Good deal on Off-Road lights?

[NC-Expy]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/4-15...Accessories&hash=item4cf9936327#ht_8807wt_825

I know they are an off brand, but they seem no different than PIAA or Hella.

Thinking about buying these and mounting them on my roof rack like what nvy and panda did.

 

[panda24619]

i was gonna get those. they have a 20 pack for sale too. me and nvy were gonna go 50/50 on them. but no money for either of us to do that. haha if you need help wiring them up ill give you a pic of how i did mine.

 

[NC-Expy]

i was gonna get those. they have a 20 pack for sale too. me and nvy were gonna go 50/50 on them. but no money for either of us to do that. haha if you need help wiring them up ill give you a pic of how i did mine.

Seems to be a good deal, and says it comes with everything to wire em' up. I might have to get a switch though, no biggie.

Think they'll look good on the roof rack?

 

[Thermo]

NC, what are you trying to get out of the lights? Are just for looks or are you looking for a specific light pattern. Because these are driving/fog lights, they are going to light up the area directly in front of the truck really well (maybe too well, more on that). But, you are not going to get much in the way of depth (beyond about 75 feet). So, these may be exactly what you want, but they may not be.

As for the "too much light". You may find having all the lights on that you will get an effect known as "white wall". This can result in a bright "wall" being created in front of the truck which is going to wash out some detail. This is especially true in adverse weather where additional light maybe wanted. Essentially if there is anything in the air (including dust), it will be reflected back to the driver. This would be related to someone coming at you with their high beams on. So, careful positioning of the lights will be needed to prevent this from happening.

I would also recommend installing these lights such that they are controlled by 2 switches (ie, 2 lights on each switch). Why? each of these 150 watt bulbs are going to pull 11 amps. If you try to run all 4 bulbs off of the same circuit, you will be pulling 44 amps. Therefore, you will need a 50 amp relay. Those are harder to find and tend to have a pretty nice price tag associated with them. Where if you put them in pairs (can still be controlled using the same switch), you can use a 30 amp relay (common items at your local auto parts store) and use a much smaller wire for each set of lights. I would recommend a 6 gauge wire if you plan on using a single relay and a 10 gauge wire for each set of lights if splitting them into 2 groups.

If you have more questions about this, let me know. Keep in mind that the brightness of the lights will be affected by the quality of your wiring. Skimp on the wiring (ie, small gauge wiring), the wiring is going to drop voltage which is going to result in dim lights. Use some proper gauge wiring and the lights will give you tons of light.

 

[panda24619]

i wouldnt put all 4 lights on one switch. i have 2 lights per switch on mine. that way i can run either the hellas or the kcs. and i pull some major amps. might need thermos help with a 200 or 300 amp alt. with ALL my lights on and im idleing my volts drop to 12.9. not good.

 

[NC-Expy]

NC, what are you trying to get out of the lights? Are just for looks or are you looking for a specific light pattern. Because these are driving/fog lights, they are going to light up the area directly in front of the truck really well (maybe too well, more on that). But, you are not going to get much in the way of depth (beyond about 75 feet). So, these may be exactly what you want, but they may not be.

As for the "too much light". You may find having all the lights on that you will get an effect known as "white wall". This can result in a bright "wall" being created in front of the truck which is going to wash out some detail. This is especially true in adverse weather where additional light maybe wanted. Essentially if there is anything in the air (including dust), it will be reflected back to the driver. This would be related to someone coming at you with their high beams on. So, careful positioning of the lights will be needed to prevent this from happening.

I would also recommend installing these lights such that they are controlled by 2 switches (ie, 2 lights on each switch). Why? each of these 150 watt bulbs are going to pull 11 amps. If you try to run all 4 bulbs off of the same circuit, you will be pulling 44 amps. Therefore, you will need a 50 amp relay. Those are harder to find and tend to have a pretty nice price tag associated with them. Where if you put them in pairs (can still be controlled using the same switch), you can use a 30 amp relay (common items at your local auto parts store) and use a much smaller wire for each set of lights. I would recommend a 6 gauge wire if you plan on using a single relay and a 10 gauge wire for each set of lights if splitting them into 2 groups.

If you have more questions about this, let me know. Keep in mind that the brightness of the lights will be affected by the quality of your wiring. Skimp on the wiring (ie, small gauge wiring), the wiring is going to drop voltage which is going to result in dim lights. Use some proper gauge wiring and the lights will give you tons of light.

Thermo,

The reason why I plan on getting some off road lights are for the visual purposes, the dark streets around where I live at night, and for casual trail riding late at night with some of the boys.

Glad you mentioned not to run all four off a single switch because I surely would have done that.

So is the wiring kit that is included with the kit above not enough to safely satisfy what I need?

 

[Big Red Monster]

take the harness they give you and throw it out, seriously. I have mine wired with heavy gauge wire run to a fuse box and i have a 20 amp use and one of those "missle launcher" switches, most harnesses they include are cheap gauge wire that cant carry enough current

 

[panda24619]

i dont remember what gauge mine are, but they work fine. all the wiring came with the lights so i figured it must be good. i just ran them a little different.

 

[Thermo]

NC, for what I am envisioning you needing, I would recommend pointing the center 2 straight ahead (both triggered off of a common switch) and then the outside 2 angled so they shine off to the side (these two triggered off of a separate switch). Why do I say this. If you are out trail riding, being able to see at even a 45 degree from the truck is normally advantageous. If all your lights are aimed straight ahead, you will not get much light to the sides.

Granted, if you are after serious light at night, may I recommend some 80W HIDs in those housings. You will get the same light (if not more) from 2 housings than you will from all 4 of those. Trust me, the 80W HIDs are going to light up the world. The big thing with the HIDs will be getting a decent relay to handle the starting surge (about 60 amps total for the first second or so, then drops off to around 13 amps total). It would make the wiring much easier as you can get by with say a 40 amp relay for the short period of time we are talking about.

As for the gauge wiring with the lights, I didn't see a lot of information about it. Most companies use the bare minimum to run the lights. Keep in mind what I said before: using too small of wiring will result in voltage loss and therefore dimmer lights. Your call. As long as you are using say 14 gauge wiring, it will work. But, it comes at a cost.

If you want to know more or have specific ideas, just ask. You know me, I will answer anything you can dream up.

 

[NC-Expy]

NC, for what I am envisioning you needing, I would recommend pointing the center 2 straight ahead (both triggered off of a common switch) and then the outside 2 angled so they shine off to the side (these two triggered off of a separate switch). Why do I say this. If you are out trail riding, being able to see at even a 45 degree from the truck is normally advantageous. If all your lights are aimed straight ahead, you will not get much light to the sides.

Granted, if you are after serious light at night, may I recommend some 80W HIDs in those housings. You will get the same light (if not more) from 2 housings than you will from all 4 of those. Trust me, the 80W HIDs are going to light up the world. The big thing with the HIDs will be getting a decent relay to handle the starting surge (about 60 amps total for the first second or so, then drops off to around 13 amps total). It would make the wiring much easier as you can get by with say a 40 amp relay for the short period of time we are talking about.

As for the gauge wiring with the lights, I didn't see a lot of information about it. Most companies use the bare minimum to run the lights. Keep in mind what I said before: using too small of wiring will result in voltage loss and therefore dimmer lights. Your call. As long as you are using say 14 gauge wiring, it will work. But, it comes at a cost.

If you want to know more or have specific ideas, just ask. You know me, I will answer anything you can dream up.

Thanks for the advice my friend, it will definitely come in to play.

The only reason why I don't want to go with HID's is because I don't want to mix and match them with my head/fog lamps.

If I do an HID conversion for all my lights then I will definitely go with some 80 watt HID off-road lights.