A Quick couple questions about offroad lights

[Trapper50cal]

I'm putting a Defender Rack on Ingrid and was wondering a couple things....

As I am not a Baja Racer, are the $200 lights really needed?

IPF vs PIAA vs Warn vs Procomp vs Hella?
any notable pro's or con's to these brands?

Fog vs. Drive? 4 lights on the rack and two on the ARB bullbar....
What should be the orientation?

Should it be all fogs up top and drive lights on the ARB?
Should it be 2 fogs on outer up top and drives on the two inner up tops?

What is going to offer the best setup?

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Bret]

Do you want to see a mile down the road or are you looking for more light in the immediate area? There are charts similar to this for most lights to show you how they should work. I would be worried about glare off the hood from lights on a roof rack though???

ISOLUX Diagrams for Driving Lamps

 

[Trapper50cal]

Im rarely

I'm rarely on an official road when I would be using them so I'm guessing 2 driving lights on the ARB and all fog up top, but that's why I asked.

 

[Bret]

wouldn't you want them the opposite? Put the fog lights down low and the driving lights up higher. The fog should give you a very flat wide beam, the driving should be a medium width and a bit farther out than normal head lights.

I have H4 bulbs in my 40 and the difference in light output is drastic. You can get aftermarket bulbs that aren't DOT approved that are 100W on high beam. They are pretty popular w/motorcycles but you would probably want a relay for them to reduce chance for damage to wiring or switches. They put out a good bit of light too.

I heavy snow or fog having the light down low generally helps with the visibility.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

What little I know would agree that true fogs go as low as practical for best benefit.

 

[Trapper50cal]

I C

Makes sense, but I no nut-ting about these

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Makes sense, but I no nut-ting about these

I'm thinking this is simple semantics. The term fog for many refers to a specific light in a specific application. I think for you, fog=wider beam, right?

 

[Trapper50cal]

I think

I think that is the case yes. and driving lights are a more directed beam, but I don't know why a fog would cut through anything better at a low level unless as a previous post says, the refraction/reflection off the hood is counter productive.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

The fogs being better lower is because less light is refracted off the fog/snow back at the driver's eyes than from a light higher up. If that's as simple as it gets, then perhaps a light very high up would also limit the whiting out effect of grill mounted lights, as does low mounted fogs.
All this talk of fog lights reminds me of the yellow headlights I used to see in France. I never was convinved those Frogs could see any better than I could with white lights.

 

[mot]

It's time to post this again.

It gives you a good idea of what companies are offering, as well as how good (in general) they are.

IPF vs PIAA vs Warn vs Procomp vs Hella?
I don't know much about Procomp, but the other brands are about even, I think.

Yea, PIAA seems to have blue-tinted bulbs in their lights and perhaps their quality is not what it used to be a decade ago, but still pretty decent.

Warn is a re-badged Koito, which is probably the largest OEM headlight/lighting company for Japanese cars. Good quality.

IPF and Hella are both good also, but as with a lot of reputable companies they offer a WIDE range of products ranging from excellent to just marginal.

Anyway, GOOD LUCK!!

 

[Trapper50cal]

Wow

It's time to post this again.

It gives you a good idea of what companies are offering, as well as how good (in general) they are.

IPF vs PIAA vs Warn vs Procomp vs Hella?
I don't know much about Procomp, but the other brands are about even, I think.

Yea, PIAA seems to have blue-tinted bulbs in their lights and perhaps their quality is not what it used to be a decade ago, but still pretty decent.

Warn is a re-badged Koito, which is probably the largest OEM headlight/lighting company for Japanese cars. Good quality.

IPF and Hella are both good also, but as with a lot of reputable companies they offer a WIDE range of products ranging from excellent to just marginal.

Anyway, GOOD LUCK!!

Wow Thanks Mot, useful data. Hey didn't I see a FS thread you have with lights for sale? Whaddayah got right now?

 

[mot]

I've got a butt-load of them now.

Most of mine are fogs though (amber/clear and textured/multi-reflector lenses).

If you want the generic amber/multi-reflector (Hard to keep typing "multi-reflector") which does not say "TOYOTA" that is the best deal I've got.

Of course, I would not be opposed to letting you have the "TOYOTA" ones, either.

If you want driving lights, the only ones I have left are one pair of the Hella FF1000 HID, Koito Dakar-rally HID (Both are new) or the Cibie Super Oscar Driving HID (used, wireless remote).

Good luck and please let me know if I can be of any assistance!

Mot

 

[MutleyFJ62]

Have you thought about going for a set of LightForce 240Blitz or the 240XGT???? i sell more of these lights at work then I can keep on the shelf. They are truly indestructible, adjustable beam pattern with the option of clip on lens covers should you need different colours of light for situations. Can I suggest that you buy a quality pair of lights once, spend the money once and enjoy the results????

 

[mot]

Mutley,

Yeah, I've got a pair of the 240's on my bumper and like them a lot!
The performance is pretty good, but I love the way they fill up the opening of my front bumper.

Although I shouldn't have to use them very often here in Japan, I use them every chance I get!

 

[MutleyFJ62]

Mot, I run the 240 HID's on the front of mine, and I love them, best money I ever spent, bar none.

 

[cruiser88]

I used to have the fog lights....they did help to see a little better in the heavy fog but not worth spending a butt load of money.

I do not remember the name but a few years ago I bought a set of those lights that put out a blue light.....man those suckers would cut threw anything. I had them on my bumper.


I had a set of Hella lights on my roof rack up until here recently, not only was they illegal to run in this state but they was really worthless to me unless I would be spotlighting.

 

[mrlocksmith]

I have a set of these IPF's. Nothing special but the price was right. They work well for me.

Mark


http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

 

[CruisinFJ60]

i have 2 of the hella 500 driving lights on my bumper angled away from each other to and up a little above my headlight beam.
I have em set so i have a wider view at night and when im, running my low beams i see the up close stuff as well as a little further out and when im on high beams i see way out and about mid range as the driving lights are set to as close to the middle of my high and low beams as i could get. It works very well for me for the most part but i kinda wish i had something that i could shoot out to the sides more. maybe i will add some fog lights with clear lenses and bulbs for the wide range duty.

 

[ntsqd]

Generally the longer the beam the higher they are ideally mounted. Fogs should be as low as possible w/o leaving them on the trail somewhere. I once drove from Sack-a-tomatoes, CA to Stockton, CA on fogs only. Even my low beams in a lowered car were too high and were blinding me more than helping me.

snip....
All this talk of fog lights reminds me of the yellow headlights I used to see in France. I never was convinved those Frogs could see any better than I could with white lights.

The way I read it their gumberment required that color to reduce on-coming glare, not so much for increased illumination.

The now discontinued ProComp 8" lights that came black, chrome, or Stainless are surprisingly good given their pricing. I have 3 sets. One set is getting some HID's from a 350Z installed in the lens/reflector. Early testing of the one that is close to done shows a substantial improvement in light volume.
About the only issue with these is that the rivets that hold the adjuster 'ball' to the housing come loose fairly fast. I'm going to try welding the outer edge of the 'ball' to the housing and see how long they last like that.

 

[Off-Road Master]

I personally really like the Light Force Performance lights because they are made of polycarbonate, which is virtually shatter proof.

They can also be adjusted similar to a Mag Light--just twist the light housing to get your desired beam patern.

Lightforce - Handheld Lights