The SAE J581 Aux High Beam Thread

The 700ff and 4000 compacts mount nicely with the BAMF bracket..i dont think the 4000 full size would. I took some measurements amd it would be TIGHT! I would need to relocate the horns and aux cooler.

 

I do really like that option for later Gens, not an option for 1st Gen. Also have to consider summer temps depending on your environment when mounting large rounds right in front of the radiator. I tend to wheel in some hot weather in eastern wa in the summer. With the massive CFF FJ radiator upgrade I had on my 2nd Gen I wouldn't have any concern.

 

I feel you guys, I'm still unsure which 6-7" round lights I'm mounting on the 4Runner, but I want them outside the grille and at headlight level, which will be a major PITA

 

You need to come over and we can work out some ideas

 

Great information regarding HID lamp wattage. I never realized the lamp was overdriven in the higher wattage lights...I just assumed it was a different lamp than the one used in the 35W lights.

 

Even with an off road bumper I'm still challenged! The "best" mounting location would be under the bull bar, but that would place the lights directly on the winch access cover and would impact the view of my front camera. I thought about a clamp mount hanging down from the bar, but no one makes a 4" diameter mount.

 

Update on the cibies- getting scammed. I've been shipped 3 pairs of dorman replacement exterior door handles. Now Amazon just wants to refund my money. No, bezos, I want my fuggin driving lights.

 

Did you paint that bumper yourself? Or did you buy it coated? If you dont mind removing some paint you could weld or have someone weld some tabs for mounting the lamps. Rattle can bed liner holds up well depending on brand. Ive used it on steel bumpers and rock sliders.

 

Sadly, the joys of buying something too good to be true through Amazon and eBay. That sucks.

 

Hadn't thought about having tabs welded...the bull bar is steel, so tabs there would be easiest and would pose the least interference with the front camera. The rest of the bumper is aluminum so welding would be more challenging.

I had the bumper coated by a local shop, so they could probably touch up any affected areas.

 

I only played the game this time because it was 1- the valeo store, and 2- that p/n, the "regular" 7" cibie was the only one at the sale price.

 

Not much you can do about it of course, but you'll really lose a lot of width on the SS3 fogs in that deep of a mount.

 

Yeah, but they're surprisingly good even so. I'll try to post a night photo.

 

I pulled the trigger on a pair of spread beam KC Daylighters from @memario1214, one's heading to me, the other to @crashnburn80 for testing. @Aws123 let's get together and figure out a mounting solution once I receive the one.

 

KC Daylighters in Driving/Spread.
KC's legendary off road lamps based on aircraft landing lights. These old school lamps utilize a deep smooth internal reflector and fluted outer lens optics for output pattern. The body construction is all metal.



The Driving/Spread beam is more like that we see from Cebie or the DD SS3 Sports that has a lower profile wide pattern. This style output prioritizes the light where it is generally most useful.


Comparing output of the Daylighters vs Hella 700FFs both running 100w bulbs


The Hella 700s pull about 5% higher peak intensity, but arguably the slightly wider pattern of the Daylighters might be more preferable in some situations. The Hella 700s have more of a circular pattern vs the oblong pattern of the Daylighters.

I went to swap the bulbs out of the Daylighters to put in the best performing Osram Superbright 100w H3s. But after I opened the lamps, I discovered KC has already done this. Daylighters ship with Osram Superbright 100w H3s.

While the patterns are a bit different and the power draw is certainly more, I thought it was interesting the halogen Daylighter continues to outperform KC's flagship LED Pro6 by a significant margin.

Daylighter vs Pro6



Daylighter vs Hella 700FF


700FF front vs Daylighter back


Interestingly the Daylighter has an SAE Y98 stamp on the lens, claiming it is SAE compliant. But the lamp ships with a 100w bulb which is not compliant, meaning the label is not accurate. It also should include the J581 designation.


Overall very impressive performance from a legendary lamp. Halogens benefit from larger deeper reflectors, and KC clearly used this in the Daylighter design to enhance performance. The Hella 700FF does have a more mounting friendly design being a shallower lamp, depending on where the lamp is being mounted. Amazing that the original KC lamp continues to outperform the latest LED tech from the same brand in peak output intensity.

 

Not surprised really, LED has come a long way in a very short time and still getting better.

 

The LED Cibie remains undefeated in beam width! Very good update, Crash.

Edit- the Valeo 3" cube style driving light, followed by the Cibie Super Oscar.

 

It would be great if you could review these: https://myhellalights.com/product/rallye-4000i-compact-xenon/

 

If you want to send me one. HID certainly has more lumens to work with than halogens at 3200 lumens HID vs 2300 lumens for a 100w H3. I don't think the technology is as ideal as halogen or LED for a street-use driving lamp though. The slow startup time and the rest period after shut down don't make them the instant on/off/on as halogen or LED. Off road that is a non-issue, but on road having drop the high beam for oncoming vehicles typically makes high beams on/off/on a lot. Those have some bulk depth-wise with the integrated ballast in the back, depending on the mounting location intended. They do use the correct 35w rated ballast (as you would expect from a brand like Hella) unlike the KC Carbon units discussed earlier that push 70w.

 

Yeah, I've ordered and cancelled these a few times as I just keep thinking about the ability to switch them on-and-off quickly.