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

[Ty]

You are making some pretty BOLD statements there Z.

LOL... that's the type of humor I like!

 

[wizard of ahs]

I will "mod" mine to HID's

 

[bowers baldwin]

LOL... that's the type of humor I like!

You are taking my words out of context.

 

[Lil4X]

Bless her, we need Z as our Den Mother around here just to keep us straight!

As to headlights, we will have several options as close as the auto parts store. I recently swapped the lights on the vans to quartz, finding lamps running from $14 to $74 per pair. Of course you get what you pay for, but at about $28 you start reaching the point of diminishing returns. Now if you want to REALLY spend some money, there are HID kits that run from $30 to $400+ that will produce more and better directed light for less amperage. The trick here is that some kits are better than others, and a number of them WAY worse. Generally, you get what you pay for - again - but look for good ballasts (usually the first thing and most expensive part to fail) and a large and happy user base. There are plenty of forums that can provide specifics here.

While I'm currently using mid-market quartz lights, I'd consider installing HID kits on my Elio. I've had them on my Lexus and loved the pure diamond-white color and the sharp cutoff of the beams that worked as well or better than my OEM quartz fog lights in heavy fog. If for no other reason than day and nighttime visibility, they're worth the investment.

Color is another issue - you want something in the 4800K to 5600K range for maximum visibility. At higher frequencies your eyes don't respond well, so even if you're pouring out MORE light, blue or blue-ish lights aren't going to help as much with your overall visibility.

 

[Ty]

You are taking my words out of context.

Well played, sir. Well played.

 

[zelio]

Bless her, we need Z as our Den Mother around here just to keep us straight!

As to headlights, we will have several options as close as the auto parts store. I recently swapped the lights on the vans to quartz, finding lamps running from $14 to $74 per pair. Of course you get what you pay for, but at about $28 you start reaching the point of diminishing returns. Now if you want to REALLY spend some money, there are HID kits that run from $30 to $400+ that will produce more and better directed light for less amperage. The trick here is that some kits are better than others, and a number of them WAY worse. Generally, you get what you pay for - again - but look for good ballasts (usually the first thing and most expensive part to fail) and a large and happy user base. There are plenty of forums that can provide specifics here.

While I'm currently using mid-market quartz lights, I'd consider installing HID kits on my Elio. I've had them on my Lexus and loved the pure diamond-white color and the sharp cutoff of the beams that worked as well or better than my OEM quartz fog lights in heavy fog. If for no other reason than day and nighttime visibility, they're worth the investment.

Color is another issue - you want something in the 4800K to 5600K range for maximum visibility. At higher frequencies your eyes don't respond well, so even if you're pouring out MORE light, blue or blue-ish lights aren't going to help as much with your overall visibility.

Do these have any affect on color blind drivers either as a driver or as a driver coming toward these lights? Does that make sense? If I remember correctly, red and/or blue are perceived differently by people (usually men) who are color blind. :-) Z

 

[Brent Geery]

Headlight assemblies can be very expensive. A single center headlight may be in keeping with Elio's design goal of cutting costs where possible. It would depend on how the center light might effect the radiator placement.

 

[Jim H]

Let's keep with the basic design and don't change things now. I want the Elio to go into production as soon as possible.

 

[Joshua Caldwell]

I had HID on my previous car, people were forever flashing their lights at me because they thought I was on HIGH when in fact I was on low. I'm happy with my dimmer lights on current car.

 

[Lil4X]

Do these have any affect on color blind drivers either as a driver or as a driver coming toward these lights? Does that make sense? If I remember correctly, red and/or blue are perceived differently by people (usually men) who are color blind. Z

For people who are color blind (depending on the type of color blindness) the "colored" lights simply register as white light. While yellow really improves visibility, particularly for those of us of a certain age, it is illegal in most states, even for fog lamps. I have normal color vision, but wear yellow tinted "shooting glasses" while driving after dark. I get the benefits of blocking out the upper (blue) end of the color spectrum that is normally blurry to me at night, which sharpens my vision in the mid-range of the chart. It's a little inconvenient, but well worth the improvement - making everything look like it's lit by sodium-vapor lamps. Best of all, it's completely legal.