Lighting help please! $600 budget, what should I get?

[Luckychase5]

Okay so i need some lights!I will mostly be using them driving on dirt and paved roads in the middle of nowhere where my wife and I frequent as rock climbers and general adventurers. We have almost hit way too many deer and cows(BLM open range) And now its time to light up the night with a good kit of lights. Im thinking either a set of 2-3 HID's or a LED bar. I know HID's have the distance and as I drive a big heavy truck and also pull a 18ft. trailer a lot, I think I'm leaning in that direction. So far my though is getting 3 Soltec LaPaz halogen lights and HID conversions off ebay. Thought? Any help and all opinions as to what I should get are appreciated! Thanks! and Adventure on!

 

[kojackJKU]

You can take this how you will, you will get differing opinions. I have a set of Hella 500 driving beam lights with 4300K 55w HID installed in them. They put out TONS of light. I love the setup, and have never wanted more light than what these put out. I drive in the night a lot on highways littered with huge moose. and these saved my hide in many many occasions. Very inexpensive lighting solution. 2 is all you really need, I get over 1000 meters of useable light with them.

I have friends with rigid light bars from 24 - 50" and my cheap hellas are much better than the LED bars.

 

[txnight]

Do yourself a favor and dont buy the ebay kits. They are terrible.

Look at DDM tuning or kensun on amazon.

Good luck!

 

[peneumbra]

Maybe the best and safest option (and the cheapest) is to SLOW DOWN. 'Specially in open BLM-type country where the roads are pretty much straight and you can get up to some pretty good velocity. I think the LED light ars are overrated, but they do look very cool...

 

[Deleted member 9101]

ADVMonster.com


I have three of his lights on my bike, they are insanely bright and all but indestructible.

 

[SNOWDOZER]

My wife and daughter and I were just at Smith and my LED bar worked great! Plenty of dear and cattle to hit on the way up through the Oregon Outback and saw them with more than enough reaction time. Low draw to.

 

[Fish]

At some point Hilldweller will jump in here and castigate you for considering a HID conversion kit. I have to agree with him on that. Consider how obnoxious it is to see a car coming towards you with one. All of that light scatter is doing you no good.

The Soltec LaPaz lights that you mention are great lights on their own. I can't see you out-driving those distance wise.

For my big, heavy Dodge 2500, I'm running a pair of Hella Rallye 4000's in a Euro pattern. A little wider pattern than a driving pattern.

How are you planning to mount? A pair of 4000's will only run around $220, leaving money left over for mounting. Or you could add a second pair of 4000's in a spot pattern for a nice combo and still stay under $500.

 

[Luckychase5]

I'm planning in mounting them in my bumper somehow. I'm looking at brush guards or a custom light bar. I am a welder by trade so the custom option is probably the route I will go.
Thanks for all the help so far and keep it coming

 

[Hilldweller]

Maybe the best and safest option (and the cheapest) is to SLOW DOWN. 'Specially in open BLM-type country where the roads are pretty much straight and you can get up to some pretty good velocity. I think the LED light ars are overrated, but they do look very cool...

I agree on both.

At some point Hilldweller will jump in here and castigate you for considering a HID conversion kit. I have to agree with him on that. Consider how obnoxious it is to see a car coming towards you with one. All of that light scatter is doing you no good.

The Soltec LaPaz lights that you mention are great lights on their own. I can't see you out-driving those distance wise.

For my big, heavy Dodge 2500, I'm running a pair of Hella Rallye 4000's in a Euro pattern. A little wider pattern than a driving pattern.

How are you planning to mount? A pair of 4000's will only run around $220, leaving money left over for mounting. Or you could add a second pair of 4000's in a spot pattern for a nice combo and still stay under $500.

Yes; HID drop-ins rarely provide a proper solution.
Every particular light's parabola is designed to reflect the light from its unique source; you cannot interchange the light sources and expect acceptable results. The light will be out of focus and not go where you want.

I agree with the pattern on the 4000 Rallye in Euro pattern ---- very nice.

Remember that the objective of driving lights is to see far. This won't happen if your foreground is illuminated; your pupils constrict and you can't see as far.
There is some research that suggests that HID/LED color temperature affects your rod & cone recruitment and that may help peripheral vision. But that would HID/LED in a reflector that was designed for that light source.

I'd stay away from the offroad giants in the lighting industry. Their products tend to have more hyperbole than fact in their ads. Lots of claims and little science.
If you're going slow, rock crawling, you can throw as much light as you want. You can't overdo it.
But on the road, there is such a thing as too much light ---- especially if it isn't aimed or focused right. You want lights that conform to SAE criteria for use at speed.

 

[kojackJKU]

As I said before, Im using experience and not meters. how something performs in the lab/using meters is different in how it works in front of your rig. same thing as testing cameras in a lab and using so much enlargement you see individual pixels. its all realative. I know my lights work. AND WORK GREAT.

 

[LR Max]

First off, are you satisfied with your stock lights or are they useless? For example, my DD has crap for headlights just because the lens isn't clear anymore. I would start there before bolting on a bunch of extra stuff.

Look for complete housing replacement/upgrades. This is what I did with my rover. Complete headlight replacements (went with LEDs, a great solution for my low power wiring harness) can fix the above problem and give you more power. This will be great to have on a day to day basis.

I like the LED light bars but a good pair of normal aux lights will serve you better on the road. An LED light bar is fantastic when you are off road at night in low range. Otherwise its kinda overkill and gives you a bunch of light directly in front of you...which is the road...which you already know is there.

That is all I have.

 

[rxinhed]

How about Cibié lamps available from Daniel Stern Lighting?

http://danielsternlighting.com/

 

[Luckychase5]

I do have new housings and numbs but light be stepping up the numbs at least. Not HID but maybe some PIAA bulbs or similar. Also looking to upgrade my stock fog lights with some bulbs as well. Anyone used the LED bulbs in stock fog light housings?

 

[k9lestat]

having been a dirt road (rural deputy) i can say that im not a light expert but i know the needs of the lighting need in these situations. first is having some type of elevated light pointing down so you seen whats beyond the shadows of the bumps in the road or trail. it is nice to know that the washboard bump isn't hiding a wash out that's deep enough to damage your ride. having the ability to have bright lighting for backing in the dark is a must. also when operating at night side lighting will save you body work or tires. but at speed on the highway the ability to see a little further down the road is a close second to being able to light up the shoulders so you can see dangers like animals, people and other such threats.

being able to throw a beam of light 400 yards is cool but not the biggest priority for me personally. but like you i dont know much about what lights are best for what. i know i like leds at night because as ive learned with flash lights you dont get as much harsh light thrown back at you when in the woods(with leds) meaning you can see deeper into the brush.

sorry for the rambling just thought i should throw it out there.

 

[Hilldweller]

How about Cibié lamps available from Daniel Stern Lighting?

http://danielsternlighting.com/

Everything that Dan sells works and is legal.