SPOT LIGHTS?? Types and brands??

[nat_89]

Just chasing some info on spot lights my dad is chasing some and I've kept banging on about try some FYRLYTs and he reckons oh not enough details on them hardly seen any cars with them so I said well the Land Rover forum gives them a good wrap!! Anyway long story short just wanting ideas of what people have on their vehicles HID LED or normal Halogen. As he has had a few sets of Hella Rallye 4000s and is looking at another set but I keep saying try FYRLYTs haha!! So just asking for people real life experiences with types and brands and what they like and so forth.

Cheers everyone!!

[Eevo]

ive got narva. they do the job well but one case has cracked. light still works fine.

our firetrucks have narva lights on them for both spot lights and work lights

[BigBlackDog]

I got a pair of lightforce on the bulbar, the big ones. Standard halogen, were secondhand. They light up the road nice, seem to be holding up well

[Learner]

IIRC Fyrlyts is run by people previously with Lightforce.

I'm seriously considering Fyrlyts for my D3.

[33chinacars]

I've got Fyrlyt's on my Range Rover . Very happy with them . They tell me the newer Nemesis is even better. . Would highly recommend them

Gary

[Tombie]

Fyrlyts... Nothing else even comes close...

We have Nemesis on the D90 and the D4..

Then the D2 has standard Fyrlyts...

Sat behind the standard Fyrlyts on Basil135s D4 for 7 hours last night (Did Whyalla - Nullabor - Whyalla) and can tell you, eye strain reduced, contrast excellent and light output brilliant (!)

Would I go with HID again - nope..


BMKal just upgraded from HID to FYRLYT Nemesis... He wont be changing back any time soon!

[Basil135]

Fyrlyts... Nothing else even comes close...

We have Nemesis on the D90 and the D4..

Then the D2 has standard Fyrlyts...

Sat behind the standard Fyrlyts on Basil135s D4 for 7 hours last night (Did Whyalla - Nullabor - Whyalla) and can tell you, eye strain reduced, contrast excellent and light output brilliant (!)

Would I go with HID again - nope..


BMKal just upgraded from HID to FYRLYT Nemesis... He wont be changing back any time soon!


What he said.... :D

[clubagreenie]

As above x eleventy

[nat_89]

HAHAHA thanks everyone ill try and convince him to get FYRLYTS they seem awesome i may get some soon!!

[Tombie]

These are the standard units
92969

[clubagreenie]

Fyrlyts will project over many HIDs, drowning their light out.

[nat_89]

They do sound awesome the FYRLYTS i would love a set but dont have anything to put them on as my D4 doesn't have a bull bar and we are looking at rearranging our car situation so not sure what i will have next but if it can it will have a bull bar and some nemesis on it!!

[Bytemrk]

Nat_89,

Does your dad have decent headlights?

I've got Hella 4000 HID's on mine that the previous owner kindly put on it... it also has bi xenon headlights... (Which definitely help as the drivers are pencil beams.

Seem to work ;)
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/04/279.jpg

[C00P]

Recently did a trip across the Nullarbor and back with lots of night driving.
This was in our Subaru Forester, which has no bull-bar. I hate driving at night due to the animal risk, so avoid it whenever possible, but this was a special Christmas trip, so had to be done.
Overcame the problem with a $300 8-LED light bar mounted on the bonnet with two huge suction cups (the sort you lock down with a lever) and a jury-rigged control switch linked to the high beam.
Unlike spots, they didn't shine much further down the road than the ordinary headlights, but the spread to the sides was incredible (this is where the animals that get you will come from), and the cold blue colour really made objects stand out (unlike the more yellowish light from the standard lamps).
The appearance was not unlike what you see in bytemrk's post, although the range down the road was less, and the spread to the sides was better.
I felt comfortable at 100kph, and only a little tense at 110, when normally I'd be reluctant to go much above 80kph with just the headlights.
I'll be mounting the bar on my Series- although it's probably overkill, after all the old thing rarely gets above 80kph anyhow, and it has a solid iron bar to deflect any unfortunate wildlife. :)

Coop

[Will Wallace]

Cibbie Super Oscars.

Still a great light.

Will

Follow the Sapper.

[nat_89]

Nat_89,

Does your dad have decent headlights?

I've got Hella 4000 HID's on mine that the previous owner kindly put on it... it also has bi xenon headlights... (Which definitely help as the drivers are pencil beams.

Seem to work ;)
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/04/279.jpg

Its a short wheel base GQ patrol that some fella spent an absolute fortune on a body off restoration and its all been done up with a small little pipe bar which currently has some light force ones on there but he's not really keen on them and he's looking at 4000 Hellas!! Jeeze they go unreal with a HID kit there awesome!! So the factory headlights are pretty **** weak being a 1988 model haha

[nat_89]

Recently did a trip across the Nullarbor and back with lots of night driving.
This was in our Subaru Forester, which has no bull-bar. I hate driving at night due to the animal risk, so avoid it whenever possible, but this was a special Christmas trip, so had to be done.
Overcame the problem with a $300 8-LED light bar mounted on the bonnet with two huge suction cups (the sort you lock down with a lever) and a jury-rigged control switch linked to the high beam.
Unlike spots, they didn't shine much further down the road than the ordinary headlights, but the spread to the sides was incredible (this is where the animals that get you will come from), and the cold blue colour really made objects stand out (unlike the more yellowish light from the standard lamps).
The appearance was not unlike what you see in bytemrk's post, although the range down the road was less, and the spread to the sides was better.
I felt comfortable at 100kph, and only a little tense at 110, when normally I'd be reluctant to go much above 80kph with just the headlights.
I'll be mounting the bar on my Series- although it's probably overkill, after all the old thing rarely gets above 80kph anyhow, and it has a solid iron bar to deflect any unfortunate wildlife. :)

Coop

He currently has a Man pantec truck which he has a Rigid Industries 40" LED light bar on the roof and he's stoked with how good that is but with this car its already got 2 round cut out holes with lights in them so i think he wants to basically replace them with lights that will fit the holes I'm thinking!! But he does love his LED bar haha!!

[LandyAndy]

Tell him you will buy the Fyrlyts off him if he dont like them.
You wont be buying them off him;););););)
Andrew

[Tombie]

Amazing how people perceive white glare as bright.
Spend six hours behind it and see how the eyes feel...

[Homestar]

Seen a demo of the Fyrlyt Nemesis first hand at Melorose - thanks Tombie. They're on my shopping list. Haven't heard a bad word about them, and now seen the standard units and nemesis first hand. The standard units would suit most people, but if you want extreme, the Nemesis are the way to go.

The design is great - switch between spread beam or pencil beam in a few seconds just be flicking a dial at the back of the light.

[BigJon]

They do sound awesome the FYRLYTS i would love a set but dont have anything to put them on as my D4 doesn't have a bull bar and we are looking at rearranging our car situation so not sure what i will have next but if it can it will have a bull bar and some nemesis on it!!

My Vogue doesn't have a bullbar, but it does have Nemesis...

[Vern]

I have a bull bar, but know where to mount fyrlyts:( (not going on top of bar)

[Tombie]

I have a bull bar, but know where to mount fyrlyts:( (not going on top of bar)


Got a pic of the vehicle?

[Vern]

93051high mount gets in the way

[Tombie]

I think you may be able to hang them underneath the top rail and still fit

[Vern]

Whats the diameter of them?

[nat_89]

Tell him you will buy the Fyrlyts off him if he dont like them.
You wont be buying them off him;););););)
Andrew

HAHAHAHA good plan Andy i might just do that actually haha good thinking!!!

[nat_89]

My Vogue doesn't have a bullbar, but it does have Nemesis...

OHH have you got a pic!! :p

[Tombie]

OHH have you got a pic!! :p


I do!

93057

[nat_89]

I do!

93057

**** that looks bloody good actually i might do something like that to my D4!!

[Vern]

found it, 208mm diameter x 150mm deep. Thanks:)

[33chinacars]

Here , swinging from the top on my L322 bull bar.

Gary

[joel0407]

Nat_89,

Does your dad have decent headlights?

I've got Hella 4000 HID's on mine that the previous owner kindly put on it... it also has bi xenon headlights... (Which definitely help as the drivers are pencil beams.

Seem to work ;)
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/04/279.jpg

I've had all sorts of lights but I still go back to the Rallye 4000 lights with a decent HID kit.

I had bought a few cheap chinese HID kits but recently learnt how much better the quality kits are.

The light colour is personal preferance. Only 4 weeks ago, I drove from Darwin to Bathurst, dropped into Sydney and then back to Darwin in 6 days. Then 2 weeks ago, I drove from Darwin to Perth, out to Karlgarin and back to Darwin in 10 days. I did Bathurst to Darwin in 43 hours and then return in 44.5hrs (It would have been 42.5hrs but the steaks are too good to pass at Pine Creek). I drove through 2 nights on the way to Perth and 1 night on the way back. I didn't suffer any eye strain that a few talk about with the whiter light.

I don't think you can get a better reflector than a glass reflector made by Hella but I'm currently researching projectors. I don't know much about them yet but there is a fair bit of discussion about them on this forum: HiDplanet : The Official Automotive Lighting Forum (http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/). I don't know of any forums discussing how good halogen lights are.

Happy Days

[nat_89]

I've had all sorts of lights but I still go back to the Rallye 4000 lights with a decent HID kit.

I had bought a few cheap chinese HID kits but recently learnt how much better the quality kits are.

The light colour is personal preferance. Only 4 weeks ago, I drove from Darwin to Bathurst, dropped into Sydney and then back to Darwin in 6 days. Then 2 weeks ago, I drove from Darwin to Perth, out to Karlgarin and back to Darwin in 10 days. I did Bathurst to Darwin in 43 hours and then return in 44.5hrs (It would have been 42.5hrs but the steaks are too good to pass at Pine Creek). I drove through 2 nights on the way to Perth and 1 night on the way back. I didn't suffer any eye strain that a few talk about with the whiter light.

I don't think you can get a better reflector than a glass reflector made by Hella but I'm currently researching projectors. I don't know much about them yet but there is a fair bit of discussion about them on this forum: HiDplanet : The Official Automotive Lighting Forum (http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/). I don't know of any forums discussing how good halogen lights are.

Happy Days

Thanks for that dads still a big fan of his 4000 Hellas he has had many sets over the years and i guess still loves them!! I actually have had a HID 100w highbeam kit in my prado 150 a year ago and really like the HID light i had 4300k colour and found it to be my favourite!

[BigJon]

I have Hella Rallye 4000s with a HID conversion fitted to my 87 Rangie. I don't think they are anywhere near as good as my Fyrlyts, either the standard ones or the Nemesis.

[nat_89]

I have Hella Rallye 4000s with a HID conversion fitted to my 87 Rangie. I don't think they are anywhere near as good as my Fyrlyts, either the standard ones or the Nemesis.

That's interesting I'll pass it on good to know a comparison.

[joel0407]

I have Hella Rallye 4000s with a HID conversion fitted to my 87 Rangie. I don't think they are anywhere near as good as my Fyrlyts, either the standard ones or the Nemesis.

What HID kit was it. As I said previously, there is HID then there is HID. Those Poorer quality kits aren't worth the time it takes to fit them. The difference in their performance is like chalk and cheese.

[BigJon]

No idea. I fitted them years ago. They still work, I just prefer the light output of the Fyrlyts.

[C00P]

Amazing how people perceive white glare as bright.
Spend six hours behind it and see how the eyes feel...

What do you mean?

Coop

[BigJon]

Coop,

in the colour spectrum HID and LED lights tend to be missing the reds and yellows, leaving light which tends towards blue.

The human eye needs reds / yellows to work properly. The pupil won't close properly if those colours are missing. So the LED / HID looks very bright, but only because it is glary. The lack of red / yellow also causes colour rendering issues for humans, so it can be hard to distinguish (for example) a grey kangaroo on a grey road.

Halogen lights are actually the closest light source to natural sunlight when it comes to the colour spectrum.

Or so I am told.

[joel0407]

Coop,

in the colour spectrum HID and LED lights tend to be missing the reds and yellows, leaving light which tends towards blue.

The human eye needs reds / yellows to work properly. The pupil won't close properly if those colours are missing. So the LED / HID looks very bright, but only because it is glary. The lack of red / yellow also causes colour rendering issues for humans, so it can be hard to distinguish (for example) a grey kangaroo on a grey road.

Halogen lights are actually the closest light source to natural sunlight when it comes to the colour spectrum.

Or so I am told.

I agree with this and it's scientifically documented that blue is the hardest light for the human eye to focus on. This is exactly the problem with the blue tinted lenses on standard Halogen bulbs. While the lens appears blue it's actually just a filter for all the other colors which gives the end result of less light because the others are filtered out. The thing with HID bulbs is yes they produce more blue light than the other colours but they also produce more of the other colours than normal halogen bulbs. Just to use some made up numbers for an example, a HID bulb might produce 150% of blue light but it will still produce 120% of the other colours. This still exceeds Halogen bulbs.

First we had fire for light then we had Incandescent then HID then LED came in beside HID and now we are going Laser lights.

I'm thinking of starting a company selling Fire Lights. I'll burn magnesium as the light source and sell it as more natural light than Halogen because it is actual fire the most natural light source. LOL :ph34r:

[C00P]

Thanks guys, that's very interesting. I guess my subjective experience of an improvement in visibility was as much due to the wide spread so that at least I was getting a fair amount of light into areas where previously there was very little.

Coop

[Tombie]

As a comparison: First we had CI engines then we had SI engines...
Now CI engines are in the increase for their additional benefits...

Sorry Joel, but your logic on HID is flawed...

The eye reacts poorly to Blue spectrum light, which when it is in excess becomes the dominant.

HID also changes temperature as they age, a byproduct of their design, so the colour rendering today will be different after a few hours and continues to change throughout the life of the bulb.

Put simply, glare is not bright, bright is not glare.
And dipping a pair of HIDs will result in temporary night blindness as the pupils try to adjust.

Filament (Halogen is a gas not a light) is not subject to such delays in readjusting vision.

LED tech is coming along in leaps and bounds, and it will mature in years to come. Laser is around the corner, with controlled illumination removing the requirement to dip for oncoming traffic, however unlikely to be easily built into driving lights as the sensors and electronics to control will take some time to be integrated...

Having said all that - run what you like...

Nemesis owners like light - lots of it... :D

[joel0407]

As a comparison: First we had CI engines then we had SI engines...
Now CI engines are in the increase for their additional benefits...

Sorry Joel, but your logic on HID is flawed...

The eye reacts poorly to Blue spectrum light, which when it is in excess becomes the dominant.

HID also changes temperature as they age, a byproduct of their design, so the colour rendering today will be different after a few hours and continues to change throughout the life of the bulb.

Put simply, glare is not bright, bright is not glare.
And dipping a pair of HIDs will result in temporary night blindness as the pupils try to adjust.

Filament (Halogen is a gas not a light) is not subject to such delays in readjusting vision.

LED tech is coming along in leaps and bounds, and it will mature in years to come. Laser is around the corner, with controlled illumination removing the requirement to dip for oncoming traffic, however unlikely to be easily built into driving lights as the sensors and electronics to control will take some time to be integrated...

Having said all that - run what you like...

Nemesis owners like light - lots of it... :D

Thanks Tombie. We've had this debate before. You like FyrLyts. I like HID. I'm not repeating history. :D

[Tombie]

And you're welcome to like HIDs. Never said you weren't..

I've run all 3 light sources :) pros and cons of each well documented and tested.

Luckily it sounds like you're eyesight hasn't started to degrade yet...

[clubagreenie]

With my eyes, I have a keratoconus and am extremely sensitive to bright light of any source but night is really bad. Take it from me, HID is glare, be it low, high beam, driving lights or anything. LED is not much better. My eye strain with halogen is virtually zero and there's little issues with oncoming Halogen vs the rest.

[AndyG]

Cibbie Super Oscars.

Still a great light.

Will

Follow the Sapper.
A man of discernment, obviously Sappers past and present are a cut above the rest.:p
Cibie Super Oscar with 75w HID :)
At least Cibie are prepared to publish their spread patterns rather than just a lot of hyperbole.

Fyrlyt, all hype no substance? (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?360712-Fyrlyt-all-hype-no-substance)
An interesting post, a lot of Frylite skepticism and then a positive report at Post 26

[clubagreenie]

Super Oscars?

I remember when Oscars were THE light to have.

[AndyG]

Still being made by Valeo in Belgium, using old fashioned optics, glass & steel.:)
Apart from anything else I think they fit the olde worlds charm of a Defender

[Homestar]

Still being made by Varta in Belgium, using old fashioned optics, glass & steel.:)
Apart from anything else I think they fit the olde worlds charm of a Defender

I was given an old set recently - in good condition. :). They are going to look great bolted to the front of my RRC. :)

[BigJon]

At least Cibie are prepared to publish their spread patterns rather than just a lot of hyperbole.


The trouble with publishing "spread patterns" is that there is no standard to measure them, so they aren't a useful tool for comparison purposes. They just make for pretty pictures.

[clubagreenie]

They actually show a pattern of light, with spread and range rather than just "our lights shine this far" of the usual suspects. You can select different lens's to suit. There was even LH & RH lens's available pushing light out wide to the sides but still projecting in the centre. Made for pretty nice glass grinding work in the lens's.

[AndyG]

The trouble with publishing "spread patterns" is that there is no standard to measure them, so they aren't a useful tool for comparison purposes. They just make for pretty pictures.

IMHO there probably is a standard, but not being an optical engineer or physist I don't know what it is. If nothing else it allows comparision across a manufactures product range.
Probably more meaningful than saying I push out (exactly) or I have 5000, 9000, 15000 lumens with no indication of how measured.

Each to his own, I'm happy with the Company with 100 years experience, 1000 products, 25,000 employees and 3.6bn in sales, hopefully they have got it right by now.:D

We haven't had a driving light flame for a long time :p , can we do UHF radio next :D

[Vern]

Do any of them measure lumens/m?

[bsperka]

The truckies used them. Now the truckies use 18 led Great Whites. That's what I'd be looking at; what do long distance drivers use?

[AndyG]

HID-Lightsdownunder - HID - Lightsdownunder (http://www.hid-lightsdownunder.com/)

Worth a read, but caveat emptor

[Tombie]

The truckies used them. Now the truckies use 18 led Great Whites. That's what I'd be looking at; what do long distance drivers use?

A surprising lot are now running Fyrlyt :cool:

A phone call if you can spare the time to TJM in Townsville is worth the chat if you need to understand just where these lights are being targeted.

Or perhaps a friendly chat with a fella I know, he's an "Ice Road" truck driver, and now others are starting to switch over...


The "years of experience, been around, lots of people use them arguments" really don't hold water to validate products in modern society...

By that logic we should all be driving Fords or Holdens, carry Dolphin lanterns and Bull Spots..."

[rrturboD]

In the 70s I was building rally cars, Cibie Super Oscar was the light to have. Today it is still the reference light.
I've been running 100w Cibie Super Oscar (driving, not spot) for some years, (well as long as i've been on AULRO), added 35w HID @ 50k, and this gave them a second life. I tried a couple of different temp lamps, and settled on these. Certainly when I dip my lights and return to low beam, it is like being in the dark, but only momentary, as Cibie H4 low beam is pretty good anyway.
If starting again, I'd look out for a pair of second hand Oscar or Super Oscars, and add 55w 50k kits ... and have change out of $300! and chances are no one would want to steal an old set of lights.

[donh54]

The truckies used them. Now the truckies use 18 led Great Whites. That's what I'd be looking at; what do long distance drivers use?

I have 90/110 low beam, 120 high (both halogen) and hid spread and pencil beam spotties.
I personally find the hid lights are much better in fog heavy rain or mist than either halogen or led.
Biggest problem with the hid's is the warm up time.
IMHO most lights are like fishing lures - designed to catch the buyer. :D

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

[schuy1]

In the 70s I was building rally cars, Cibie Super Oscar was the light to have. Today it is still the reference light.
I've been running 100w Cibie Super Oscar (driving, not spot) for some years, (well as long as i've been on AULRO), added 35w HID @ 50k, and this gave them a second life. I tried a couple of different temp lamps, and settled on these. Certainly when I dip my lights and return to low beam, it is like being in the dark, but only momentary, as Cibie H4 low beam is pretty good anyway.
If starting again, I'd look out for a pair of second hand Oscar or Super Oscars, and add 55w 50k kits ... and have change out of $300! and chances are no one would want to steal an old set of lights.

Must agree with your choice, have run cibies on the deefer for years. Now with hid @4300 35w. Just find 4300k nicer on my eyes while still outperforming 100w halogens my a llong way. Also cannot fault the fyrlytes and others, just a lot less pain when a roo sticks his head into 1;)