Spotties

I have just recently installed a set of IPF HID extreme in spot configaration...along with a projector hid conversion to my normal round headlights on my GQ.
The IPFs are ...well...awesome to say the least. More light out there than I will most likely ever need. Reflection from signs was measured at 1.1 kilometres on speedo one night coming back from Dubbo.
I managed to pick them up for about 640 bux for the pair...which was a really good deal. Dunno if you will match that ....but still should come in well under your budget ceiling any way.
They appear to be well built ...glass lens ...and solid mounts...so hopefully will last for a fair while.

Cheers Keith

G'day,

Keith's deal sounds good and you have a good budget, but at the other end I bought a pair of 225 mm Narva spotties for $269 at Repco , on special.

I know Narva have an excellent product support Austarlia wide and the spotties have been across the country on it's roughest roads and never given an ounce of trouble - good light, solid build.

Steve

I've used Narva for years, 175's less air flow restrictions.

I cannot recommend the IPF spotties after experiencing failure of the metal casing around the mounting point. Both spots suffered from metal fatigue, cracking around the mounting point, one actually falling off and hanging by the cable.
There is just too much vibration from a bull bar for metal casings in my experience.
This was from the IPF 800 round spotlights, which otherwise, were a very good light as far as output was concerned.
I did purchase replacement cases but at a cost of $50 each.

I would be buying Lightforce spotlights if I was purchasing another set. something like the mid sized 170 strikers.
They have a tough glass reinforced nylon constructed casing which won't fatigue or rust.

I have decided however, not to mount spotlights on my current vehicle, preferring instead to pull in and set up camp well before sunset. If I had to drive at night for any reason, I would reduce the speed accordingly and make do with the standard high beams.

I have some 170 Lightforce strikers. Had them for a few years now and not given much trouble. One did leak water once and damaged the reflector, but an email to Lightforce HQ and they fixed it no questions asked. Apparently one of the very few to leak water! When the bulbs go I'll upgrade to HID, apparently it is quite cheap and easy.

Mick you can sped an awfull lot of money on spotties and realy achive not much better result that one of the cheerfull brands.

I've had a couple of pairs of night stalkers on vehicles and they represent very good value for money.

AND

don't make the mistake of buying the brightest thing you can find...because when you dip you lights you will be blind....currently people are obsessed with bright lights.

there has also been the idea of running pencil beams ( very narrow) or a combination of one pencil beam and one driving pattern.

The only time pencil beams are helpfull at all is where you are doing a lot of very fast, very long straight roads.

been there done it, lit up the highway signs 3Km away.

I run two driving pattern lights now and see what I need to see much better.

Ya looking for a smooth even pattern and plenty of spill onto the road sides.

what you do need to see well is between 10 meters and 200meters with some follow on to 300 meters.

You should be able to get into a pair of respectable 200 to 250mm halogen spotties for arround $300.....spend some $$$ on a good heavy wiring harness.

cheers
cheers

My choice of light is still the Hella Rallye 4000, fantastic light output and very sturdy bracket and mount, you can upgrade them to HID at around $100-$450 per pair.

We have played around with lights for a while getting an idea of how they perform and what's good and what's bad for us to sell and give our customers an idea.

Moving to the higher end of the light market we run Hella High Boost iX XGD 35w HID lights on our Ranger and on our 200 series I did use identical lights for a while and ended up going to the Lightforce XGT with the factory 70w HID upgrade to try for a while.

There is no doubting the Lightforces have heaps of light output and we have played around with different filters and focus rings, we run all our lights in one spot one spread configuration.

The Lightforce XGT with 70w HID put out more light than the Hella High Boost iX XGD 35w HID and the long distance is fantastic BUT the Hella outputs a better and has more usable light and is my favorite...... still not convinced with the Lightforce XGT as a do all light.

Then you have the FYRLYT made by two ex Lightforce guys, have seen them and spoke to them a while ago about them, they look and feel good but the jury is still out regarding the usable light output and a few other concerns, the people who use them rave about them but are they or have they compared them with any other lights. FYRLYT seem to blow their own trumpet on their web site, other forums and blogs and they have a tendency to talk to technical by baffling others with numbers and formulas...... I do believe they are a good light and the quality is top notch with some good design inovations, but time will tell...... until I have played around with them I won't comment on how they work in a real life situation.

From here on you can look at the Narva and the other lower end lights.

Hi Mick, I used to have Hella driving lights but when they were taken I did not bother with driving lights just put in plus 100 globes. I have as much light as I need on country roads at the speed limit. I have been driving for 60 years and most of that has been in the country. Unless you are rallying I think you could put your money to better use.

FYR LYT
Australian made..
yes AUSTRALIAN MADE !!

they have a facebook profile page with 129,000 likes. !!!

if any part on the driving light breaks they have spares..
at reasonable cost im guessing.

one of the best features is you don't need to buy one spread and one spot light.

the light has been designed with a switch into the housing where you can flick the driving light onto spread or spot......
this is standard.

a recent mining company in Australia, went from a reputable aussie HID driving light to these FYR LYT....
now that says something, mining companies are bloody anal........

the funny thing is they tried to get a dealer in WA to stock their stuff..
even offered a free trial..
came back untouched..

they have commercial interests which is wrong.....
FYR LYTS don't talk the crap..

and damn their fb page is hilarious..

support a aussie company with your money, after all they are the first company to offer a driving light that can go from spot to spread, via simple dial at the back.....

cough cough........
I have no commercial interests or getting "sexual favours" from the female models....
blah blah blah.....
used with FYR LYT'S.......... because they don't use them........................DAMN..

BACK a aussie product that will back you for life !
FYR LYT.

now wheres that damn model, shes meant to be here now !!!
off the books of course ;) he he he

Dark time is for sitting around a campfire, not for driving around in. Follow that philosophy and save ya cash!

Mick,

I've been on a quest to find the "best" driving lights, since I fitted an old aircraft landing light to my EH ute, and flattened the battery after 50 clicks. The generator couldn't handle the 200 watt globe......and the light output wasn't much either!

Since then. and over 40 years later, I've gone for Hella 4000's pencil beams, with HID upgrade, and a LED light bar, to give some light spread close to the vehicle. I find this is pretty good combination for rural areas, as it gives you great depth of field, plus the brilliance of the LED bar, for the verges of the road.



At moment, my work involves more than 25 hours/week of night driving, and the trucks are fitted with a similar set up to the photo, albeit a bigger LED bar. Makes for almost relaxed driving, with the amount of light output. LED's by themselves seem to lack enough penetration, so aren't the best in rural areas. These new "Great Whites" are supposed to be pretty good, but I've only driven with them once, so can't comment.

It's all personal choice, but I'd give halogen a miss, and stick with HID. You don't want to see a bit of what's ahead of you, you want to see it all!!!

Bob.

Hi Mick
I put rallye 4000's with HID conversion and 2x 144w cree led 300mm light bars (6500k colour) with spread and spot on each on the roof.The bars where cheaper than the hid's but they should be mounted as high as possible for better light coverage but be aware of the rubbish out there, Get the bars made in USA and avoid Chinese copies.
Costs HID's $950 Excellent long dist, good wide spread
Light bars $700 Excellent overall flood, good long distance brilliant white light
As far as to which one is better is a decision for the owner but both within your budget. I found the combination of both lit the road up like daytime.

Mick,

You don't need to spend that much to get great lights.
The Narva225s, Hella Rallye 4000s (metal body), and Roo Lites are all good lites.
I have done HID conversions on all of them. The HID kits cost less than $50 a pair, and turn good lights into simply awesome lights.
I have a 120W LED bar as well. It provides a nice spread light, but you don't get the retinal burns from reflectors 2 km away like you do with the HIDs.
Frankly, there is so much light pouring out the front of the car it increases fuel consumption.
Whatever you do make sure you get a mix of pencils and spread beams.

Bob