I managed to drag a different shader from the browser onto the tires... Black patina metal seems to work ok. (Most of the mats on my freebies are just placeholders for modeling purposes. They're supposed to be replaced.)

Not sure if Carrara 5 has the light cone thingy. Might play with some other stuff later to see how it picks up the light.

Also is there a way to slap a gradient on the light cone? To vary the intensity over the angle or something like that? That might help the realism.

As for the glow channel thought above, I was thinking of simulating those little molding marks seen on various lenses... Seems like that would have to be very subtle though, since a little bit of glow seems to do a lot to amplify any light hitting or shining through it.

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Barbequed Pixels?

Your friendly neighborhood Wings3D nut.
Also feel free to browse my freebies at ShareCG.
There might be something worth downloading.