driving lights durability

I would say that any light you can buy in the Aussie market should be OK; light quality is a different issue.

I would suspect that anyone selling lights in Aust that cannot handle corrugations would be out of business. Stick with the big name and you can't go wrong (Cibie, lightforce, hella, IPF etc).

It seems for the most part you get what you pay for in lights. I recommend HID as they are more durable as they contain no wire element to break, LED if you can afford it: litestorm.com.au look pretty good. And Loc-tite the buggers in place, they won't move.

Timely that the latest 4X4 Action mag have just done a BIG compare on driving lights. They tested 30 odd models in Halogen, HID and LED. Results were quite amazing. There is a hell of a difference between brands and not all the big boys performed as well as you’d expect for that sort of money. They also looked at durability, mounting and the robustness of the wiring looms.Well worth a read and may solve your issue for you.

Cheers Mick

Hi

The driving lights will be the least of your worries, and I am not being cynical and speaking from personal experience with a 120 Series that was once fitted with a genuine alloy bar.

Keep a very close eye on the factory bar mounts, they are not made for dirt roads. Make sure that you get them upgraded, for which ARB have been given the job of supplying mounts that should not fail.

I have done some research into the problem and you will find it is very common.

All the best


Cheers


Stephen

before you go parting with your money...ask your self the question?????
how often will i be using them...i have just done that trip....i decided not to
buy them...the amount of wild life on those roads at night..it is far safer to be camped between dusk and dawn..secondly they reduce the air flow to the radiator..not a good idea given the heat and humidty in the area !!!!

Hi

For what it's worth I have a Prado 120 with the factory fitted bar and Lightforce 240.

Have done the Bungles and Gibb River and no problems with lights. Suggest you place spring washers or similar on bolts otherwise they will shake loose.

Mine didn't originally when fitted and came loose even on smooth road.

Your more likely to lose your front number plate on the Prado doing creek crossings into Bungles as I and others found by experience. Try and secure that.

Hi, i previously owned a 120 Prado with genuine bar.

One thing is for sure, dont get the Lightforce 240 Blitz on that bar. They shake like hell on a normal bar on corrugations, never mind on the 120 Prado.

Hella 4000, loctite all bolts, and keep a good eye on them. They fall apart if dont have loctite. Stay away from plastic lights, as they wont last up here either.

The IPF900XS is great, no dramas whatsoever, and take a HID upgrade very well. Good mounting system too.

Otherwise the Lightforce genesis or XGT would be the next best for surviving, but they are only good for spotlights, not driving lights.

The Nite Stalker 170 and 210 seem to last as they are the same basically as the IPFs. But the only IPFs worth owning are the 900XS.

Make sure you use spring washers, and maybe even some rubber with the alloy bar. I have seen spotties rip holes out of the bar from overtightening, yet still rattling loose.

Welcome to the Kimberley.

Lightforce XGT, blitz or genesis, HID if you want to spend the extra. Their standard lights are more than sufficent. Warranty is currently 3 years nqa and looking at going lifetime warranty. They will replace the lights if they were ever to fail or break etc. They are light weight and less likley to break bar mounts not that it will be a problem on the prado bar as from memory they bolt directly the the main bar. From experience and bang for buck, my preference are the lightforce XGT non HID are fine.

They are an Australian made product and Australian owned company.

Hi,

I've had a set of Lightforce 240 Blitz lights on my last three 4wds, these are the same lights with the original bulbs, they've done two trips up Cape York Peninsula, across the Gulf & uncounted kilometres around the centre, they've been under water for over 24 hrs, run into cattle & are still in great condition.

When they do finally give up the ghost, I'll be looking for another set, they're only drawback for me is that the beam is a bit narrow.

easy fix man..... i have lived in remote areas for a while with bad roads always and here is what you do:
Get a 2 1/2 " dia hose clamp and cut it in half so the "worm" drive thingy is in the middle when flattened out, you of course flatten it out and next step is to "size" it up against the top of the light and the roo bar, you want to be able to drill a hole in each end of the clamp to take 2 rivets or ss screws and what you need to aim for is getting one end of the clamp attache to the top or upper part of the light and the top of the roo bar, best way is to have the lights mounted and pre aligned then remove the lens body, when you have worked out where it will sit best and allow some adjustment you mark the holes and drill them and bolt/rivet it all up and you will have viabration free light that will not crack around the base.
I would take a pic of mine but not sure how to attach them yet, will give it a crack so you can see but wont promise nuthin......
On having lights to "valuable" to use, why have them as it is this time you need the best you can get, whack em on with the clamp adjustors and you wont regret it .....
Cheers
Joe

https://picasaweb.google.com/109510533237575983470/LightStabilizers?authkey=Gv1sRgCIjak8abodWnPA#5582673175170633522

I'm out in western NSW and have seen countless tourist vehicles come through with the lens missing off the lightforce mounts and two wires hanging out so I would never go for those myself.
Tim

3 patrols, 420'000km total so far, 50%+ off tar roads, same set of lightforce 240, just upgraded to HID bulbs. Some others have equal or better light but these are seriously tough. Being so light reduces problems from vibration and corrugations.
Only down side Ive heard is they are easily stolen. Not such an issue out here.
As mentioned some alloy bars vibrate terribly due to material and how they are mounted.

I bought a pair of Narva light from ebay about three years ago (they were $130 at the time) and put them on our 100series bull bar. I didn't expect them to last forever but to date they are still going strong. So far (cross finger's) haven't blown a bulb, haven't rattled loose and haven't cracked in 60,000km. They have done the Gibb River Rd, Cape Leveque, and many other rough as guts roads without any drama's. Fair enough they don't burn the eyes out of Kangaroo's and other wildlife 2km away but I have found they do a good job for a very reasonable price. Not a big outlay if I break them or they get stolen (probably no one silly enough to steal budget price lights)

Here is a link to similar lights

Site Link

I had to google 'Lucas Flamethrowers' as I have never seen them before.

Image Could Not Be Found

My own HIDs have been on the new Prado for 16 months and are still there and working well after quite a few trips and harsh roads. I switched from pencil beam to wide beam as I prefer the wide beam.



Regards

Derek from ABR

Cibie Oscars are very strongly mounted & good lights.

Having lived in the West Kimberly for a number of years and being a Truck driver too i for the life of me cant see why you would leave your good lights at home because of their value when driving at night surely warrants the best especialy in the north of this state where you have livestock and wildlife roaming around on all major and minor roads and tracks
perhaps the flamethrowers just look good but dont have a very good light or are they only good for travelling around the city
Cheers Dave

A. The Lucas Flamethrowers are valuable because in a couple of years they will be genuine antiques..
B. They are "Lucas" and made in England where they don't have corregations.

No better to leave them in Melbourne on the TR3.
Now back to the real question:-
Thanks for all the information.
I do need the lights as I will need to drive at night for work at times.
I did use the idea of the radiator hose clamps when rallying and that worked to stop vibration.
I will now digest all info and let you know the results.