auxiliary lighting

[racsan]

well since I drive late at night on my way home from work, Ive been considering extra lights. Im really out of the loop on this, I was considering something like KC daylighters mounted to my grill guard. My drive home starts at 2 am and I rarely see another car, just wildlife lurking by the road on occasion. the stock lights just arent that great in the dead of night out here in the country. Well KC daylighters seem to be obsolete, theres so many led options it aint funny, I really dont want a lightbar, and these new light ratings are a mystery to me. Ive found one thing I like, think I could mount it in the middle of the grille guard. Its a sylvania 2 in 1 6” light, $100. says its 3,000 or something in regards to the lighting number (lumens now?) what all would be enough? I like the dual function, but wow- $100? Yes im old, I remember getting auxiliary lights in a kit for 50 or less.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Every truck I've ever had I installed large foglights on them to avoid hitting deer. I run them on the highway according to state law, so they're turned off within 500ft of an oncoming vehicle. I run two 100 watt halogens on everything.

I don't care what people say about LED lights. The color is usually "off" on most lights that are somewhat affordable. You simply can't go wrong with halogens and the human eye likes the light they put out.

Right now I'm running Hella 700ff's which are 7" lights, but I upgraded the harness and relay and switched to 100 watt bulbs. I can see deer 1/4 mile away with ease. Stupid bright. I carry spare bulbs in the glovebox because the 100 watt version's lifespan isn't nearly as long as the 55 watt bulbs.

http://www.myhellalights.com/index.php/products/auxiliary-lamps/halogen-lamps/700ff-series/

https://www.amazon.com/HELLA-H3-100W-High-Wattage/dp/B00IKLLAIC?tag=959media-20



I used to run KC daylighters on my old 89 Ranger. Three of them. All 100 watts each. Blinding bright.

But, fingers crossed, I've never hit a deer. So it's been a worthwhile investment..

 

[racsan]

thats why Im wanting them, Im rather tired by 2 am after working 10 hrs, may put a floor dimmer switch in as my on/off switch. I’ll have to look harder for plain halogen lights. bad thing about winter coming- led’s dont get warm and snow will build up on lights and wont melt off. Id rather have the “old school” look anyways, fits my truck better.

 

[4x4junkie]

×2, stay away from any & all LED lights if you want good distance.

HID lights generally penetrate well into the darkness, however they also tend to generate a lot of radio interference (static) and can wipe out your reception (especially on 2-way radios).

For me it's good-ol' halogen.
I have two of these on my front bumper (driving beam pattern):

Home - My Hella Lights

WHERE TO BUY HELLA Products are available for purchase through a variety of sales channels, including online retailers, national retail chains, local retail stores, national mail/phone order retailers, and wholesale distributors. More Information LIGHTING Here you can find all information about...

www.myhellalights.com

I had planned to upgrade them to 100W bulbs, but the damn things are so freaking bright already, I've found no need to. If you're on the lookout for deer, then these should not disappoint. They are very well-constructed too (should not vibrate at all, provided your mount is sturdy). Yes, they do cost more than the cheap junk at Wal-Mart, but IMO they're very much worth it.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

LED fan here.

Only time I have trouble with them is heavy snow. They get as hot as regular lights, so no worries about snow.and ice buildup, but the white color tends to highlight the falling flakes. Still, not bad considering I can see much better with them than I can with halogen or HID lights.

Went with Partsam brand for drop-ins for the sealed beams, and Nilight for my brush guard.

Have owned dozens of Nilight lights on various work trucks. Love them. Can't beat the warranty or price, and they're stupid bright.

 

[RonD]

You can use a 12v relay on the High beam wire at either head light to activate any added lights, much simpler to add than a separate switch
And you're already used to turning off high beams with on coming traffic

 

[JOLENE_THE_RANGER]

×2, stay away from any & all LED lights if you want good distance.

i dont know man. id say stay away from amazon (chinese) led lights.... i recently switched over from Hella 55WATT HID to some baja design LEDS and im getting a TON more light at an insanely far distance from a smaller light package. led lighting has come a long way.

 

[Snoranger]

eBay/amazon LEDs suck. Spend the money on good ones.

 

[4x4junkie]

i dont know man. id say stay away from amazon (chinese) led lights.... i recently switched over from Hella 55WATT HID to some baja design LEDS and im getting a TON more light at an insanely far distance from a smaller light package. led lighting has come a long way.

I have checked out Baja Design's lights... For sure they do seem to be among the best in LED off-road stuff, but they are still a bit too bluish for my liking (they claim to use 5000°K LEDs, where most others are in the 6000-6500K range).
My problem with LEDs is their spike in output deep in the blue-light part of the spectrum, with little output of green-yellow-red light (this is a limitation of phosphor-based LEDs, and has little to do with their quality). Too much blue light increases glare, especially at close range (not to mention renders colors poorly). This spike increases with color temperature... Past about 4500°K, the glare gets to be enough that I find other light types such as halogen to be better. Only thing with halogen is you can't buy cheap garbage (good quality halogen lights seem to start at around $150 or so/pair, and use a H1 style bulb). Of course I guess this is true of anything you'd buy if you want good performance.

If BD or anyone else of similar quality had some LED offerings in the range of 3500-4000°K (a.k.a neutral-white or warm-white), my opinion about LEDs would probably be different.

 

[JOLENE_THE_RANGER]

I have checked out Baja Design's lights... For sure they do seem to be among the best in LED off-road stuff, but they are still a bit too bluish for my liking (they claim to use 5000°K LEDs, where most others are in the 6000-6500K range).
My problem with LEDs is their spike in output deep in the blue-light part of the spectrum, with little output of green-yellow-red light (this is a limitation of phosphor-based LEDs, and has little to do with their quality). Too much blue light increases glare, especially at close range (not to mention renders colors poorly). This spike increases with color temperature... Past about 4500°K, the glare gets to be enough that I find other light types such as halogen to be better. Only thing with halogen is you can't buy cheap garbage (good quality halogen lights seem to start at around $150 or so/pair, and use a H1 style bulb). Of course I guess this is true of anything you'd buy if you want good performance.

If BD or anyone else of similar quality had some LED offerings in the range of 3500-4000°K (a.k.a neutral-white or warm-white), my opinion about LEDs would probably be different.

yeah i know what you mean. while theirs are much whiter than others, it does give dust glare. thats why they have the amber bars and white/amber combo BARS. the amber cuts right through dust! sadly, no amber options i know of for the pod lights unless they have started making different lenses now