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

[wheaters]

I've been carrying out some research into the lighting regulations that would apply to an Elio for it to be registered in UK.
The Elio would be classified as a Bodied Motor Tricycle and would therefore require the appropriate Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval test (MSVA). This would make it cheaper by approx. 75% to test than a full four wheeler would under our government scheme. I've downloaded a copy of the testers' manual for reference

The one lighting issue I can see is that for use in UK the headlights need to be a maximum distance of 400mm from the outer edge of the vehicle. Out of curiosity I've just gone out and measured the dimensions on my Liege (a 4 wheeler homebuilt sports car with separate fenders like the front of an Elio) and it complies with this requirement - just! The centre (center) of the round headlights is exactly 400 mm from the outer edge of the front fenders.

I note that the latest version of the Elio (orange car) has faired in headlights on its main body; whereas the earlier (silver) car had podded lights outboard of the nose. Without the facility to measure these prototypes, I reckon the earlier version would comply with UK lighting regs, the later one wouldn't.

One other thing I note from the MSVA manual is that rear facing reflectors would be needed on the front fenders. This wouldn't be an issue to fix but the headlight spacing might be very tricky to overcome if the car stays in its present form.

 

[Lil4X]

I wonder if some arrangement like this would comply -

Two outboard mounted pod lights might not be exactly pretty, but might be helpful if mounted to the body near the wheel fairings. That would overcome the problem of the beams shaking with the wheel movement. 400 mm is a reasonable distance from the outside extremity of the vehicle. The classic Jeep Wrangler - especially with oversize tires - probably wouldn't meet your trike standards either. I know they're a little confusing at first; headed toward you on a dark night, they're closer than they appear.

 

[wheaters]

I wonder if some arrangement like this would comply -

Two outboard mounted pod lights might not be exactly pretty, but might be helpful if mounted to the body near the wheel fairings. That would overcome the problem of the beams shaking with the wheel movement. 400 mm is a reasonable distance from the outside extremity of the vehicle. The classic Jeep Wrangler - especially with oversize tires - probably wouldn't meet your trike standards either. I know they're a little confusing at first; headed toward you on a dark night, they're closer than they appear.

Lil4X, those lights are almost identical to the ones fitted to my car. If all else fails, something like that could no doubt be added to an Elio - but wouldn't it be great if the factory could incorporate the European lighting standards from the outset? I'm sure many folks this side of the Atlantic would like to be in the Elio marketplace, too.

 

[msmith5150]

Actually, a number of cars now come equipped with headlights that move in the direction the driver steers. So government (our dear friend) doesn't seem to object, I'm guessing.

Those headlights move yes but it's barely noticeable to other vehicles and they just move slightly to help with illumination around corners. If you stuck bright white light headlights on the Elio fenders light would get blasted all over the place because the fenders move with the wheels and the lights would be sweeping across a huge arc.

I promise that won't fly with LEOs, you'll cause a myriad of problems to other drivers and you'll quickly be ticketed with a demand to remove the lights. We won't be able to get away with anything more that reflectors or small marker/turn lights on the fenders.

 

[wheaters]

Seems to work ok on motorcycles.....

 

[Dustoff]

Works ok on mine.

 

[msmith5150]

Seems to work ok on motorcycles.....

Still different though. Motorcycles have the headlight in the center of a very narrow vehicle, and MCs lean through corners so the headlight beam just follows along your forward path.

With the Elio the lights on the fenders would be just over 5.5 feet apart from each other, and it drives/steers like a car you pointing lights all over the place as you steer around corners, make slight steering wheel movement corrections as you drive straight, it just wouldn't work.

 

[Elio Amazed]

The vertical shaking (and consequently the strobe-like effect) would be as bad or worse than any effect you'd get from steering.
I own two MCs and ride them as much as I can. I've had no problem with law enforcement about my deafening pipes or my static LED engine & ground illumination while riding. If I were to use a blinking or color-changing effects system while moving, I can almost guarantee that I'd get pulled over and fined within days. Driving lights on the Elio fenders would just be a huge safety fail.

 

[Devilstower]

Headlights that steer in the direction of movement have long been available on some cars (the idea goes back at least to the Tucker, which had this feature). It's generally regarded as a safety feature as it gives an extended view down the highway.

 

[wheaters]

Msmith5150 is correct, though; headlights on the front fenders would be unsprung weight and would bounce so hard, probably shake the filaments right out of the bulbs. The lights need to be attached to the chassis/body so they are sprung.