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What are European Headlamp E-Codes?
What does "E-Code" mean regarding Headlamps? It's a quick way of referring to a European-specification headlamp. The "E-Code", signified by a capital "E" in a circle on the lens of the lamp, signifies that the lamp has passed the rigid ECE tests for light output, durability beam pattern, etc. These lamps are required in most of the driving world, and permitted in most other places.
The DOT specification covers the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The other is the European regulatory code (E-Code for short). E-Code headlamps are specifically aimed with frensel cuts in the glass (reflector based) or with specialized optics (projector) to direct the light where it's needed - on the road.
In Europe, glare light has been reduced down to nearly nothing. You never hear of headlight glare from HID or Halogen bulbs in Europe. This is because headlight rules have been tweaked and have evolved to where it's set up for oncoming driver safety and proper lighting of the road ahead of the vehicle. |