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Driving lights late 2018 update please....


ThreeSheds

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Driving lights are moving on SO fast, and there are SO many on the market that I am rather confused as to what to get, so if anyone has had recent experience of buying/fitting long range driving lights, and like what they fitted... I wonder if you would share please? I had a search around the forum but only found posts that were a couple of years old.

I am completely undecided between light bars and round types, but I am supposing that LED is the way to go... Unless you know better?

I don't think I would be fitting a HUGE light bar, but no doubt others reading this thread would be interested, so please - whatever you have - let us know what you think...

Cheers

Roger

 

p.s. I am interested in both road-legal and 'off-road' solutions...

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If you get foggy / misty / cloudy conditions a lot where you are I'd stay away from the majority of the LEDs. They're normally quite a white light which is horrendous for reflecting back in foggy conditions.

There's a reason why Land Rover fitted normal halogen bulbs to the fog lights on vehicles such as my L322 despite having Bi Xenons as the main headlight. 

If you want long range then unless you're willing to shell out a lot then I think the halogen / HID offerings are much more cost effective. Most of the LED light bars I've seen are superb for flood light effects but aren't great at long distance.

Go Aussie style and aircraft landing lights on the roof for long range. :rolleyes: @FridgeFreezer has I think a pair of Cessna lights on his ambulance if I remember correctly.

As always the more you pay the better the quality. I've found doing the headlight wiring loom upgrade made a big difference and comparing it side by side with some friends which cheap LED light bars, yes they flood light the area better nearby but they really struggle to get the range of my bog standard H4 bulbs on high beam. I have also been contemplating a light bar (not really a fan off them since they're a bit in your face) but more for floodlight effect.

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The big multi LED light bars are quite popular here with a certain sector of society, but from what I have seen they look like a small nuclear war when on, but offer very little range even though they supposedly contain spot and flood beams. Always wondered how the LEDs would cope with wet winter conditions or things like driving into sleet/wet snow which builds up on the lens. Even a halogen light can get covered if it's bad. A chap I vaguely know regularly drives along a 35 mile road with literally not a single light from one end to the other and hazards such as animals on the road, and his 110 has got Lightforce spots on the front, which is probably a recommendation though I haven't asked him that specific question.

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I have KC Daylighters for long range ( now over 30 years old !!) and a quick search shows they are still available as halogen sealed beam and also LED . I've never had to replace a sealed beam unit either . They do need a good power supply / relay set up .

cheers

Steve b

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I've got a cheap eBay LED light-bar on the van  and a nice expensive American one onthe 90. The difference is quite literally night and day, to say they have no range must be of the cheap version as my Rigid far outshines the 4 hella 3000s with night breaker bulbs that I had fitted on the roof.

But, I'll agree that in some conditions it can be too bright being a pure white light. Where I prefer the bar over the old style 9" lamps is stability...unless you can fit lamp steadies no matter how rigid your base is they still wobble which does my nut in. 

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Lots of great advice here - thanks everyone! Looks like anything except expensive light bars are out. Also I'm not too keen on the looks of them.

I think that I have come down on the side of halogen spots (I definitely need the range where I am, over the last three days I have driven over 500 miles with very few streetlights (except in the outskirts of Kinlochlewe - which was really weird!) and little in the way of cats-eyes or even white lines... I find that the normal high beams (HID in my case) are only good for about 40-50mph, if you don't know the road. I need something that will throw light out to well over 100 metres if poss. I have been looking at KC Hilites but they are a bit spendy, likewise Lightforce @BogMonster 

Maybe I am just being a cheapskate but I really don't want to spend more that £150 for a pair of lights. 

Thanks for the contributions everyone, the search continues

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I used to have 4 KC daylighters on a roof bar only disco. 

I converted them to HID and I thought they were very good ( nearly said brilliant!!)

Used 55W  micro ballasts and fitted them into the shell of each light ( ment they were self contained and only needed a +ve 12v and earth out of each one)

There are loads of spares available for them  I tried a combination of different lenses think I finished up with a pair of medium floods in the center and a pair of floods on the outside pair.

the long range lenses were like pencil spots and too tight for me.

Very tough old lights took a fair bit of abuse being on a roof bar.  

ive still got them somewhere in the lock up. 

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