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Auxillary Lighting

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by Chickenmunga, Sep 29, 2010.

  1. Sep 29, 2010 at 5:00 PM
    #1
    Chickenmunga

    Chickenmunga [OP] Nuggety

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    Mike
    Keizer, Oregon
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    All the normal TW BS
    I have a Relentless fab bumper. Eric was selling his prototype for a big discount, and I jumped at it :)

    When Eric had it mounted, he was using Hella 700FF, so there's holes all ready to go for me to pop some on. However, I'm trying to decide if that's the route to take or if there's a better light.

    With my existing holes, I have about 1.25" mounting depth to the front grill. Anything more and I'd need a light hoop welded on.

    Using my existing holes, I have these options:
    -KC Slimlites, about $178 + wiring. Might be able to re-use factory wires, though
    -PIAA 520 ATP or something, $175
    -Hella 700FF, $80 or less. I hear these do a puny job unless you go for the HID conversion, which adds $25

    If I went with the light hoop, I'm completely dedicated to a set of LightForce 170. They can change focus from flood to pencil, have covers to change the beam pattern, are waterproof, can withstand a shotgun blast, and put out an obscene amount of light - sounds like the do-all be-all, and I've read a lot of good reviews. It's about $75 to add the hoop and $220 for the pair of lights.

    I'm not sure I like the way light hoops look, and $300 is a lot more than the $100 I was looking at when this whole thing started. I think I could man up to the looks, but I'm trying to see if this is the better route based on a far superior product?

    LightForce and hoop?
    Existing holes, but what light setup?


    Input please! :eek:
     
  2. Sep 29, 2010 at 6:32 PM
    #2
    David K

    David K Well-Known Member

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    Go for it... once you go out at night, you just wat to turn on the lights and be god-like... "let there be light"! HIDs are far and away awesome if you can afford them.
     
  3. Sep 29, 2010 at 9:07 PM
    #3
    Chickenmunga

    Chickenmunga [OP] Nuggety

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    go for what? light hoop with LightForce, or something else with existing holes?

    I changed the first post to be a bit clearer in what I was asking
     
  4. Sep 29, 2010 at 9:11 PM
    #4
    iroc409

    iroc409 Well-Known Member

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    Check your PM! :)
     
  5. Sep 30, 2010 at 9:34 AM
    #5
    David K

    David K Well-Known Member

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    Go for getting the lights installed.
     
  6. Sep 30, 2010 at 11:01 AM
    #6
    Chickenmunga

    Chickenmunga [OP] Nuggety

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    Yes, I am getting some form of lights... but I'm trying to figure out which lights to go with
     
  7. Sep 30, 2010 at 12:12 PM
    #7
    David K

    David K Well-Known Member

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    There is another thread called 'Adding Light Bar and Lights' where I posted this:

    Keep in mind some basics... HIDs are awesome use less than half the power of Halogens and will create daylight in front of your truck... 4,000ºK to 5,000ºK color range. Lower will be yellowish and higher will be blue to violet and give you LESS light!
    However, they are expensive... except for the Chinese made units Kragen and some others are selling. The problem is the ABS plastic housing can break with any long off road drives. The good ones come from companies like Hella, Baja Designs (Solotek), KC, Light Force, Vision X, etc... but will be $300-$500 each.

    The new technology is LED lighting... very small, very low power drain, very expensive... Baja Designs has some.

    Halogens have replaced sealed beams as the standard light... they give more light, are whiter and brighter than sealed beams, and the cost is reasonable. 100 to 135 watts are availabe for off road use. Prices range from $35 to $135 each. Halogens are closer to 3,000ºK on the color chart, meaning they are slightly yellowish... but whiter than sealed beams!

    BEAM PATTERNS:

    FOG: Short, and very wide... used for cornering as well as under fog.... Mount as low as possible on vehicle.

    DRIVING (EURO): Oval and about the same as your standard high beam pattern on the road. Best choice for most conditions. Mount close to headlight height on vehicle.

    PENCIL (SPOT): Long and narrow beam pattern... no wider than the road in front of you. Best for high speed driving and to see distant objects the soonest. Mount as high as possible on vehicle.

    Best set-up would be to have all three types. I have pencils because I use my stock headlights at the same time, and want distance to be increased.

    I do plan to have my light bar modified with two more tabs so I can add my (repaired) driving beam HIDs to the pair of Hella pencils.
     
  8. Sep 30, 2010 at 12:27 PM
    #8
    Jimmyjohn

    Jimmyjohn Well-Known Member

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    Smitty Blt Bull Bar& Skid Plate, PIAA 525SMR lights
    I sure like the Piaa 525s the light is great
     
  9. Sep 30, 2010 at 12:30 PM
    #9
    Metallikatz3

    Metallikatz3 Well-Known Member

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    I have 2 pairs of PIAA 520's - one pair of 55w driving beam lights and a pair of 85w ATP lights. I would strongly recomend the ATP patter and brighter bulbs. The light output is amazing. Both better distance and width then stock high beams with Siverstar bulbs.
     

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