richard310's 04 Xterra

[richard310]

Looks great to me, I imagine they toss a lot of light

I actually kind of like the monochrome American flag on the side, tastefully done.

Thanks! I was thinking the flag was a little large, but the black on body color looked pretty good and matched everything else.

I'll try to get a pattern shot after I get off tonight. I have them aimed pretty far up to maximize throw and light output on the road.

 

[richard310]

The Rugged Ridge 6inch 100w floods were dropped off by UPS yesterday. Pulled the lights apart and found that they are easily clockable to any degree. I'm still debating whether or not to throw a PIAA 55W Ion Crystal Yellow bulb in there yet before I mount them. $68 for a pair of quality bulbs? I guess so.... I've decided against the HIDs since I already have a set on the outer lights and would like a more basic setup (halogen are easy to find anywhere) instead of the hassle of finding an external mounting location for the ballasts and ordering replacement parts online.

The construction of these are quite basic. Really nothing holding the lens assembly in place besides a friction fit rubber gasket that is clamped on the outside of it. Got to wedge it out to open it up to access the bulb. The wiring harness that was supplied is decent as they supplied all necessary wires, relay, fuse, and switch along with a wiring diagram. Might change out the switch down the road but for now it will do. Not a fan of the chromed hardware and washers, but meh, colors can be changed easily. It takes a bit of finesse to get the rubber re-clamped on. Not bad for less than $90 for a pair of aux lights. Once I get the bulbs in, I'll get a night pattern shot of the 4.5" HIDs and the 6" Halogens.

 

[Allof75]

Looks good, I really like the Xoskel cages; seeing as I have a similar rack, I'd like to do something similar should I go that route. With regard to the glare, you could always run the X over to a tint shop, and have them do a band of tint across the windshield. Might cut down on it. Of course, shields are easy as well.

 

[XTorrey]

Nice build so far! Have you looked into an ARB bumper? They're pretty nice and don't have the ridiculously long wait time that you'd have with Shrock. GoneMoab is coming up, you should bring your rig on out.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Light setup is starting to take shape... Looking good. I always liked the idea of keeping the lights up top inexpensive. They can be pretty vulnerable up there.

 

[SpongeX]

If you're out in the bush lights anywhere are vulnerable really. I think they are much safer on the rack than anywhere near the grill. The Baja Designs lights are really pricey but all the parts are replaceable if they get damages. I haven't decided if its worth the sticker shock yet.

 

[richard310]

Looks good, I really like the Xoskel cages; seeing as I have a similar rack, I'd like to do something similar should I go that route. With regard to the glare, you could always run the X over to a tint shop, and have them do a band of tint across the windshield. Might cut down on it. Of course, shields are easy as well.

Thanks. The cage took awhile to get (but not bad considering made-to-order) and comms with John were inconsistent but he made it happen. Just happy it made it to my front door. Does anyone make a cage for the stock pathy rack? Maybe see if Xoskel can fab up a custom one for you.

The tint strip is actually an option I'd forgotten about. That just may work to get enough glare off the windshield.

Nice build so far! Have you looked into an ARB bumper? They're pretty nice and don't have the ridiculously long wait time that you'd have with Shrock. GoneMoab is coming up, you should bring your rig on out.

I've actually thought about a front bumper but for the truck's current purpose, I don't see a front bumper a necessity, nor the additional weight. A rear tire carrier for sure, but not a front (yet). I did see the release date of GoneMoab but that may depend on work and the condition of the X as there is still a little bit of maintenance left to do. Shocks, oil, rotation and alignment for sure and a few small interior fixes. Can be done in one day if I had a free day to do them all...

Rear tire/gas carrier, comms, roof rack and gas cans ( in no particular order) are the next phase.

Light setup is starting to take shape... Looking good. I always liked the idea of keeping the lights up top inexpensive. They can be pretty vulnerable up there.

Thanks! I figure if it's a flood, the light pattern can't get any worse as long as the light's emitted towards the front. Plus it's easily replaceable on the wallet. Name brand stuff might be good for some products, but sometimes halfway decent el cheapo works better for certain applications. Just not too el cheapo...

 

[richard310]

If you're out in the bush lights anywhere are vulnerable really. I think they are much safer on the rack than anywhere near the grill. The Baja Designs lights are really pricey but all the parts are replaceable if they get damages. I haven't decided if its worth the sticker shock yet.

I don't plan on being in too thick of bush and not sure if there are even thick stuff where I'm at You also get a better distribution of light mounted up top rather than in front on the bumper but sometimes shadowing from low mounted can be beneficial.
I guess if you want quality and don't mind throwing down the bills, you go the big boy route. Gotta pay to play right? But of course there are always alternatives.

 

[SpongeX]

You'll get tons of ideas at goneMoab. It has drastically lengthened my to do list.

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[richard310]

You'll get tons of ideas at goneMoab. It has drastically lengthened my to do list.

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Now I don't want to go... lol

 

[XTorrey]

You'll get tons of ideas at goneMoab. It has drastically lengthened my to do list.

Sent from my VS950 4G using Tapatalk

I'm guilty of contributing to part of that list. That's the price you pay for having both a 1st gen and 2nd gen X.

 

[Dmski]

Great looking setup. If you end up fabing up some glare shields let us know your impressions. I too have some glare off the roof mounted ones and am trying to decide what to do next with them.

 

[richard310]

Great looking setup. If you end up fabing up some glare shields let us know your impressions. I too have some glare off the roof mounted ones and am trying to decide what to do next with them.

One thing I am worried about is an increase in wind noise and more drag... if I get some off time from work I'll be diving into that. Lots of reflection especially if there's dust on the windshield with all 4 lights on, and I'm definitely sure I'm not the only one experiencing this.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

One thing I am worried about is an increase in wind noise and more drag... if I get some off time from work I'll be diving into that. Lots of reflection especially if there's dust on the windshield with all 4 lights on, and I'm definitely sure I'm not the only one experiencing this.

The extra drag, at least in my case, is negligible. The wind noise is a bit more though.

 

[richard310]

The extra drag, at least in my case, is negligible. The wind noise is a bit more though.

Agreed, negligible. Wind noise is quite concerning during long drives, but nothing some music can overcome. I do hate it though...