I have a half circle driveway 170' long with an outdoor covered electrical receptacle at the mid-way point. I'd like to place path lights along the driveway. So I'd put a 12v transformer plugged into the receptacle at the halfway point then run two leads out of the transformer, one heading each way towards the other end of the driveway entrance/exit.

I know running the wire in a circular pattern/other patterns is the best way to go and that straight run patterns are the worst due to voltage drops as you get to the ends farthest from the transformer but I wanted advice on my specific situation since straight line runs each direction away from the transformer are the only realistic way to wire this.

Is 85' too far for a straight wire run if I run 12 gauge wire?

If I put slightly higher wattage bulbs in the fixtures closest to the end of the runs (farthest away from the transformer) would that help get the brightness a little more consistent among the bulbs?

If you want specifics, the bulbs will be 12-watt T-5 wedge (not LED) amber, I can get same bulbs in 18-watt for possible use for farthest fixtures, transformer will be 300 watt. I'm not entertaining LED lights which are available in T-5 wedge due to lack of lumens, I'm actually trying to light a bit of the driveway and the brightest LED T-5 wedge bulbs I can find just aren't bright enough.

Thanks in advance!