Lighting

You only have 3 real options when it comes to lights:

1. Use lights from existing cars. This assumes you can find something you like and in the right size and shape.
2. Use 3rd party, E-marked lighting. There are a lot of products in the market designed for kitcars, caravans, trailers, etc.
3. Develop your own lights and get them approved and E-marked. This is the expensive route.

I really like the idea of using paired front lights, to mirror the rear of the car. This works really well on the McLaren F1. Another good reason for this approach is that the polycarbonate cover reduces air resistance and I'm aiming for a very low drag coefficient with this car.

Hella produce a 90mm diameter low beam, halogen headlamp module, which would allow the above look. These are quality off-the-shelf units with adjustable mounting frames. They are also very light in weight.

Hella produce a 90mm diameter high beam, halogen headlamp module, to match the above lamp.

Hella also do a bi-halogen 90mm single lamp that combines both low beam and high beam in a single unit.

There are several ways to mount the lights into the bonnet. The first option is to have a hole cut into the bonnet and to fix a mounting frame or moulding from behind. This photo shows how it has been done on the Ferrari F430. In this instance the colour is different to the bodywork but, it doesn't have to be the case.

The second option is to mould the mounts for the lighting into the bonnet itself and to then mount the lights in from behind. This photo shows how this has been done on the Ferrari 360.

In both of the above cases, the headlight cover is a slightly curved and shaped sheet that has been designed to sit into matching shaped cut-out, with a lip for it to sit on. The result is that it sits flush with the bonnet surface. I like this approach as it is simple, water-proof and should be easy to do.

My plan is to use white LED clusters on the inside or around the main headlights.

To improve safety, I'd like to have some bright, LED daytime running lights. The issue I have with this is the added weight. In an ideal world, I would be able to combine this function with the side-lights, so that I don't need to drive around with the halogen low-beam headlights on. This would also avoid confusion with fog lights. LED lights draw less power from the engine and last longer. This plan will only work if they are both legal and bright enough.

The alternative is to find some additional lights such.

Note that these are not front fog lights. They are also not driving lights, which should be linked to the high-beam headlights and are designed to augment the high-beam lighting pattern, well described here.

Indicators

My plan is to use orange LED clusters on the outside of the main headlights.

The are plenty of off the shelf LED units available.

Rear Light Clusters

On my Fisher Fury R1, I used double round lights. The outer LED rings are both side lights. The inner centres are brake lights and the outer centres are indicators. This layout is minimalist and one I really like. I used smoked inner center lenses with red bulbs for the brake lights but, I plan to reuse this layout with all clear lenses and red and orange LED bulbs in my next car.

When a friend of mine fitted similar rear lights to his Sylva Striker, he recessed them into the bodywork. I didn't do this on my Fisher Fury R1 because it has a coloured gel-coat finish and is not spray painted but, this car will be painted and recessed lights look much better.

You also need rear reflectors for the IVA test.

On my Fisher Fury R1, I used 52mm recessed LED cluster and I plan to do the same this time. It's a stylish, subtle, reliable and light-weight solution. I'm also tempted to mount clustered, individual white (but red when on) 5mm LEDs into the bodywork this time, to make it even more subtle.

The current IVA test requires that the car has a reverse gear and reversing light. I planned to do something clever with a combined reversing light and high-level brake light. I just happened to be at Snetterton race circuit and see this MP4-12C reversing. These two tiny LED lights must be E-marked and look like an ideal solution.

Number Plate Lighting

On the Fisher Fury R1, I used Lite'N Boltz. These are stainless steel bolts with lamps built in. This is a clever solution and I want to use something very similar this time round but, with white LEDs and also using a lighter material.