Elio Headlights

[electroken]

If the headlights don't come as LED's, I will replace mine.

At the base price they will almost certainly NOT be LEDs.

 

[Ty]

I heard they may go with oil lamps... or maybe a bit of slake lime under a butane flame...

 

[Rob Croson]

You can upgrade it by replacing the standard candle with a dual wick candle. You have to be careful with the three-wick candles. They may be regulated for off-road use only in some states.

 

[Coss]

You can upgrade it by replacing the standard candle with a dual wick candle. You have to be careful with the three-wick candles. They may be regulated for off-road use only in some states.

Just get a spark arrester for it and they're fine.

 

[Jim H]

Money. Buckets of money.

Most urban and suburban areas are so lit-up now that headlights are almost redundant. I live in the exurbs and every little intersection, bridge, and corner has a streetlight. The one-lane bridge right in front of my house is lit at both ends! Point being, I don't think Elio needs "exceptional" headlights, just "good enough".

I think the only way to make exceptional ones now would be LEDs. They are getting so cheap now that you can stack on all you need for very little money. Their tiny footprint, low power consumption, and low heat generation make them much easier to package. Where the buckets of money still have to go is designing the capsules and lenses to control and project that light. That is a big, big expense.

Come to New Mexico or parts of Arizona where they have "Dark Skies" ordinances which restrict the amount of lights at night including street lights, porch lights, etc.

 

[Truett Collins]

I'm sure you do. But you are the exception and not the rule now.
Elio has a limited budget and will do the best they can.

One note: If they were LED you wouldn't be able to upgrade them with brighter bulbs. OEM LED headlights are non-serviceable. If they "burn out", you have to replace the whole capsule for a tidy sum.

May be the "exception" where you are but you need to realize there is a whole nation out there and the majority of the land in this nation is not covered with concrete and asphalt.

 

[AriLea]

So on the hi-beam usage, I live 15miles past city limits. Almost never I put on the high beams. But every once in a while I feel glad I have them.

So yes, people are a less picky about having enough light, but every once in a while it's needed to survive.

So I don't think the standard will ever change, but obviously the attention on that detail from both manufacturing and government has slipped a bit. And I'll guess that will happen occasionally from now on.

The only possible change, is one day they may require a curve following headlight. Maybe based on the steering angle. And let me guess, that will be a third level of light at a different height, just to keep it complex enough.

 

[Coss]

I would like to see them do a full night vision for the driver side of the vehicle.
Either a HUD or perhaps a flip down screen for the driver, that would end the need for highbeams.
For the oncoming headlights, auto-adjust for the light.
Or do the military version monocle for the driver; now that would be trick.

 

[AriLea]

One of the things I personally need a hibeam for is reading street signs. I'm not sure a night-IR will show me that. So from the point of view of always having 'more' I'd not mind having both IR HUD plus high beams. In fact, please add a manual directional spot light for my signs reading problem.
But from the point of view of cost effective KISS, I'll keep to the current standard lighting and displays. At least for the first year of ownership.

 

[Ekh]

For over 20 years I have dealt successfully with oncoming who do not dim their brights. I simply close my left eye when the lights appear and open it again when they are past. The protected eye "sees through" the blind spot created by the brights until the eye that was open recovers.

I'll try it. After 6 rounds of corneal surgery, my eye has the texture of a supremo pizza .... glare is a significant problem.