Hella v. Piaa v. KC | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Hella v. Piaa v. KC

Hehe, the mother of all lighting topics :)

Lets compare these figures (I cannot find the candlepower ones)

Hella 4000s
whatever Piaa's biggest, strongest, farthest going light is
same for KC

I would love to see some actual stats on these. And, HID doesnt count. I dont think anyone actually uses those :) Love to see what u all have to say!
 



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5 bucks says matt will say piaa!
 






LOL you know me too well :). BUt seriously, this one is just statistics...

Here goes...

PIAA's "biggest" light is not there brightest light. It is however the farthest going light. THe PIAA 80 XT 120 watters are just under 7 inches wide and 3 inches deep, 385,000 candlepower. The PIAA 80 Racing (135 watters) are about 8 inches, 5 1/2" deep, I don't recall the rated candlepower but I believe it was around 150,000... (keep in mind candlepower is judged at a certain distance... which is why the PIAA 80 Racings go further but aren't as much candlepower)

The KC's biggest and baddest are the 150 watt daylighters. If I recall they are right around 385,000 candlepower each as well.

As for the Hella 4000's, I searched the whole dang net trying to find some candlepower stats for you, couldn't find a one. But if you do, you can compare it against those two...

I'm not so sure candlepower is an accurate measurement for lights, because like I said its measured at a certain distance and some lights (like the PIAA 80 Racing's) aren't designed to light up the area 20 feet in front of you, there designed ot light up the area 200 feet and more in front of you. Likewise, fog lights (the 80 XT fogs) are rated at 150,000 candlepower, despite the fact that it lights up the area directly around you much better then the more then double-candlepower 80 XT driving alternative.
 






I win I win! Where is my 5 bucks? I do agree with matt though. The piaa's are the brightest.
 






Example setup

What about this setup:

2 Hella 4000s Pencil on roof rack centered
2 Hella 4000s Euro on roof rack outer
2 PIAA 90 Pro XT Dual system on the front brush guard
Warn Multi Winch system (spending most of its time locked in my trunk

Man....thatd be sweet :) Oh, Matt, did u mount your lights originally right onto the factory roof rack? Howd u do that? Did it really hold? And where did you run the wires to the roof? Thanks dude! :)

P.S. I would have put my house on betting Matt would say PIAAs :)
 






if you'd read it entirely, you would've noticed that PIAA and the KC daylighters have equal candlepower strengths, and I didn't say anything about that... you know, like how PIAA accomplishes 385,000 candlepower with an 85 watt bulb... or how PIAA has a lifetime warranty as opposed to KC's 23 year (I know, 23 year and lifetime same thing), list goes on and on) :)

4 Hella 4000's seems like a bit, but if you will be using the lights for rally type driving then the pencils are a good choice... if you never plan on using the lights while driving extremely fast... then 4 hella 4000 euros would be your better choice.

THe PIAA 90 Pro XT Dual lights are a great light, I don't have a set but I've seen em in action... however, if you want the best PIAA fog and the best PIAA driving, the 90 might not be your best choice. As far as Im concerned youd be better off getting a set of PIAA 80 XT fogs and a set of PIAA 80 XT drivings (they would equal about the same I think... the 90s are pricy!) But if your looking for a combo light, the 90 XT is the best one you'll find.

Originally I had 4 PIAA 80 XT's mounted in my stock roof rack... I just drilled 4 holes and used some big washers. It held okay but it didn't keep the aim as well as the roof rack I have now, as the lights had freedom to move, and you couldn't really reach a maximum torque on the bolts without destroying the roof rack. Now I've got those bad boys torqued down to about 40-50 foot pounds, still not a lot but definately enough to keep the lights from shifting around and losing their aim. I ran the wires to the roof up the panel in between the two doors and drilled a hole in the roof, just to the side of one of the stock roof rack bars.
 






Cool

Heya
Dont worry Matt, I do put PIAAs much farther up on my list than KCs. Hellas are loosing ground too.
As for rally driving and driving really fast....one of the favorite experiences of my life is driving 100+ in my dad's BMW 740i. It is so exhilarating to go so fast. I rutinely went about 100 and hit over 120 4 or 5 times. My fastest ever was 132 :) So, although i dont plan on going that fast EVER in an SUV, you can count on my still going fast.

I think i might get the 80 XT fogs for the front. Then i can also use the remote control :) I just love how the 90XTs look though.....soooooo sweet.

As for the roof rack, what kind do you use? I would probably get a conn-ferr and attach the lights to that. They should hold better. Oh, and does water ever come in the hole on your roof? I dont have a garage....Thanks a lot Matt!
 






I have a garage, but I don't fit in it. What I did to plu up the hole was buy some black silicon (available at your local Home Depot or any place that sells silicon)... haven't had a problem with leaking at all. I have the conferr roof rack now... if you get the conferr roof rack I have some light mounts that I can sell you, bought a few more then I actually used.

The 90 XT's certainly do look excellent.
 






Just giveing you a hard time matt. Did you buy more than you could use or more than the rack would hold? Okay. nuff said about that. that was my last "matt has too many lights jokes."
 






I've always thought of Hella as Euro trash lights, little puss lights. Just don't seem really tough, they belong on Range Rovers and BMW's.
 






Calm down there Patrick :). I agree though... like with all lights you get what you pay for and if you get a $60 set of Hellas, you get a set of lights worth $60...

The reason I have extra light mounts for the conferr roof rack is that I actually bought more light mounts then I needed... I thought I'd be able to fit more lights in the front row then I was able to. I was planning on having 6 facing forward, two facing left and possibly two facing behind (I already have two facing behind so it would be four total, but two on the roof rack). I knew the conferr had rounded corners, I just didn't realize that they were so rounded the roof rack could be consider by some to be an oval. About 6 or 7 inches in each corner was the rounding, which eliminated a good 14 inches of potential light mounting space (hence why I couldn't put two more 6 inch lights on top!) I had to settle for putting the other set on the side facing forward at an angle... Someday I might like to make myself a custom roof rack... I just wish I hadn't bought the conferr and spent all that money... anyone want to buy it? :).
 






give me a week or two.....and yes.
 






Hey there Mr. Daylighter, do you know Sean with the tan and white F150? I know hes a a member of f150 world, he lives right around the corner from me here in Austin, well actually Round Rock.
 






wow Leebo, I wasn't prepared for that... now I might actually have to do some work and make myself another one! LOL
 












Sinjin[PEZ],

yes sir, I know him pretty well. Actually he is comin up tonight for Fun Ford Weekend in Ennis. I will tell him you said hi and that I talked to you.
 






Yaa he told me about it, he said he was staying with a buddy in Carrellton, that wouldnt be you would it? I was thinking about going up on Saturday, sounds like a great event. Yaa definetly tell him Rod and Kelly said hello.
 






Harness

Does anyone know what the wiring harness for the Hella 4000's is like? What does the button look like? What is the install like? (yes, matt....i know its hard)
 






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