Is anyone running two(or more) different aux lighting patterns? I'm looking at putting some Hellas on a bull bar and was toying the idea of using a pencil beam and maybe a FF light side by side instead of two identical lights. Any thoughts? Skol.
Different driving light patterns?
- Thread starter Skolfoppa
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Mark W
Yep, I really don't really care that much I guess.
FF light?
Running two matched lights spaced as are apart as is reasonable can give you advantageous shadow differences from each light helping with depth perception. Regardless of this it also provides for redundancy... Loosing a light on an all night run on an empty two lane highway in moose country is irritating... when you only have one to start with it is beyond irritating.
Two "pencil beams" or driving lights" also allow for aiming each one to the side a bit so that at the pattern spreads with distance you avoid overlap and instead light up a wider area without sacrificing the actual light intensity at longer range.
No real gain from running single lights.
Mark...
Running two matched lights spaced as are apart as is reasonable can give you advantageous shadow differences from each light helping with depth perception. Regardless of this it also provides for redundancy... Loosing a light on an all night run on an empty two lane highway in moose country is irritating... when you only have one to start with it is beyond irritating.
Two "pencil beams" or driving lights" also allow for aiming each one to the side a bit so that at the pattern spreads with distance you avoid overlap and instead light up a wider area without sacrificing the actual light intensity at longer range.
No real gain from running single lights.
Mark...
Bogo
FOOF
There are lights that have a central narrow beam pattern with a wide flood pattern too. Look at the Combo filter for Lightforce Lights. Driving Lights Pg 8 of the PDF file linked on the page.
Mark W
Yep, I really don't really care that much I guess.
Most pencil beams and driving lights have enough unintended side scatter that they actually toss more light to the sides than your headlights do... by a significant margin. Not much use to you when oncoming traffic dictates that you dim them, or when foggy conditions call for real fog lights. But when running the open roads, they light up the shoulders and fields/woods to each side nicely with this "wasted" light.
Mark...
Mark...
Ive never been real happy with any auxilary lights. Most of my off roading is happening at night. I have light force 170's with combo filters and they have been the best so far. I still may run some small flood/fogs on each side of my bumper just so I can see left and right of my truck. Spots are worthless in my circumstances. A light bar on top with four lights and two different beam patterns is the best way to go. I just ride to many trails with overhanging debree to run that set up.
Mark W
Yep, I really don't really care that much I guess.
On the tight wooded trails, a set of true flood lights off of a bobcat or other industrial use are great additions. Driving lights can be worse than useless as they tend to draw your eye to the "hot spot" and you have to consciously work to avoid that. and the bright light there makes it harder for your eyes to adjust to the darker areas to the sides.
On a wide open trail across the tundra, or crossing a wide river at night, driving light are useful on the trail as well.
I prefer my lights mounted between the bumper and the top of the hood... except...... when crossing deep water at light, a set of lights up top is far and away better than lights down low that submerge and don't do much good lighting your way across while they are under water.
Mark...
On a wide open trail across the tundra, or crossing a wide river at night, driving light are useful on the trail as well.
I prefer my lights mounted between the bumper and the top of the hood... except...... when crossing deep water at light, a set of lights up top is far and away better than lights down low that submerge and don't do much good lighting your way across while they are under water.
Mark...
I've got Hella headlights, the legal ones. Soon's I get the 4+ front winch bumper I'm going to put some 55w Hella fogs on the front. I kinda like staying street legal.
I've had KC-1s and KC-11s (two filament pencil and flood), assorted fogs, driving and pencils, roof and bumper mount.
If you roof mount or rack mount hold the lights at least a foot back from the front edge of the roof or you'll get so much reflection off the roof you can't see anything. For my purposes I won't mount anything high again.
I won't use pencil beams or driving beams--it's a freakin' LandCruiser! I'm not off road racing and don't need to see 22 miles down the road. The U.S. legal Hella headlights work great for that and if not the Euro-spec headlights fill that gap though you might get a ticket or two.
The fogs work great in fog (no, duh) but also light up the sides of the road for deer and elk bent on suicide by 'Cruiser on the highway and generally for wheelin' like when you want to see where that drop off is.
Floods are handy if you want to see the top of the hill, but the implement type lights are more than adequate and cheap at NAPA or O'Reilly's.
My only questions now revolve around H3 or H4 or HID or LED. . . I'll probably go for H4 for economic reasons.
I've had KC-1s and KC-11s (two filament pencil and flood), assorted fogs, driving and pencils, roof and bumper mount.
If you roof mount or rack mount hold the lights at least a foot back from the front edge of the roof or you'll get so much reflection off the roof you can't see anything. For my purposes I won't mount anything high again.
I won't use pencil beams or driving beams--it's a freakin' LandCruiser! I'm not off road racing and don't need to see 22 miles down the road. The U.S. legal Hella headlights work great for that and if not the Euro-spec headlights fill that gap though you might get a ticket or two.
The fogs work great in fog (no, duh) but also light up the sides of the road for deer and elk bent on suicide by 'Cruiser on the highway and generally for wheelin' like when you want to see where that drop off is.
Floods are handy if you want to see the top of the hill, but the implement type lights are more than adequate and cheap at NAPA or O'Reilly's.
My only questions now revolve around H3 or H4 or HID or LED. . . I'll probably go for H4 for economic reasons.
I know of what Mark speaks, having spent years driving at high speeds up and down the Alaska Hwy in Yukon and BC. I used to run twin aircraft landing lights, but what helps a bit is to put them wider apart and then cross the patterns. I would have the LH light on the bumper shining a bit to the right, so it put the beam on the RH edge of the road shoulder, cause moose are big and hard to see. The RH light was crossed to run barely left of centerline, for oncoming traffic courtesy in the event I didn't get them switched off quite fast enough. Then a wide pattern pair of lights to fill in the close up shoulders and front of the vehicle. The crossover point gives a good center patch of light.
Crossing light patterns is an old style rally driving technique. I found it reduced fatigue on my eyes at night. I have my eye on a set of LightForce 240's, but $. So I run cheap fog lights right now.
Crossing light patterns is an old style rally driving technique. I found it reduced fatigue on my eyes at night. I have my eye on a set of LightForce 240's, but $. So I run cheap fog lights right now.
I agree crossing your lights, when I built my front bumper I built into it a set of hella optilux driving lights for out on the road around town, I run a set of IPF 900xs driving lights mounted up on the bumper in the brush guard, work very well reach out a ways and cover the ditches, Hitting one bull elk in my lifetime was enough, I never did care for pencil beams though, each to his own I guess.
I ran one large rectangular 55w Cibié fog on the driver side and a large (100w or higher, i forget) round Cibié Oscar on the passenger side in the Smittybilt bumper of my 4x4 HiLux eons ago. Separate switches to run them separate or together. For off-road, the fog could be aimed high as a flood light, it worked well where the driving beam might be too bright in tight space. Each one was also great used on-road, properly aimed, of course, and observant of other drivers in the case of the driving beam.
I ran a similar set-up ~20 years ago on a couple of VWs but with two rectangular Hellas, worked well and didn't look as funny as the truck with it's one rectangular and one round aux. light.
I'd do it again with same shaped light housings but it depends on whether I only put lights on the bumper of our 80 or put some on a roof rack. Yes, on the bumper, not on the rack. However, all that is still stock...for now.
Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using IH8MUD
I ran a similar set-up ~20 years ago on a couple of VWs but with two rectangular Hellas, worked well and didn't look as funny as the truck with it's one rectangular and one round aux. light.
I'd do it again with same shaped light housings but it depends on whether I only put lights on the bumper of our 80 or put some on a roof rack. Yes, on the bumper, not on the rack. However, all that is still stock...for now.
Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using IH8MUD
My lightforce HID's put a snowflake type of pattern...Boy are they bright
http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=66
The cool thing about these lights are that you can change out the lenses for different types of light/color (fog, spot, or both)
http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=66
The cool thing about these lights are that you can change out the lenses for different types of light/color (fog, spot, or both)
I just put on my first set of LEDs from rigid. I have never been satisfied with any aux lights in the past. I went with 2 D2 driving lights. They are brighter than my friends 5 light force lights on his F150. They are the driving lights, but I pointed each o them out a little, and get great light in the bar ditches. I know they are pricy that is why I have never had them before, but I would say they are worth it. They are also much smaller in size, and draw less power.
Just my $.02
Just my $.02
had lots of lights due to long distance trips in remote oz and mostly run hella rally 4000 but since i put a 40 inch rigid led light bar on the truck nothing compares, nothing,no shadows and light everywhere wouldnt buy anymore spotlights,my 2 bucks