FOg lights (1 Viewer)

[CDN_Cruiser]

[quote author=Jim_Chow link=board=2;threadid=6257;start=msg51346#msg51346 date=1066259906]
...you'll see that not only does a 40 yr old need twice the light as a 20 yr old, but a 50 yr old needs twice the light as a 40 yr old and a 60 yr old needs five times the light as a 40-yr old! In other words, a 50yr old needs FOUR times more light to see the same object ...[/quote]

If my math is correct, doesn't a 60yo need 10X the light as a 20yo? i.e., 20 - 40 = 2X and 40 - 60 = 5X = 10X? Based on this, a 60yo that used to use 80W high beams now needs 800W high beams

Cheers, Hugh

 

[IdahoDoug]

Jim,

How much did you pay for your e-code 80 series lamps? Do you have a source?

IdahoDoug

 

[bjowett]

E-codes are soooooooooo nice. The H4 w/ H3 high (that's 65w x 2 and 55Wx 2) beams on my Corrado, which are quite similar to the Landcruise units, are unreal! Some upgardes appear expensive, like $500 for headlamps.... to me they are a safety device, if they keep me from hitting one deer, they've already been paid for. If they save my life because I can see something I otherwise may not have, well... it's a no brainer.

For aux. lights, Hella has always been the best bang for the buck in my eyes.

 

[410225]

It just boggles my mind that vehicle like Land Cruiser did not come equiped with factory foglights. But of course factory foglights can be questionable to the quality as far as light output goes. My wife's Discovery factory foglights are useless and it is a joke. That's why I put in Hella 500.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Factory foglights are generally crap in the US due to our antiquated vehicle lighting regs, which restrict output, require them to be off with high beams, prevent them from being used without headlamps on (??!), etc. In addition, aux lights are a personal choice and a LandCruiser owner is more likely to have specific needs and preferences in mind. Toyota made a wise choice not to put crapola fogs on IMHO.

IdahoDoug

 

[Landpimp]

on my 80 I run PIAA 8012's, they have a 90watt low beam and 135 high beam, they are a great light. I have had these lights for years and really like them.

on my fj60 I run Hella 4000's a nice light as well.

I have a few pairs of the IPF multi reflextor(686 of something) and for a $100 they make a decent light, work well in fog or as a driving light.

Hella 500/550, not impressed

I have a set of Lightforce 240's(got em at the swap meet new in box for cheap them are bright light but I'm not running them, so maybe I'll sell em? or maybe I'll stick em on the 45 wagon?

for a nice camp seting up light or worklight Hella makes one that rotates and has a built in switch, I have this on my front bumper for a work light, supper handy light

On my fj40's(55 and 45) I run IPF H-4 E-code lights with upgraded harness, they kick ass, no desire for add on set of light on these. I prefer the IPF e-code to the Hella E-code

 

[Jim_Chow]

[quote author=bjowett link=board=2;threadid=6257;start=msg51418#msg51418 date=1066273883]
E-codes are soooooooooo nice. The H4 w/ H3 high (that's 65w x 2 and 55Wx 2) beams on my Corrado, which are quite similar to the Landcruise units, are unreal! Some upgardes appear expensive, like $500 for headlamps.... to me they are a safety device, if they keep me from hitting one deer, they've already been paid for. If they save my life because I can see something I otherwise may not have, well... it's a no brainer.

For aux. lights, Hella has always been the best bang for the buck in my eyes.
[/quote]

The e-codes have a very sharp cutoff pattern, so you can finely tune the beam so it doesn't blind incoming traffic. Also, the light pattern goes high on the right side to illuminate the signs on the roadside. One time I had my wife drive behind me (me in my honda) w/ the e-codes. When the vehicle is directly behind me, the headlights appear dimmer in my rear view mirror than DOT lamps. However, it's the guy one lane over to my right who gets nearly blinded, as if high beams are coming through his rear view mirror from one lane over! Maybe that's why e-codes haven't been adopted in this country? I agree, the DOT lamp regs are so ancient. They're really intended for those vehicles back in the 30s-50s. IMHO, they are the best lighting upgrade one can make (that, and a beefier lighting harness).

 

[Jim_Chow]

[quote author=CDN_Cruiser link=board=2;threadid=6257;start=msg51352#msg51352 date=1066261031]
If my math is correct, doesn't a 60yo need 10X the light as a 20yo? i.e., 20 - 40 = 2X and 40 - 60 = 5X = 10X? Based on this, a 60yo that used to use 80W high beams now needs 800W high beams

Cheers, Hugh
[/quote]

Hugh, you're absolutely correct. Since the 60 yr old needs 5x more than the 40 yr old, who needs 2x more than the 20 yr old, young eyes need 10x less light to see the same object at night! BTW, in the LX470, there's a night vision assist (our company makes a similar product for the H2, but not sure if any other vehicles are planned), whereby there's an infra-red beam that sweeps the road in front of the vehicle. It then takes the IR image, amplifies it, and projects it onto the windshield. This is only available on the LX470 as an option, I believe. Pretty trick, eh? (better would be to have a millimeter wave radar, like W-band,...then you can see through fog/rain, so you could technically drive at night w/o headlights at all!)

 

[Hltoppr]

Or, we have some fun Gen III mil spec night vision goggles for SAR that make night driving pretty easy...

-H-

 

[Jim_Chow]

[quote author=Hltoppr link=board=2;threadid=6257;start=msg51642#msg51642 date=1066330846]
Or, we have some fun Gen III mil spec night vision goggles for SAR that make night driving pretty easy...

-H-
[/quote]

Only problem is, if there's an approaching vehicle w/ headlights on, you'll be blinded due to the amplification factor!

 

[mot]

Jim,

THose e-code lights you are talking about, do they look like the US model's with textured lens, or do they have clear lenses?

If they are the clear ones, that would be cool. Even if they weren't, that would still be cool to get a better performing set of lights than factory.

mot

 

[Jim_Chow]

Mot, I'm only running the e-codes on my hilux right now, which takes the IPF/Hella/Cibie e-code H4 lamps. I think the 70 and 60 series cruisers can also use the same lamps. Some foreign market 80's (at least the few I've seen) appear to have four rectangular lamps (from what someone else said, the outer two are hi/lo, inners are hi only)...makes me wonder if the Oz spec lamps are merely mounts than can accept H4 lamps or something totally different? Check out www.arb.com.au, enter, and click on the arb bullbar link to see the 80 w/ the four headlamps. Take a look at the comparison between DOT sealed beam lamps and e-codes: http://www.cibielights.com/headlamps/headlamps.htm

 

[LINUS]

E - codes that have the same profile / look lense as ours are used in most European countries - Germany, Iceland, England (but oriented to the leftward shoulder for them), and a few others all use them. Like I said before H4 outer with a H1 hi-beam. The lense themselves are less diffused than our crap DOT stuff. There's an antiquated law the Feds run by that says that 10% of your head light MUST diffuse to light up road signs. Our goverment has yet to learn of a paint that the sign makers are using that is reflective. A new invention I'm told. Only been around for about 25 years.

I've seen the sealed beam 4 light setup in Aussie rigs too - I wonder why they are like that?

Bjowett and I have both had the style that I'm talking of in our VW Corrados.

Absolutely amazing the difference between the crap DOT lights and the E-codes we both had. Once again though, it was ~$575 for that set too.

I started a thread on this back in the SOR days, maybe we need to do that again since there seems to be more interest now than there was then.

 

[IdahoDoug]

The real reason we have crap DOT lights here in the US is money. Yes, the almighty dollar. It seems that in their heyday the US vehicle light makers (Sylvania, GE, blah blah) wanted to be protected from overseas makers like Osram, Bosch, etc. So they lobbied for US standards to remain firmly X while the rest of the world got Y. Then the improved version of Y, and so on. It made the investment to enter the US lighting market prohibitive (couldn't use their existing technology) and the non-US companies would be making crap US specific lights just like all the US makers so they would have no competitive advantage. And with no differences within the US market, they were basically competing on price while building a commodity - further reducing the attractiveness of entering the US market. Nice, huh? That's why all recent lighting innovations have come from overseas into our market as DOT has grudgingly relaxed our ludicrous standards (only when assured by the US CEO's that they'd had time to prepare for the new stuff, of course).

As pointed out above, for decades the DOT standard was to put the lamp filament OUT OF the reflector's focal point. This reduced it's effective output and assured a blob pattern instead of any semblance of beam control. The Germans just shook their head and walked away.

In this world if you want to know why something is the way it is - follow the money.

IdahoDoug

 

[410225]

I Got Hella 500

Well, based on search and inputs, I have decided to purchase Hella 500. I got it from Eastcoast.com for $69 including pair of lamps, wiring harness, dust cover, clear cover. Thanks to all of you for a good inputs.

 

[IdahoDoug]

That's a good deal with the clear covers.

IdahoDoug