PIAA Lights? | Ford Explorer Forums

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PIAA Lights?

01STrunner

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City, State
Greer, SC
Year, Model & Trim Level
2001 SAS'd Sport Trac
I've been hunting on CL and Ebay for a couple months for some PIAA 520 fogs. I want the kit with the harness and relay switch etc. Anyone know of a good place to look/ know of any deals? Thanks
 



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Don't buy into the hype. The whole PIAA bandwagon thing is real old. They are decent lights, but very overpriced. They are still trying to maintain a position as a luxury brand, even though the same product is now available for much, much less in other brands. Their earlier Japan-made stuff is great, though, if you can find it.

If you like the look of the PIAAs, with the guard on the front, lots of companies now make them at a much better price point. The Pilot brand of lights they sell at Autozone/Advance and even wallyworld for $20-30 are the knockoffs of the PIAAs, although some of their newer designs are much cheaper looking than their earlier models which were almost direct copies.

You can get quality brands of lights for much less than PIAA, too. There are TONS of lights that are similar to the 520's, and much, much better. KC makes the exact same light as the 520 except the logo on the grille says "KC" instead of "PIAA".

I'd say Hella 500's are a better lamp at a better price as well, but without the grille. They do offer a grille seperately.

Heck, if you want, you could just buy the PIAA grilles and put them on the knockoff lights. They are all just cheap made in China lamps these days. I'd bet they are actually the exact same lamp, made in the exact same factory, just with different grilles, and the bulbs/wiring in the package.

kc_slimlites.jpg
 






KCs would be fine too. I definitely want the rock guard on them. I want lights DOT approved so te pilot lights are out. Plus most of tem are complete crap anyway. I've had my experience with them. Basically been looking at piaa and kc.
 






No such thing as DOT approved driving lights. DOT approval is only for OEM lighting, like signals and such. Newer headlamps don't even have DOT approval anymore, some are just SAE. The best lights are made in European countries and might have approval from European regulatory agencies, but they don't care one bit about DOT/SAE anything. DOT-approved lights are actually pretty bad, really. SAE-approved lamps are ok. European E-code lights are usually the best when it comes to getting the most light without annoying glare.

Pilot isn't bad if you just want the looks and are willing to mess around with fixing them up to be decent, with better bulbs and wiring. The KCs are what you want for the same thing as the PIAA but at a lower price. Like I said, I'm pretty sure they're the same thing. Just buy whatever bulbs you want to use in them if it's not the regular 55W they come with and you're good to go.
 






Sorry SAE. I don't want to have to take these off every year to pass va inspection which I what I have to do with the pilots.
 






For any off-road lights, in your state you probably need to put full covers on the lights for on-road use. He wasn't correcting you to say that there are off-road lights that are SAE approved, but not DOT approved. No off-road light carries certifications for on-road use. In some states, it is fine as long as you don't turn them on on the highway, but in others, you have to actually cover the lights anytime you are not off road.

These are the kinds of things you need if you want to not take your lights off every time you go for inspections.

DSCN0005-1.jpg


A fellow forum member makes them too... People don't just get those things for looks. You can also get covers that just go on the front for really cheap, like a couple bucks.
 






Maybe I'll look into the covers. I'm not just getting these for looks and I want something with rock guards to deflect saplings, etc
 






I've got the hella 500ff driving lights on the front of my x and they're damn bright and the reflectors are tough too. Had one completely submerged in water mother's day and never took the cover off til yesterday. It was half full of water and there was no corrosion what so ever. Drained the water and you can't even tell. As far as saplings go, no rock guard can make up for simply mounting them behind the bumper
 






No, I meant people don't just get the covers for looks.
 






Ah sorry I misread your post
 












Thanks for the link
Thats real high wattage. How're the wires holding up?
 






Haven't had any issues yet, I don't really run them all that often, but the harness is pretty well made.

I'm only using the 130watt bulbs right now.
 






Last I knew only PIAA & KC made 130W bulbs. Not sure PIAA still does. Never found a 150W bulb before.
 






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