p-3000 tri-beam piaa???

[expo5.0]

piaa's website says the 520 have an 85 watt bulb. does this mean it is the 85 watt bulb that puts out the equivalent of 130 watts like in the pro 90s? the reason i am asking is because we have 520 fogs on our escape and i have a good idea of how bright they are/how they work. i don't want to get these if they won't perform at least as well as his 520s. keep in mind they are mounted at about waist height on his bull bar and my lights will be mounted much lower. i'm assuming this will help my lights performance in rain and snow. correct?

also, i'm looking to use these on two lane roads at night and in storms. will the yellow driving light of the 3000s work for that? or will it be too intense and reflect back at me, even if it is mounted like a foot off the ground? and just what exactly is the spot light that they have? is that just a pencil beam? i thought that was what their driving lights were? sorry for the numerous long posts. hopefully, this will help someone else in their search for lights as well

 

[X24]

OK... You're not gonna believe this but, as long as I have had the PIAA's on my truck, they have not worked. I bought them off eBay for $230. They are not XT's. They are older and don't have that black and blue look to them. They are clear (which I actually like better). One of the fog lights was out when I got them and the other one went out right after I installed them. So now I only have high beams (which are incredibly bright). Then one of the fuses blew so only one high beam was working. And now with the cold nights and warm days, condensation is building up in one of the lights and I think it blew out my other high beam. So, 0 out of 4 bulbs work. I havent got off my lazy ass to try and fix them (kinda like my subs that quit working last week). So, all I can really say is they look cool.

I have never seen that tri-beam set. They look pretty cool and I was expecting them to cost more than the Pro 90's. If they are the same size as the 90's I say go for them.

As for pics, I really dont have that many good ones. I'll throw up a few for you to check out...

 

[X24]

.

 

[expo5.0]

i see, and that is one vote for not buying them off ebay. the p-3000s are slightly smaller than yours (i think they are are one 5 7/8 wide and only 2.5 tall so they won't really fill the opening quite as well as the pro 90s (nothing else i've found will). do you think these will fill it up enough that it will look good? yours look pretty sweet, but i can't decide if it would be worse if the hole wasn't quite as full???

 

[X24]

Tough to say. Maybe see if someone can photochop a set in there that is just a little smaller to see how they look.

Are you good at making things or have someone that can make things? You will need some brackets that come off the bumper to mount the lights to.

 

[expo5.0]

yeah, i was gonna worry about that later. lol.

i don't have my own computer right now, so i can't do any photoshop or anything. maybe someone could help out and put a few of those lights in 98x's air dam and make em a little smaller. pretty please?

 

[expo5.0]

nevermind, put em in here. first person to do this wins a prize.

 

[X24]

Are those little lights mounted to the airdam? Dont they vibrate?

 

[expo5.0]

no, i used 3m foam tape and it worked just fine.

i wonder if i can modify the stock fog bracket to hold the new fogs i am hypothetically getting? i bet i can, but it may need some cutting.

btw- those are the worst damn lights ever. lol. i think i'll wire them up as back up lights though when i get new lights. any suggestions for placement?

 

[X24]

I thought about using the stock fog bracket to mount my PIAA's but there was no way it was gonna work. I designed a bracket and had some guys that my dad works with make them up for me. They fit perfect.

 

[expo5.0]

if someone does a good job with the photoshop they will get a real prize (light bulbs? paint? something like that)

 

[mattadams]

damn! How did I miss this thread for so long? Ok here goes...
typically you are able ot upgrade the wattage of certain lights. The 980's are no different, they use standard H3 bulbs so you can upgrade them to 85 watt bulbs or so... I wouldn't go MUCH higher as the relays/wioring is only designed to handle a specific amount. As for the P-3000's, not really sure if those can be upgraded, I've never seen em before (though I have seen pics and they look pretty cool, though kinda ricey for my tastes).
The P90 is an awesome light, but does cost a pretty penny!
No experience on the catz, sorry.

 

[expo5.0]

if it helps the relay and the harness are the same for all three of the piaa choices. i still am really wondering about what the driving and spot lights will look like? they seem like sort of the same to me. and will the driving light mounted really low help or hurt in a snow storm or some other bad weather? i'm searching everything i can but can't find a concise clear answer

alright, the 980s are the same size as the 3000s (about 6 by 2) and the hole in the truck is 9 by 3, how bad will this look? if they will look alright then i'm getting one of them depending on beam patterns i decide, or if it will look dumb i'll figure out how to swing the p90s (even though i think they are pretty ugly installed, why are all these lights so ugly?)

 

[mattadams]

ugly? I think there pretty friggin cool . Putting a smaller light in a bigger hole might not look that great IMHO, I've seen it before and it looks bad... I personally like the looks of hte 90 XT's, but I've never had a pair of em before.

 

[section525]

1

 

[section525]

2

 

[section525]

3

 

[expo5.0]

sweet, i'm pretty sure i'm gonna go with the 3000s since they seem to be so rare, and they got my first vote and most people have been saying they like them. however, i'm going to print off a picture of them and mount that in my truck before i make a final decision. lol- i know thats sort of too much, but i don't want them to look wrong, and i want to make sure they will put out the sort of light i want. then i'll be going nuts trying to wait until christmas to get them, maybe i'll just buy them myself and let her give me something else.

as for your prize, what do you want? i'm going home to a garage full of explorer parts this weekend to make nnnick a grille with a flamed insert so i could pick you up something. a ee license plate chrome surround sound good?

 

[expo5.0]

98x did you really think there was a chance i wouldn't be able to make my own brackets if i needed to? give me some respect.

 

[section525]

Nah, I'm good. I'm just bored here and like messing around in Photoshop more than working!