the car and killing her child. She was also in very bad shape physically and you can only imagine the mental issues now.

what does it cost to scrub a little bit of road kill off your car, i bet it is alot less than repairing a wrecked car or worse replacing a life. I cant stand that doo doo when I am driving behind someone and they lock up the brakes to avoid a flock of crows or a squirl, with out looking in the rear view before the do it. And for thoes of you who say... ohh but it was a dog or a cat... i dont care one bit, if the owner cares about the thing it would not be in the road. I bet if you crash your car becaue of a dog, the dogs owner would be liable wouldnt it? humm something to think about too.

on another note... my 8000k HID's really project a sweet beam! nice and crisp, and i am not stretching the truth at all when i say it is a

tleast 300 times better than stock!

you or anyone else cant blame a dog or cat for being in the road and EVEN blame the squirel for that lady to loose her kid is plain stupd IMO

the owners or parents are the ones to blame for letting their animals/kids out near a busy road.. so what your saying is you cant drive safely.. what if a kid was playing near the road and ran out what you gonna do then? not stop.. slow down? its the same thing.. my animals are MY FAMILY and i keep them safe and out of harms way..but not everyone is like me or my wife... nature has a strange way of showing us what is important and what isnt.. im sorry for your friends mom and her loss.. but that doesnt make it any better for anyone to go head for heels and kill everything in the road.. you gotta drive safe out there and watch out for everything.. driving is one of the most dangerous things we do and take for granted.. get behind me and watch me slow down or stop for an animal or someones kids and talk that crap you just posted.. geez.. grow the F up.. you cant help that there are stupid owners/parents out there that let their dogs/cats/KIDS run free and dont watch them.. i can repair a vehicle..i have insurance.. but so far.. im not god and i cant bring a life back..

when you drive you gotta be careful.. and like i said before.. sometimes you cant help it.. no vehicle can stop on a dime.. but if you drive safely and watch the road and the side.. you CAN be safer.. unless you like to drive RIGHT behind people on the gd bumper... geez.. 'scrub a little bit of road kill off your car'.. i hope you never have to deal with a loss by someone like yourself that just keeps on going and doesnt have compassion..

kkkustom · **Joined:** Fri Sep 16, 2005 8:33 am **Posts:** 160

OK first off. let me get his cleared up...

First don’t be-little me or my maturity and tell me to grow up the F up when you say something like " like the squirrel jumped out on purpose to kill her child.. " that is very childish your self. I never blamed the stupid squirrel, or the driver... my whole point was "think before you react" "ask your self what is more important the rodent in the road or the kid in the back seat?" I also supported that opinion by the "slamed on the brakes BEFORE thy look in the mirror" comment.

Second, NO, I am not saying she cant drive safely. In fact she has not had traffic tickets recently, or have been in an accident as far back as I have known her to work with my mother.

Third, I don’t go "head over heals" killing doo doo with my jeep. I just pay attention... and ask my self is there is someone behind me, coming at me in the other lane, maybe even someone passing me, or a ditch to my right side... If answer yes to any of them I will hope to run the thing over in the center of my car and not take any more action than that.

Fourth, I have compassion. I feel bad if i hit a squirrel. I think about his little squirrels that will miss them. And I would also have compassion for my neighbors dog that got killed a few years ago by a car. BUT nature is nature and we cant help that. but again my neighbors always let that dog run around, it was always in the road and I would always yell at it to get back here, but the owners did not do jack about it. Therefore not compassion from me towards the owners.

I may not know much, and I am only 23 years old. But I have been around cars, racing, building and driving all my life. I can control my car, and I bet I could drive about as good as most of you now when I was 15 because of this lifestyle I was given. I have also lost my grandmother to a hit and run when I was young. It happens to all of us unfortunately, and sometimes we cant help it. all I am asking is think a bit more because the irony of my above story sucks and i don’t want it to happen to anyone again if they can help it.

How many "near death" experiences....

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