Jim-SR
26-12-2007, 18:02
this thread is partly some questions and mostly me just jibbering about my every thought as it will likely make more sense to me once ive written it down somewhere (or typed it!). so if you dont want to read all the random stuff but do want to answer some questions then jump to the bottom lol
ok, so ive been doing lots of work on my mk1 this week, it started out as a road car, then i wanted to make it a road car with occasional track use, somehow that has ended up at race car with occasional road use to get it to tracks lol.
the interior is completely emptied, if i remove any more if will become anti-matter and start sucking stuff in!! but the wiring looms look substantial and i reckon theres 20kg+ to be saved there
so i set about thinking how id make my own looms that purely do what i need them to. one of the big concerns i have is that i suck with electronics when inside cars. i like to simplify everything, whereas as far as i can gather manufacturers like to use uneccessary relays all over the place, and 3 fuse boxes scattered all over the car!! maybe its a Toyota thing, maybe all manufacturers are this stupid, but either way, i figured i might as well reduce the number of required circuits whilst im at it, and that leads me to the point of this thread....
the motorised headlights weigh about 9kg for the pair, so theyre heavy, and they also require a load of electrical circuitry. life would be much easier if they were just fixed units, but having them permanently up means a major aerodynamic penalty, leaving the options of having them on levers, or having flush mount headlights!
the lever option is a possibility, theyve got a manual winding mechanism as standard for if the motors fail. if i can make that mechanism faster and easier to use then thats a real possibility as its very cheap and easy. but if i do the racing series im considering for next season then there is a night event, and i could do without the aero penalty for it
so ive spent a few hours today researching flush mounts and how it could be done. first concern i had was legality, so i looked it all up and so long as the lights are E-marked then the hardware is legal. i checked the SVA manual to see what the legal requirements were with regards location as this was the 2nd thing i thought of, and the law says that the outer edge of the lights must be within 400mm of the outermost edge of the vehicle (excluding mirrors, side indicators, etc), and the lowermost edge must be a minimum of 500mm from the ground (the maximum is 1200mm, so not even an issue).
the 500mm minimum height is a potential stumbling block, but i think it is do-able. my MR2 currently sits about 510mm from the floor to the top of the bumper just below the headlights. lowered in race trim it will definitely sit below the 500mm mark. however, the ruling will be to the bottom of the actual headlight lense, not the cover, so it should be easily do-able. plus, il bet there arent many policemen who know the law properly and who can spot 20mm from a distance, there must be LOADS of cars around though that break this rule!
so with the legalities of it covered, i found lots of pictures of how others have done it. there are quite a few people whove managed it, my personal favourite being some guy in Japan who used a dustbin to form the enclosure rotflmao http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~mr2/raito.html
i hate the look of the setups that dont have a clear cover, id definitely want that. and for ease of creation and to easily have it E-marked i will have to use projector lenses. Xenon/HID projectors are expensive and i hate cars that have them fitted with regards blinding every other road user, so i want to have conventional Tungsten Halogen lights
Hella produces the PERFECT light for this use, in their 50mm H7 spots, which are E-marked and a totally legal dipped beam unit!! there is some doubt as to whether their H9 main beam is legal as a main beam though. on some American sites it suggests that only the HID version is legal for main beam, but Hella are european and list the unit as a "main beam", and American laws on headlights are MUCH more stringent than ours, so i think it will be fine. i need to speak to Hella and find out though. but even using the Hella units, purchased from Demon Thieves only costs about £250, which i didnt think was too horrendous, im sure il find them cheaper than that
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?cls=ROAD&pcode=HEL071-017
so here are some questions i have in case anyone has answers!!...
1. are the H9 Hella "main beam" units legal for use as full beams. they are 65W so i figure they should be
2. is adjustment of headlights a legal requirement, or do they simply need to be aimed correctly for MOT and so long as they are that is fine?
3. the lights will have to be recessed into the bumper/bonnet to fit, does anyone know what sort of an angle dipped beams need to project light at to be legal and work properly? my concern is that having them too far back will mean that most of the light just hits the housing, and doesnt get past the front of the car to the road
4. do H7/H9 produce similar amounts of heat to H4 (or are they more efficient and produce less even?), as i will need to ensure the housing i build wont melt during operation lol
think thats about all the questions ive got for now, it would be loads easier to have the standard lights on levers, but flush mounted would be pretty cool, and make wiring even easier (as there will be independant main and dipped beam, so independant switches)
also, any other thoughts on best ways to go about doing it, cheaper projector lamps for the purpose (i know some people have used Ford Puma ones before, but they look a little big for what i want to do?), etc then please share your thoughts!!
JIM
ok, so ive been doing lots of work on my mk1 this week, it started out as a road car, then i wanted to make it a road car with occasional track use, somehow that has ended up at race car with occasional road use to get it to tracks lol.
the interior is completely emptied, if i remove any more if will become anti-matter and start sucking stuff in!! but the wiring looms look substantial and i reckon theres 20kg+ to be saved there
so i set about thinking how id make my own looms that purely do what i need them to. one of the big concerns i have is that i suck with electronics when inside cars. i like to simplify everything, whereas as far as i can gather manufacturers like to use uneccessary relays all over the place, and 3 fuse boxes scattered all over the car!! maybe its a Toyota thing, maybe all manufacturers are this stupid, but either way, i figured i might as well reduce the number of required circuits whilst im at it, and that leads me to the point of this thread....
the motorised headlights weigh about 9kg for the pair, so theyre heavy, and they also require a load of electrical circuitry. life would be much easier if they were just fixed units, but having them permanently up means a major aerodynamic penalty, leaving the options of having them on levers, or having flush mount headlights!
the lever option is a possibility, theyve got a manual winding mechanism as standard for if the motors fail. if i can make that mechanism faster and easier to use then thats a real possibility as its very cheap and easy. but if i do the racing series im considering for next season then there is a night event, and i could do without the aero penalty for it
so ive spent a few hours today researching flush mounts and how it could be done. first concern i had was legality, so i looked it all up and so long as the lights are E-marked then the hardware is legal. i checked the SVA manual to see what the legal requirements were with regards location as this was the 2nd thing i thought of, and the law says that the outer edge of the lights must be within 400mm of the outermost edge of the vehicle (excluding mirrors, side indicators, etc), and the lowermost edge must be a minimum of 500mm from the ground (the maximum is 1200mm, so not even an issue).
the 500mm minimum height is a potential stumbling block, but i think it is do-able. my MR2 currently sits about 510mm from the floor to the top of the bumper just below the headlights. lowered in race trim it will definitely sit below the 500mm mark. however, the ruling will be to the bottom of the actual headlight lense, not the cover, so it should be easily do-able. plus, il bet there arent many policemen who know the law properly and who can spot 20mm from a distance, there must be LOADS of cars around though that break this rule!
so with the legalities of it covered, i found lots of pictures of how others have done it. there are quite a few people whove managed it, my personal favourite being some guy in Japan who used a dustbin to form the enclosure rotflmao http://www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~mr2/raito.html
i hate the look of the setups that dont have a clear cover, id definitely want that. and for ease of creation and to easily have it E-marked i will have to use projector lenses. Xenon/HID projectors are expensive and i hate cars that have them fitted with regards blinding every other road user, so i want to have conventional Tungsten Halogen lights
Hella produces the PERFECT light for this use, in their 50mm H7 spots, which are E-marked and a totally legal dipped beam unit!! there is some doubt as to whether their H9 main beam is legal as a main beam though. on some American sites it suggests that only the HID version is legal for main beam, but Hella are european and list the unit as a "main beam", and American laws on headlights are MUCH more stringent than ours, so i think it will be fine. i need to speak to Hella and find out though. but even using the Hella units, purchased from Demon Thieves only costs about £250, which i didnt think was too horrendous, im sure il find them cheaper than that
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?cls=ROAD&pcode=HEL071-017
so here are some questions i have in case anyone has answers!!...
1. are the H9 Hella "main beam" units legal for use as full beams. they are 65W so i figure they should be
2. is adjustment of headlights a legal requirement, or do they simply need to be aimed correctly for MOT and so long as they are that is fine?
3. the lights will have to be recessed into the bumper/bonnet to fit, does anyone know what sort of an angle dipped beams need to project light at to be legal and work properly? my concern is that having them too far back will mean that most of the light just hits the housing, and doesnt get past the front of the car to the road
4. do H7/H9 produce similar amounts of heat to H4 (or are they more efficient and produce less even?), as i will need to ensure the housing i build wont melt during operation lol
think thats about all the questions ive got for now, it would be loads easier to have the standard lights on levers, but flush mounted would be pretty cool, and make wiring even easier (as there will be independant main and dipped beam, so independant switches)
also, any other thoughts on best ways to go about doing it, cheaper projector lamps for the purpose (i know some people have used Ford Puma ones before, but they look a little big for what i want to do?), etc then please share your thoughts!!
JIM