Which lights would be best for night driving?

[--weezl--]

^^ i agree actually... fix the real problem first... no driving light is going to give you a proper beam pattern for full time driving... driving lights are intended to be used in rural areas, and not being shone at other traffic...

in fact, i have one of my IPF's aimed directly towards oncoming traffic, and turn them on when i see people who don't know what the purpose of high beams, driving lights and even some times fog lights, are... also for people who don't know enough about HID's and think that an HID bulb in a reflector housing, designed for an incandescent bulb is the best idea ever... the problem with those setups is the amount of light that gets projected randomly outward (and upward) and not where it is supposed to be, which is forward and down...

driving lights are designed to do just that, illuminate EVERYTHING, which in many cases is directly into the eyes of other motorists, causing a very unsafe situation...

if you want me to go into further explanation as to what the differences are, what proper usages are, and what not, i can, but i assume you would prefer i didn't

 

[daniel3507]

^^ i agree actually...

You sound surprised that you agree with me

 

[--weezl--]

not really no... there are much dumber people on this site than you

 

[killj0y]

^^ i agree actually... fix the real problem first... no driving light is going to give you a proper beam pattern for full time driving... driving lights are intended to be used in rural areas, and not being shone at other traffic...

in fact, i have one of my IPF's aimed directly towards oncoming traffic, and turn them on when i see people who don't know what the purpose of high beams, driving lights and even some times fog lights, are... also for people who don't know enough about HID's and think that an HID bulb in a reflector housing, designed for an incandescent bulb is the best idea ever...

Lol that's what I do now lotsa idiots driving around with highbeams on, out here. I rigged mine up to the high beams...it gets their attention every time :thumbup:

Before this I could flash them all day and they would not change them...eff em now

 

[--weezl--]

looking into the rigid sr 20" bar, it's an LED light bar that draws as much power as one of my IPF's do, and is perfectly sized to fit inside the lower most slit in my grill... flip that badboy on when someone has their high beams on and enjoy the carnage!

only problem is they are like 5-600$ or so

that and i plan to be driving home for my mom's wedding, it's a 12 hour drive, over about 800miles, and more likely will be doing a fair chunk at night, and about 90% of the drive is rural, mountain, or heavily forested, or a combination of all 3, so as much light as possible is best... at current i'm planning on taking my grill off so the IPF's can shine through better

 

[daniel3507]

Those Rigid LED bars are bad ass. Like you said though, very pricy. They seem to put out more light than anything else out there though.

 

[SierraCanine]

Just a heads up. I know this post is over a month old but just thought I could chip in from my own research with a similar, low illumination, problem. If you are running your "offroad" lights at any time other than with your high beams then they are classified as illegal lighting in the CA vehicle code ( I noticed the original poster is from Sac.). Also if they are uncovered above the cab they are illegal. Auxiliary lighting is enforced by CHP in California so just be real careful if you use any non SAE approved lights as the officers tend to classify them as off road lights. I run auxiliary driving lights with 100w bulbs on my front bumper. They are SAE approved and wired to only illuminate with my high beams in compliance with the vehicle code. If you need better driving lights try a better bulb first and search the vehicle code or ask a CHP officer if you have any questions.

FYI
The Sheriff Dept. doesn't enforce V.C. so they won't care. I once asked a deputy about lightbars ( like on tow trucks) and he said they are legal but the V.C. limits their use to authorized emergency and construction (DOT) vehicles. go figure

 

[--weezl--]

when you say light bar, you're referring to:

lightbars:

right?
because i'm referring to lightbars:

 

[6.2]

LED's are good for filler light. Not good for distance when compared to an HID

 

[SierraCanine]

when you say light bar, you're referring to:

lightbars:

right?
because i'm referring to lightbars:

Yep... Vehicle code defines lightbars as the first one. The second is strangely missing from the V.C.

I was just using that scenario as an example to show how you need to ask the correct people your questions. Sheriff- Criminal CHP- Vehicle Code

 

[--weezl--]

the second one, in all legal standings would classify as an "offroad light" or an "auxiliary/illumination light" the fact that it is in a bar format is irrelephant...

 

[SierraCanine]

the second one, in all legal standings would classify as an "offroad light" or an "auxiliary/illumination light" the fact that it is in a bar format is irrelephant...

correct. I plan to run a set of halogens on my ranger someday, when I get around to it. I'd run an LED bar but out here if your car looks like a cop, you'd better be on duty. Since I have the Unity spotlights I just don't want to push it to far.

 

[--weezl--]

Put it on the bumper, if you've got a light bar the width of your grill, on your bumper, no intelligent person is going to mistake you for a cop


Sent from somewhere naughty!

 

[SierraCanine]

Would that work with a tube bumper and a winch? Or should I just get a pair to insert into my grill? I can only run a total of 4 lamps at once on the roads and 8 off. I currently have six lamps (45/65w headlamps, 100w auxiliary, and 100w spots). Also what exactly are the reasons for led over halogen other than bulb life?

Sorry for all the questions but I just have a lot of plans for the truck and I don't have all that much money to throw into it other than upkeep and maintenance.

 

[--weezl--]

LED's don't wear out, as being they are solid state, they are not effected by vibration, they are much more efficient, an LED uses approx 1/3 of the power to put out the same light as a halogen, and they produce much less heat, which is not something that you want to intentionally put infront of your radiator...

i have a couple of halogen lights in my grill, with that 3m sticker stuff that will absorb rock impacts, one got covered in mud on a night run, and it actually burnt the 3m sticky stuff...