Hella 4000's

[mattadams]

EB - I just drilled straight through. I had to use some dang big washers on the other side because I could just tighten and tighten and all it would do is squish the plastic. I had a carr roof rack, for about 5 minutes . Found out you had to order the "gutterless mount kit" for like an extra $40, which required drilled of course, and you could only put 4 lights up there. No thanks. I bought a conferr roof rack which is more then just a light bar, but quite a bit more expensive. As you can tell in the pictures what I had to do was get 6 light mounts, put 4 in front and 2 to the side, but they stuck out enough that the lights I have to the side practically face forward if I aim them that way. There's room up there for a good 12-15 lights . I figure 4 on the front, 4 on the back, and you could easily get 6 lights on either side. Other people would laugh at you after a comment like wanting 12 lights on the roof... not vegas. Vegas understands your lighting needs. Vegas understands that lots of lights are cool. Vegas understands that there is no maximum amount of lights on ones vehicle, and the more the better.

 

[EB Bauer]

Funny story. At one point I had 36 lights on my Explorer till they all got jacked. I was wheeling at a place called beaver town and it is right next to the air force base. From the freeway at night alls you can see is the mountain and I was driveing up and down the mountain haveing some fun. Now the funny part was that it was so dark you really couldn't see the mountain from the freeway. so someone called the base and reported a UFO flying outside of the base. I then hit a trail that took me striat to the base fence. YOu will never belive what was waiting for me. one tank, four hummers, and about 15 MP's with ar-15's ready to kill. Once I explained to them what I was doing and why I had so many lights, they then put one and two together and we all had a good laugh. so to make a long story short, be carefull with all your lights driveing at night near an air force base. Thanks for all the info.

 

[kubben]

Anyone used Warn lighting before?

 

[Goober]

Matt, that's scary that your referring to you truck in the third person. And Gerald says I need therapy. LOL
I found out why the Hella's I had were so easy to install. I got the ones that were FF - fast fit, which already has the connectors on the ends of the wires. The high dollar ones I haven't looked at, so I didn't know the differences. Still between the two, the PIAA's outshine the Hellas, but both were a breeze to install.

 

[Cameron]

Holy cow!

Such passion over lights! If you could only use those powers for good….

I have 4 Hella 500s. I have had two of them for well over a year and they still work perfect. The install was a snap. I don’t understand what all the fuss about how complicated the installation of Hellas are. I thought it was very straightforward.

As far as what light is better, that all depends on what you mean by better. I think everyone should buy the best lights they can afford. I haven’t seen any definitive studies that concluded one is better then the other. And until there is such a study, it’s simply personal preferences. Since I have only had experiences with Hella I wouldn’t want to speculate on IPAA much but I’m sure they are probably better. And I base that only on the fact they are much more expensive.

And as far as Hellas having a plastic back, that’s because plastic is less expensive to manufacture, is virtually corrosion proof, dent and scratch resistant and weighs less then metal backed lights. I acutely view plastic as a plus over metal in this case. Hellas are not cheap. Pro Comps are cheap. Hellas are well made, well respected in the off-road community and haven’t failed me yet. I’m sorry to hear about Matt’s bad experience with Hellas. I know it only takes one bad experience with a product to put a bitter taste in your mouth. So I certainly can’t blame him but I don’t think it’s fair to say Hellas are cheap.

Live long and prosper.

 

[leebo]

warn lights

I've looked into buying them. I like the way they look alot. I also like the way you can switch from a wide beem to a spot with the remote. I also like the wireing harness. It looks easy to hook up as well as waterproof. BUT, I can't speak for the light that they put out. I'd like to see that one too to be honest with you. Give it a shot and yell back to us on the answer.

ps...I also like the fact that they use a h4 bulb rather than a h3 bulb like most the others.

 

[mattadams]

I like the H4's as well. Just FYI my PIAA 80 Racing use an H4 bulb as well so you have a hi-beam/lo-beam. I saw some warns on a jeep the other day, looked at em. They didn't look cheap like hellas and pro comps but I wasn't overly impressed with their construction either. They are definately built to last though. The mounting on the set I saw was 4 seperate screws in a base that is screwed to whatever, then the base has one horizontal bolt that goes through the base, and aims the light/adjusts tensions, etc. Seems to be kind of a pain if you have to drill four holes in your bumper for each light but it would also provide a good base.

 

[Sinjin]

Very well said Cameron.
ALL HAIL MATT THE LIGHT GURU, he has 20 lights on his truck, he must be right!

 

[mattadams]

I think Rod's being sarcastic... LOL

 

[kubben]

Rod brought to my attention that my humor remark was a making him look like a drunk. I would like clearify that Rod is not a drunk nor have I seen him drink large amounts of beer. I would also like to add that Rod is an avid church goer who deeply loves his Mother and Father as well as his lovely other Kel. Rod has brought fame to his neighborhood by activly painting the school house and cleaning the trash down at the park. One last thing I would like to add is Rod should be up for sainthood due to his kindness and respect to the elderly. Rod is an all around nice guy who will help out in a time of need. Way to go Rod. We all love you!

Paid for by the Rod for President 2000 campaign.



Old Message:
"Boy I've never seen Rod mad beofre.
He must be drunk again."

"No one likes a sloppy drunk" - Matthew to Lisa when Bill died on Newsradio

[Edited by kubben on 09-19-2000 at 02:12 PM]

 

[Goober]

From a line in a movie that escapes me...." Your mocking me."



Cameron, I would say these are rather expensive.

Dead Link Removed
4000 HID Euro Beam
LIHEL74801 $725.00each


[Edited by Goober on 09-19-2000 at 11:58 AM]

 

[4Wheelin]

Matt-
Good call on not sending me the lights, I definitly would have fried something and been real pissed. I didn't know it would have done that kind of damage.
EB-
LMAO at the ufo story!!!! LOL!!

-Are the Hella Xenon lamps HID?
-How does a city light work?
-Does anyone have experience with the Hella Model FF1000 Halogen 55W Driving with or without the City Light?
Thanks in advance.

 

[leebo]

No they are not HID's. If they were the price would be just a bit higher. What do you want to use the lights for??? Do you want a light to be used with your Hi-beams for driving or one just for the trail. There is a huge difference on the light you can buy for each as well as one you'll need. If only driving on the road in the city a light such as the Piaa 40's would work fine. You can also use that for extra light on the trail. But don't think you're going to blind matt with his 80's in any way shape or form. You don't need to go out and spend the 300 or so if you only need a $130 light.

 

[Sinjin]

Ryan,
Not sure about the Xenon bulbs.
They city lights option means the lamp has 2 bulbs, the main bulb, and the secondary buld that acts like a parking light, so basically "city lights" means that you could roll around town with them on. Might still get a ticket though.
Hope this help some.

 

[Cameron]

Originally posted by Goober
Cameron, I would say these are rather expensive.

Dead Link Removed
4000 HID Euro Beam
LIHEL74801 $725.00each

I was referring to the Hella 4000 that cost about $260.00 for the pair as shown below.. Not the HIDs. I wish I could justify spending that kind of money on the 4000 HIDs.

Dead Link Removed

 

[4Wheelin]

I am looking for a brighter light than my 500's and better quality. But something thats not that expnesive, I am looking to spend around 150 at max. And I would add a higher watt bulb if needed and the lamp could handle it.

 

[leebo]

I myself would go with the Piaa 40's for that price range. Then add a higher watt bulb, maybe the superwhite type and you're set. As the "Light King Matt" said you can only go up to a 85watt bulb but that will outshine most of the Hella's I've seen for that price. If you're willing to spend about an extra 50 or so you can also upgrade to the 520 series which will give you great on and off the road lighting. Dead Link Removed

The Hella 500 use a 55watt h3 bulb and that's about it(as I've proven). Where from what I can tell the 40's also use the 55watt h3. The 520 if I'm guessing would use a slightly higher bulb but can handle the higher watts if you do so after. This is where the thicker wires, metel case, and better lense come into play. You could go to an autoparts store for the wire, but why make two trips when one of them comes like that off the back???

Let us know what you end up doing.

ps....Matt, I don't want to hear it!!!

[Edited by leebo on 09-19-2000 at 01:52 PM]

 

[4Wheelin]

My friend has the 520's and I was not impressed by them at all and the 40's are more of my price range. Can I put like a 100 watt bulb in them and not worry about damage? also How is their performance? Do they light up a good amount and are they bright? because I would like to put all PIAA on my car because it is higher quality.

 

[mattadams]

Ryan - like I mentioned earlier. It's designed to handle up to an 85 watt. You could PROBABLY put in a 100-watt and not notice much, but if you put in an 85 watt superwhite bulb, which supposedly puts out the output of a 110 watt bulb, then its safer for the light, runs cooler and looks better . I actually have the PIAA 80 XT's, which are 120 watts, and I put in 85 watt superwhite bulbs (not quite half the watts but close) and they produce as much probably more visible whiter light. That might be your best route to take if your going with the 40's. I don't know what superwhite H3 bulbs (the bulbs the PIAA 40's use) cost but any place that sells PIAA's should be able to help you out.

 

[4Wheelin]

Sounds good to me. I am sold I am going with the 40 series and then going to put the 85 watt superwhite bulbs in later on. Thanks everyone for their help and input.