Aux Lighting
- Thread starter BMT
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BMT
I had some big Bosch ones on mine. I took them off when I put the blower on to clear the front of the vehicle for air flow. They were a driving pattern. I may still have them kicking around the garage. I could look if you like.
Dan
I had some big Bosch ones on mine. I took them off when I put the blower on to clear the front of the vehicle for air flow. They were a driving pattern. I may still have them kicking around the garage. I could look if you like.
Dan
I'm working tomorrow :tear: . I'll see if I can find them Sunday. I'll PM you and let you know how I did. 
BMT:
I use PIAA 1500 clear fogs, and Cibie Tango driving. Have always liked Cibie products since the 70's. I've not had any personal experience with IPF or Warn. Hella's seem popular (I'm looking at the 500's).
Get Christo's headlight wiring upgrade, for sure.
I use PIAA 1500 clear fogs, and Cibie Tango driving. Have always liked Cibie products since the 70's. I've not had any personal experience with IPF or Warn. Hella's seem popular (I'm looking at the 500's).
Get Christo's headlight wiring upgrade, for sure.
I've got $80 Hella 500 drivers, VERY VERY pencil-beam ish. I do some driving in big wide open fields at pitch black, and when focused correctly they really throw some light, and they are cheap, I don't like putting too much into lights since they get knocked around and broken easily. Being sort of a Hella guy, heard good things about the Rallye's, big pricey but bright, you can also upgrade their bulbs to I think 150 watt units without melting anything, thats some light!
BMT: Yep...I like 'dem Cibies!
Another model I like, and which I still have, are the Cibie 35 series clear fogs (I think they are now called the 'Airport'). I bought the set in 1973, and still have them....I swap 'em from vehicle to vehicle. I use the 100w bulbs (from Cibie).
The 'Tango' is somewhat 'pencil-ish', but that's what I needed. They are NOT as 'pencil-ish' as the 'SPOT' pattern available in other models, though.
A friend of mine down here has a slightly cheaper alternative for long range driving lights: He Buys the cheap SS lights from JC WHitney, and replaces the sealed beam with a PAR35 aircraft landing light. .....
Another model I like, and which I still have, are the Cibie 35 series clear fogs (I think they are now called the 'Airport'). I bought the set in 1973, and still have them....I swap 'em from vehicle to vehicle. I use the 100w bulbs (from Cibie).
The 'Tango' is somewhat 'pencil-ish', but that's what I needed. They are NOT as 'pencil-ish' as the 'SPOT' pattern available in other models, though.
A friend of mine down here has a slightly cheaper alternative for long range driving lights: He Buys the cheap SS lights from JC WHitney, and replaces the sealed beam with a PAR35 aircraft landing light. .....
Found one, I think I know where the other one is.
More later........ :G
More later........ :G
IPF JO1's kick butt and everything else bites in comparison. 
Well you wanted an opinion right?
Well you wanted an opinion right?
Haven't put any on the 80 yet but put Dick Cepak Baja Halogens on the FJ55. They were cheap and throw an amazing amount of wide beam light.
Ed
Ed
sleeoffroad
Supporting Vendor
PIAA 80XT's are a good driving light with a pretty nice spread patter. Good construction. Comes with harness & funky switch.
PIAA 510 Fog, nice fog light in a small package, but you have to modify the light slightly to remove the little cap they decided to put over the bulb. Comes with harness & funky switch.
Lightforce 240, awsome light, plastic construction helps in areas where they dump sand on the road and it tends to break lenses. Problem with the light is that because of the light output, the pattern is a little to 'spot' for mountain driving, it gets better with the dispersion lenses. For straight flat roads, there is little that can beat this light. No Harness
IPF 800's (the squre ones) good light, good price and a nice pattern, construction not the same quality as PIAA, but you get what you pay for. Comes with harness & funky switch.
IPF 900's (same as above but round).
IPF930. Really nice light, but expensive. Low/High beam in a single light. Just below Lightforce in brightness, but a much more usable light.
IPF960, nice driving light in a very shallow package. Nice for mounting when space is a problem.
PIAA 510 Fog, nice fog light in a small package, but you have to modify the light slightly to remove the little cap they decided to put over the bulb. Comes with harness & funky switch.
Lightforce 240, awsome light, plastic construction helps in areas where they dump sand on the road and it tends to break lenses. Problem with the light is that because of the light output, the pattern is a little to 'spot' for mountain driving, it gets better with the dispersion lenses. For straight flat roads, there is little that can beat this light. No Harness
IPF 800's (the squre ones) good light, good price and a nice pattern, construction not the same quality as PIAA, but you get what you pay for. Comes with harness & funky switch.
IPF 900's (same as above but round).
IPF930. Really nice light, but expensive. Low/High beam in a single light. Just below Lightforce in brightness, but a much more usable light.
IPF960, nice driving light in a very shallow package. Nice for mounting when space is a problem.
I'm going to throw in my two cents since I am somewhat a lighting fein.
First, concerning Aux Lighting, you first need to decide what you need is for the lighting. If you need more reach on the high beam and use fog lights, it is like showing up at a road race with super swampers on your car, doesn't matter that they are great tires for off roading and mud, wrong use.
Generally auxillary lamps fall into three catigories. First, Fog lamps/Cornering lamps. Properly designed, these offer a lot of light with a 180 degree spread, sharp vertical cut off, and maximum of about 200 foot range. These lights work well for fog (since they don't reflect back in your eyes), and filling in the gap between the car and the low beam headlamp that most cars experience. Accordingly, they make it easier to drive tight mountain roads where you can see the corners and side of the road more easily.
Next, are what are termed driving lamps. These lamps can be thought of as and intermediate beam, they tend to have a distance range of 200-1000 feet and about a 20 degree spread. They are often used to supplement low and high beams.
Finally, you have what are called pencil beams, which are a fine focus lamps, generally a spot witha very long throw (generally about 3000-5000 feet). These lamps work best on straight roads where you want to see a long ways at night. Generally I find them to be to spotty for most use.
That said, manufactures definitions vary widely, for example Hella 500 driving lamps are really a pencil beam. If you are looking for hellas, I would suggest you check Hella AG site as they have what is called a light tunnel which give a real light display of their pattern at night.
I personally am very fond of Cibie Lights. I have used the Cibie Oscar + (driving pattern) for the past 3 years on a Nissan Pathfinder to supplement the high beam and they work wonderfully. I ordered my Cibies from Cibielights.com (as a note, if you want to see what the baja racers run, go to aardvark international at cibieusa.com and check out the Cibie HID conversions they do). I would also recommend hella lights, but not their entry level 500 lamps, which are not near the same quality as the 1000, 2000, and 4000 lamps. PIAA in their large lamps (40 and 60 series) are known for their high quality, note that larger reflectors allow for much higher light output than the little lamps so many people use now.
All of that said, I just upgraded the lighting systems on the LC. I purchased the upgraded wiring harness from Slee Off Road and ordered hella 80 watt low and 100 watt high beam bulbs from rallylights.com. This upgrade signicantly increased the output of the stock lights, which frankly are not bad compared to some of the lights I have seen on cars. They still don't compare to the great pattern beams that our overseas brethren get, but well worth the $90 investment. I would suggest trying this before adding lights and then if you still have a need for auxilary lights, assess what the need is and then purchase the proper lamp for the application.
Good Luck
Cary
First, concerning Aux Lighting, you first need to decide what you need is for the lighting. If you need more reach on the high beam and use fog lights, it is like showing up at a road race with super swampers on your car, doesn't matter that they are great tires for off roading and mud, wrong use.
Generally auxillary lamps fall into three catigories. First, Fog lamps/Cornering lamps. Properly designed, these offer a lot of light with a 180 degree spread, sharp vertical cut off, and maximum of about 200 foot range. These lights work well for fog (since they don't reflect back in your eyes), and filling in the gap between the car and the low beam headlamp that most cars experience. Accordingly, they make it easier to drive tight mountain roads where you can see the corners and side of the road more easily.
Next, are what are termed driving lamps. These lamps can be thought of as and intermediate beam, they tend to have a distance range of 200-1000 feet and about a 20 degree spread. They are often used to supplement low and high beams.
Finally, you have what are called pencil beams, which are a fine focus lamps, generally a spot witha very long throw (generally about 3000-5000 feet). These lamps work best on straight roads where you want to see a long ways at night. Generally I find them to be to spotty for most use.
That said, manufactures definitions vary widely, for example Hella 500 driving lamps are really a pencil beam. If you are looking for hellas, I would suggest you check Hella AG site as they have what is called a light tunnel which give a real light display of their pattern at night.
I personally am very fond of Cibie Lights. I have used the Cibie Oscar + (driving pattern) for the past 3 years on a Nissan Pathfinder to supplement the high beam and they work wonderfully. I ordered my Cibies from Cibielights.com (as a note, if you want to see what the baja racers run, go to aardvark international at cibieusa.com and check out the Cibie HID conversions they do). I would also recommend hella lights, but not their entry level 500 lamps, which are not near the same quality as the 1000, 2000, and 4000 lamps. PIAA in their large lamps (40 and 60 series) are known for their high quality, note that larger reflectors allow for much higher light output than the little lamps so many people use now.
All of that said, I just upgraded the lighting systems on the LC. I purchased the upgraded wiring harness from Slee Off Road and ordered hella 80 watt low and 100 watt high beam bulbs from rallylights.com. This upgrade signicantly increased the output of the stock lights, which frankly are not bad compared to some of the lights I have seen on cars. They still don't compare to the great pattern beams that our overseas brethren get, but well worth the $90 investment. I would suggest trying this before adding lights and then if you still have a need for auxilary lights, assess what the need is and then purchase the proper lamp for the application.
Good Luck
Cary
Cary:
Welcome to the list and thanks for the input! What make/part numbers did you buy for the 80W/100W?
Cheers, Hugh
A quick note concerning the Slee harness. If you are careful you can route the harness next to the stock harnes that runs between the radiator and the grill. This puts the Slee harness out of view and makes for a clean install. You will have to fish the wires through but it is well worth it. Also, as you will discover when you get into the project, the ground wires in the Slee harness are just barely long enought to attach to the stock ground points. If you route them carefully you can use the stock grounds, otherwise you will have to 1) find another point, or 2) splice the slee ground to make it longer.
Cary
Cary
