Hey everyone. Ive got a few questions about auxilary lighting and i figured who would know more about the subject than the local rally community?

Anyways, i've never had any aux lights on a car, well once, but i ended up selling the car before having a chance to drive it at night.

So im wondering a few things.

Do you ever get haslted by the police about them? I would always have covers over them and never use them in the city. But do you get/have you ever had extra unwanted attention for just having them affixed to the car?

What brands does everyone like? I would assume hella would be high on the list, but are there any other alternatives that are cheaper, better, more readily available, etc?

What beam patterns does everyone use/suggest? I've noticed a variety is available from hella. pencil, fog, "driving", and something called "euro beam". I dont believe the "fog" beam is going to be on my shortlist...unless people recomend having 4 lamps, 2 driving/pencil/other and 2 fogs....but that seems like something a little more "professional" than im looking for.

Best bang for your buck? Looking at the hella lights, the 500s would obviously be cheapest, but are the 4000s worth the extra money? HIDs are likely out of the question...too expensive.

Any other information or experiences you guys could share with me would be much appreciated. Im not looking for a light setup that will vaporize small animals 1km away from me, just want to get something adequate and approiate for alot of night time country back road exploration.

Thanks,
Greg

okay, thanks for the advice.

I've ordered a set of hella 500s, they look like they are new old stock at one of our suppliers. they are the older style reflectors, not the newer free form ones. So they were dirt cheap and i just couldnt pass them up. Still not 100% sure if i'll be using these alone or with another set as the beam pattern is unknown. In one spot they said "driving" which i assume is a pencil beam style, then the other listing for the same lights/part number claimed they were a "fog" pattern. So we'll see when they get here.

As for the 100w bulbs, i like the idea however im worried that A, the wiring kit that comes with wont handle the extra current. not really a big deal, i could easily run a heavier gage wire and hope the relay holds out.
And B, if i end up running 4 lights total (its a possibility now that i got the first pair for so cheap) and im running 100w bulbs in all 4 lamps, that puts the total current draw up around 40 amps and i dont beleive my alternator will like working that hard for hours on end if it comes to that. I beleive its only an 80 amp alternator, then factor in what the other lights draw and what the ecu and ignition coils and all that jazz draw...sounds like a recipe for a brake down out in the middle of nowhere. haha.

As for upgrading the stock units, its really not an option with this car. the car is a 2002 honda civic SiR. it has a dual filament high/low setup. I supose i could swap in the euro spec HID projector units, but those are big bucks (i believe about 1000 dollars give or take) and they seem to have more of a show car appeal rather than a rally rat appeal. the lighting looks cool, trendy, and high end, but out in the back country i dont believe they would perform near as good as a set of auxilary lights.

And I'll keep my eye out for a set of those bosch 225s, but that sort of depends on what beam pattern the hellas i already have coming are.

Anyone have any experience with the hella 4000 compacts? they are a bit more money than the 500s, but if you can believe hellas marketing they would outperform the 500s conciderably.

If you are going to double up on the wattage (by using 100W bulbs) you must also double up the wires. At least a 10g wire is required although I've seen people using regular, domestic (orange or yellow) extension cord wires!

It is also a good idea to wire them so that the rally lights only work with high beams. This way, when you encounter oncoming traffic, you just dim your lights.

Your stock alternator may be okay but if it goes, and only when it goes, you should consider an upgraded unit.

quicksilver, i've had that style of HID kit before and wasnt very impressed.
firstly, you totally get what you pay for. the wiring is put together so loosey goosey that i had to pull every connection apart and tighten up all the pins as they are very lose from the assembly line. go over a bump, they lose connection and one light goes out. hit anotehr bump, you are back on.

Also, i've had issues with cars that use the headlamps for the DRLs (like my civic does). you get a flickering effect from the HID when your headlights are off, which i cant imagine is good for anything. also, it looks stupid.

Lastly, the highbeam system on these cheap HID kits is terrible and i would porbably end up with worse lighting in the country and better lighting in the city. this is not what im looking for. Plus, the pattern gets all screwed up with HIDs in a halogen reflector housing. So the cheap aftermarket HIDs mounted in stock non projector headlamps are totally out of the question. At least with the experiences i've had with them.

I have to agree with knaztech on the wiring thing. I mean, its not like wire is expensive, i dont really even know why i asked that question. with wiring, if in doubt, bigger is better right? I guess my real question would be if the relays that come in the kit are able to handle the extra draw on the heavy load side. i dont want to be melting things and having a relay stick on and blind everyone. haha.

and yes, i'd definitly be running them so they can not be used without highbeams. I like the way dtompsett described his wiring/switching for multiple aux light setups.

As for HID into the hella halogen lamps...well that goes back to what i was saying above. one of the negatives that I found with aftermarket HIDs in my lancer years ago, the HIDs in my stock halogen headlamps caused a really terrible pattern. The light was bright, no doubt about that. but it was all over the place. I think it has soemthing to do with the HID bulbs protruding into the housings so far. I had even read something about the light being emitted from the bulb is different as well....but that sort of sounds like balogna to me. however the position of the bulb is a very obvious difference/issue.

I dont think i'll be going that route. I would rather spend the extra coin and get the hella HIDs if i needed lighting that serious, but i dont see myself driving fast enough to need to see that far ahead and that clearly.

As for alternator life, it is a concern of mine. so I definitly wont be doing 4 100w bulbs. I think im going to tackle this in steps from here on out. get the hella 500s, make a light bar with extra mounts. If the light doesnt quite meet my needs i'll have to try the 100w bulbs (if they are fog beams) or if its just a matter of lack of distance, then maybe ill look more into adding the bosch 225s you suggested.

I would feel comfortable with 300w total i think, but definitly not 400w... its a low output alternator and as knaztech said, it wont be getting an upgrade until it fails. and i'd rather it not fail anytime soon. espeically not out in the middle of nowhere, where i'd be using all this forward lighting.

And just to clarify... the Hella 500 fog lights with 55w bulbs still kick butt too... they are some very nice lights for the money.