Auxiliary Lighting

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Thanks shawkins!

Very helpful! We do get what we pay for!

Like you.....I also thought about putting some kind of protective cover over my new $100 E~Code Hella housings.

While poking around the Rallylights site some more.......

I found this Very helpful page!

Hella Bulb Help......Everything you ever wanted to know!!!!!!!!!!!....a hellavalotofinfo!




Do I Need to Upgrade My Wiring?

"Before you spend the money for upgraded bulbs, you might want to evaluate your wiring. First, with a good Voltmeter, measure the voltage output of your alternator. With the engine off, clip the leads of the Voltmeter to the alternator and tie them back so they don't get tangled in the belts or the fan. Start the engine and run it up to about 2000 rpm. Note the voltage and shut off the engine. Now move the Positive Voltmeter lead to the back of the bulb - you'll have to pierce the insulation to do this. Leave the ground lead where it was. Now start the engine again and turn on your lights. Note the voltage, shut off the engine, remove the test leads and seal the punctured insulation with Silicon RTV. If your voltage drop is over 1 volt, you have some repairs to make even before you upgrade your bulbs. Look for loose or corroded connections, loose or corroded fuses or relays. Repair any problems."

 

[njtaco]

A couple of good links there.

IMHO, do the described voltage test (above), and upgrade the wiring harness/add relays regardless of the results, if you go with "brighter" bulbs (loosely used terms, here.) Then do the same test, and post up results! Inquiring minds want to know! I have no doubt that you will see a significant difference in both voltage at the lamp, and in usable light.

If you do upgrade any wiring, be sure to do both sides of the circuit, both hot and ground. No sense upgrading one without the other.

Looking forward to more...

 

[njtaco]

(hijack)

I then found a new set of the ubber rare '90-'91 4Runner and pickup headlight guards and put those on to protect me $50ea.

I have not seen those! Do you have a pic?

(end hijack)

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

I also looked at other options today because I could not figure out how bright the H4 Bulbs are on the color temp. scale.

I looked at some Silverstar 6054's ....sealed beam today. $19.99 each....and there may even be a little rebate going on right now.

With the H4's.....anything above legal wattage...is ...well.....illegal.

With the Silverstars.......I would be legal, but even though this is a 4000K bulb....would it be as bright as a 100 watt H4...?

Where do the higher watt H4's hit on the color temp. scale....and does this really matter? Are they actually brighter than the Silverstars?


Kelvin.....Color Temp Scale...........




.

 

[asteffes]

Color temperature does not equate to brightness. In fact, as color temp goes up, lumens usually go down. Silverstars may look brighter because the light is more white than standard bulbs, but having used them myself I cannot say they are any brighter or light up the night any better than a standard halogen bulb at the same wattage.

Now, I standard bulb at 80 or 100 watts is another story entirely...

 

[ducktapeguy]

Man I love lights. If only I could find a way to mount one of these :sunny: on the front of my car.

About the wiring, I'd suggest upgrading anytime you go to higher wattage. I know of at least two people who've melted their stock wiring going with higher wattage 85/100W bulbs. If you're lucky, it'll just be the easily accessible headlight plug that melts, but it could happen anywhere there's high resistance. It might work for a little while (my friends didn't melt until a year later) but you're taking a pretty big risk.

An aftermarket or homemade wiring harness will not only be safer, but you'll probably get a lot more light out of it too. The voltage/brightness curve isn't linear, so a 1.2 volt drop could cause a lot more than a 10% loss in brightness, I think it's more like 30%, but don't quote me on that. Either way, it's worth it to get every last bit of electricity to the bulbs by using relays and heavier gauge wire.

I've also used some of the cheap Pep Boys "rallye" lights before. I assumed light output would be similar to a Hella, just lower build quality. But there is a difference in the amount of light also, I dunno if it's due to the quality of the reflector or focusing. Even with upgraded 100w bulbs in them, they were pretty disappointing, not to mention the amount of glare everywhere.

This used to be the setup on my car (on the right). 2 35W HID's + 2 100W Lightforces on the front + 4 100W spotlights on the roof. So about 750W of lights (if you include the fogs). I think I added a couple extra batteries just to run the extra lights. This was only temporary though, most of the lights are back on my cruiser or jeep. I've kinda grown tired of the multiple light look, plus I didn't like the beam patterns I was getting, so now I just concentrate on trying to get maximum brightness from a minimum amount of lights. If I were to start over again, I'd recommend upgrading the headlight wiring and bulbs to 80W/100W to try and get the most out of the stock headlights, and have 2 250W lightforces on the front running on a separate circuit.