Delorean LED headlights

[john 05141]

Is there any news on LEd headlights?
I heard Delorean EU was working on something if that is true.

I read an article that new laser headlights are comming, state of the art. probably majorly expensive but LED headlights I'm still interested in.
LED's especially the powerfull ones can get hot. That is why I did not want to use Xenon, they get very hot and I dod not want to risk my facia which is nice and straight so far. Anyone knows if LED headlights get as hot as Xenon?



Jan

[Michael]

LED's in general run much cooler than other lights of the same output. One of my handheld led flashlights outs out an amazing 2000 lumens and still the bezel is warm but not hot. I don't think headlights designed for a car will be that powerful. The 3 cree leds are encased in a soft silicon like bubble that I assume is for heat dissipation.


You are also working in the assumption that heat from the headlights causes the fascia to warp which I believe is not the case. I believe warpage is caused from the fascia shrinking due to the sun exposure and temp changes. Look where it's warping..Over the high beams. I believe the location is just a weak area of the fascia and the fact it's over the lamps is just a coincidence.

[john 05141]

[QUOTE=


You are also working in the assumption that heat from the headlights causes the fascia to warp which I believe is not the case. I believe warpage is caused from the fascia shrinking due to the sun exposure and temp changes. Look where it's warping..Over the high beams. I believe the location is just a weak area of the fascia and the fact it's over the lamps is just a coincidence.[/QUOTE]

I think you are right, and several people say this. But I do not want to take unnecessary risks.
Jan

[Tomcio]

Is there any news on LEd headlights?
As a self proclaimed LED guru I think I can answer your questions here ;)


I read an article that new laser headlights are comming, state of the art.
Laser headlights... I'm not sure about this. I believe this is more of a marketing scheme than an actual good idea for automotive lighting. The lasers are nothing more than LED, laser LED but still. They shine a blue/UV light on a phosphor cube that exited emits white light. Sounds very high tech but I don't see any real world advantage in using laser LED versus regular LED. BTW, white LEDs use phosphors to get the white light as well.


LED's especially the powerfull ones can get hot.
High power LEDs emit a lot of heat but they do not get hot. They can't! If they're allowed to get hot they die quickly. You need to dissipate that heat and keep them as cool as possible. The difference is that while a regular bulb emits a lot of the heat in infrared light and heats everything round, the LED does not emit any IR and gets hot itself. You need to get rid of that heat directly from the LED chip by using a heat sink.


That is why I did not want to use Xenon, they get very hot
That statement is not entirely correct. The Xenon gas inside the bulb gets very hot, much hotter than regular filament but the heat output is actually lower. I was worried about the heat issue when I did a retrofit and installed a D2S HID in a plastic headlight that used to use H4 bulb. I took some before and after temperature measurements and the fact is that HID runs cooler than halogen. The temperature inside my headlight dropped by 20 to 30 degrees C after the conversion.


I dod not want to risk my facia which is nice and straight so far. Anyone knows if LED headlights get as hot as Xenon?
There is absolutely no correlation between the headlights and warped fascias. The section above the headlights has no support and is not connected to the lower bumper section. Any deformation of the fascia simply manifests itself at the weakest point which is right over the headlights. If you were to remove the supports behind the grill the center section would warp.
Yes, LED headlights will run cooler that halogen or HID but only when THE LIGHT IS DESIGNED CORRECTLY! With poor heat dissipation they might actually get hotter and they would loose the light output rather quickly.
FYI, headlight manufacturers using LEDs have a very hard time designing the headlights with proper heat management. Getting rid of the heat from the back of the LED is one thing. Heated front lenses are a major problem. Since LEDs to not emit any IR light they will not melt any snow that might accumulate on the lens. Hence, the lenses are heated!
Another issue with LEDs and their heat management is proper light output. LEDs get brighter the cooler they are. I've read an article about how Audi designed LED lights for their R8 only to find out that they exceed the allowed max brightness when cooled to below 0C. So, they actually use a photo element that monitors the light output and adjusts the brightness (current) of the LEDs to keep the output uniform.

Using LEDs is not as easy as simply buying a cheap Chinese LED bulb and sticking it in. If you want it done right you'll have to wait. They're not there yet... The 4x6 LED headlights available now are not worth the money. There is a company called Audio*something* but their lights offer pretty poor light distribution and the output is lower than a H4 bulb. If you want to improve your headlights get proper European replacement 4x6 that uses H4 and H1 bulbs (outboard, inboard respectively) made by Hella or Bosch. You'll be happy with the results!

[Flicky]

These look interesting. No idea on how good they are. http://www.tlg-auto.com/oracle-4x6-led-high-low-headlights/

I plan on doing a projector style housing (4x6) with HIDs likely from United Pacific or GTR Lighting.

[Timebender]

I had posted a while back a thread called 'DeLorean Dream Mods". My first post was to have 4x12 projection style lights with the LED semi-halo.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?6034-Delorean-Dream-mods&highlight=dream+mods

This is essentially the gist of the post: using Chevy Silverado lights and inverting them to fit (theoretically).

25998

[Patrick C]

I had posted a while back a thread called 'DeLorean Dream Mods". My first post was to have 4x12 projection style lights with the LED semi-halo.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?6034-Delorean-Dream-mods&highlight=dream+mods

This is essentially the gist of the post: using Chevy Silverado lights and inverting them to fit (theoretically).

25998

If this were a kit and the lenses threw decent light, I would buy this in a heartbeat.

[Flicky]

Can you invert projector lenses? I think they have a line that makes it so the light doesn't go up top. The light pattern looks like a half circle, so I would think flipping them would make the road dark and blind the people driving towards you. :fancy:

[Timebender]

Good question- I don't know, as the thought was theoretical. However there are manufacturers in China that could probably make these to fit correctly, though they'd probably be at least $1000 a set.

[dustybarn]

There are some decent-looking LED retrofit lights out there, but they are seriously expensive.

http://www.jwspeaker.com/other/led-headlamps

I have some concerns whether the bulky heatsink assembly will fit in the D's headlight bucket.

[Tomcio]

Ahh, "jwspeaker"! This is what I was thinking about but couldn't recall the name. Those lights are not only very expensive, they offer poor light distribution and fairly low light output.
750 lumen low beam and 850 lumen high beam using about 44 watts.
Regular H4 bulb provides 1000 lumen low beam and 1650 lumen high beam using 55 and 60 watts respectively. OEM 4656 sealed beams have a little lower light output.
D2S HID Xenon provides 3200 lumen output on both high and low beam and uses about 40 - 45 watts depending on the ballast used.

In my opinion the "jwspeaker" lights are a waste of money.

[john 05141]

Thanks Tomsio for your detailed explanation, much appriciated!!

I can agree with everything you say, after all I am not an expert.
I like the glow of this cool white light you get from Xenon. Xenon requires an extra cable to be pulled forward which is not that easy becasue Xenon requires a lot of electricity. Again LED is more interesting for this, as I assume LED does not need an extra cable direct from the battery.
Look at the enclosed picture. I am not sure if this is a LED headlight or a halogen light with a LED ring in the middle. What I have seen is indeed very expensive. Also not very visible is the big tail; For sure that will not fit into the buckets we have now.
So if I understand the message... wait until they become better and more economical.

Jan

[Flicky]

That looks like a fluorescent bulb in that housing. LEDs usually show as little beads.

With 15 3w crees these should blase, and only $229 for 2. I'll figure I'll try them and see. Probably be 3 like weeks before I can install and review. Tons of crazy deer where I live so I need something that can put out big light. I'm worried they might actually be too bright. I'll get the 2 and use them for high beams if they are.
http://www.tlg-auto.com/oracle-4x6-led-high-low-headlights/

The guys building late 70's Oldsmobiles and Monte Carlos that are called 'donks' here in the US are the guys to look at for advancing 4x6 lights.

[Tomcio]

Thanks Tomsio for your detailed explanation, much appriciated!!
I like the glow of this cool white light you get from Xenon. Xenon requires an extra cable to be pulled forward which is not that easy becasue Xenon requires a lot of electricity. Again LED is more interesting for this, as I assume LED does not need an extra cable direct from the battery.
No problem Jan ;)

The problem with HIDs is not really that they need a lot of electricity. They actually use less than halogen bulbs. H4 bulbs that a lot of people use consume 55W on low beam and 60W on high. H1 bulb used for inboard lights uses another 55W. D2S HID bulb uses just 35W. There is a ballast needed to run the xenon bulbs and it consumes about 5 to 10W. So, regular H4 is 55W while D2S is about 45W. There is no problem here. It's the HID startup that needs a lot of power. My Hella ballasts draw in excess of 100W at start-up. Only for a second or so but if the wires are not up to handling this power the voltage drops and starting is aborted. The ballast will try to start the arc a few more times and if it's unsuccessful it gives up. Regular bulbs will stay on, just a bit dimmer.
The truth is that regardless of what lights you are using it is a VERY good idea to run new thicker wires for the headlights. Sealed beam or European H4 will be brighter while HIDs will start on the first try and will stay on. With thin old wires you might have a problem even when using LEDs but that depends on the drive circuit used and how tolerant it is to voltage drop.
The least you can do to improve your lights is to take off the cover that holds the windshield washer bottle and clean all connections you find there. This is where the main wiring loom connects the harness running from inside the car to the harness that runs to the headlights and front turn signals. The plugs you'll find there will be all dirty and corroded. Clean those up and you'll be surprised at how bright your headlights are.


Look at the enclosed picture. I am not sure if this is a LED headlight or a halogen light with a LED ring in the middle. What I have seen is indeed very expensive. Also not very visible is the big tail; For sure that will not fit into the buckets we have now.
You can't tell what they used just by looking at the picture. If the color of the light is true then the ring is probably a lightpipe with a couple of LEDs lighting it up just like BMW does. Since you mention the long tail then it's probably a halogen light (H7 most likely).

So if I understand the message... wait until they become better and more economical.
Yep, exactly. The LED lights are nice and cool (pun intended) but they are still just coming to the market. The technology advances so fast now that a couple of years from now they should come down in price to a more reasonable level while providing similar level of light as current HIDs.
That's my opinion anyway...
For now I would highly recommend replacing the horrible sealed beams with European Hella or Bosch units with replaceable bulbs. Use a high quality H4 and H1 bulbs like Sylvania or Osram and choose a +30% ones. You'll be amazed at the comfort they provide.


That looks like a fluorescent bulb in that housing. LEDs usually show as little beads.
LEDs look like little beads when you can see them directly. When you use a lightpipe and hide the LEDs you will get something like this in the picture. Lightpipe works like an optical fiber but has surfaces that allow the light to escape to the sides. You can create very intricate designs that light up evenly along the entire surface and length even when using a single small source of light like the LED.


With 15 3w crees these should blase, and only $229 for 2. I'll figure I'll try them and see. Probably be 3 like weeks before I can install and review. Tons of crazy deer where I live so I need something that can put out big light. I'm worried they might actually be too bright. I'll get the 2 and use them for high beams if they are.
http://www.tlg-auto.com/oracle-4x6-led-high-low-headlights/
These look interesting and might be very bright depending on the drive circuit and heat dissipation. A 3W white Cree LED should put out about 250 lumens. With 15 LEDs the total light output might be as high as 3750 lumens which is more than HIDs (3200). I doubt they actually drive them to 100% so the actual output will probably be a lot lower.
The only problem with these is that I see absolutely no way they could ever conform to the European requirements for beam pattern.
This is the European beam pattern for halogen headlights:
26052
This is the European beam pattern for HIDs:
26053
While something like this is perfectly fine in the US:
26054

Yeah, get some European lights and you'll love them... LEDs are coming, no doubt. They are not here just yet though...

[Mark D]

There are some decent-looking LED retrofit lights out there, but they are seriously expensive.

http://www.jwspeaker.com/other/led-headlamps

I have some concerns whether the bulky heatsink assembly will fit in the D's headlight bucket.

I've been seeing a lot of these installed on customer vehicles at work lately. (I work for a fire apparatus OEM)

I've got to say that I'm really impressed with the light output and the quality of the projectors, beam pattern, etc. The styling takes a little bit to get used to with the triple projector type housing, but it's growing on me. It's hard to picture how they would look on a DeLorean but it seems like they would fit without any issues since they are shown here in a standard housing that fits a normal sealed beam headlight.

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=26208&d=1396020901
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=26209&d=1396020962
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=26210&d=1396020962

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=26211&d=1396021010
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=26212&d=1396021010
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=26214&d=1396021080
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=26215&d=1396021122
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=26216&d=1396021122
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=26217&d=1396021184

[1batt4u]

Thanks Tomsio for your detailed explanation, much appriciated!!

I can agree with everything you say, after all I am not an expert.
I like the glow of this cool white light you get from Xenon. Xenon requires an extra cable to be pulled forward which is not that easy becasue Xenon requires a lot of electricity. Again LED is more interesting for this, as I assume LED does not need an extra cable direct from the battery.
Look at the enclosed picture. I am not sure if this is a LED headlight or a halogen light with a LED ring in the middle. What I have seen is indeed very expensive. Also not very visible is the big tail; For sure that will not fit into the buckets we have now.
So if I understand the message... wait until they become better and more economical.

Jan

Where can I find these HALO headlights?

[john 05141]

I have seen that firetruck on a picture before, Great pics!
I also wonder what that may look like on a DeLorean.
Expensive...
Some patience seems to wise, I'm sure they will be available some day (hopefully soon)
I should ask Ed from DMC EU he might be working on something like this already.


Jan

[TTait]

As a self proclaimed LED guru I think I can answer your questions here ;)


Laser headlights... I'm not sure about this. I believe this is more of a marketing scheme than an actual good idea for automotive lighting. The lasers are nothing more than LED, laser LED but still. They shine a blue/UV light on a phosphor cube that exited emits white light. Sounds very high tech but I don't see any real world advantage in using laser LED versus regular LED. BTW, white LEDs use phosphors to get the white light as well.



I've been doing some work in this area - not building the hardware myself but navigating the issues and dealing with manufacturers, so I'll ramble - in case anyone is really curious.

I think its technically more than a marketing scheme, but the net result is similar as the real benefits of laser illumination is still a long way off.

Laser illumination is coming and its advancing in multiple fields. Most people will see it first in a few years at their local multiplex theater. The first commercial installations will be coming on line later this year.

Some, but not all laser illumination systems use LEDs. Pump lasers are also used. The primary difference between led and laser though is that the light from an LED tends to be diffuse unless captured and redirected. Lasers are designed to generally form a tight and coherant beam. This allows the light to be easily and efficiently collected and routed through fiber optics to a remote location.

While some systems will use a single type of led/source and phosphors to to get a white-ish light - other systems will combine red, green, and blue lasers into white light. This is a much more expensive way of making light but you can get any color temperature you like in this way.

What it means for auto manufacturers is that the illuminator can be located at a remote location in or on the car where the size, heat, etc. would have different impacts. One could also pack a ridiculous amount of light into a very small headlamp assembly because the actual illuminator is remotely located. If you were willing to fill the back of a Rav4 with illumination modules you could put enough light out annoy oncoming drivers during the day.

About a year ago a demonstration for the cinema industry in Amsterdam showed a laser powered video projector outputting over 100k lumens, and that was through a DLP light engine and optical path that eats up a reasonable portion of the total light before it even comes out of the lens. Scroll up and you will find a post listing the lumen levels of typical headlights and you will start to see where this could go.

Its worth pointing out that once the laser light either hits phosphors or the red green and blue light is integrated, its no longer technically a coherent laser beam, its just light - if you want to burn a hole in the tailgate of the truck in front of you its not going to happen. This fact is however lost on the FAA and the FDA (yes Food and Drug Administration) which both have a major say over how and where laser light can be legally used. At this point if you tried to legally drive a car with laser illuminated headlights you would probably have to keep the headlights about 2 meters off the ground, aim them up, never point them at people or allow them to point up into the sky either. You would need a permit from the FDA as well as state and local permits to operate your headlights outdoors or in public. Basically the law does not yet know how to regulate this new technology, but that will come.

One benefit of laser illumination is that it will last a long time - 20k-50k hours lifetime - but when they break - it will cost you a fortune. Power consumption savings are not really relevant - lasers create a nice amount of light per watt, but you have to provide a stable thermal environment so by the time you have cooled them to optimum temperature you have used up that efficiency gain.

An unknown issue is if the manufacturer will get sued because of the quality of the light though. Laser generated light is very narrow spectrum and can have visible artifacts in how it reflects depending upon the surface it hits. I'm not suggesting its a real problem - but some lawyer is going to claim that the "speckle" from the light was the cause of a deadly accident or that the optical coating used exclusively on a '72 Triumph windshield caused an unexpected glare that blinded a driver. None of this is any more likely that Prius's deciding to accelerate on their own - so you be the judge.

Now another interesting option here is that you don't have to stick to just sending red green and blue light out of the headlight - you can pump through UV and IR if you like in a controlled manner. There are possible applications here for augmented vision systems, collision avoidance systems, even vehicle to vehicle data transmission. Police vehicles (or black Ford Excursions driven by secret government agencies) could switch to IR only mode and use augmented vision windshield systems drive around in total darkness until they hit you with 250k lumens of bright white or alternating red and blue headlights.

All of this is a ways off though. Currently these cutting edge systems are horrendously expensive. its going to be a while before price meets demand. If you want something in the next few years, look to LED. For the time being, its a marketing ploy which can only be offered in its most infantile forms on the most expensive platforms offering no real benefit.

If anyone here is interested I could probably put together a laser illuminated headlight option for you in my spare time for about $30k in parts plus labor. It would be significantly brighter than stock and you could pick your color temperature, but you could not legally use them outside your garage. Form a line to the left, no pushing, no cutting please... I take cash or money order.

[Tomcio]

I've been doing some work in this area - not building the hardware myself but navigating the issues and dealing with manufacturers, so I'll ramble - in case anyone is really curious.

I think its technically more than a marketing scheme, but the net result is similar as the real benefits of laser illumination is still a long way off.

Laser illumination is coming and its advancing in multiple fields. Most people will see it first in a few years at their local multiplex theater. The first commercial installations will be coming on line later this year.

Some, but not all laser illumination systems use LEDs. Pump lasers are also used. The primary difference between led and laser though is that the light from an LED tends to be diffuse unless captured and redirected. Lasers are designed to generally form a tight and coherant beam. This allows the light to be easily and efficiently collected and routed through fiber optics to a remote location.
While some systems will use a single type of led/source and phosphors to to get a white-ish light - other systems will combine red, green, and blue lasers into white light. This is a much more expensive way of making light but you can get any color temperature you like in this way.

I'm interested and I always like to read technical posts, so you can count at least one person who actually read and understood the entire post ;)
Anyway...
In case of vehicle headlights multi-color laser system would be too expensive. Pumped lasers would also be too expensive and probably too large. Diode (solid state) lasers are small and very inexpensive.
In case of the BMW they use UV LED lasers that shine onto a phosphor cube which when excited emits white light (not full spectrum, but appears white).
Here's a youtube video explaining their design:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h29SwJDXMBc

And another one showing the design they use on their i8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpMas6aV6ls

BTW, with their design no laser light is actually emitted from the headlight. In this case I believe they would classify as LED lights and all the rules and permits required for lasers would not apply. I might be wrong though, I'm not a lawyer.

LED and laser headlights are coming, no doubt about it. But they are not here yet...



If anyone here is interested I could probably put together a laser illuminated headlight option for you in my spare time for about $30k in parts plus labor. It would be significantly brighter than stock and you could pick your color temperature, but you could not legally use them outside your garage. Form a line to the left, no pushing, no cutting please... I take cash or money order.

Can you give me a quantity discount? I've got six DeLoreans!
I pay cash ;)

[Flicky]

I installed the LED lights from this place today: http://www.tlg-auto.com/oracle-4x6-dual-beam-led-headlights/

They are extremely easy to install. Just the 4 screws on the bezel and plug in. You do have to change the wires around on the plug. The pic shows the blades jammed in for testing, then I put them back into the plug head in the right order. My headlight cups are all rusty, something else I'll need to fix later. Anyone know if they have any SS parts made?

I just put one light in last night and it was crazy bright. The low beams have 6 of the LEDs on, and the highs are all 15. It was like daylight with just the one. Very nice white light from them.

PS: if you are wondering why the grill is off, it was violated by road debris whilst towed.

[DMCMW Dave]

How is the beam pattern? are they going to attract a lot of (bad) attention and have people flashing high beams at you?

[Bitsyncmaster]

I see they are not approved for road use yet. So you have them wired to run only 6 LEDs when you have high beams on and all of the LEDs with low beams?

[Dangermouse]

I see they are not approved for road use yet. So you have them wired to run only 6 LEDs when you have high beams on and all of the LEDs with low beams?

Surely the other way around?

[Flicky]

Yeah 6 on low 15 on high. I'll try to get some pictures of the pattern tonight. It was raining yesterday. When driving with the one light on the driver's side I didn't get anyone flashing at me. While they are significantly brighter than the halogens, I don't think the low beams are substantially brighter than modern HIDs.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Yeah 6 on low 15 on high. I'll try to get some pictures of the pattern tonight. It was raining yesterday. When driving with the one light on the driver's side I didn't get anyone flashing at me. While they are significantly brighter than the halogens, I don't think the low beams are substantially brighter than modern HIDs.

So you get enough light on low beams just running 6 LEDs on each side?

[SS Spoiler]

With all those individual LEDs, couldn't you rig up a 15 post rotary switch and dial in whatever brightness you
wanted? It would take some major multi-strand wiring changes. Probably not even legal. Feel free to run with this...

[Tillsy]

With all those individual LEDs, couldn't you rig up a 15 post rotary switch and dial in whatever brightness you
wanted? It would take some major multi-strand wiring changes. Probably not even legal. Feel free to run with this...

If one wanted to do that, there's ways of achieving it without running individual wires and switches for each LED - two wires is plenty enough ;)

[Flicky]

I took some pictures trying to get an idea of the pattern. It was a little foggy. It looks like there is no real difference in the pattern from low to high, just 2.5x brighter. I stood 35 feet from the front and off to the side like where an oncoming car would be, and the low beams are not annoying. Drove for about 50 miles and passed 4 cops, no events or people flashing me. The low beams put out plenty of light and the high beams are perfect for spotting animals (saw 5 deer and an opossum tonight). They are not the best in heavy fog.

Tomorrow I'll follow a friend around at night and see if the lights are bothersome. I think that the car sits so low that it will not be a problem.

I'll have it up at DCS if anyone wants to have a look.

[Tomcio]

Can you take a picture of the beam pattern on a wall? That would show the actual light distribution.
Thanks

[john 05141]

Wow that is a way better light than I would have expected.
But I am sure those lights are not road legal here. But honestly.... I do not lik ethe looks of them so much. (sorry)

Jan

[Flicky]

More rain again tonight. I put a box in front of them and tried to get a picture but it is just a blob of light. I don't think they have a pattern at all. Looking at the reflector cone shape they don't look to be doing anything but a circle. I saw a video on you tube where the guy had them flipped the other way (6 on top), so who knows.

I have to agree that they look weird, but the light output is nice. If they become a problem with other drivers I'll move them to high only and get some Star HID or something.

I decided to put my Deloreana door LEDs in tonight and found this nastiness on the last cup I plucked out. Not sure how that happened.

[SIMid]

I took some pictures trying to get an idea of the pattern. It was a little foggy. It looks like there is no real difference in the pattern from low to high, just 2.5x brighter. I stood 35 feet from the front and off to the side like where an oncoming car would be, and the low beams are not annoying. Drove for about 50 miles and passed 4 cops, no events or people flashing me. The low beams put out plenty of light and the high beams are perfect for spotting animals (saw 5 deer and an opossum tonight). They are not the best in heavy fog.


I wonder how they compare with Xenons. Was going to go down this route when I had to convert them to RHD, but was told to stay with the original looks and Xenons would preform better with projector beams.

[DMCMW Dave]

I decided to put my Deloreana door LEDs in tonight and found this nastiness on the last cup I plucked out. Not sure how that happened.

Mice

[Flicky]

I think it may be a mouse. I didn't find any other wires bad inside, but it does look like little bits were chipped off. Cut the bad out and shrink tube'd it back to normal.

The pattern is what I was thinking...nonexistent (see pics). I am impressed that they line up considering I didn't adjust them. I put another 100 miles of night driving on with no issues from other drivers.

I am a bit upset with pick-up trucks tailgating while trying to get pictures. I was thinking of adding this under the louvers with a strobe effect. That 30K LM should get them off:
http://www.amazon.com/Eyourlife-30000LM-Light-100pcs-intensity/dp/B00F4MQJ5O/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1401340091&sr=1-2

maybe a JD-3 dazzler to take out police laser speed guns too.

[SIMid]

They look like spot lights!

I'm sure they have to dip to one side to meet road regulations.