Dynamic Cornering Lights

[tomnash]

Porsche literature seems to suggest that the dynamic cornering lights option only moves the low beam. Is this correct?

Driving my 2007 C4Cab tonight on a narrow twisty dark road, I was really wanting the bright line to swivel. If in fact the new option only applies to the low beam, why was this done?

[White987S]

Tomnash, my guess would be to protect the eyes of on-coming drivers.

[RFM]

Good guess, White. That's exactly what i have heard.

[White987S]

Technically speaking, you should always dim your "brights" when entering a turn, because you don't know (can't see) who is approaching from the opposite direction. At least this was how my father taught me many-many years ago.

I find that good fog lights help illuminate the area (raod & shoulder) in a curve pretty well.

[RFM]

You could be right, i cant say, fog lights are forbidden in normal circumstances ( no fog ) it will cost you a ticket. The streets and roads are illuminated by night in Belgium, we use the head lights rather to being seen than to see themselves by night. A unique experience for foreigners.

[BLAZE_MkIV]

Technically speaking, you should always dim your "brights" when entering a turn, because you don't know (can't see) who is approaching from the opposite direction. At least this was how my father taught me many-many years ago.

I find that good fog lights help illuminate the area (raod & shoulder) in a curve pretty well.

The trick my father taught me was to look for the light from the other cars headlights that's reflected of the power lines that run along most streets (at least in north eastern us.) Works well on hills and 50/50 on turns.

[tomnash]

The type of road I was talking about was remote, dark, and very lightly travelled on the Northern California coast, some of it on cliffs. I am always able to see that traffic is coming by their lights on the trees or hillside and dim in time. (No powerlines...) As far as I can recollect I have never failed to dim, even on a curve.

I suspect you are right about the reasoning why the Dynamic Cornering Lights only working on dims, but I think it is a shame because when dimmed I don't see this option as helping much -- and it could be really useful for spotting deer, cows, rocks or other obstructions - in time - on a curve with brights on. On a lighted street in an urban area, I can't see this feature as having much value.

Edited December 5, 2008 by tomnash

[tomnash]

A partial answer to the question I raised in the original post: I checked the Bi-Xenon lights on my 2007 C4Cab and see that the low beams stay on when the high beams are turned on.

So I would guess that is the same on the new cars with Dynamic Cornering Lights and while the high beams may remain fixed straight forward the low beams would swivel on a turn.

It would take a test drive to learn how effective this is on the kind of roads for which I think this would be useful. Hopefully, someone will test this and report here someday soon.

[MelsM3]

From what I've seen, the bottom beam always faces forward and the top beam can pan left/right during a turn.

[florianvk]

FWIW, cars with dynamic cornering lights also come with daytime running LED lights and will not have any foglights anymore. so that option is gone.....

Florian.

[slicky rick]

for info the low beams become hi beam via moving cover on the bulb. the halogen bulb for supposedly the high beam is actually there to fillin the vacancy left by low beam going to high beam

[lockie]

I just drove last night with mine on High Beam and they definitely worked in the corners.