Good lighting setup?

[Buggyman]

I live in a rather remote location and I have a 50 mile commute to school three times a week and 40 mile commute to work. Most of the roads are pretty rough and there's nothing worse then driving home late at night in bad weather and being unable to see hardly anything with my dim lights.

What type of new head lights would work best? Are the Silverstars very good? What about fog lights or some type of off roading lights? Are these legal to use on road? Are you required to dim them?

Thanks for any pointers...

 

[RobbieD]

Couple of suggestions here. Check out this article in the tech library:
http://http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/hibeams.html

Also, if you have the dingy headlight lens syndrome, polish them out. I use plastic polish and a buffing wheel in a drill. My '94 is especially bad about this, and I polish the lenses once a year, in the Fall before time changes. This alone makes a big difference.

My '94's lighting was so bad compared to my other two (older!) trucks, I added relays and heavier gauge wiring to power the headlights. The tech article describes doing this to the high beams; just repeat the mod on the low beams, too.

Another reason for doing the relay mod is to take the load off of the Multifunction Switch (hi/lo beam switch, or Malfunction Switch as AllanD aptly calls it); these are a major weak link in the headlighting system, along with the thin OEM wiring. Adding higher-draw bulbs to the stock circuit setup can make the switch fail even sooner, and it's really inadequate to begin with.

I'm also running some Sylvania bulbs (sorry I don't have the part # in front of me) which were stated to be 20% brighter than stock, but the cost was about the same as stockers. I've heard good things about Silverstars, and I've also heard that they don't last long. I didn't want to spend that much money for them to find out for myself.

I'm happy with my '94's current setup; at least it's adequate and much better than I suffered with before the mods.

Driving lights and fog lights are typically regulated by each state. Usually the regulations involve "height from road" specs, and in some cases fog lights must be operable only with low beams, and driving lights only with high beams. Pretty basic wiring using relays, in both cases.

Hope some of this helps, and sorry for the novel. I can relate to your lighting problems; I feel like I'm blind in one eye and can't see out of the other one, especially at night.

 

[86isuzu]

theres a product out there called brite box that allows your low beams to stay on when u hit ur high beams.
as for off road lights, i was runnin lightforce 140's with a yellow cover. very nice. and very expensive. not DOT legal tho...

 

[dirtsquirt]

I live in a rather remote location and I have a 50 mile commute to school three times a week and 40 mile commute to work. Most of the roads are pretty rough and there's nothing worse then driving home late at night in bad weather and being unable to see hardly anything with my dim lights.

What type of new head lights would work best? Are the Silverstars very good? What about fog lights or some type of off roading lights? Are these legal to use on road? Are you required to dim them?

Thanks for any pointers...

Silverstars are pretty good but Nighhawks are far better. you will not be disapointed

 

[Ranger5.0]

i fun my off road lights on the highway in realy bad weather, i just turn them off when there is oncoming traffic.

 

[Buggyman]

Thanks for the replies folks. I just bought a pair of deluxe Silverstars today. To be honest, I cannot tell a huge difference from my original lights, is it possible they are not aimed high enough? Is it very hard to aim the headlights my self?

 

[soylent_green]

The silverstars aren't really much brighter than the standard ones. (still have to conform to legal wattage) They do, however, produce a whiter light which helps things like deer and people stand out better at longer distances. I have a set in my '00 ranger.

I reciently installed a new set of off-road lights on my grill gaurd. HID rules. Got them at Checker. (Shucks or Kragen) They just went on sale for $99 each light. Seems steep, but look up a set of warn, procomp, or others and you'll think 99 bucks is a bargan.

I've seen a bunch of HID lights, and these have every bit the quality level of their expensive brand-name counterparts.

Oh, and they're FREAKING BRIGHT! When they're on, it's like daylight 200 yards out in front of my truck. Can't tell if my headlights are on or off.

I use them on the back roads around my house. Too many deer to take a chance.

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

6 100 watt aris flame thrower's mounted forward one backwards.....2 55 watt cheapies in the rear bumper............wired in pairs with relays.

hit the switch......instant daylight!