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Going To Use 18 watt LED Spotlights To Illuminate Shoulder

MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Explorer
I have had it up to my rear-end with the US DOT and how blinding new cars are with their blue high intensity discharge headlights.

Either the cars are leaving the factory with misaligned headlights or the lights themselves are designed by an idiot. Then there are models of new cars that have fog lamps that when oncoming look like 4 headlamps are on high beam.



Only 18 watts and 7" in length.
At 45' distance the hot spot is 13' in diameter
To be aimed at the curb or shoulder.

On my power supply at 13.5 volts, these are 13 watt lamps. Pure white light. No mercury vapor or Wal-Mart parking lot color tones.

They will be mounted below my headlights in elliptical nose openings.

The mounting will have to be reinforced to eliminate shake on rough roads.

CREE lamps same brightness 9-30 volts.

Now we get into trig

Aimed 30 degrees downward and perhaps 30 degrees to starboard can anyone think of a reason how the merged hotspots can reflect (like from a puddle) into the eyes of an oncoming driver? I cannot imagine triangulation that would offend a driver in a lane to the right of me.

A person crawling on the ground might get an unintended flare. The bracework is going to cost a pretty penny and if there is a fly in the ointment I'd rather save the money.

Mexico sometimes has shoulder delineation with paint stripe or reflectors, but it's in the minority.
16 REPLIES 16

fj12ryder
Explorer II
Explorer II
No offense meant, but sometimes it's an older person's eyesight that is the cause of some of the issues with the new headlights. Older eyes just have more problems adjusting quick enough I guess.

My wife hates the HID and projector bulbs, but I don't mind them as much as she. She has a degree of night blindness and has had for many years.

Now, all that being said, there are quite a few people out there who think just because an HID or projector bulb will fit in their car they are golden. Some just don't realize that the reflector is not necessarily designed to work well with the lights they install.

I suppose if the highways are wide enough, knowing where you are in relation to the shoulder as opposed to the center line will work okay.
Howard and Peggy

"Don't Panic"

Lwiddis
Explorer
Explorer
I also have an issue with these new LED lights.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad