The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Tech → Lights for 24hours at New Orleans
Okay....so what is everyone doing for lights at New Orleans then......
If some idiots decided to put some lights, perhaps leds, on their car in a silly decorative and slightly Bangladeshi manner, do you think the judges would deem that okay and could we....err I mean they....drive with them on .....ie....under car lights, wheel arches etc???
This is Lemons, anything goofy, abnormal, etc is pretty much acceptable. Plus it will make it easier to spot your car among the others at 3am.
Now for headlights, I'm going with some E-bay HID bulb replacements. I know they don't work in a halogen designed reflector as well an HID reflector would but seeing how pittyful 89 Taurus halogens are there's no choise.
I am certain that anything dekotora would be greatly appreciated at a Lemons event. So long as they're not strobing.
Sergio, you might want to try the Sylvania SilverStar bulbs. I've got them in my truck and while they're not HID, they are about 500% better than the stock bulbs and should work with your stock reflector. Maybe you should buy one of those headlamp polishing kits too. I hear they even come with synthetic blinker fluid. 
I am certain that anything dekotora would be greatly appreciated at a Lemons event. So long as they're not strobing.
Sergio, you might want to try the Sylvania SilverStar bulbs. I've got them in my truck and while they're not HID, they are about 500% better than the stock bulbs and should work with your stock reflector. Maybe you should buy one of those headlamp polishing kits too. I hear they even come with synthetic blinker fluid.
I done put the polishing on them and it's better. I'll give the Silverstars a shot. Those cheap HID's are only $50.
Where do you get synthetic headlight fluid?
Good to hear.....and in case I was too cryptic......Its US thats fitting out car with lights like the Eiffel Tower!!!
We totally stripped our car when we bought it......including most of the harness and looms! So now we've run it all back in again!!!
What about our plan to have a flashing rear light (Formula 1 in the wet style) on a switch!
Believe you me.......you won't miss this Xmas tree at 3am!!! Yee Haw!!!
HIDs in non-HID housings have a horrible beam pattern that can blind oncoming drivers on the street, but they'd be fine for Lemons duty.
I haven't had the fortune of needing headlights on our car, but if I did, I'd get some cheapo sealed beam conversions and stuff HIDs in them.
Believe you me.......you won't miss this Xmas tree at 3am!!! Yee Haw!!!
Other than a little more effort required to install them, I still don't get why lots of teams have the bare minimum for lighting? The rules state you must have one working brake light, which is not to be confused with one that is bright or easy to see I guess. Of course having two for some teams seems like too much trouble for some. I remember how hard it was to see the brake lights of some cars in the pouring rain at CMP. The rain was so heavy at times I had to wait (going down the front straight) to see others brake lights to see where each car was ahead of me. I for one (especially when racing at night) want to make sure you can easily see our car from ALL sides. We have four LED brake lights (two mounted high, two mounted where the stock tailights were) and red reflective tape all around. Two of the LED lights also serve as parking lights which helped in rain during the day.
BTW, to anyone on the Tortoise Crown Vic team that ran at CMP a few weeks ago, the lights you had affixed to your trunk lid were meant to be used as parking lights, not brake lights. The much dimmer filament in those made them almost impossible to see especially in the sun.
Other than a little more effort required to install them, I still don't get why lots of teams have the bare minimum for lighting? The rules state you must have one working brake light, which is not to be confused with one that is bright or easy to see I guess.
I also dislike it when other cars have hard-to-see brake lights. We're like you guys and feel like more=better. Five brake lights on our car but I'd like to make two of them even brighter.
VKZ24 wrote:Other than a little more effort required to install them, I still don't get why lots of teams have the bare minimum for lighting? The rules state you must have one working brake light, which is not to be confused with one that is bright or easy to see I guess.
I also dislike it when other cars have hard-to-see brake lights. We're like you guys and feel like more=better. Five brake lights on our car but I'd like to make two of them even brighter.
a pair of LED trailer lights from any local big box store wired up on the trunk lid/roof make EXCELLENT brake lamps, especially at night.
Keep in Mind that your lights, if aimed properly, are MUCH more effective than simply making them brighter. A pair of $40 "Rallye Off-Road" H3 55w lamps from Wal-Mart are actually quite bright for what they are and can be a quick fix if you find yourself in need of an extra pair.
Keep in Mind that your lights, if aimed properly, are MUCH more effective than simply making them brighter.
I had regular old halogens in my RX-7, and everyone always flashed their brights at me. Truth is, misadjusting them upwards a bit made everything more visible at night.
Straight ahead needs to be lit well, but the best improvement that can be made in your lighting system is to have apex lights. Our borrowed setup had a pair of hella DE's crossed in the middle so they pointed around the corner about 75-100ft in front of the car. It gets DARK out there and being able to see the ege of the track up ahead of you is very helpful.
I agree that the apex lighting is nice. But a more entertaining system would involve a linkage to the lights so that the would rotate in unison with the steering input, much like a Tucker's cyclops light.
rotate in unison with the steering input, much like a Tucker's cyclops light.
Great theme.
Another theme would be put all your lights on a pole and call yourself a pilot fish.
VKZ24 wrote:Other than a little more effort required to install them, I still don't get why lots of teams have the bare minimum for lighting? The rules state you must have one working brake light, which is not to be confused with one that is bright or easy to see I guess.
I also dislike it when other cars have hard-to-see brake lights. We're like you guys and feel like more=better. Five brake lights on our car but I'd like to make two of them even brighter.
There were a couple cars at CMP I very nearly made the walk over to the judge's station to bitch about because I couldn't find ANY brake lights on them.
we yanked our factory lights many raves back so I need to start from scratch. Looking at running two Hella Rally 4000 (H12560051) and two Hella 500 (005750952). Probably do the FL race also, so it seems like a good idea.
One downside of the Hella 500's is that the screw-in tab that holds the lamp in the housing is more fragile/brittle than it should be for a light of this type, and if it fails, the lamp falls from the housing. I'm sure this bunch can come up with a good fix, but be forewarned.
One other tip about the Hella 500's. We had to add a piece of tape around the perimeter of the lamp as it was shining back at the drivers. Our Hellas are mounted on the hood and aimed out for corner entry. The angle made the glare back at the driver very hard to see. Some racers tape fixed it right up.
any other thoughts other than the 500? they seem to be good for the price since they come with two lights and a harness.
any other thoughts other than the 500? they seem to be good for the price since they come with two lights and a harness.
Surefire Tactical flashlights
One other tip about the Hella 500's. We had to add a piece of tape around the perimeter of the lamp as it was shining back at the drivers. Our Hellas are mounted on the hood and aimed out for corner entry. The angle made the glare back at the driver very hard to see. Some racers tape fixed it right up.
I just ordered some of the Hella 500's today. I don't exactly understand the above comment. You had them angled enough that your dirvers could actually see the light directed toward them? Got any pictures?
There's probably a gap at the back between the housing, or rear diffusion in the cover - allowing a back scattering of light. Many older OEM lights do this as light diffuses through the lens that is over over the edge of the rear housing - doesn't matter when the lights are in the OEM locations though.
Jeff G 78 wrote:One other tip about the Hella 500's. We had to add a piece of tape around the perimeter of the lamp as it was shining back at the drivers. Our Hellas are mounted on the hood and aimed out for corner entry. The angle made the glare back at the driver very hard to see. Some racers tape fixed it right up.
I just ordered some of the Hella 500's today. I don't exactly understand the above comment. You had them angled enough that your dirvers could actually see the light directed toward them? Got any pictures?
The glass lens is larger in diameter than the plastic housing, so some light gets reflected back through the glass around the perimeter. The best way to describe it is to picture a cupcake or muffin from the bottom. The top of the muffin that hangs over the paper is like the glass lens compared to the plastic housing. With the lights mounted on the hood and angled out, the outboard arc of the reflected light was right in the driver's line of sight. We did not have the lights crosseyed, we had them aimed out. Crosseyed aiming might have prevented the issue. I don't have any pics from the driver's seat, sorry.
as light diffuses through the lens that is over over the edge of the rear housing / picture a cupcake or muffin from the bottom
LMAO
These are the lights we used at Nelson. The stock headlights also worked. The system provided excellent lighting without blinding anyone. The crossed lights in the center are the apex lights. All 4 are Hella lights, I can't remember part numbers off the top of my head.
Remember to switch your light bar seperately from your stock lights for driving in pit lane and the paddock.
We also wrapped the lights with electrical tape around the seam between the housing and the lens.
The glass lens is larger in diameter than the plastic housing, so some light gets reflected back through the glass around the perimeter. The best way to describe it is to picture a cupcake or muffin from the bottom. The top of the muffin that hangs over the paper is like the glass lens compared to the plastic housing. With the lights mounted on the hood and angled out, the outboard arc of the reflected light was right in the driver's line of sight. We did not have the lights crosseyed, we had them aimed out. Crosseyed aiming might have prevented the issue.
OK, gotcha. Thanks for the tip. Maybe I could just paint the exposed area flat black?
Also in regards to aiming, what did you guys do and how would you have done it differently (if at all) if you could do it over? You mentioned 'cross-eyed ', which I have heard about before. I'm wondering how that would differ from just having the lights aimed outward?
Sorry for all the questions, but our last night outing could have gone better in regards to lighting, and I'm trying to avoid a repeat.
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