Spotties...what's the general consensus??? ARB Deluxe winch bar..

I have the Lightforce 240 XGT. They are very light and exceptionally strong and robust. They have stood up to Canning Stock Route and Gibb River Rd corrugations and still mantain their focal length. For winding mountain roads I have the multi focal lenses. Thes still provide a sufficient long range beam, but also have a good wide beam for picking up roos and wombats.

I run Rally 4000's, one spot and one spread.Love em, great light.I was always a fan of Light Force lights but after working in a workshop where trucks were serviced and repaired in Kununurra, I went off them.The only lights these road train drivers would use were the Rally 4000's(hence got mine at a good price) as they said the Light Force mounts just wouldnt stand constant corrigations.
Had a set of 240 blitz on a vehicle in my work shop the other day(two months old) and while fitting a winch noticed that the mount on one had cracked.
Do like the idea of being able to adjust the beam and fit differant lence covers on the Light Force light though.

Ditto re the above on Lightforce products - I had them for a few years - gone now, due to vehicle trading - the current chariot had 65W IPF's installed so left them there. The Lightforce's are robust, have interchangeable lens covers, perform well re light power and can be adjusted from pencil to spread whenever required ( a real plus in my book). I broke one after several years (road vibration) - it was replaced on the spot - lifetime warranty against breakage - very easy people to deal with....(IHNA).
BTW - even though some models share the very same globes, the larger reflectors do produce more candle-power !

We use Rallye 4000 HID's and they are a great light, any leading brand will be suitable.

Some people will say the cheap ones are just as good but the more then likely never tested then against a good pairs of lights.

The thing with Hella and lightforce are that they are proven and they are a very strong light that will last fore many years to come, the cheaper ones like Roolite and some others are unproven in reliability.....I don't mean "I've had them for two years with no problems"...I mean 5 to 10 years down the track.

I've seen to many IPF's, Cibie's and some of the other cheaper fall apart at the rivets, lenses falling out or rusting.

The best way is one pencil on the drivers side and a spread on the passenger.

In real lie there is no good pattern or combination that will do every thing for every one.

People will say go Lightforce because you can adjust them but again in real life you don't want to keep adjusting them all the time.

Light force gives a funny dark spot if adjusted to a wide bean but you can by filters the change the light pattern

A set lens type will always out perform an adjustable type like Lightforce.

Some will say go Lightforce because you can submerge them and they will not fill up with water, we have had the Hella's for three years and have never got water or dust into them.

This won't be the answer you're looking for, but my preference is for no driving lights. I'd rather upgrade the standard headlights - great range of high power globes out there now so you get a much better high and low beam.

My experience with driving lights is that they rattle, lose their alignment, get stolen too easily, take in water, and when you flick them off, you can't see much until your eyes adjust. And I don't drive much at night any more.

I just bought a set of Narva Ultima blue 225 combination kit for $300 and used them on the OKA when driving it home from Cairns.

They were perfect, in fact, I will get a set for the rest of the fleet ASAP.

Narva Ultima 225s can't beat them.

Cheers Steve.

Same answer more or less as Phil G

No spotties. Don't drive around at night and if I do then I keep the speed down so that spotties aren't needed. That is on the Datto. Not needed on the Xtrail either as the modern lights are sharp and the beam wide enough for night driving.

Spotties are just a status symbol and of no real value unless you are a truckie driving your rig night after night !

But then that's just me. Dare to be different....LOL


Cheers

Hi

I know Lightforce are probably one of the best, but I would try and get glass lenses on your spotties, as they won't go cloudy with age.

I've got Cibbie Oscars. I had Hella Comet 500s prior to them and the Cibies are much better

I've heard the Narva 175s (I think) are one of the best (and cheap too).

Whatever you buy, get some lense covers to prevent stones cracking them.

Goodluck

I like my Lightforce 170's just enough and does not look to big on the Bullbar...The only thing that i did not like is that they only give you 4 inches of wiring loom (what the) You cant even hide it behind your grille or anywhere else for that matter,...


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Cheers

I have Lightforce xgt 240s over rated in my book. Yes they are light strong and look good but what i need them for is to light up the road and for how big they are they give off much light. Cheers Tony

Gday,
If I were in the market for lights I wouldn't go past lightforce.
I use Hella 2000's and have up graded my headlghts and they are good enough for what I do for night driving but if I were to upgrade it would be to lightforce...why, value for money, great lights at a reasonable price.

Bright head lights are fantastic but the problem I am having is there are more and more vehicles on the road which means there is less time you can actually use them. When you dip your lights from 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 candle power to your little 50 watt low beam you cant see jack for a while.....and this is usually when you have another vehicle heading towards you at 100km and animals decide to make a move. I sometimes wonder if its just safer to let your eyes become accustomed to the light and drive to the conditions????
The other problem is in the NT the road safety council has gone spastic with signs!!!!!
When you come up to a parking bay at night with you spotties on the reflection is that bad you have to dip your lights.....I suppose its so the grey nomads don't over shoot the runway...LOL
And who has driven South into Jims Place (NT) at night with lights on????
There are yellow signs with arrows on them letting people know you are going around a corner.....about 30 of them 6m apart !!!!!
You have to dip your lights so you can see....the reflection is that bad.
Just buy the lights that suit your needs look into weather you need a sharp beam or a spread...or one of each..... How often do you drive at night where they would be helpfull??? Pencil beams are useless in hilly windy roads I reckon...mainly for straight open roads were there is no traffic. The biggest and brightest arent always the best.......................


Cheers
Hairy

IPF900XS pencils. IMHO they are as good as I need, a decent price and look good in the ARB bar. Not a big fan of the dinner plate sized lightforces but of course they are a pretty good light (any light that big should be). Too much light and you see blackness when you dip.

i bought a $40 set of no name spotties from super cheap about 8 years ago for a one of trip. they have adjustable beams been dunked
in many a river completely submerged in the ocean and travelled on most of the main tracks ie. cape york grr. tanami, canning and many more. they have never leaked only replaced one bulb in the time i have had them and rarely tighten or adjust never fail to come on when you need them. they need a paint job every couple of years. i think the longtivity to them is they each have a 40mm thick and 50mm wide rubber washer under them to absorb all the shocks. you can have your $2000 lights if i could find another set i would buy again.
what i'm saying is you don't have to spend big to get some decent lights.
just my 2 bobs worth.
al

Like some others, we now travel for pleasure and leisure. 90% of days, we don't hit the road till at least 7.00AM (often much later) and stop by 4.00PM (often much earlier). Don't need driving lights with those driving habits.

Have had a few brands in the past (mostly cheapies), but the current ones (none) are the best I have had far. Real cheap, don't break or fill with water and no one is interested in pinching them. And they suit our driving habits. What could be better. Worth at least what I paid for them.

Norm C

Hi Andrew
I run the IPF 9000XS, two sets (see my profile pic), one set spead the other pencil. I find these lights great, though i have not used them heaps. I have NEVER had to adjust them or replace a globe since putting them on four years ago. They were hard to get set up right but once done no need to do again!
I use Barie Nuts so they can't be stolen.
I have also had the original headlights replaced with IPF's, this was REALLY worthwhile, it's great to know that when you have to go to low beam you can still see well !

Cheers Lyndon

Picked up a copy of Australian Caravan + RV today. There is an article on driving lights. 40 were compared and each has an accompanying Goniophotometer produced chart of its light spread.

PeterD