Offroad Lighting Info - What do you use?

[crate2002]

I am reaching out to see what everyone has used for lighting. It's almost Christmas and Santa (wife) just might get me some lights! In the ATV community, LED's are becoming the trend. Out with the HID's, in with the LED's. But that's only because the ATV is only capable of pushing out (X) amount of watts. I am very impressed with the little 8" LED bars I have seen people use. But vehicles are a different story because the output of the alternators are much much more. Right now I am running 6000k 55watt High beams and low beams with quad beam mod for highs. There are people who purchased high end such as Hella HID's, and Rigid Industries LED's. I'm sure there has to be people who have experimented with eBay LED light bars or possibly Amazon. Throw some feedback on what you use, What the output is, and why you choose the light / lights you did. If you have pictures of them in action, feel free to post them up! Pictures help visual people like myself understand lol

[navigator]

I bought two 7 or 8 inch 36W LEDs that were flood/spot combos to run on my jon boat. I was pretty impressed with them. I also had 2 little 18W floods that did well.


I had two more 15W floods that I was not impressed with. I noticed the good ones had clear/smooth lenses and the 15W had a textured lens, I think to scatter the light more. Pay attention to the mounts also. I see some of the 36 W with one mounting point, mine had two and I think that would be more solid.

I plan to add lights but my other mods are higher priority right now.

[mikekey]

OHHH LEDs'.

I can't make up my mind if I want to upgrade or not. Maybe I will. Currently I run HID's at 5000K 55 watts in the headlamps. And I run 55w 5000K in the forward driving lamps, and when I had a regular bumper, I also ran 35W HID's in the fogs.



My roof bar has also been converted with 35W HID's at 4500K



All I had to do was drill holes in the back of everything:



I was more than happy with it during my last trip thru Moab.

[Trail X]

I've had hella 4000 rallye cornering lamps on my front bumper for 5 years, and I don't think I'd trade them for anything. Perfect all-around wide beam. For fogs, I've got some DE projectors from hella. They have an excellent low cutoff line that really makes them good for fog. I upgraded them to 100W halogens.

I'm still unsure about LEDs, they seem to generally be best for long light throw or floods. The design of the LED lenses and reflectors is still improving all the time, whereas the halogen reflectors have been studied for decades and well refined. I've been considering picking a couple LEDs for the roof rack, potentially some long range beams since I have short and medium range covered.

[Cable810]

I've got 2 Rugged Ride 100w 6" lights that I'm running. Awesome light output! I definitely would spend money for LEDS if I had $$$

[crate2002]

Any issues with voltage? TB has a moderately low idle from factory. Has anyone upgraded their pulley on the alternator or replaced to a HO alternator?

[mikekey]

We've already got the HO alternator factory (but it's only 150amps, look for KG4 RPO) on our rig, two voltages were issued from the factory, I think if you have premium sound and the sunroof package you got it. A few folks have dual battery setups, see Jame's thread here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=602 on the subject.

We personally haven't experienced too many voltage issues with all the lights on and idle. Although I did notice dimming when we started rolling up windows in idle and closing the sunroof with the lights on.

[The Roadie]

All trucks came with 150 amp alternator. Some aftermarket parts stores have a flawed data base that implies some shipped with a lower ampacity unit. None did.

There are aftermarket super-alternators for mucho-$

[Cable810]

Never have had an issue with Volatage

[v7guy]

I've been reading for a good while now. We have a decent thread here
viewtopic.php?f=69&t=8


ARFCOM has a good thread here
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/149380 ... ay___.html

There's also these fellas from right here in NY (don't hold it against them) that seem to offer a damn fine lightbar.
http://www.lifetimeledlights.com/Light-bars_c_7.html


There's a few more threads here, but I think this covers it mostly

[Karo]

I've had hella 4000 rallye cornering lamps on my front bumper for 5 years, and I don't think I'd trade them for anything. Perfect all-around wide beam. For fogs, I've got some DE projectors from hella. They have an excellent low cutoff line that really makes them good for fog. I upgraded them to 100W halogens.

I'm still unsure about LEDs, they seem to generally be best for long light throw or floods. The design of the LED lenses and reflectors is still improving all the time, whereas the halogen reflectors have been studied for decades and well refined. I've been considering picking a couple LEDs for the roof rack, potentially some long range beams since I have short and medium range covered.

From my experience led's are not useful for long distances. For long distance i would go with halogen or hids as leds didn't have big reflectors for long distance.
Long distance from 250-500 meters is what I am talking about. Just my personal experience.

[Trail X]

Ah, so you're saying the LED's don't have enough light accumulation to throw the light down a long range? Sounds logical. I don't have personal experience, it's just based on what I've seen from the more reputable companies. For instance, Hella only has three LED light models, two "driving" beams for long range (although, I see what you mean, one of those has a close-range output), and one as a utility flood beam.

[blazinlow89]

Figure this would be a good place to ask since its about lighting.

Looking to throw a set of fogs on the front and have found a few sets I like. First 1 set if round the KC Apollo 5" Fogs (part # 457). Also looking at either the Hella 450 or 550's which are rectangular. Any concerns with either type.

Im going to add spot and flood lights to the roof (LED's).

[Trail X]

The best fogs are generally a projector type. They throw very little light upwards, which is what you want if you really want a strict fog beam. Also, be sure to get a light with warmer light output. The bluer the light, the more readily it disperses.

[crate2002]

be sure to get a light with warmer light output. The bluer the light, the more readily it disperses.

I did notice this with blue light. I made the switch from regular halogen OEM bulbs to sylvania silverstar ultras. Noticeably brighter light. It wasn't enough for me though. So I switched to 55watt 6,000k high beam and low beam. HUGE difference in light output. But the light that hits say 200 yards away seems dimmer than a yellow light. I had thought about putting 100watt HID in the highs around 4,500k-5,000k. We will see If I feel like experimenting to see if I melt anything. I am so undecided on offroad lights. I search and search and search lol I do agree with the LED for "short range". They wont be able to shine like a pencil beam for huge distance. Yet anyway... These companies are calming to have bigger and better ideas every year.

[mikekey]

For 55watts you're into the blue with those 6000K. I just double checked, I actually started with 5000K 35w then upgraded to 4500K 55W. I wanted a true white for optimum output. Once your into the blue the visible spectrum dispates as James already stated.

[jhmeg2]

I am looking to add some roof lights. I have done the 33w 8k hids, did not like them. I'm thinking about the 55w 5k hids for high, low and fog. Maybe do the same for roof tops as well. But in what housing? As far as a high output alt.... I have been doing audio for years and that's covered. I am back down to a single battery to. At idle, there is still a possibility of a bit of dimming when closing windows, but under load, no worries. 318 amp max output, I think I will be ok.

[mikekey]

I am looking to add some roof lights. I have done the 33w 8k hids, did not like them. I'm thinking about the 55w 5k hids for high, low and fog. Maybe do the same for roof tops as well. But in what housing? As far as a high output alt.... I have been doing audio for years and that's covered. I am back down to a single battery to. At idle, there is still a possibility of a bit of dimming when closing windows, but under load, no worries. 318 amp max output, I think I will be ok.

You will melt the fog housing with 55w. Just use 35w for the fogs. Trust me you will be plenty happy with 55W white's in the lows. Thats all you need to make life better, outside of actual projectors.

[Trail X]

The stock fogs have a terrible beam pattern. They are just for looks. Don't bother upgrading the bulb, throw the lights out and find something aftermarket with a useful beam to start with.

[blazinlow89]

Currently running Hella 500FF driving lights center of truck in front of grill, with Hella 450 fogs below them all mounted to my bull bar. The 500's give a long beam, the 450's give a nice wide pattern with a good cutoff. I had a set of 550 fogs and while they did give a much larger beam pattern the 350's are more than adequate.

I will take pics next time I go off pavement to show better pictures of the light patterns. IF you want to see the current patterns or my mounting configuration I have a thread asking about dimensions here---> viewtopic.php?f=69&t=4815. I was initially going to run the 500's in the center and put the fogs beneath them, however I like this configuration better.

I will be mounting the 550's I took off the front along with a set of Hella 550 driving lights on the roof soon (weather). I will put the fogs on the oustide with a slight downward angle (10 degrees maybe) and the driving lights in the center. I will play around with the angles to get a good light pattern.