Spotlights

[Cowboy Dave]

The problem with the 240s is that they're the size of dinner plates. I'm sure they're great lights but the aesthetics turned me off the proposition.

I've ended up with Rallye 4000s with a HID conversion as it turns out. I went through all of the various options but for me they provided the right compromise on size and performance. That and 5th rated them and he's forgotten more about lights than I ever hope to know so that was good enough for me.

[godzilla_rising]

Cheers Guys,

I had a look at some on the way home today. I am really drawn to the LF Genesis 210 HIDs now, and just so happen to have a mate that can hopefully get them at a decent price for me...Like if a certain battery costs $240 in store, he can get it for me for $90 type thing

Im all for a night run somewhere though... maybe not where Motoz was, I am not sure if I am happy or sad that I didnt make it on Sunday...save my car a bit before I get to the High Country...

I might be able to hold out until the Border track run...maybe...

[Kegsy]

i really rate the narva extreme.

yeah they arent cheap but the mount is bombproof and they throw good light.

once adjusted they just stay put. to the point if ya grab it the light will actually flex the bullbar!

and three bolts per light slows down the thieves.

[MN GLXR]

Since my earlier post I have upgraded my 3 lightforce 170s to 50w HID.

Very happy with the lights. Also having 3 lets me fire a tight spot down the centre with two wider spots on each side.

[wake jake]

Lightforce 240 blitz 35W HID and SCA cheap 130s 35W HID

[TUFF TROOP]

I've got two 70w hid spotties 8" I think they are .. Very bright rate them very high. I've had hid xgt lights and rally 4000 hid and these are a lot better than those! , at the moment I'm looking into the 42" and 50" led light bars!

[andyj]

Nite stalkers 200's HID fit inside the bar and don't look to bad and give a good light.....

[kingy]

been looking at these spotlights from ebay. they look the goods. has anyone got them or seen them in action

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PAIR-9-HID-X ... 4d03658a00

[wake jake]

been looking at these spotlights from ebay. they look the goods. has anyone got them or seen them in action

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PAIR-9-HID-X ... 4d03658a00

Can't say I've seen them in action but have seen a few cars running them

[NowForThe5th]

been looking at these spotlights from ebay. they look the goods. has anyone got them or seen them in action

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PAIR-9-HID-X ... 4d03658a00

Junk. Even for that price, still junk.

In that size, much better choices would be Hella Rallye 4000 (not Luminator), Cibie Super Oscar or Lightforce Genesis. Most of these are available around $400/pair in halogen and will blow the socks off that Chinese rubbish. If you want to do an HID conversion later then another $100 will probably cover it, but, if you have standard halogen headlights you'll be more than happy with the standard driving lights. Choose your lenses according to the type of driving you do - pencil beam if you travel long, flat roads, spread beam if you do more tight windy, hilly stuff.

[Duck]

I am leaning towards the new pencil/spread light bars, as I have no need to see 100meters down the road ! 400 metres with plenty of side throw does the job beautifully.

[TUFF TROOP]

I have got 8" hid front 70w spotties, with 24" led light bar, and 42" spot led light bar . Very very bright and good on the eyes. I do heaps of night driving / 4x4ing so works well

[Duck]

Good to hear you have 2 light bars, as we have just been informed at work that you cannot mount 1 light bar to the vehicle they must be mounted in pairs & If you do mount 1 only then you must attach a colar to the middle of the bar blocking out some of the lights so at 400 metres it appears as 2 lights, we sell heaps of the giant light bars to the truckies at $1800 a pop they are not happy, but if we mounted 2 of them it could blind a man at 1000 metres. Bloody government & there ridiculous laws.

I have got 8" hid front 70w spotties, with 24" led light bar, and 42" spot led light bar . Very very bright and good on the eyes. I do heaps of night driving / 4x4ing so works well

[TUFF TROOP]

Yeah I haven't been picked up as yet for them. One is mounted on my arb tradey rack, and my other on in bullbar. So doesn't really stand out that much.

Do love the light they put out tho!

[andyj]

I've just had fitted a set of ultra tech power vision HID on the Pajero decent beam on them just have to adjust them.......

[Dilligara]

Good to hear you have 2 light bars, as we have just been informed at work that you cannot mount 1 light bar to the vehicle they must be mounted in pairs & If you do mount 1 only then you must attach a colar to the middle of the bar blocking out some of the lights so at 400 metres it appears as 2 lights, we sell heaps of the giant light bars to the truckies at $1800 a pop they are not happy, but if we mounted 2 of them it could blind a man at 1000 metres. Bloody government & there ridiculous laws.

Mr Duck - did they give you any reference for that? I have searched the Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Vehicle Standards and Safety) Regulation 2010 and haven't found such a prohibition yet? Not saying you aren't right, I just like to see the law cause many times Police and Transport have a habit of making things up (BTW proud ex walloper here - so not having a go at all police)

[NowForThe5th]

Good to hear you have 2 light bars, as we have just been informed at work that you cannot mount 1 light bar to the vehicle they must be mounted in pairs & If you do mount 1 only then you must attach a colar to the middle of the bar blocking out some of the lights so at 400 metres it appears as 2 lights, we sell heaps of the giant light bars to the truckies at $1800 a pop they are not happy, but if we mounted 2 of them it could blind a man at 1000 metres. Bloody government & there ridiculous laws.

Mr Duck - did they give you any reference for that? I have searched the Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Vehicle Standards and Safety) Regulation 2010 and haven't found such a prohibition yet? Not saying you aren't right, I just like to see the law cause many times Police and Transport have a habit of making things up (BTW proud ex walloper here - so not having a go at all police)

Following is an extract from Australian Design Rule 13/00 Installation of Lighting and Light Signalling Devices on other
than L-Group Vehicles:

7.3. DRIVING LAMPS
7.3.1. Presence: Optional on motor vehicles. Prohibited on trailers.
7.3.2. Number:
7.3.2.1. Two or four.
7.3.2.2. To be used in conjunction with headlamps.
7.3.3. Arrangement:
No individual specifications
7.3.4. Position:
7.3.4.1. In width no individual specifications.
7.3.4.2. In height: no individual specifications.
7.3.4.3. In length: at the front of the vehicle and fitted in such a way that the light
emitted does not cause discomfort to the driver either directly or
indirectly through the rear-view mirrors and/or other reflecting surfaces
of the vehicle.
7.3.5. Geometric visibility:
No individual specifications.
7.3.6. Orientation:
Towards the front.
7.3.7. Electrical connections:
The driving lamps must be able to be lighted only when the main-beam
headlamps switch is in the “lamps on” position.
7.3.8. Tell tale: No requirement.
7.3.9. Others:
The aggregate maximum intensity of the main-beam headlamps as
specified in paragraph 6.1.9.1 of Appendix A, can be exceeded with the
fitment and illumination of driving lamps. Driving lamps do not have to
comply with ADR 46/….

Seems pretty clear to me.

[Duck]

Yes Mate, they even dropped a copy off for me Vehicle Standards Instruction 25.0 / ADR 13/00 ADR46/00 September 2012. We had our lawer look at it & he informed us that it will stand up in court, he said its a bit like the fishing rod holders on the front of vehicles they are only legal if a rod is in it ? As with the lights he does not think that you will be pulled over by the Police or Dep of Transport as they probably don't even know about the rule but he said the insurance companies look for any out if they can find it so if you had a crash they can use that Light Bar or a fishing rod holder as a way of saying that the vehicle was not legal so the insruance is void. We have had to midify a few of our large truck bars buy as per ADR13/00 & block out the middle of the light doesn't amke sense to me.

Good to hear you have 2 light bars, as we have just been informed at work that you cannot mount 1 light bar to the vehicle they must be mounted in pairs & If you do mount 1 only then you must attach a colar to the middle of the bar blocking out some of the lights so at 400 metres it appears as 2 lights, we sell heaps of the giant light bars to the truckies at $1800 a pop they are not happy, but if we mounted 2 of them it could blind a man at 1000 metres. Bloody government & there ridiculous laws.

Mr Duck - did they give you any reference for that? I have searched the Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Vehicle Standards and Safety) Regulation 2010 and haven't found such a prohibition yet? Not saying you aren't right, I just like to see the law cause many times Police and Transport have a habit of making things up (BTW proud ex walloper here - so not having a go at all police)

[Dilligara]

Interesting. I will need to review the structure of the legislation a bit before I say more, but on first glance, the ADRs apply to the vehicle initially, adopted law as it were by the Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Vehicle Standards and Safety) Regulation 2010, but the Regulation also then allows for departures from the ADRs. In any event - plenty of dry and boring reading to happen before I reach any real conclusion.

[chick_magnet_0001]

im just about to buy a set of 100w HID's for my hella 4000 lights any advice if anyone has done this? mmm and yess i am scared of the dark

[NowForThe5th]

im just about to buy a set of 100w HID's for my hella 4000 lights any advice if anyone has done this? mmm and yess i am scared of the dark

Largely a waste of time.

The "100 watt" bulbs are not 100 watt - generally 55 - 70 watt. Electrodes within the bulb are generally insufficiently robust to handle the higher power and degenerate very quickly, resulting in premature bulb failure. Ballasts are also not 100 watt, mostly about 70 watt in reality although a few unscrupulous sellers are re-labelling 50 watt ballasts. It is possible to get boosted OEM ballasts that output a true figure but these are expensive - $400+.

The arc produced in an HID bulb is a different shape to the glowing filament in a halogen bulb, being generally ellipsoidal with a hot spot at each end near to the electrodes compared to a cylindrical shape with a hot spot in the centre for halogen. This different shape is what causes excessive glare in reflector headlights when fitted with HID bulbs. In a driving light this is of less concern however it does affect the beam pattern.

The Hella Rallye 4000 lamp uses a complex reflector that is designed to spill more light around the outside of the central beam than, say a pure parabolic reflector like the Lightforce lamps. This is not really a problem when using 35 watt bulbs and ballasts and is generally only a minor issue in 50 watt systems. However, the bigger ellipsoid and brighter hotspots in higher wattage systems does make a significant difference. The percentage of light produced at the correct focal point (assuming good quality bulbs, accurately manufactured) is much less while the ends of the arc glow much brighter. Amongst other things this directs more light to the outside of the beam pattern which. when correctly aimed, brightens the foreground. This makes you think you have brighter lights but the increased light level in close causes your pupils to contract, preventing you from being able to see further away where the light intensity is comparatively less.

A good example of this effect is standing, or sitting around a campfire. If you look across the fire you can often only just see the person on the other side, but not much beyond that. However, if you turn around and have the fire behind you, your pupils will dilate and you will be able to see much further.

So, if you're considering making the change to HID in your driving lights you need to take this into account. You will actually be able to see further with a lower wattage system. Good quality bulbs are available in the H1 format that your lamps need, in either rebased OEM burners or high quality aftermarket. The best ballasts are OEM but there are two manufacturers now producing very close to OEM standard with stable currents and very fast ramp up times. This is quite important since when you turn on your driving lights you don't want to have to wait a long time for the output to stabilise. Halogen, of course, offers almost instant light output while HID's take time to warm up. Better quality bulbs and ballasts can reduce this warm-up time from 8-15 seconds down to less than 3 seconds and the newer ones also improve hot restrike capabilities which can severely damage lower quality components.

[Cowboy Dave]

So which are the good brands?

[NowForThe5th]

So which are the good brands?

OEM bulbs: Philips, GE, Osram, Toshiba

OEM Ballasts: Matsushita/Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Hella, Bosch, Koito, Denso

There are others, but these are the big players.
Beware of fakes - there are heaps of them and price isn't always the indicator. Fake bulbs can be bought from around $5/pair ex factory and sold at up to $300/pair. Some Ebay sellers are getting very rich, very quickly.


Aftermarket Bulbs: CNLight (bubble tube type only), TaiChang (some, their lower quality bulbs are junk but better quality ranges, including rebased burners are excellent). Some others including one Korean brand and one from Taiwan who don't market under the factory name, only brand according to retailer requirement so really hit and miss if you get these or junk.

Aftermarket ballasts: Morimoto (expensive and later versions can be a bit ordinary) , Hylux (consistently solid quality but lots of copies and fakes). Baixin seems to be pretty good too and my tests indicate solid performance - quite impressed with these so far.

[chick_magnet_0001]

information overload...thanks 5th for the indepth view on lights

[odie602r]

anyone had any experience with the newish fyrlyte (spelt correctly?) driving lights? 150W halogens, but the claim is they are brighter than 70W HID's.

From what I understand, they are somehow a breakaway from the LightForce mob.