Educate me as to auxiliary driving lights

Curmudgeon wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote:

failboat wrote: So general question. I have been thinking about wiring up some auxilary lights with a relay on my brights circuit as discussed here. I also want to install a switch so that the auxilary lights do not always come on with the brights, like in the summer time when I am rarely driving when its really really dark out. Do I just put an inline switch in the ground wire coming from the relay? Do I need to fuse that or anything? Sincerely, Electronics Noob.

Mine are set up like that. Put your switch on the ground (or power wire) for the relay and not the lights, and there will be very little current running through it. The power going to the relay should be off a fused circuit already (the high beams) so there's no need for a bonus fuse.

I run mine with a separate fuse for the DL. The reason is if one fuse pops then the other set of lights should still work. The Trooper has separate fuses for each headlight.

The rigid industries duallys are still close to price of some of the hella halogen units and so on, they are small, come with a Army proof wiring harness, and produce massive amounts of light from two 3 inch squares. I was going to go with a lightbar until I saw some videos of these.

If i can piggyback onto this...

I have the lights shown in the picture. ($8 HF specials.) I'm happy with the light output, but the mounting system SUCKS.

Assuming a budget of ~$50 for lights of a similar nature (need rectangles), what would you guys suggest? I mount them into the bumper support in the hole the lights sit in front of, if that matters.

In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac:

Kc sells a kit complete with wiring harness with their 2x4 rectangle fog/driving lights for around 79 bucks. If you just want the lights they can be had separately. Probably the closest thing to the oem fogs on your 1gen

failboat wrote: Ok, got it now. Strizzo 'splained it well enough. Switch is on the trigger wire to the relay instead of ground. TBH theres probably a few different ways it could be wired.

thanks, that is true you can do it many ways but the hella harness and relay come set up so that it is basically plug in, tap the high beam wire, mount/plug switch, and play.

Strizzo wrote: In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac: Kc sells a kit complete with wiring harness with their 2x4 rectangle fog/driving lights for around 79 bucks. If you just want the lights they can be had separately. Probably the closest thing to the oem fogs on your 1gen

I'm flattered that you think those are OEM, but all 1st gens had fogs integrated into the headlights. (Or those awesomely hideous ZKW grills.)

I appreciate the tip! I'll check those out!

Well, I think I'm going to go with a pair of Rigid Duallys. I'm going to try mounting them behind my grille if that will work, if not, they'll go in the intercooler opening in my bumper.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

Strizzo wrote: In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac: Kc sells a kit complete with wiring harness with their 2x4 rectangle fog/driving lights for around 79 bucks. If you just want the lights they can be had separately. Probably the closest thing to the oem fogs on your 1gen

I'm flattered that you think those are OEM, but all 1st gens had fogs integrated into the headlights. (Or those awesomely hideous ZKW grills.) I appreciate the tip! I'll check those out!

No, I didn't think those were oem, but the ones I've seen look just like the kc lights

Wally World was selling Hella 500FF's for close to $60.00 18 months ago.

They marked them down to $25, then $10. I bought all 4 sets and sold them on Craigslist for $50 a set. Some dude drove 75 miles each way to buy 2 sets. Now I have 1 set left and I am trying to find a way to make them cool on my Accord or wait for my 240Z.......

So, I ended up getting a pair of Rigid Dually D2s:

They are one of those products where you can just feel the quality when you hold it in your hand:

Originally I was going to do a light bar, but my lovely bride informed me that it would look "too hillbilly", so I decided to just mount them to the truck somewhere. Initially I was hoping to be able to put them behind the grille, but there wasn't enough room to make it work.

So I decided to put them down in the opening in the bumper that feeds air to the intercooler (Ecoboost motor):

The small hole on the right side is the one I drilled for mounting the light on that side. That metal is a good 1/8" thick, so it's plenty secure for these little lights.

Here they are mounted:

I'm not worried about them blocking air to the intercooler since they are way off at the sides and the metal brackets behind them block off most of that area anyhow.

And the results. Here are my low-beams (Phillps X-treme power bulbs):

High beams:

High beams with the Duallys:

Safe to say I'm finally happy with my lighting. Now I just need to wire them up so that they come on with my high-beams and I'll be all set.

I'm convinced.

They're what, $200?

Wow, those were some pretty awful high beams :) Nice upgrade.

Tom_Spangler wrote: Originally I was going to do a light bar, but my lovely bride informed me that it would look "too hillbilly",

I'm going to help you here Tom.

This is "too hillbilly"

And you can tell your lovely bride you even got confirmation from a hillbilly, so the light bar would have been okay.

DaveEstey wrote: I'm convinced. They're what, $200?

A little over $300, actually. But I got Summit to match Amazon's price and used my gift card, so it wasn't too bad.

Tom_Spangler wrote:

DaveEstey wrote: I'm convinced. They're what, $200?

A little over $300, actually. But I got Summit to match Amazon's price and used my gift card, so it wasn't too bad.

My Carr was 200 not including any lights. You can mount up cheap lights and shouldn't have any problems the one on my truck are from HF and CHEAP. Use them the other day on some back roads. Looked like daytime.

I am a little confused by their website. Is the "wide angle" a fog.. or is the diffusion? Living here in NJ, I do not get much oppertunity to use my highbeams (one on the BMW has been burned out for a year and a half.. how, I have no idea, I rarely used them) but fogs are a must with the rain and actual fog we get

In reply to mad_machine:

Fog?

Keith Tanner wrote: Wow, those were some pretty awful high beams :) Nice upgrade.

that's about how my high/low's look on my F150 ... tried the 3M headlight cleaning kit ... didn't turn out like the TV ads ... imagine that .... first off I'll try replacement headlights then those Rigid Dually D2 look pretty good

Yes, the stock headligts are, quite frankly, garbage. And the Phillips X-treme bulbs really didn't make much difference either. Pretty sad for a vehicle made in 2011, IMO. You can get HIDs on the new 2013s, and some people are retrofitting them onto the 09-12 trucks, but it's still over $1000.

I'd say the problem is reflector design, not bulb strength. But it's sorted now!

Keith Tanner wrote: I'd say the problem is reflector design, not bulb strength. But it's sorted now!

Having installed aftermarket bulbs and seeing how little difference they made, I tend to agree. And I'm sure whatever bulb is in my wife's Taurus X is no more powerful, but those lights are MUCH better than the ones on the truck.

Tom_Spangler wrote: Yes, the stock headligts are, quite frankly, garbage. And the Phillips X-treme bulbs really didn't make much difference either. Pretty sad for a vehicle made in 2011, IMO. You can get HIDs on the new 2013s, and some people are retrofitting them onto the 09-12 trucks, but it's still over $1000.

does a switch to projector beams help, or is it driving/fog lamps to the rescue ?

Back when I ws doing stage rallies (like, back shortly after the discovery of electricity, when we all used Haldas. If you don't know what a Halda is, then you know I mean WAY back), we messed around a lot with lights. I'd say the best bang for the buck, especially if you can use BIG lights, is:

1) H4 or H1 headlight conversions with 100 watt bulbs. Easy to do with round or the big rectangular headlights, not good for upgrading today's lights. Conversions are not only good for power, but far better light distribution and beam cutoff. I'll be putting a set of 100w H4 conversions in my C4 Corvette over the winter.

2) A couple of big lights from a name manufacturer. This is a case where you do get what you pay for, and in general, size does matter. Back in the day, we used Marchal 700/900 series lights (no longer available) on our rally car, about comparable to the Hella Rally 4000s Keith mentions, or Cibie Oscars (or if you really like lights big enough to act as air brakes, Super Oscars). We used four, two driving (long-range) beams and two fog/cornering beams for a really wide spread (pencil beams not good for going sideways at night). For general use, I used to use one big driving and one fog on my pickups, wired with the high beams - super for deer.

3) One thing to consider is where the light increase is actually useful. If you run a gazillion candlepower as distance lights, you may find yourself not being able to use them much, either because of blinding oncoming drivers or because the road curves out of the beam. I'd go with really good, wide coverage up close, with really good intermediate light, and not worry about searing paint off of highway signs two miles away. If you can really see a dark-colored object in the road a quarter mile away, you're in good shape. Keith's recommendations, I think, are right on the money.