HID's for off road

[SteveG]

Do like those lights, is anyone going to import them

Jez, Dollythelw, is able to get you a set if you need them. Drop him a PM and I'm sure he can sort you out a set.

P.S. the 90 sailed through it's MOT last April, with the no. plate that's been on there for almost 3 years now.

I'm happy to leave it there, as it causes no danger to anyone and I know from the congestion charge cameras that it it can be read ok for car tax/insurance checks etc.

Steve

[SteveG]

OK here's a couple of videos of the HID's working. I'm putting these up with the caveat that videos don't really show off brightness.

First video shows side lights 1st (don't register on video) - my sidelights on Defender are the sidelights on plus a dull main headlight

Then headlight dip

Then the HID's are switched on

Then Defenders standard lights switch off...

1st Off-Road HID Video

The I did a second video closer to hedge to try and show brightness, as the 1st video wasn't even registering the sidelights on..

Different process this time using full beam too..

1st sidelights

Then headlight dip, then full beam

Then the HID's are switched on

Full beam off

Then Defenders standard lights switch off, so just HID's

2nd Off-Road HID Video

Cheers

Steve

[Ryan]

...and apparently they're quite robust -

[SteveG]

I realised I missed a bit from this earlier response.

If, in the future, I mount fog lights at the top of the windscreen, for after dark Green Lane work, I will arrange the housing and lens so the sharp cut-off is at the bottom of the light pattern, IE all the light shining ABOVE the cut-off, not below, as is the normal orientation of fog lights.

I will then aim the lamp downwards so the cut-off line just clears the leading edge of the bonnet.

This arrangement will stop wasting light illuminating the bonnet (and dazzling the driver), but will give the best possible downlight to eradicate the shadows caused by the dipped headlights.

HTH.

I took the 90 out last night to try the lights out. Even though it was just on some local lanes, there's potholes, drainage ditches and brook/river crossing to test lights out on. HID's performed very well, giving an excellent amount of lighting and no problem with visibility directly ahead or to a good distance.

Personally I'm not a fan of the banks of lights across the windscreen, so this isn't an option for me. I've used Xenon's before off road when they were on the P38's I had. They worked on both dip and full beam so I knew how good they could be off road, and so I knew if I was going to go for additional lights upfront I would want Xenons. The only problem was price. Jez's, although not cheap, compare favourably with good halogens like lightforce units and are very well priced compared to good quality Xenon units.

I'm pleased with the install and how they work which is the main thing, and yes Ryan if I should find myself in a shootout, I know that the lights will most likely survive ;)

Cheers

Steve

[Retroanaconda]

They appear to be very much spots, rather than floods, in the way they throw out the light. Or is that just the way the video makes it look?

I would have thought a floodlight lighting up a large area would be better for off-road situations than a spotlight focusing on a smaller area.

[SteveG]

They appear to be very much spots, rather than floods, in the way they throw out the light. Or is that just the way the video makes it look?

I would have thought a floodlight lighting up a large area would be better for off-road situations than a spotlight focusing on a smaller area.

Yeah it's just the way the video makes it look. The camera adjusts it's sensitivity to the brightness. Believe me they give a good wide spread

You can see it best in 2nd video where you have side, then dip, then full beam. The full beam appears like a focused beam, then the HID's come on and it gets brighter, plus when they warm up you can see there's a lot more flood light than the previous full beam.

Steve

[smo]

Very tidy install Steve, they look great. (as does the whole truck)

Jez - looking forward to pics and details of the new ones, might be after a pair for the d-lander!

[landmannnn]

Well if you mean it's illegal because it doesn't have the BS mark and suppliers details stamped on it, then neither does the plates I bought for the RR in April from Halfords. Otherwise it conforms to all other reqs.

On the subject of plates i know someone who got a £30 on the spot fine for not having a postcode on his post 01 number plates. Mind you he was playing a smartar$e with the traffic cop.

[dollythelw]

here's the new toys

light lights - indestructo plastic in the usual compulsory submersible format, small and easy to tuck away

I was a little wary of the reflector design as the oval reflector photometrics are a real pain

so here's a Disco 300 with both of its headlights on pouring heaps of landy lumens all over the yard - yay

in contrast this is just 1 of the new toys gushing forth a plethora of "mega extreme" lumens - much groovier

[smo]

Interesting Jez - how do you think they compare to the original beasts?? Also whats the cost comparison like?

[dollythelw]

not sure yet - mechanically the tank lights are bombproof (literally) but the new toys are rated highly amongst the Estonian ATV guys and they've been known to get up to all sorts of hi-jinx and mischief, price is pretty similar but Im trying to haggle a deal, the biggest killer is the usual economy of scale and the evil frieght cost monster, theres a twin bulb version to - thats a retina burner of epic proportions

I've got a good idea for a decent real world test so feedback coming as soon a I find out - but they're looking pretty good so far

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Steve,

Got any pics of how the lamps are mounted ?

Is it like a normal Spot Driving light with one big Stud sticking out ?

Or something different ?

Any build pics would be good

Nige

[SteveG]

Yes they have a single stud (M12 IIRC) to hold them. I've made up some temporary brackets for now, and I need to get some more robust ones made up.

Mine are bolted using two M5 bolts to the grille tubular supports. as I couldn't find a suitable place to mount on bottom or side of grille.

Yours should be easier to make up as you can attach them to your tubular wings. I think you'll find it hard to make mounts now without having the lights to get position etc.

I have this pic of when I was mocking up position..

Only pic I have of them in situ showing temporary bracket is this one...

Cheers

Steve

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

:)

Thanks Steve

Just the info I needed - and yep need the lights to mount

Jez !!

Nige

[q-rover]

here's the new toys

light lights - indestructo plastic in the usual compulsory submersible format, small and easy to tuck away

Have you got some details on size of these lovelies?

[Ryan]

Have you got some details on size of these lovelies?

Pending Jez coming along, he showed me these at the weekend and they're about 6 inches (ish - might be a bit smaller) wide, probably about the same deep (I'm trying to visualise here and not doing very well ), but they are muchos lighter (weight and output).

[Dalai Farmer]

Fitted a set to Puggy's cruiser a while back,, impressed with the build quality,, certainly no cheap halfruds spot lamp,,,

PS,, nice legal plate their mate not !!

I have has this same discussion about my motorbike on a biking forum. From what I have been told, a number plate has to conform by having the BS Standard number, and the location of where it was made.

BUT, if the plate is old (Ie, made BEFORE this ruling came into force) then this is not that case. My bikes and cars do not have these details on them, mainly because I get them made on on the interweb, and ask for daft comments instead, and they are all older then this ruling! None have failed the MOT on this.

Yes, if you get an over zealous MOT examiner they could fail you on this, but you could argue that the plate was made prior to this ruling, hence the lack of information.