kdixey Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 So...my in laws live in a place that is absolutely pitch black when the sun goes down (and in NW Washington State in winter that is about 3:30 pm). They are generously offering to pick my son up at daycare a few days a week since I am in class until after the daycare closes so I am trekking out to pick my boy up multiple times a week. Add this to the "coming over for dinners" and I make that trip a lot. In order to avoid colliding with 500lbs of deer meat the next time I go out there I am looking to put some driving lights/fog lights on my wagon. I can figure out the install, but I would like some advice on WHAT KIND of lights to put on. I am also going to upgrade the bulbs in the factory lights (they are pretty old and need to be changed anyway). How do some of you fend off the darkness? I was thinking a set of Hellas, but I am probably pretty un-hip as to what is latest and greatest in the illumination world. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86ruguy Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 hey i just went to autozone around the corner and picked up 2 of the 24.99 off-road lights and a set of the rallyX (?) lights......i deliver papers and am in darkness all the time. the off -road lights come on with my high beams the way i have them wired. i run across a lot of deer also, the way the lights are aimed i can see for about 3/4 of a mile ahead of me at night. (my wife says if i'm really careful i could see seattle from our house with them on. ) pic of the front of my car...http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=12755&cat=500&ppuser=18606 the top center light is no longer there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nkx Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 hellas are ok, im partial to kc daylighters (aptly named). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 I'd highly recommend these: http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/tf-Browse/s-10101/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2003770/p-2003770/N-111+10201+600002818/c-10101 I've got a set. had them on my '85 for about a year. they're 2 different pairs of lights, in one. and, they use seperate bulbs. so you can easily wire them to 2 different switches, instead of the one, 3-way one it comes with. then you can control them individually...and have them all on at once! also pretty light weight. don't need much to hold them on. I used self-tapping screws on my '88. and that worked great. unfortunately, I dropped one this summer and broke the lense (Glass). so I'm probably going to have to buy a new pair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 Really, unless you are a serious poser with lots of money to burn on a rig that will probabaly never see a trail (or you have a sponsor for your competition rig).... The Harbor Freight $20 set of 2 (or *insert any other reasonably priced, probably produced in china or tiawan set here*) do the job. Plenty bright - just use enough of them. And hey - you can afford to break them on a limb once in a while. You're not trying to light a whole staduim here, just throw some light further down the road in front of the car (or behind it as the case may be :-p). My veiwpoint FWIW. Spend money on stuff that will get you home BEFORE it gets dark. Or.... get a salad bowl, line it with foil and set the passenger seat on fire. Postscript - the hand-held battery operated "pistol" style halogens are great. I have one in my "kit". Get that and have the passenger hold it out the window. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix165 Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 make sure you you do something about the extra electrical load. my alternator wasn't very good at keeping up with it and eventually killed a battery before i knew what was going on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 make sure you you do something about the extra electrical load. my alternator wasn't very good at keeping up with it and eventually killed a battery before i knew what was going onGood point. Remember that the "average" after market lamp pulls just under 6amps, so a pair are 12amps; if you have 4 you are up to a significant output of your alternator when added to the regular load without the auxillary lights. An older GL alternator is limited to 60 amps output at 3000 rpm. A good point to keep in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdixey Posted October 29, 2006 Author Share Posted October 29, 2006 Really, unless you are a serious poser with lots of money to burn on a rig that will probabaly never see a trail (or you have a sponsor for your competition rig).... The Harbor Freight $20 set of 2 (or *insert any other reasonably priced, probably produced in china or tiawan set here*) do the job. Plenty bright - just use enough of them. And hey - you can afford to break them on a limb once in a while. You're not trying to light a whole staduim here, just throw some light further down the road in front of the car (or behind it as the case may be :-p). My veiwpoint FWIW. Spend money on stuff that will get you home BEFORE it gets dark. Or.... get a salad bowl, line it with foil and set the passenger seat on fire. Postscript - the hand-held battery operated "pistol" style halogens are great. I have one in my "kit". Get that and have the passenger hold it out the window. GD I'm not interested in spending big dollars (haven't got 'em) I just want to convert inky blackness to something a little less inky. I'll check out the Harbor Freight. Love to get home before it gets dark, but considering where I live that would mean operating between the hours of 9 and 3 only...hmmm...as attractive as that is, I am thinking that might be a problem. Just swapped the passenger seat for Impreza seats so I'm not ready to torch them yet, I'll get the foil lined bowl ready for emergencies though.. Well the only passenger would be my 3 year old so while I have considered giving him a pistol grip halogen I scrapped the idea when I realized that it would mean it was constantly pointed at the back of my head. Kevin Good point. Remember that the "average" after market lamp pulls just under 6amps, so a pair are 12amps; if you have 4 you are up to a significant output of your alternator when added to the regular load without the auxillary lights. An older GL alternator is limited to 60 amps output at 3000 rpm. A good point to keep in mind. I was thinking I would need to upgrade the electrical components. Thanks for the tip. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 on my second set of ones like numbchux posted - only i got mine for $29.99 at the local Mill's Fleet Farm store...dont use them much anymore - after burning up 3 alternators over 5 yrs! (used to use them all the time) But I do like having them if I need them... really need to look into doing an alternator upgrade... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indrid cold Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 i run across a lot of deer also, the way the lights are aimed i can see for about 3/4 of a mile ahead of me at night. (my wife says if i'm really careful i could see seattle from our house with them on. ) car...http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=12755&cat=500&ppuser=18606 ............................................. I like the way he has his mounted.. in front on the car... the cheaper lights have alot of scatter in their light so when mounted up top (light bar) offer good light spread but blinds the driver with the glow... so up front on the bumper is a good place to start with the spread beam/cheaper lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixracing Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 i'd post a pic of my home brewed lights....but my pix exceed 50mb so...........i posted them in the photo forums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdixey Posted October 29, 2006 Author Share Posted October 29, 2006 i run across a lot of deer also, the way the lights are aimed i can see for about 3/4 of a mile ahead of me at night. (my wife says if i'm really careful i could see seattle from our house with them on. ) car...http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=12755&cat=500&ppuser=18606 ............................................. I like the way he has his mounted.. in front on the car... the cheaper lights have alot of scatter in their light so when mounted up top (light bar) offer good light spread but blinds the driver with the glow... so up front on the bumper is a good place to start with the spread beam/cheaper lights. That's pretty much the setup I was looking at...the set on top of the bumper minus the cyclops eye. I am leaning toward a set of Hella 500's (I know they aren't $20 a pair, but I don't think $80 is too outrageous for a decent set of lights). Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86ruguy Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 the only problem with the hell lights is going to be that they are pre-wired to use the switch only, which mean that you have to have a 3rd hand to operate them in case you come across oncoming traffic. wiring the less expensive lights the way i wanted them so all i have to do is turn on the high beams with their switch is much more practical for me and leaves my other appendages to their work:grin: i might be able to post a wiring diagram in my photos in a couple of days to help out with that if you want. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Wiring: A word to the wise; install the lights to operate with a relay. The relay coil can be wired to the high beams (as you wish) and a switch so you can extinguish the fog lamps when you dim the brights. The cars wiring will easily handle the control side of the relay; wire the lamps directly to the battery with a fuse as close to the battery terminal as possible. The other side of the lamps are grounded full time. Don't use too small wire for the lamps...14 gauge would be fine for each auxillary lamp (6 amps each; for 100 watt bulbs, use 12 guage); 18 gauge for the control wires to the relay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdixey Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 the only problem with the hell lights is going to be that they are pre-wired to use the switch only, which mean that you have to have a 3rd hand to operate them in case you come across oncoming traffic. wiring the less expensive lights the way i wanted them so all i have to do is turn on the high beams with their switch is much more practical for me and leaves my other appendages to their work:grin: i might be able to post a wiring diagram in my photos in a couple of days to help out with that if you want. Dave If you have a diagram I would love to see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdixey Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 Wiring: A word to the wise; install the lights to operate with a relay. The relay coil can be wired to the high beams (as you wish) and a switch so you can extinguish the fog lamps when you dim the brights. The cars wiring will easily handle the control side of the relay; wire the lamps directly to the battery with a fuse as close to the battery terminal as possible. The other side of the lamps are grounded full time. Don't use too small wire for the lamps...14 gauge would be fine for each auxillary lamp (6 amps each; for 100 watt bulbs, use 12 guage); 18 gauge for the control wires to the relay. I was planning to redo the wiring...I changed the wiring when I put in the steroe as well. I don't think I would wire it to the high beams though, although if it could be wired to the high beams AND the switch allowing me to choose whether the high beam flicks on the driving lights...that would be pretty useful. Gotta think about that one. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdixey Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 hellas are ok, im partial to kc daylighters (aptly named). I just saw some daylighters today. They are as spendy as the Hellas. What do you like about them? Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 If you've got the money and need the light, Lightforce lights are what I see on EVERY line-haul truck in Alaska and Canada, where it's dark from 3 pm to 10 am for about five months. That's why I bought a set, and they kick major butt (however, that's also where you'll be paying out of). Here's a picture I found on some Scananavian website: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zed wolf Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 When it comes to aux lighting in some ways you get what you pay for. Higher quality lights will cost more but they will also place the light beam where you want it. Another pretty good rule is to get as big a light as you can. a larger reflector has an easier time pointing and distributing the light in the right spot for you. Light force lights are awesome but rather spendy. I usually run a pair of 6x9 rectangle KC's with 130watt bulbs. Also look for a light with a smooth lens and reflector, not a faceted lens or reflector. This will indicate a longer range design made to focus the light farther down the road instead of spreading it out directly in front of you. you can aim your regular headlights to do that. of course run the power off a relay with heavy gauge wire. I usually also get the power directly off the back of the alternator, it will often have a slightly higher voltage there then at the battery. This dose have the effect of burning out the bulbs faster but they also burn brighter. Another thing I do is have 2 spare bulbs with me.look here for the lights I use. Reasonably priced, very high quality. I have used these lights on road and off road they have very durable lenses that are quite resistant to tree branches. this is also a good kit with 2 lights wiring and relay. Highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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