High beam assist

Jimbo1959

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I think that plays a big factor where cars in town set off without their headlights on. The street lighting can be good enough that you don't realise your headlights are not on because your brain is telling you the speedo is lit up so the lights are on.

I see this all the time at the moment, the dash lights are on so, the driver thinks that the exterior lights are on.
If they're lucky, at most, they might have the front DRL's on but, often they are waltzing around scaring the sh1t out of everyone else with no lights on at all.
Personally I think that interior lights should only come on when the driver switches the exterior lights on, those who want to have interiors on could run around with the side lights on. Then there would be no doubt in the drivers mind at all.
 
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Jimbo1959

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That's partly the fault of the idiots that design cars such that the instrument lights come on with the ignition instead of the lights like they always used to. ;)

I guess we can always find someone else to blame instead of being responsible for what we do. ;)

How can we be responsible if the matter is taken out of our hands?
If they still operated the way EmilysDad spoke of, the driver would have total responsibility.
 

rorywquin

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its a rockwell commander 112tc.and no i wont be going for a glass cockpit .very happy with my instruments .only additions digital fuel flow ,transponder and gps otherwise all origional. watched a utube on harriers in falklands yest his glass cockpit went black at a most inconvenient moment, could have killed him .no thanks.....

Hear what you say but the Falklands was 38 years ago and reliability has moved on since then and, as you know, there is usually redundancy these days.

Nice aircraft. I've spent 100s of hours in light aircraft (grew up at a flying club, spent a lot of time a remote construction sites and had a friend with a Piper Comanche 250) but never got my license (my wife is afraid of flying and I didn't want travel alone).
 
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Craiglxviii

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its a rockwell commander 112tc.and no i wont be going for a glass cockpit .very happy with my instruments .only additions digital fuel flow ,transponder and gps otherwise all origional. watched a utube on harriers in falklands yest his glass cockpit went black at a most inconvenient moment, could have killed him .no thanks.....
The Harriers in 1982 didn’t have glass cockpits. Neither the GR.3 or the FRS.1 Sea Jet. They had analogue dial gauge cockpits with cassette tape driven moving map displays for the INS.

Military aircraft across the planet from air superiority to transport types are all getting glass cockpits either as new or refitted. That should say something.
 

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I ask you, who disables a function which helps the driver stay "in control"? Certainly not I.


surely the feature and the driver capability are a big element in whether its helping or not?

High beam assist is more dangerous on a open country lane than doing it yourself, point.

another example, 8" of snow, omega automatic parked on tiny slope. rear 6 " lower than the front wheels. Put the car in D, try very gingerly to pull away. Traction control goes mental, car won't move. Thought, turn off traction control, instant wheels spin, aha lets try the button on the dash designed to help in slippery conditions (it makes the car pull away using 3rd gear to lessen the throttle sensitivity...) try again, instant wheel spin 70 mph on the speedo, car hasn't moved 1mm yet in 15 minutes trying to drive it. Thinking about options to abandon play.... decide to disable that crap, put it in first, drive off no issues.
 
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rorywquin

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How can we be responsible if the matter is taken out of our hands?
.

I agree with the above statement but that is the way of the world - everything will eventually be dumbed down to the lowest common denominator and we will live in a nanny state. Look around at the people that cannot take responsibility for their own lives and believe that what they see on TV and movies is "real life".


I think the driver would more likely be out of control if they did that, you're probably right about the "not smart to use it," I ask you, who disables a function which helps the driver stay "in control"? Certainly not I.

If they were control freaks and / or thought they could drive like Lewis Hamilton, they would / could disable ESP.:D

On the one hand you are saying you want to be in "full control" and on the other say that it would be wrong to disable ESP and you wouldn't do so thereby, handing over control to "them new fangled computer gizmos".;) However, I do agree that it is stupid to disable ESP.

I've done a couple of track days where we drove MBs with ESP completely overridden by MB (pushing the ESP button only partly disables it) and it is scary / impressive how much the car is actually doing for the driver.

I come from the pre ABS (cadence braking) , manual gearbox, cross ply tyre generation but love all the new stuff on cars.
 

rorywquin

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surely the feature and the driver capability are a big element in whether its helping or not?

High beam assist is more dangerous on a open country lane than doing it yourself, point.

another example, 8" of snow, omega automatic parked on tiny slope. rear 6 " lower than the front wheels. Put the car in D, try very gingerly to pull away. Traction control goes mental, car won't move. Thought, turn off traction control, instant wheels spin, aha lets try the button on the dash designed to help in slippery conditions (it makes the car pull away using 3rd gear to lessen the throttle sensitivity...) try again, instant wheel spin 70 mph on the speedo, car hasn't moved 1mm yet in 15 minutes trying to drive it. Thinking about options to abandon play.... decide to disable that crap, put it in first, drive off no issues.

We would disable driver aids when stuck in mud or sand etc (4 wheel driving).

Early days of ABS there was a on/off button (for use on dirt roads).
 

A.J.

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I come from the pre ABS (cadence braking) , manual gearbox, cross ply tyre generation but love all the new stuff on cars.

I had forgotten all about, they were dreadful when you think back. I had a penchant for a classic car a short while ago. A very good friend of mine had just bought a 62 Cresta which he was thrilled with. He persuaded me to have a drive in it. God it was awful and I remember the Cresta, apart from the rust that is, as being the Bee's Knee's in it's day. That put me off of a Classic Car instantly. You just seemed to be fighting the blooming thing every inch of the way. Nothing drives like a modern car with all of the Gismo's and I love 'em. :)
 

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surely the feature and the driver capability are a big element in whether its helping or not?

High beam assist is more dangerous on a open country lane than doing it yourself, point.

another example, 8" of snow, omega automatic parked on tiny slope. rear 6 " lower than the front wheels. Put the car in D, try very gingerly to pull away. Traction control goes mental, car won't move. Thought, turn off traction control, instant wheels spin, aha lets try the button on the dash designed to help in slippery conditions (it makes the car pull away using 3rd gear to lessen the throttle sensitivity...) try again, instant wheel spin 70 mph on the speedo, car hasn't moved 1mm yet in 15 minutes trying to drive it. Thinking about options to abandon play.... decide to disable that crap, put it in first, drive off no issues.

And the moral to this story is always use winter tyres on snow!
I can accelerate extremely briskly on snow without the traction control light coming on at all, saves all the messing about you go through?
 

EmilysDad

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.... Nothing drives like a modern car with all of the Gismo's and I love 'em. :)
Try driving a Bond D/E Micro car ...... they're in a completely different league to a modern car (even when you make allowances for having a wheel missing) :D
 

ajlsl600

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The Harriers in 1982 didn’t have glass cockpits. Neither the GR.3 or the FRS.1 Sea Jet. They had analogue dial gauge cockpits with cassette tape driven moving map displays for the INS.

Military aircraft across the planet from air superiority to transport types are all getting glass cockpits either as new or refitted. That should say something.

both myself and the wife watched a movies 4men programme on the harrier a few days ago. tho i refered to a utube video looked at as a result of seeing this film so i beg to differ, the pilot was interviewed for this film and he said that he lost his display at the most inopportune moment, wife just confirmed ,i did NOT dream that up, where we may be at cross purposes i believe the pilot was refering to his targeting display? but display going out he definitely said and if it was not electrical/electronic it would have still been visible,right.
 
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ajlsl600

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i forgot to add, and i BET most of the time these glass cockpit aircraft CANT fly it will be because of something electronic/electrical NOT analogue
 

Craiglxviii

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both myself and the wife watched a movies 4men programme on the harrier a few days ago.so i beg to differ, the pilot was interviewed for this film and he said that he lost his display at the most inopportune moment, wife just confirmed ,i did NOT dream that up, where we may be at cross purposes i believe the pilot was refering to his targeting display? but display going out he definitely said and if it was not electrical/electronic it would have still been visible,right.
HUD or radar display... There was one interception of a Canberra IIRC that failed due to a dead HUD. There’s no way for them not to be electronic. And the argument is fallous in that without those electronic systems the intercept wouldn’t have been possible in the first place.

You’re arguing over the one in a ten thousand failure which ignores the five thousand increased opportunities given by the improved system performance in the first place... without them we may as well go back to flying Meteors.
 

Craiglxviii

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i forgot to add, and i BET most of the time these glass cockpit aircraft CANT fly it will be because of something electronic/electrical NOT analogue
For sure. Jet turbine engine controllers onwards are all electronic now. If they’re good enough to cope with carrier aviation they’re good enough for everything else.
 

Jimbo1959

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[QUOTE="rorywquin,

If they were control freaks and / or thought they could drive like Lewis Hamilton, they would / could disable ESP.:D

On the one hand you are saying you want to be in "full control" and on the other say that it would be wrong to disable ESP and you wouldn't do so thereby, handing over control to "them new fangled computer gizmos".;) However, I do agree that it is stupid to disable ESP.

I've done a couple of track days where we drove MBs with ESP completely overridden by MB (pushing the ESP button only partly disables it) and it is scary / impressive how much the car is actually doing for the driver.

I come from the pre ABS (cadence braking) , manual gearbox, cross ply tyre generation but love all the new stuff on cars.[/QUOTE]


I am that control freak, :D however, I would not dare to compare my skill level to Lewis Hamilton (except in my dreams, lol).
I am very much aware of the benefits of ESP and would not switch it off, it helps much more than it hinders as, anyone who, like you, has done a track day in similar conditions, will find out.
The only time I would switch it off, would be if I were dealing with mud or snow.
My desire for control has "degrees". Basically, I know what works for me, is necessary, and good, then there's what I think, is not. Anyway, I have to live/deal with it.

Also like you, I am pre ABS, manual box, etc... my coupe is only my second auto in more than 50 years, (42 on the road and 9 on the farm), the first was a very basic 4 spd, 3 forward, 1 reverse, which I had for around three months in the '70's. So, I love the improvements but, as some others have mentioned, feel that some are only fitted to add expense and some I just don't think are entirely necessary. You use and enjoy what suits you I suppose. :rolleyes:
 

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HUD or radar display... There was one interception of a Canberra IIRC that failed due to a dead HUD. There’s no way for them not to be electronic. And the argument is fallous in that without those electronic systems the intercept wouldn’t have been possible in the first place.

You’re arguing over the one in a ten thousand failure which ignores the five thousand increased opportunities given by the improved system performance in the first place... without them we may as well go back to flying Meteors.


my arguement, i believe originated from rorywquin asking me about glass cockpits.! where i said i was not interested, i am still not interested . i have 9 aircraft type ratings myself and owned /operated two aircraft types privatly, over a 12 yr period ,in east africa. i did my own checks and maintenance , got where i intended to get when i intended and back, never crashed ,never wheels up, or ended up at an airport other than intended. i believe this is because i 1. was very careful with my planing, 2,very careful about pre flight,3, very careful to keep matters as simple as i could and a glass cockpit in Africa with dubious back up and maintenance expertise was not going to be part of any of my plans, duel primary instruments was. unlike the youth of today i never flew gps only either ,as then gps did not and still may not ? show the rocks in the clouds,a number paid for this error with their lives and on occasion the lives of their guests... i always carried relevant maps and knew the terrain each side of my planed track. i am not interested in becoming one in ten thousand on this matter
having drifted from the origional subject i am leaving this to rtn to track.
 

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I remember the Cresta, apart from the rust that is, as being the Bee's Knee's in it's day. :)

My father bought a Vauxhall Cresta brand new in 1959 at the startling cost of £1,000. He was very precious about it, never allowing any of his three sons to wash the car. It was sky blue, with sky blue leather seats. He bought transparent plastic seat covers and never got the benefit of those luxurious leathers. He kept the car for almost a decade and sold it to a colleague at work who wrapped it around a lamp post three days after purchase. I can only imagine my father's grief on getting that news.
 

Jimbo1959

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My father bought a Vauxhall Cresta brand new in 1959 at the startling cost of £1,000. He was very precious about it, never allowing any of his three sons to wash the car. It was sky blue, with sky blue leather seats. He bought transparent plastic seat covers and never got the benefit of those luxurious leathers. He kept the car for almost a decade and sold it to a colleague at work who wrapped it around a lamp post three days after purchase. I can only imagine my father's grief on getting that news.

That reminds me of a Fabia vRS TDi I had.
It was,
1. one of the only cars I bought twice.
2. The only car I ever kept for more than four years. (My favourite to date).
I maintained it regardless of cost, my wife voiced the opinion I loved it more than her, you get the picture, it was immaculate you could eat your dinner off of the engine bay. :geek::geek::geek:
I sold it because I was getting too old to lavish so much time on it, and it was getting to the stage, I was having to do more to keep it in the manner to which it had become accustomed. She was after all twelve years old by this time. :D

IMG_1084.JPG
The young lad I sold it to told me he was a professional car valeter and I thought hmm... at least she'll be looked after and kept clean.
Three months after I sold it, I saw it and could have wept, the picture is still burned into my mind, fortunately I don't have a copy.
The alloys were black (without benefit of paint) the offside had a score from the front wing to the rear quarter, and the tailgate had been pushed in, it looked as though it hadn't been washed since the day I had sold it. :shock: It broke my heart and I wish I could have afforded to keep her but, the practicalities of my situation at the time prevented that.
I think if I could have spoken the buyer I would have punched him. :mad::mad::mad:

I apologise for hijacking this thread by the way :p but I can empathise with your Dad's pain.
 
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ajlsl600

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My father bought a Vauxhall Cresta brand new in 1959 at the startling cost of £1,000. He was very precious about it, never allowing any of his three sons to wash the car. It was sky blue, with sky blue leather seats. He bought transparent plastic seat covers and never got the benefit of those luxurious leathers. He kept the car for almost a decade and sold it to a colleague at work who wrapped it around a lamp post three days after purchase. I can only imagine my father's grief on getting that news.

i know how he felt, a few yr ago i had a 2000mile ducati 748r, i rode it to italy and back,then i sold it with regret to my daughters boyfriend, he wrote it off 5 days later. a yr later i bought another this time 3,500 miles. i rode that to italy ,and this time i kept it. still in garage..
 


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