Off-Road Light Suggestions?

[diablo5969]

For Christmas my parents are offering to buy me a set of off-roading lights for the Ex. I am pretty much a newbie to lighting, so I don't really know what I'm looking at or for. If anyone has any suggestions they'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

BTW: I know this question is probably asked a lot, but none of the searches I did came up with any good results. If anyone knew of any good threads to point me towards, that would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Lifted95X]

I have my PIAA's on the way.

http://www.truckperformance.com/display.image.php?image=pia_5293_500.jpg

 

[JDraper]

Do a search for "Hilites" (there are a bunch of threads) to see what people think of the KC Hilites. I have two sets on my X and I love 'em!. They also have the best warranty in the business (23 Years)

 

[GaSouthern1]

damn, i wish i had mine hooked up and i would show you, get the KC's, they are awesome. If you wanna come over here one day i can engineer something real quick to get them to come on...too lazy to wire them back up the right way.

 

[Texplorer]

I have pro comp lights and they are great. Really bright, cant use them on the street (you said off-road anyway). And they arent to hard on the wallet either, they are about $34 for they pair.

 

[drmoore71]

i have two sets of piaa's. one is 520 fog, the other is 1500xt pencil beam (driving light) they have been absolutely awesome! well worth the extra $$

 

[Bill Kemp]

Where would you want to mount them?
Do you have a grill guard or are they going on the bumper or roof?
Different lights for different mounting locations.
Also what do you want the lights to do? Light up a 1/2 mile down the road or fill in the voids of the low beams. Remembering you drive with the low beams 90% of the time.

 

[diablo5969]

First, to answer some good questions from Bill:

I have a KMA front bumper, and the lights will be mounted on the bumper. As far as the purpose of the lights, I want something that is just generally brighter. I mean, I don't really know too much about where I'm going at this stage, but I know I want something that provides more light than what I have now. (How's that for a totally useless answer? Sorry about that )

After reading everybody's suggestions, I've been doing some looking around on the Internet to see what everybody's mentioned. So far the list I have come up with includes:

Dead Link Removed
Dead Link Removed
Explorer Pro Comp 100 Watt 6"
And also the Lightforce 170 Striker, which I read about in another thread.

When I was researching the KCs, I found a lot of stuff I really like about them, but I don't want limit myself solely to the KCs right now.

I know Hella makes lights as well, but I've been reading mixed reviews about them. How well do they really stand up?

What ar the pros and cons about the lights I've listed here? And are there any more you suggest I should look into?

Thanks for all the time and the help you're giving!

 

[mattadams]

Originally posted by diablo5969
First, to answer some good questions from Bill:

I have a KMA front bumper, and the lights will be mounted on the bumper. As far as the purpose of the lights, I want something that is just generally brighter. I mean, I don't really know too much about where I'm going at this stage, but I know I want something that provides more light than what I have now. (How's that for a totally useless answer? Sorry about that )

After reading everybody's suggestions, I've been doing some looking around on the Internet to see what everybody's mentioned. So far the list I have come up with includes:

Dead Link Removed
Dead Link Removed
Explorer Pro Comp 100 Watt 6"
And also the Lightforce 170 Striker, which I read about in another thread.

When I was researching the KCs, I found a lot of stuff I really like about them, but I don't want limit myself solely to the KCs right now.

I know Hella makes lights as well, but I've been reading mixed reviews about them. How well do they really stand up?

What ar the pros and cons about the lights I've listed here? And are there any more you suggest I should look into?

Thanks for all the time and the help you're giving!

I'd stay away from the Hellas myself. I had a pair and didn't like them. They weren't a very good quality and installation was a *****!
I've heard good things about the KC's, and they are a reasonable price, but I prefer the PIAA's myself.
I've had the lightforce RMDL170's, and they are good as far as being bulletproof, but the amount of light left a lot to be desired. Also the amount of equipment they come with blows, it was just the lights and wires coming out of the light about 3". No relay, no switch, no wiring.

 

[diablo5969]

Alright, well I think I'm going to go with the KC HiLites Daylighters. They seem like good lights, nobody has anything bad to say about them, and I like the warrantee (sp?).

I have a question though. The KC website lists both theDead Link Removed and the Dead Link Removed. Obviously the 150W lights will be brighter because there is more wattage, but are there any differences? What is a "sealed beam"?

Thanks again

 

[JDraper]

The sealed beams are a complete light that you don't just replace the bulb. The whole lens, backing plate and filament are sealed together. It's considerably stronger and brighter than a conventional bulb. It allows for a larger, sturdier filament than a conventional bulb. If it dies, they replace the whole light.

Personally, I'd go with the Dead Link Removed because the cases are better quality. I have the black ones and they have been replaced under warranty for rust once (I bought them in '95 and they replaced them in 2001. I am very rough on them and had filled the housings with mud. I forgot to clean them out and that caused the rust to start.). The stainless should last considerably longer.

 

[diablo5969]

Alright, well I guess that means I'll be getting the 150W sealed beams. Sounds good, thanks

Well, personally I like the looks of the black ones better. Stainless steel stands out too much. Even though the black ones are less durable, they still sound like they can stand up to anything.

Alright, it looks like I will be ordering the Dead Link Removed and 2 Dead Link Removed. Should I order them off the KC website, or should I shop around? Does anybody have any suggestions for good sites to look at?

 

[JDraper]

You can get 'em cheaper and faster from Dead Link Removed. That would be my choice. That's where I've gotten all my lights.

 

[diablo5969]

If you go to the Summit Racing site and search for "KC Daylighters" you get these results, which don't include the one I was interested in. The closest they had was this one. Oh well. I think I'm probably just going to end up ordering them from the KC website now that I think about it.

Thanks for the help!

 

[diablo5969]

I just placed my order. Thanks again everybody!

BTW, if I ordered them this morning, how long should they take to get here, does anybody know?

 

[diablo5969]

Just to keep everyone updated, the lights arrived today. I can't wait until they're on! (That should be coming soon hopefully)

 

[X~FACTOR]

This is way too late but...

It's not all good news with KC Lites... I bought a pair in '97 and went on a Florida trip from NY. Halfway through NC one light blew! The other lasted for another six months.

I guess I just have bad luck.

 

[MO_GUY]

Re: This is way too late but...

Originally posted by X-factor
It's not all good news with KC Lites... I bought a pair in '97 and went on a Florida trip from NY. Halfway through NC one light blew! The other lasted for another six months.

I guess I just have bad luck.

so what's the problem? they have 23 year warranty, send them back and get a new pair

 

[X~FACTOR]

Thanks for the reply...

I do not have the original boxes and I had them painted a different color. Do you think they would still take them back? That would be great if they did. Where would I return them- Summit Racing or KC Lites?

 

[diablo5969]

They should still take them back. They have the 23 year warranty no matter what.

Here is the Dead Link Removed from the KC website. See if you can do that