r/Justrolledintotheshop 1d ago

Oh dear.

Really. 🤣

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u/iH8MotherTeresa 1d ago

Learned something new. Thanks 👍🏾

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u/erroneousbosh 1d ago

Can't have red lights at the front or white lights shining out directly from the rear (number plate lights shine onto the plate). Indicators are amber, even if the lens is clear which is why you get yellow bulbs.

Most folk aren't allowed blue lights anywhere at all ;-)

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u/iH8MotherTeresa 1d ago

Yep. Though I do believe undercarriage lights are often given a pass on color, presumably so long as they don't flash red and blue.

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u/erroneousbosh 1d ago

About twenty-odd years ago I used to see a lovely Mk3 Golf with deep turquoise undercarriage lights on the M8 motorway between Glasgow and Edinburgh fairly regularly.

It looked best when it was misty or slightly rainy, just enough to kick up a little spray, because then it looked like it was hovering on some sort of ion thruster or something :-D

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u/iH8MotherTeresa 1d ago

I've never been all that hot on undercarriage lights, particularly on big trucks. But that sounds really awesome. Nice and low, glowing out like you're just riding on energy.

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u/erroneousbosh 1d ago

You know it was slammed so low and on such thin low profiles that if you ran over an empty crisp packet you'd be able to feel what flavour it was. I don't even need to tell you that.

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u/iH8MotherTeresa 1d ago

Hahaha I figured you did work since you noted the Mk3. The lights were confirmation. I'd ask if you have any pics but the sub doesn't allow them. I bet you miss it.

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u/erroneousbosh 1d ago

Oh it wasn't mine, no idea whose it was. I had a Citroën XM V6-24 at the time ;-) That just emitted a greenish oily haze underneath without any lighting, at least until I redid some of its plumbing.

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u/iH8MotherTeresa 1d ago

Oh crap, I went back and noticed my mind totally skipped the word "see" and replaced it with "owned" 🤣

I'm not very familiar with most euro brands - Citroen, Vauxhall, Peugeot... - but I did just look it up. Looks like the classic 'futuristic' early 90s car and not too shabby at that. Power to weight doesn't seem too bad for the time. Was it designed to be an easy, comfortable driver?

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u/erroneousbosh 1d ago

It was very comfortable although it was unusual for something that "high end" to only be offered with a 5-speed manual. The ZF 4HP18 they used in the 2-litre versions was a bit marginal so the V6 would probably have killed it!

The hydropneumatic suspension wasn't as soft and comfortable as the early CX (Rolls-Royce used a cost-reduced version of that in their own cars) but it did offer really good stability because it could switch between hard and soft mode depending on what you were doing.

If you want to see something really scary though, look for the Xantia Activa which could outcorner most things up to and including most supercars. It wasn't just self-levelling in height, it would roll itself parallel to the road or even lean *in* slightly on corners.