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What are the best driving lights?


Boydness

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I am looking to add driving lights to one of my suzuki cars, because the OEM lights are pathetic. I am going to re-wire the headlights to add relays and power directly (fused) from the battery.

I like the auxiliary driving lights on my dodge truck, but I assume that there has to be even better driving lights out there. And maybe a cheaper option...

 

Anyone recommend a set of driving lights?

 

I figure that I would cut holes in the bumper and fabricate some brackets to suspend the light assemblies behind the bumper.

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Mount some 150 watt Day lighter KC's?

 

 

Or add some HID's in the car

 

What do those look like? Are you talking about the type that mount vertically?

I do not think that I am able to mount that type.

 

It would have to be something that I can hang behind the bumper and put the lens in a hole through the lowest part of bumper.

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Got a picture of the bumper so we know what size and shape would fit?

 

Looks like this:

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/images/apw_products/images/replacement/S7/4520_1.jpg

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/images/apw_products/images/replacement/S7/4520_1.jpg

 

Behing the marker lights / above the "mouth" is the uni-body support that makes up the "frame". This is one of the suzuki cars that I have that does not have airbags, so there is nothing behind that bumper except the one support running the width of the vehicle.

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HIDs will give you the bright lights you're looking for. Along with pissing everyone off. :gabe:

 

I tried those in one of the suzuki verts last year, still found it to not be enough lighting. That was the vehicle that I set up the relays when I was attempting to boost the power. Originally, the power is routed through the switch controlling the lights, so I use that to actuate the relays now.

 

I think the driving lights is the one way that I am going to get the lighting spread and brightness that we have on modern vehicles.

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What if I mounted the driving lights in the front marker/blinker light position and mounted some other lights lower to replace the marker/blinkers?

 

Any thoughts on what I could use the for the replacement marker/blinker?

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Hella:

http://www.myhellalights.com/

 

Excellent quality - used in all kinds of racing applications for years.

 

Are you suggesting something like the Hella Optilux 2020 ?

 

 

Forget about picking between long-range or foul-weather visibility-get both with Hella Optilux 2020 Combo Fog & Driving Lights

These two-in-one lamps have both fog lights and driving lights

Armed with powerful 55W H3 halogen bulbs

Your Hella Optilux 2020 Combo Fog & Driving Lights come with sturdy mounting brackets, a wiring harness and an illuminated in-cab switch

2.4" tall, 5.7" wide, 2.8" deep

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Hell even a nice set of advanced auto 55 watt fog lights would work nice

I had Hella Optilux on one of my Chevy trucks, and my old-skool Suzuki Samurai. Excellent quality and light coverage for such compact lights.

 

I used the same model...it was a convex lens and "eye-shaped": oval with pointed corners.

 

How do you align them?

Directed straight out or pointed more towards the road surface?

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HID retrofit.

 

This vehicle has the sealed beams, I might go with a conversion, if these new high intensity sealed beams, that I plan to install this weekend, don't turn out too well. Before I switch over to composites, like on my verts, I want to see what I can do with the sealed beams. But, a retrofit might be the solution. Then I could keep the sealed beam look, but have HID performance.

 

But which HID bulbs style should I be looking to add?

 

 

I've done the "Garage Door" aim technique: Park 10ft away from a closed garage door, and aim for roughly 1-2 feet off the ground.

 

That is what I was thinking. I was able to move to a white light on the vert, a lot of the bulbs were giving me yellow light.

 

Should the driving lights point straight out or should I be mounting them in a slight V pattern? The bumper is cheap, I think that I only get one shot at making a clean install. I think the mounting brackets only adjust up/down, not side-to-side.

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I've done the "Garage Door" aim technique: Park 10ft away from a closed garage door, and aim for roughly 1-2 feet off the ground.

 

I like the "level surface" to any flat surface - 10' is good, a little farther is better (I have been over 100' for driving lights when aiming). I measure up from the ground to the center of the light - aim for the same height or just below on the flat surface for the brightest part of the beam. If they are to be driving lights, I also shoot for straight ahead - if they are meant to be "cornering lights" (road racing at night to help pick up the edge of the pavement/apexes) - I will angle the very slightly outward. Keep in mind if you choose the right lenses - the lense pattern will give you the correct light pattern ahead of you - this is why I like Hella, they make lights for various applications/light patterns (besides the quality). These are my personal preferences and the set up I have used for endurance racing cars I have been responsible for. Your preferences for street driving may differ.

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I like the "level surface" to any flat surface - 10' is good, a little farther is better (I have been over 100' for driving lights when aiming). I measure up from the ground to the center of the light - aim for the same height or just below on the flat surface for the brightest part of the beam. If they are to be driving lights, I also shoot for straight ahead - if they are meant to be "cornering lights" (road racing at night to help pick up the edge of the pavement/apexes) - I will angle the very slightly outward. Keep in mind if you choose the right lenses - the lense pattern will give you the correct light pattern ahead of you - this is why I like Hella, they make lights for various applications/light patterns (besides the quality). These are my personal preferences and the set up I have used for endurance racing cars I have been responsible for. Your preferences for street driving may differ.

 

So, I would just point the Hella Optilux 2020 directly forwarded, as they should be designed for the proper lens pattern, right?

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So, I would just point the Hella Optilux 2020 directly forwarded, as they should be designed for the proper lens pattern, right?

 

As I said, that was my preference for race applications/driving lamps (no oncoming traffic) - we did little with fog lamps so.....

 

Per Hella on these lamps they recommend 4" below the height of the lamps at 25' from the wall.

 

Get to full instructions from here:

http://www.hella.com/produktion/Optilux/WebSite/AuxiliaryLights/Support/Support.jsp

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Thank you, it was as you stated, I found the instructions for the Hella Optilux 2020 that I ordered.

 

It said that the should be as far a part I can get them, I was going to install them in the "mouth" of the bumper.

Do you think that would be too close together? And maybe even way too low?

I mounted the last set there on the other vehicle, but it really did not improve the visibility that much. I just figured that they were just cheap quality and that was the problem.

 

The headlights sit immediately on top of the bumper.

 

Now I am considering that I mount them in the front marker/blinker locations and mount an alternate marker/blinker (maybe LED) just under there.

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Maybe replacement marker lights like these: http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Lights/Optronics/MCL19AB.html?feed=npn

 

I figure there is not much behind the assembly (as there is no protruding bulb to the rear), I just relocate/extend the wiring from the original markers to the new slightly lower position.

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Maybe look into some Rigid "Dually" LED lights, they draw almost nothing, and they are very comparable to HID lighting. They are great products, made in the USA.

 

https://www.rigidindustries.com/category-s/131.htm

 

http://www.snakeracing.com.au/rigid-led-lights/photos/D2-Driving_2130.jpg

 

http://www.snakeracing.com.au/rigid-led-lights/photos/Dually-Spot_2124.jpg

 

They only draw 15 watts, and produce 1300 lumens. There is a brighter (2600 lumen) "Dually D2", but they cost substantially more and draw 28 watts. Both are solid products though.

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Thank you, it was as you stated, I found the instructions for the Hella Optilux 2020 that I ordered.

 

It said that the should be as far a part I can get them, I was going to install them in the "mouth" of the bumper.

Do you think that would be too close together? And maybe even way too low?

I mounted the last set there on the other vehicle, but it really did not improve the visibility that much. I just figured that they were just cheap quality and that was the problem.

 

The headlights sit immediately on top of the bumper.

 

Now I am considering that I mount them in the front marker/blinker locations and mount an alternate marker/blinker (maybe LED) just under there.

 

They usually want them as wide as possible to get light out to the sides of the car. I would try them where you have planned. If you don't get quite enough light out to the sides, go ahead and angle them out a little bit. The compromise is you won't get as much light "down the road". It really depends on if you want them primarily for driving lights-filling in ahead of you, or cornering lights-to see the edge of the road/around corners.

 

Part of the issue will also be the fact you typically won't get as much light out of a small lamp as you would a comparable large lamp....

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