What Did You Do To Your Smart Today?

[kdubya 34]

Replaced my rear wiper motor today from my parts car. And not a moment too soon. -1C and raining here today!

[stickman007 309]

Did my fuel filter change finally. Thanks CANMAN for the wiki! went smoothly without breaking the sensor.

[dguy 22]

Tonight I popped the driver's seat out of the car to clean the airbag connectors' terminals, only to find that the bloody cable was severed in one location, and the insulation rubbed-through in another. Looks like the under-seat drawer which I happily installed a couple of years ago has been rubbing & tugging on things.

[FlossyTheSmart 81]

Well, at least it's not a mystery what the issue was!

[dguy 22]

haha, yes there is that I guess.

[stickman007 309]

Took my smart for the first road trip of the new year to Jasper. A bit bumpy from all the potholes, but the weather was great.

Edited March 1, 2015 by stickman007

[MikeT 744]

Love Jasper, we were just there.

[Gill411 1]

new wiper blades

[Wild! 118]

Finally got around to converting my favorite Smart to CREE LED head lights. Man the Halogens look like tea lights compared to the LEDS , Wow they are bright!!

Did some bench testing, they aligned correctly and found that they give off the same radiation as an Xenon flash, had to ware no.5 tint oxy/acet. goggles still a little hard on the eyes

bright even with those on. All things said done, very happy with the result.

Have to wait till summer for the road test.

[Francesco 71]

Headlamps? Seriously? If I were an oncoming driver I'd throw a Pepsi bottle or something.

[Wild! 118]

I do very little night driving with that car and I may have to add a dimmer cct. we'll see

[Francesco 71]

It's not just a question of brightness. It's glare. To me, one of the most infuriating things on the road is facing all these headlamps "upgraded" with PnP (plug-and-play) HIDs or (apparently now) LEDs.

Reflectors and projectors designed for tungsten filament (aka "halogen") bulbs are NOT designed for HIDs or LEDs, causing light to be thrown and reflected improperly, dazzling oncoming drivers even worse than main (high) beam lamps. Unless you've figured out how to properly retrofit a set of Corolla or Accord LEDs into the stock fortwo housing, there is no way not to be a hazard to oncoming drivers with PnP LEDs.

[MikeT 744]

I absolutely agree with Francesco - drivers with HID or LED in reflector housings should be ticketed for each day they inflict this hazard on the rest of the people on the road. It does not look cool. No, it just makes it look like the car is owned by a teenage wanker who knows nothing about lighting systems.

[Wild! 118]

I here you on that. That was number one of my list, the LEDS that I found were engineered to have the correct positioning in the reflector, I have tried other so called others and they all failed in design, construction and durability. Just when you close and look directly on to lights it's hard. I have worked with light for a number of years on different applications, I remember

years back when I was Introduced to Head lights from the brand Lucas in Italy, and how they directed the light away from oncoming traffic and put it where it was suppose to go. So I understand the concern.

Edited March 2, 2015 by Wild!

[Jerzy 8]

Francesco & Mike T. I like your comments. Does the law states somewhere how bright those headlamps can be? Some of them distract even in daylight.

[FlossyTheSmart 81]

In Ontario, it's restricted by the Highway Traffic Act:

Strength of front lamps

(9) No motor vehicle shall carry on the front thereof more than four lighted lamps that project a beam having an intensity of over 300 candela. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 62 (9).

Source

[dmoonen 54]

I had a long talk with my police officer neighbor last summer over a couple beers regarding this. As long as the headlights are not blinding to the oncoming drivers then there is no issue. If the headlights/fog/driving lights, regardless of the bulb type, are blinding to the oncoming traffic then at minimum a compliance order will be issued. Its a $110 fine from the highway safety act but it technically falls under the improper alignment/dazzling category so not just designated to "HID's". Aslong as you can set and align them properly theres no problem but if you cant . . well yeah your saying "hello I'm a dickhead" to oncoming drivers".

In some of the US states the laws differ stating that the if the headlight housing is not designed for HID's then its illegal. . which honestly makes more sense.

[dmoonen 54]

Also note if you look at proper HID housing/headlights they're quite different then standard halogen headlights.

[Francesco 71]

Just a note, before anyone asks: there are no such things as plug-and-play LED headlamps that are engineered to work with tungsten filament reflector or projector housings.

[Leadwing 565]

The Ontario Highway Traffic Act is so far out of date it might have been chiseled in stone.

A perfect example is the law about when to dim your high beams.

In our Highway Traffic Act (HTA) it states (Section 168) that every driver should not make use of their high beam headlights when they are within 60 metres (198ft.) of following a vehicle or within 150 metres (492ft.) of an approaching vehicle.

This law and many others concerning vehicle lighting were brought forth back when headlights were powered by standard incandescent bulbs or the slightly more powerful sealed beams of the day. Today's lights are more than just a minor irritant to drivers on the receiving end of modern 'projector' lights, HID's or anything else that is devastatingly blinding. Even properly aimed lights are annoying when you approach someone cresting a hill or just driving towards them on an uneven road.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but these lights should be OFF when approaching or following other vehicles. If the lights are your only source of illumination at the front, then make sure the low beams are aimed LOW. It minimizes the chance of blinding other drivers.

I found an interesting read at this link about high beams.

[darren 192]

Given that i see at least one motorist driving at night without their full lighting system on every single day, i'm pretty sure many people can't even use their LOW beams properly… i have no confidence in other people to do anything more advanced, like know what high beams are and how to turn them on or off.

Edited March 3, 2015 by darren

[Francesco 71]

I think I've mentioned before how absurd I think it is, when driving in Ontario at night, that most drivers seem to believe their main (high) beams are what they should be using full time. Is it because the window tint law in Ontario is also stupid, so most people can't see beyond their own windows and compensate by driving with as much candlepower as they've got?

[Francesco 71]

Darren, were you looking for the ED green wheels paint code? It's on Evilution now... CD0L

[Francesco 71]

On that topic: bringing the Michalak rims to get machined and refinished. Should I stick with the (clear-coated) machined look, or have them painted/powder coated to BRABUS C17B? I like both looks.

[Francesco 71]

Changed the oil today, and sourced the O-ring for the Mocal spin-on adaptor. The guys at Hercules Seals were so amused that I only wanted one o-ring that one of them handed me two and said, "Have a nice day." there is a second channel on the adaptor so I put the spare seal in it; it was a tighter fit to spin it on, but here's hoping my intermittent leak is solved.

Afterwards, I cranked down on all the injector pipe nuts with a 9/16" flare nut wrench -- strangely I don't own any metric ones -- because they all showed some sweat. Then I sprayed generously with Zep foaming citrus degreaser and rinsed it all off. Hopefully any leaks will be evident tomorrow.