The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Tech → Headlights at Nelson Ledges
This came up yesterday while we were starting building our car.
What is permitted lighting at Nelson Ledges? Would OEM highbeams (with their stock aiming) be acceptable, or would they have to be re-aimed? Would re-aimed highbeams be sufficient?
Nelsons if primarily right hand turns. You will want your stock lights aimed right and then I would HIGHLY recommend additional driving lights. It's DARK on the backside of the track at night.
The official word:
Lights: This is a night race on an unlighted track. Each team must provide its own illumination. While good-quality, properly aimed OE headlight systems are generally up to this task, aftermarket driving and/or fog lights are also legal. DON'T OVERTHINK IT: A small number of high-quality, properly mounted, correctly aimed headlights or driving lights is much more effective than a large number of crappy add-ons, or overpowered projector lights, or fancy-pants spotlights.
• During daylight hours, forward lights may be removed if desired.
• Lights, mounts, and associated switches and wires are considered safety items and do NOT count toward the $500 build total.
• From dusk to dawn, all cars must have at least two working headlights, one working taillight, and one working brake light. Multi-filament combination tail/brake lights are acceptable.
• The center of all lights must be no higher than 6 inches above the car's hoodline; roof-mounted lights are not allowed..
• There is no limit on the total number of lights. However, lights must not be unduly dazzling or distracting to others.
• All lights must be properly aimed. Cars with mis-aimed lights may be black-flagged at any time. For good aiming advice, check out these sites:
• http://www.coolbulbs.com/HID-VISUAL-HEA … CEDURE.pdf
• http://www.automedia.com/Aiming_Headlig … 010801ha/1
• Teams whose lights are deemed overly dazzling, insufficiently bright, badly aimed, or problematic in any other way may be black-flagged at any time.
• All lights must be present and working during tech inspection and mandatory Friday-night testing.
... isnt that a bit contradicting?
"they better be bright enough!"
"We'll black flag you if they're too bright!"
"We'll Black Flag you if they're too Dim!"
maybe just require us all to get ghetto night vision with IR spotlights and security cams with a TV mounted on the hood?
[/sarcasm]
It worked for the Japanese guys in Cannonball Run...
"I'll be damned, it's a Kojak with a Kodak!"
The official word:
• Lights, mounts, and associated switches and wires are considered safety items and do NOT count toward the $500 build total.
What about an alternator swap to power the lights? Our old car likely will not have enough output for decent lighting. Is that considered part of the lighting, or base $500 car?
Nick_LeMonsHQ wrote:The official word:
• Lights, mounts, and associated switches and wires are considered safety items and do NOT count toward the $500 build total.
What about an alternator swap to power the lights? Our old car likely will not have enough output for decent lighting. Is that considered part of the lighting, or base $500 car?
Now that you mention it, I don't know if my car's alternator is up to stuff. It'd be nice to install a newer 80amp or 120amp alt to drive some lights.
Although, if I'm driving a larger alternator - I don't know if my car has enough torque to turn a 120amp alternator. Maybe I should install a turbo and aftermarket ECU to ensure that the alternator receives enough torque to properly energize the headlights.
With the amount of electrics you will be removing, you should be ok. A little math will tell you if you need to upgrade the alternator.
The official word:
Lights: This is a night race on an unlighted track. Each team must provide its own illumination. While good-quality, properly aimed OE headlight systems are generally up to this task, aftermarket driving and/or fog lights are also legal. DON'T OVERTHINK IT: A small number of high-quality, properly mounted, correctly aimed headlights or driving lights is much more effective than a large number of crappy add-ons, or overpowered projector lights, or fancy-pants spotlights.
• During daylight hours, forward lights may be removed if desired.
• Lights, mounts, and associated switches and wires are considered safety items and do NOT count toward the $500 build total.
• From dusk to dawn, all cars must have at least two working headlights, one working taillight, and one working brake light. Multi-filament combination tail/brake lights are acceptable.
• The center of all lights must be no higher than 6 inches above the car's hoodline; roof-mounted lights are not allowed..
• There is no limit on the total number of lights. However, lights must not be unduly dazzling or distracting to others.
• All lights must be properly aimed. Cars with mis-aimed lights may be black-flagged at any time. For good aiming advice, check out these sites:• http://www.coolbulbs.com/HID-VISUAL-HEA … CEDURE.pdf
• http://www.automedia.com/Aiming_Headlig … 010801ha/1• Teams whose lights are deemed overly dazzling, insufficiently bright, badly aimed, or problematic in any other way may be black-flagged at any time.
• All lights must be present and working during tech inspection and mandatory Friday-night testing.
bumpity for my reference.
Just installed 4 lights. have room for two more in the middle. Going to AutoZone in the big city of Lynchburg, the god one, not the good one.
We have Autopal 55W H4 lights in place of the stock sealed beam 7" round lights and a pair of 7" round Hella 65W aux lights that will be mounted on the front of the hood. Each set will have a relay and toggle switch along with new wiring. Our car is 35 years old and the wiring sucked when new. It will get all new 12ga wiring for headlight power and 30amp relays. The dash switches will be lit so we can see them in the car.
One of my most favorite articles ever...
By Satch Carlson for Autoweek 1988
http://www.tigersunited.com/articles/sc-lucas/lucas.asp
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