Driving Abroad

[BigR]

Hi,

Anyone any experience of specifically dealing with the headlight issue for going abroad on a GranTurismo - namely, how do you in any way adjust for driving on the 'wrong' side of the road?

I should add, taking the car to France for a couple of weeks, cruising as a true GT car is meant to. Got to get the Matt Munro CD ready too...

 

[c4sman]

Hope someone is able to answer this as I have the aw trip planned in a couple of months!

 

[BJL]

Maybe the gps knows where you are and adjusts it. They are computer adjusted I believe. Maybe I dreamt that.....

 

[Tipmethewink]

Ignorantly I've never worried about it and do it quite a lot.

 

[Tipmethewink]

Maybe the gps knows where you are and adjusts it. They are computer adjusted I believe. Maybe I dreamt that.....

It's a very good idea if someone hasn't done it already.

 

[Parisien]

That would be novel.....but how come no-ones mentioned it before as its now a 7 yr old car?

P

 

[rd993]

I looked into this last year just before my road trip to Tuscany in the GTS. I phoned Maranello Egham and they told me there is a way to adjust the headlight beam but it involves getting the car up on a ramp and, from recollection, an hour's worth of labour. If you do this, it then needs to be adjusted back when you return...

However, more research led me to understand that the beam on the GT is quite flat so most people don't do it as it doesn't really dazzle oncoming traffic. Maranello had to look into it and come back to me which again suggests that not many (if any) people do this.

 

[rd993]

PS: You will love the road trip. Our trip to Tuscany was truly epic. My wife was 6 months pregnant and she was extremely comfortable all the way down. Sport mode in tunnels is an absolute must...

 

[Woody]

I looked into this on my GS and was told by the AA man and by (IIRC) HR Owen that xenons give such a flat beam, you no longer need to adjust headlights for going overseas.

The AA guy also said "if you feel compelled to do something, line the car up at night, in front of a wall, and add some black sticky tape to the headlights to deflect the beam".

I did take a look at the beam on a wall and they are very flat, so I didn't adjust. I've taken the car abroad several times without adjusting and not had a problem.

 

[TridentTested]

Back in simpler times all you needed to do was stick a bit of black electrical insulation tape on the glass between seven and nine o'clock (viewed from the front).

But on all cars with projector type headlights - and that's pretty much all makes these days - this is pointless because the optics have become so complicated.

As a result I think the boys in blue over there have pretty much given up enforcing this.

But if you are worried you could still stick a bit of insulation tape. It will achieve absolutely nothing but will look like you've complied, and it costs an awful lot less than one of those equally useless £9.99 kits they'll sell you on the ferry.

 

[Elliott653]

I took my QP over to France twice last year. As far as I understood things from talking to people, as long as you've got some proper beam deflectors clearly showing, then you won't get any grief from the police. (If that's your concern?)

Basically, what Michael has just said.

 

[allandwf]

As a good few will, hopefully, be driving in Europe this year, maybe make a thread/list of all that is required. I dont have a clue, usually get hire car and get in and go!

 

[CatmanV2]

Hi Viz (each)
Spare bulbs
Breath tester
First aid kit
Warning triangle

I add
Fuses
Oil
Some tools
Old towel / rug
Torch
Spare keys
Mini compressor

Probably some other odds as well.

C

 

[hodroyd]

Road Angel group have a Euro Car Kit for sale at the moment for £35, with everything in it..!!
Beam Deflectors don't seem to work on our cars, the headlight covers make them pretty useless, you can use plain black tape if you have to..!!
You will need:
Warning Triangle, Breathalyser Kit (with more than 2 uses), Spare Lamp Kit, Yellow Jacket for each passenger (store inside the car), GB Badge (unless it's on your Reg Plate)
There might be a few other bits, but these are the main ones..!!

 

[roger102]

here's Halfrauds well out of date list! Why they don't update it.. needs the breathalyser adding, don't think there's any new hidden revenue generators just yet. guess they printed 100k off so they are going to use them all up!

 

[TridentTested]

Breathalyser Kit (with more than 2 uses),

I think that silly law has been done away with. It was only pushed through because Sarko's mate owned the biggest breath kit plant in France.

 

[Elliott653]

The hi-viz jackets need to be in the cabin. Not the boot.

 

[drewf]

There are no breathalyser kits now required in France. Stupid non-event...

Have NEVER had any issue with headlamp tape/converters. With modern flat-beam headlamps it's not really an issue. French drivers used to flash cars with bad (to them) headlamps all the time - hasn't happened in many years.

Don't forget - the spare bulb kit doesn't really have to match the car. That's not the point of having it... It's main use is to wave at the nice policeman, who will then go away and leave you to fix the lamp. Try fixing a QP headlamp by the side of the road, and the futility of having the correct spare bulb will become obvious. Just buy the cheapest set from Aldi, do not open it, and throw it in the boot.

Big points are: have the hi-viz in the car not in the boot, have a warning triangle, have a (complete) spare bulb set, AND YOU MUST carry your licence in France. It's not impossible to be arrested and taken to a place with a heavy door if you can't produce it there and then.

 

[safrane]

I have always stuck somthing to the headlight because its one less thing they can point at and issue a fix penalty for to bolster thier failing EU economy.

Even when I had a French girlfriend who could persuade most men to do what ever she wanted we followed the above mentioned principal as even she struggled to educate them on the difference a HID beam produces. How's you french/german/spanish when discussing headlights?

 

[JonH]

The hi-viz jackets need to be in the cabin. Not the boot.

And one for each of you...real pain when we head pf to France as a family.....need 6!
Thankfully Halfrauds do a bargain bucket family pack of High Viz Jackets.