Elio Lighting (head, Tail, Brake, Signal, Fog, Auxiliary, Blinking,etc...)

[ElioDigger]

I hope they are auto on lights. I will convert to HID also.

 

[goofyone]

Before investing in an aftermarket HID kit people may wish to read up on them as there are plenty of issues with them not the least of which is the fact that they are not legal according to federal law and the laws in nearly every state.

http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2012/06/are-blue-xenon-hid-headlights-legal.html

http://xtremerevolution.net/are-hid-kits-legal-or-safe/

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/HID.html

 

[NSTG8R]

The retro fit HID bulbs are now illegal in UK. Any vehicle fitted with them will fail the annual road worthiness (MOT) test and without a valid MOT, the insurance is null and void. Cars with factory fitted HIDs must by law have self-levelling light units and a lens washing system. The police are beginning to pull drivers of cars with them. It's a £30 ticket offence and drivers have to subsequently show that the car has been put back to standard.

Thank God for the American Revolution! Otherwise we'd have to put up with more silly government imposed regulations than we already do! (all the above text should be in a "sarcasm font"...if it actually existed).

But I have to admit, I wish we'd have converted to the metric system when they were talking about it when I was in grade school (late 60's). It makes so much more sense! Base 10 rocks!

 

[zelio]

Thank God for the American Revolution! Otherwise we'd have to put up with more silly government imposed regulations than we already do! (all the above text should be in a "sarcasm font"...if it actually existed).

But I have to admit, I wish we'd have converted to the metric system when they were talking about it when I was in grade school (late 60's). It makes so much more sense! Base 10 rocks!

I agree! :-) Z

 

[Johnapool]

Ah, but we have the most mind-bending measurement system in existence- a total combination of metric, standard and a few who-knows measurements all in one motor vehicle. You may need both sets of wrenches just to change a starter. So, is that a 12, 13, or 1/2??
And, Wheaters, the portions don't look so big once you have sufficiently enlarged the abdominal cavity...

 

[Ocean9000]

I thought about it but the food portions are far too big for me and you drive on the wrong side of the road.

The portions are food for the day (or a family of four) and I drive on the top side of the road - really sure that that is much better than the underside...

(although I do seem to spend an inordinate amount time dodging the underside of the road that shows...)

 

[wheaters]

Thank God for the American Revolution! Otherwise we'd have to put up with more silly government imposed regulations than we already do! (all the above text should be in a "sarcasm font"...if it actually existed).

But I have to admit, I wish we'd have converted to the metric system when they were talking about it when I was in grade school (late 60's). It makes so much more sense! Base 10 rocks!

Unfortunately, it looks like the revolution didn't spare you from similar lighting regulations, as per Goofy's post:

Before investing in an aftermarket HID kit people may wish to read up on them as there are plenty of issues with them not the least of which is the fact that they are not legal according to federal law and the laws in nearly every state.
http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2012/06/are-blue-xenon-hid-headlights-legal.html
http://xtremerevolution.net/are-hid-kits-legal-or-safe/
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/HID.html

I think lighting upgrades are a great idea, but not done selfishly at the expense of the safety of other road users. Having experienced all sorts of (other people's) lighting problems, I'm actually glad the authorities are at last beginning to sort them out here. I'd say about one in four or five vehicles in UK have some sort of major lighting defect (or a driver who doesn't know how to use their lights properly).

 

[wheaters]

Ah, but we have the most mind-bending measurement system in existence- a total combination of metric, standard and a few who-knows measurements all in one motor vehicle. You may need both sets of wrenches just to change a starter. So, is that a 12, 13, or 1/2??
And, Wheaters, the portions don't look so big once you have sufficiently enlarged the abdominal cavity...

I got around the Imperial/Metric measurement system dilemma. I bought two adjustable wrenches.

Obviously, one is Imperial, the other Metric.....

Unfortunately, on medical advice, these days I have to eat only human sized (i.e. single) portions!

 

[zelio]

I got around the Imperial/Metric measurement system dilemma. I bought two adjustable wrenches.

Obviously, one is Imperial, the other Metric.....

Unfortunately, on medical advice, these days I have to eat only human sized (i.e. single) portions!

I think you mean fortunately. It is much less expensive to eat a single portion at a meal than to eat more than that. :-) Z

 

[nthawk68]

I can't answer all those questions, because I just don't know. Unfortunately, what was or wasn't allowed here in the 1930s, or even the 1990s, isn't allowed now. The rules got really tightened up here in UK in about the year 2001. Vehicles have to go to the same testing stations as heavy goods vehicles.

I have however read the MSVA (motorcycle single vehicle approval) regulations which apply to a personal import or low volume vehicle such as the Elio (unless they put it through the full type approval, which would involve crash testing etc). As far as I can tell, the headlights on the P4 probably don't comply with the regulations because they are too far from the outer edge of the vehicle. The regulation requires a maximum of 400 mm (this would be taken as the outer face of the front fender) and since they moved them to the main body shell, I'm fairly sure they are outside that.

My own home built car had to go through the same type of testing (SVA, single vehicle approval) and I was fortunate and glad that I'd looked up the regulations in advance (I bought the testers' manual) and made sure my build complied, so it passed first time out, which wasn't happening elsewhere. Some other owner/builders of the same car ended up with over two A4 sheets of fail points. If you can't get the vehicle to pass the test, it cannot be registered. It's a show stopper.

The regulations elsewhere in Europe are even stricter than in UK. For example in France, you cannot register a home built vehicle because there is no other way than full type approval. Some French owners build their vehicle, bring it to UK to get it through the testing and registration process, then export it to their home country and re-register it.

Wheaters,
That is about 15 inches, get an aux light kit and through it on the side of the engine cowl -- with the right stand-off,it would lay within the 400 mm. Do you still require the rear fog light in England also? I had fun with that thing when i got back in the states. If I had someone tailgating me, I would switch it on and they would brake thinking it was my brake light.