Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Well after a load of fun & games and waiting for parts due to the current situation a momentous day a couple of weeks ago when it fired up & then had a first steady shake down run last weekend.
Did around 90 miles yesterday trying to stick to a rev limit... The gearing and Pennine hills make things a bit tricky. The bloody awful weather today dampened enthusiasm a little bit.
A few bits and bobs to sort & tidy but now a running / driving work in progress.
Pity I missed out on the quiet lock down roads. Too many Muppets in SUV's... Would fitting DRL be sacrilege?

Scary thing is jumping back in the daily driver...
It feels so, erhh , remote.

Mel
68 S3 SE DHC

Good to hear about another Elan back in use.
Just use headlights if you feel need to be seen.
Certainly on motorways I do sometimes worry that people aren't fully aware of such small cars nowadays.
Enjoy the rest of the summer - assuming it does return

Cheers Mark
Have been popping them out (oohherr missus) when near the villages as that seems to be the favourite for pulling out in front of you... Hence why I was thinking of a couple of screaming white lights in the grill.
Still on pneumatic lamps so they are a bit slow to react... Like the SUV drivers
Fun to drive all the same

Hadn't thought about grille as a location but a couple of flat led units could bolt on and you probably wouldn't need to cut it.
I don't suppose they would comply with Construction and Use regulations but for peace of mind why not.
Could actually be quite discreet with a bit of planning.
Would you run independently or link to side lights?

Have seen some slim DRL units by Ring which link to ignition feed for daytime use which then dim when side lights turn on & extinguish with headlamps are on which should make them comply with lighting regs for operation, have seen a lot of aftermarket that don't do this or have just been wired wrong... but I guess could use some cheaper LED lamps & similar could be arranged to turn them off with the use of a changeover relay when head are on which I think is the minimum requirement.
Positional was thinking of putting just behind the grill so no cutting fix the the horizontal upper area just behind the grill fitting. So easy to remove If they look gash.. Need to double check UK lighting regs but from memory min height 250 should be easy enough and 400 max in board should just be achievable in an S3 If in the upper corners of the grill ( measurement is to the light emitting surface) achieving the angles of visibility requirements may be slightly tricky If tucked right back though...
20 deg in board / outboard and 10 degrees up / down.

If I do it I will post some pics ... Need to tidy up the paintwork on the front valance first though

I have two led driving lights behind the grill on handmade aluminium brackets and they work wonderfully. People can see you................!!

I've been considering some sort of DRL for my Plus 2 since I live in the USA, which has the very worst drivers in the developed world and the car looks a bit goofy with headlights raised. What I've had in mind is some sort of very slim unit, a single row of white LEDs, attached to the underside of the bumper. Of course they'll still be ridiculously low, but that's the hand these cars are dealt.

Post lockdown driving standards in the UK are something to behold.
They were getting worse anyway but the last few months has pretty much seen off what was left of any courtesy. The minority that see and know what the car is were great, however, the majority.. well not something for a polite forum

Even thought of mounting a flag pole or getting a dirty great beacon on a stick to get people to focus...
Anything bright and shiny I am hoping will help.
I also blame a PO who changed the colour from Orange to BRG

There are some good points here.

Daylight Running Lights do make some sense on small cars. I looked into fitting LEDs to the side lights on my project but as it is a project still I have not yet tested them. These are the "380" model from Better Car Lighting (please check with Gil Keane the owner). With TLC and sealant they fit...Gil now has a version that can have a double operation as side lights and indicators.

The real problems for sporty drivers is that many SUV owners are distracted by "in car entertainment" (screens or the two legged kind) and really cannot comprehend that small cars can driven considerably faster than maternal mode. I'm afraid we just have to factor in to our driving the real danger of these vehicles.

Andrew

Mel,
How about a pix of your pride and joy?

Will try & get some pics sorted when (if) the sun ever comes out again.

most of the pics I have are of grubby bits & don't have too many of them.
Keep forgetting to take photos.

Basically if you can imagine the smartest BRG S3 you have ever seen.... It isn't mine

There's a rather old thread on DRL here:
viewtopic.php?f=45&t=20384

If retrofitting DRL on a car that doesn't need them there are no positional requirements.
FoI response from DfT:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... _for_retro

So press on!
I might even consider them myself as a winter project.

As the consensus so far seems to be fit them then DRL are now added to the to do list..
If it rains today I guess I will be either tidying the garage or searching the net / fleabay for DRL options..
I think they can fit and meet the legal requirements...
thanks for the link Mark but I am not too trusting of an FOI request to DfT a decade ago.
Have looked at the car this AM with careful placement the dimensional requirements can just be met for width inboard height is easy, although I doubt many traffic cops would know about it how to assess light angles of visibility anyway.
Can you tell me what the apparent surface is officer?

anyway I like a challenge.

On a Plus 2 with the fog lights, you probably have noticed how useless they are. If you retrofit them with LED you have both real driving lights and Daytime Running lights that people will see.

Davefettback wrote:On a Plus 2 with the fog lights, you probably have noticed how useless they are. If you retrofit them with LED you have both real driving lights and Daytime Running lights that people will see.

Good idea if you have them. My early car does not, but now that you mention it, I have a friend who said a while back that he has an old set of some sort of period-correct driving lights that he thinks would look good on the Plus 2. Might have to inquire.