Offroad Lighting - Whatcha got?

Quartermile · Feb 8, 2010

I'm planning to add 2 or 3 lights up front and one rear. Wondering what lights you have, and whats good and bad about them. And did you need to upgrade the alternator . . .

ambivolent · Feb 8, 2010

im running 2 hella 500's and 2 hella 500 FF's i put 100w bulbs in the 500 FF's and they work great

sean9721 · Feb 8, 2010

Do they spotlight, or do they put out a somewhat spread beam?

Mtrhd0024 · Feb 8, 2010

sean9721 said:
Do they spotlight, or do they put out a somewhat spread beam?

It depends on the pattern that you want. You can get Hella 500 fogs and Hella 500 Driving lights. The Hella 500ff's have free form lenses and are driving lights however.

I've got four Hella 700ff's converted to 55w HID. They're all 4 driving lights and are insanely bright with those HID's!

I'm still working on a way to get them all mounted up!

sean9721 · Feb 8, 2010

I plan on buying these lights and mounting them behind a billet grill, but I have no idea what the beam pattern would be.

Doom's Day Custom · Feb 8, 2010

i have 4 of these and i have 3 100watt kc nock off

ambivolent · Feb 8, 2010

as Mtrhd0024 said they are driving lights, i have the beams focused about 75-100yards in front of me since i drive alot of back roads at night i know i can light up a reflective stop sign 2 miles away

Mtrhd0024 · Feb 8, 2010

sean9721 said:
I plan on buying these lights and mounting them behind a billet grill, but I have no idea what the beam pattern would be.

Those are fog lights. They'll be a wide spread beam much like your headlights, only brighter. They don't project very far down the road since they're just designed to penetrate below fog directly in front of your truck. Ideally, fog lights need to be mounted down low to work best.

Driving lights project hundreds of feet down the road, making rural country driving more pleasurable, and they need to be mounted at least bumper height, but the higher the better. Your roof is the best for them!

Here's an example of some HID driving lights just like the ones I've got:

Also bear in mind-there are only two hella lights used in these pictures. I'm gonna have four.

Low beams on:

High beams on:

High beams on with HID Hellas:

See the difference a good set of driving lights make? :icon_thumby:

ambivolent · Feb 8, 2010

not to thread hijack but Mtrhd0024 what HID conversion kit did you use, i like the output on those

Mtrhd0024 · Feb 8, 2010

ambivolent said:
not to thread hijack but Mtrhd0024 what HID conversion kit did you use, i like the output on those

I didn't use a "kit" per-se, its all custom, but I used DDM Tuning 55w H3 Bulbs and ballasts, and then did all the work to the lights myself. I did a big long writeup here a month or so back, about how I did it, its posted on here somewhere.

Edit: Found the link here:
http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?p=598310

It'd be cool if they could stick it in the tech section. Took me forever to do that writeup, and I suspect more than a few people would love to see how its done!

Original_Ranger84 · Feb 8, 2010

Actually I am pretty sure those Ebay lights are driving beam lights... There is absolutly no reason to put 150w bulbs in a fog light. not to mention they need to be designed to reflect the light so it will be less likely to bounce back up at you.

They look like good enough lights. I personally run 8 KC 57 series lights (well I will when I get the back rack made. 4 Long range lights up top and 4 driving/fog lights in front like ambivolent

Mtrhd0024 · Feb 8, 2010

Original_Ranger84 said:
Actually I am pretty sure those Ebay lights are driving beam lights... There is absolutly no reason to put 150w bulbs in a fog light. not to mention they need to be designed to reflect the light so it will be less likely to bounce back up at you.

They look like good enough lights. I personally run 8 KC 57 series lights (well I will when I get the back rack made. 4 Long range lights up top and 4 driving/fog lights in front like ambivolent

To be honest, who knows... You never really know with stuff like that on eBay. Personally I'd just recommend spending the little extra $$ and buying some Hella or KC lights. I see them stating their lights as "150w" purely as an advertising gimmick.

Nobody really advertises the wattage of their lights because its normally either 55w for on-road legal lights, and either 100w, or 130w for offroad lights. And for an extra 5 bucks you can swap in whatever wattage bulb you want after you get the light. So to me, the wattage of the light is unimportant, and the design/quality of the reflector and lens is what is important.

Again, I'd say those eBay lights are hit and miss. You might be fine, but then again they might be terrible. I'm willing to bet they are more of a "fog light" type lens since that is easier to design and market. Fog lights just spill a lot of light into the road right in front of you. Driving lights take more precision and thought in their design.

If I were you (unless the metal housing is a huge deal to you) spend 50 bucks and pick up some Hella 500's, or some Hella 700's if you are willing to spend about $75 a pair. I believe some KC lights with metal housings can be had for around $100, and at least then you can guarantee the quality!

Thats just my 2 cents... Not meaning to offend anyone, just tryin to offer my opinion and advice on the subject! :icon_thumby:

Edit: They come with 130w bulbs but they also supply you with 150w bulbs to install. They're marketed as a driving/fog light. So who knows. The auction also states at the bottom: These lights are NOT KC Brand lights. They appear to be KC knockoffs to me.

I don't know, I guess if you're willing to give em a shot, the $55 might be worth it!

BigJohn76 · Feb 9, 2010

i got the el cheapo wal-mart lights. i need to run the wires better and i would like a better alternator so they would be brighter. when i just had 2, they worked fine, but i would recommend going with Hella or KC.

kris97ranger · Feb 9, 2010

thats mine either 100watt or 150watt i forget.
________
Vitta cam

tippykid98cztom · Feb 9, 2010

Offroad Lighting - Whatcha got?

Quartermile

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