BajaNomad

Driving lights......

surfer jim - 1-21-2006 at 08:50 PM

Will be getting some driving lights for my new truck....yes....I like to drive at night in BAJA .......have a couple of choices in mind....

ProComp 8" ...130w....about $40 each.....
Hella 4000...8" ....100w....pencil beam..... $110...each

(and by the way HIDS are out of question....$$$)

Pros and cons welcome...and any other choices in this price range.....

Anybody got "connections" for better price?

woody with a view - 1-21-2006 at 09:05 PM

Quote:

I like to drive at night in BAJA



makes it easeir to see those damn big rigs coming at you around those many blind curves. :o:O

Bruce R Leech - 1-21-2006 at 09:27 PM

I am also a night driver in Baja Ca. and over the many years of driving up and down the highway I have learned that it is better to slow down and drive safely within the safe range of your standard car lights. many years back when I was still just learning the highway I had lots of big lights and thought that that would allow me to run a little faster. boy was I wrong. after about 8 dead cows and a lot of other things I figured it out.

for off rode driving you are better of with some flood lights pointed slightly to the left and right of your car. unless you are racing in the Baja 1000.

the most important thing is if you get your bright 2 mile rang lights is to dim them when you are at least 2 miles from any other car or truck weather it is coming at you or you are behind it. use them with responsibility.
if your lights are to bright the trucks and others will crowd you.

as for which lights to buy you get what you pay for just like anything else. I never paid less than 150 US for a Light.

bajalou - 1-21-2006 at 09:35 PM

Highway driving with the hi power lights can create a bit of a problem. Your eyes get used to all that light and when you have to turn them off for oncoming traffic, your eyes take time to readjust to just your headlights - almost like no lights at all for a while. Like Bruce, for me a no-go on highways. Off road, maybe a spot or two pointed way ahead and floods to the sides but sometimes on the up-down roads the spots aren't much help. 100W lights put out lots of light. Lots of good lights out there. KC Highlights are good as are many others.

:biggrin:

The Sculpin - 1-21-2006 at 10:55 PM

Sorry to say I have to agree. Good set of "wide angle" headlights with good fog lights does the trick for me. Keeps the on/off blinding down, and the fog lights let me focus on whats right in front of me. Personally, I prefer following a truck or bus at night. My only problem is keeping up with them!!!

As a side, driving at night is pure gravy, so you don't have to drive very fast to make a difference. The worst times to drive for me are at dusk and dawn..those are when the crazys are out!!

I like all the light I can get away with...

Mexray - 1-21-2006 at 11:27 PM

...while driving at night, on or off the highway. But everyone is right - don't try to out drive your lights, and keep the speed down on hwy 1 at night - those 'ranging' critters can sneak up on you real quick!

On the old Bronco, I have a pair of fog's in the grille.

One pair of small 50 watt driving lights in the grille.

One pair of small 50 watt flood lights on the roof, at the corners of the roof-rack, pointing about 15? off to each side.

One pair of 6 inch, 100 watt driving lights, mounted on the front of the roof-rack, pointing right down the center.

I have all my aux lights on relays with dash switches. The fog's only operate when the low-beams are on (if the dash sw is 'on').

The three pairs of driving lights are on separate relays and will only operate with the high beams selected, and have separate dash switches. Therefore, when running the 'brights', I only have to hit the dimmer switch and all the aux lights are extinguished, and I'm then running legal low-beams. ON the highway, you have to be attentive so that you can go to low-beams as soon as you see any hint of on coming headlights.

My old alternator is really humming along when all that light is turned on!

Common sense says to not 'light-up' any vehicle you can see ahead of you...

Over lighting

Sharksbaja - 1-22-2006 at 12:06 AM

My old Dodge PW has 4- 6" 50w Hellas but I find the new ultrabright headlights add up to a lot. My newer 2500 Dodge also has very nice fog lights that light up the periphery very well. This has saved me twice so far from cows entering the road.
I also drive at night.

[Edited on 1-22-2006 by Sharksbaja]

Ken Cooke - 1-22-2006 at 12:41 AM

I did a run up to Mike's Sky Rancho at night with some friends who had the 8" Pro-Comp Stainless Steel 130w lights, and they felt they did a good job as well. Plus, Stainless will not rust when you are camping out among that salt spray.

The problem with my 6" KCs is that the round beam does very little to illuminate the periphery as well as the stock headlamps/fogs do. Just be careful out there - I got hit by a charging deer after dark, and my drivers door tells the story...

Roberto - 1-22-2006 at 03:12 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by surfer jim
Will be getting some driving lights for my new truck....yes....I like to drive at night in BAJA .......have a couple of choices in mind....

ProComp 8" ...130w....about $40 each.....
Hella 4000...8" ....100w....pencil beam..... $110...each

(and by the way HIDS are out of question....$$$)

Pros and cons welcome...and any other choices in this price range.....

Anybody got "connections" for better price?


Hella 4000's are great lights. The Pencil beams will REALLY go way out there, so you may need four. Two for closer up, two for distance. Also, pointing these is a bit of an art form and depends exclusively on what you are trying to accomplish.

In terms of installation, get the Hella harness, makes this very simple, and add a THIRD pushbutton switch that you place right on the sterring column and tunr whatever lights are on RIGHT NOW!

surfer jim - 1-22-2006 at 07:56 AM

Will probably be putting two smaller lights up front also...just not sure what at this time......

I like the idea of a stearing wheel switch...may give that a try....


They also make a EURO beam....not quite as directed as the pencil beam....is this a better choice for most situations?

TMW - 1-22-2006 at 10:52 AM

If you have stock dual lights like Chevy/GMC wire up a relay so that when the high beams are on the low beams come on too. Greatly improves the near side vision. I'm not sure if a headlight with both beams in the same seal will withstand the heat or for how long. I also run two 55 watt driving lights that work off the high beams. For Baja race chasing I have a 100 watt pencil beam centered high on my bumper guard that really works great.

TMW - 1-22-2006 at 10:56 AM

When adding lights with a fluted lense be carefull with the levelness of the mounting or the side to side spread will be sloped.

TMW - 1-22-2006 at 11:02 AM

If the lights you use have rivets or spot welds on the mount to case, put JB Weld or similar on the surrounding area of the mount to case. That is if you do a lot of rough roads. Also seal the front lense mount with a rubber sealant. Unlike Bruce I usually buy the cheaper auto store lights.

surfer jim - 1-22-2006 at 04:39 PM

That was part of the decision....2 cheap lights...and when/if they fail or break...no big deal just buy another...but not the ultimate in performance...

or two quality lights that are "the best"....but you will cry if something happens to them......

oladulce - 1-22-2006 at 06:33 PM

Always had cheapo lights. We finally broke down and invested in a good pair ($260) and shortly after, they were stolen off our truck.

Don't know if the more expensive lights are a common rip-off target, or not.
We got another set and take them off between Baja trips now.

We occasionally use the lights on the highway, but find them most valuable on washboard and dirt roads in low-light conditions to illuminate the bumps and dips.

[Edited on 1-24-2006 by oladulce]

surfer jim - 1-22-2006 at 06:55 PM

Been thinking of the rip off situation also....cheaper is better in that case.....