Hella 700s vs Rugged Ridge HIDS

[SpencerFitch]

I know this is a huge price difference.

Hella 700s are 72$ a pair and the Rugged Ridge are 260 a set.

I need some auxiliary lights, ONLY ones I have ever owned or seen for that matter is the Hella 500FF, I had a set on my 4runner and I was very impressed.

Is the Rugged Ridge HIDS worth 188$ more than the Hellas?

Anyone know about the RR HIDS construction? The Hella 500s were all plastic but they held up great and never even chipped, or leaked.

I have alot of stuff I want and need to do to the truck so saving money is always great.

Need to do.
-Lift
-Tires
-Bumper
-All sorts of maintanence and repairs.

 

[Snafu]

I know this is a huge price difference.

Hella 700s are 72$ a pair and the Rugged Ridge are 260 a set.

I need some auxiliary lights, ONLY ones I have ever owned or seen for that matter is the Hella 500FF, I had a set on my 4runner and I was very impressed.

Is the Rugged Ridge HIDS worth 188$ more than the Hellas?

Anyone know about the RR HIDS construction? The Hella 500s were all plastic but they held up great and never even chipped, or leaked.

I have alot of stuff I want and need to do to the truck so saving money is always great.

Need to do.
-Lift
-Tires
-Bumper
-All sorts of maintanence and repairs.

The truck I just bought has a HID retrofit and I can tell you that the light those suckers put out is incredible. But when you switch from halogen, yellowish light over to the HID's it seems to take a bit for your eyes to adjust to the brightness and color.

My bright lights look like halogens but my running lights were described by a friend as being "the surface of the sun" bright :Wow1:

I've found some for slightly less using google shopping that I was interested in. I think one set of HID's and all the wiring plus a relay was about $136 for two.

 

[Amauri]

I have some 700's and I like them but HID's would be nice...

 

[Hilldweller]

The truck I just bought has a HID retrofit and I can tell you that the light those suckers put out is incredible. But when you switch from halogen, yellowish light over to the HID's it seems to take a bit for your eyes to adjust to the brightness and color.

I have a pair of 4" HIDx lights that I got from RDM Offroad; HIDx and Rugged Ridge are just two of the re-brands of this Chinese-made light. I have no ties to RDM Offroad but their prices are good, didn't charge me shipping, and demonstrated outstanding customer service.

The lights have worked perfectly for me and are very bright. As Snafu alluded, the color temperature can be annoying, especially if you're one of the folks who are sensitive to blue light like I am. Good HID lights come with a 4300K bulb; cheap ones usually come with a 6000K bulb to satisfy the ignorant masses; such is life in our market-driven world.

If these lights were 4300K, they'd likely be pumping out 3500 lumens or so with a CRI of maybe 72%. At 6000K that drops to maybe 2900 lumens and a CRI in the 60s. My tint job raises the CRI but drops the lumens due to the filter.
Is HID worth it? They're still at least twice as bright as halogen and draw much less amperage.

To make the CRI more acceptable, I had two options. Either order new capsules in the right color temperature (smart choice) or tint the lenses.
I tinted the lenses ----- I admit it; I like the look of selective yellow lenses. My childhood friend's dad was a rally racer back in the day and had a collection of his old cars, all with yellow driving lights. Still pumps my nads to to this day.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=254261

 

[PhulesAU]

optilux 4" got them at 4WP $99 a piece 35 watts and NO Blue tint!!!!

 

[CYi5]

just get hella 4000's and do a HID retrofit. $250 or less.

 

[87FoRunner]

I am running a DDM tuning 55w HID kit in some old 7 inch ******** Cepek spot lights I purchased. Very bright and very white.

That is the quickest shots I could find of em. I have about $130 in the whole setup including the lights and Kit. That second pic was with one pointed in the low beams light, you can see just how much brighter the HIDs are over the lows. :sombrero: