High beaming from other cars

[Kermit]

Your right about that, I noticed when another Smart was behind me the other day that when the car shifted it looked like they were flashing the brights.

[John_H]

Originally Posted by forestacademy

Now, the actual problem is the fact that the car has a stiff ride and the headlights bounce a lot, so the fix is to get a smoother suspension or ride on smoother roads.

I've rarely heard a characterization so far out of sync with my own perception. The Smart suspension seems "sloshy" to me - not enough responsiveness. I associate this with a soft suspension rather than stiff.

By changing to stiffer aftermarket springs, the lunge forward, whip back bobble-head phase of shifting is significantly reduced. Hitting bumpy asphalt will now result in the car bouncing around more (being more responsive) but not to where the headlight angle dashes up and down. A rigid car tends to stay parallel to the road compared to the boat I inherited from the factory.

[HGB]

Read on

[forestacademy]

Originally Posted by Bum-bling-B

Your right about that, I noticed when another Smart was behind me the other day that when the car shifted it looked like they were flashing the brights.

Oh Yeah, I forgot about that asect of the smart, The not so smooth shift bounce/flash.

[HGB]

I still say they lights are aimed to high at the factory, because when I put the highs on they seem to light up more than the road and I'm not interested in anything but the road. So I adjusted them down and after several tries... within a week or so I found that sweet spot. By doing that I respect the projector beams more than ever now and I will not waste money on XENON bulbs unless the high beams were also changed and that's a whole other issue.

[forestacademy]

HGB
You said that

[burtandnancy]

I'm on my second smart, and agree that the lights are set a bit high. I also think the tire pressure was way too high as well, must be that French altitude...

[andy'smart]

it makes sense that a slight bob could appear as high beaming. if you look at the car in front of you, you do see that sharp upper cut off. beacuse that cut off is set "X high", when you go over a bump or the car bobs, that cut off is seen going up and down from the oncoming car as a flash. however, "X high" could be too high...