Hella 4000 compacts

[AndyRevill]

Hi,

not sure if this is the right spot for this. We are soon to get an ARB bar fitted to the Disco (2003) so naturally I'm now looking at driving lights :D

I'm leaning towards a set of the Hella 4000 compacts due to the smaller size, apparently good light output and some good prices atm.

Anyone has any real world experience with these? Given we're in Tas I'm also thinking 2 spread beams would be the way to go, too many bends for spots.

cheers, Andy

[dmdigital]

I had the 4000FF compacts on my Disco2 with the ARB Sahara bar. They were a very good light and perform a lot better than the 200mm 2000 series or 4000 series (not in FF). Well sealed casing and very stable mount meant they were a set and forget once aligned.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/06/1303.jpg

A cheaper, but very robust alternative, is the IPF900XS. Again a very well sealed casing.

I've since gone to Lightforce 240HID's on the new Defender and the world has become a whole lot brighter at night:eek:

[AndyRevill]

Thanks dm,

I was wondering about the IPFs, do you reckon there was much difference in terms of light between the two?

I know LF seem quite popular but I'm keen to keep some airflow going through the grille :D

cheers, Andy

[dmdigital]

Hard to say, the IPF's give a good light, but I still think the FF reflectors and clear lenses are better in many ways. My FF's were both spreads as when I bought them there was only spreads available - I think that's changed now. The IPF's are a mix of spread and spot.

I actually bought the IPF's as I wanted a reasonable and inexpensive set of spots for the old Defender. Price wise they are definitely better value than the compact 4000FF's.

I understand what you mean about the LF's and air flow, but having put them on the Puma I wouldn't go back to something else in a hurry.

[AndyRevill]

Thanks again dm,

I can get the Hella's for $445 a pair which brings then pretty close to the IPFs (about $400?). I have to admit I haven't seen the bar yet but my understanding is space on the D2 winch bar is limited. I suspect the largest that will fit easily will be the IPFs (given it's ARB). Still good to know you didn't have any problems with the Hellas.

I saw the recent review (last year) on lights in Overlander and LF now have the Genesis which is a similar size but the spread beam looked woeful.

I'm still tossing up the 2 spreads thing - most driving is Tas but of course on the mainland trips a spot could be useful - I hate these decisions :(

cheers, Andy

[dmdigital]

Standard ARB bar for a D2 will fit 240Blitz LF or Rallye 2000 or 4000. There's a couple of Disco's in town with that setup. The IPF's will certainly fit and so will the new LF Genesis. The Hella price hasn't change a lot in 5 years but I think I paid about $300 for the IPF's. The new LF's don't look too bad.

Frankly there's nothing wrong with 2 spreads, especial on bush tracks and windy roads like Tassie.

[BMKal]

Not sure how much room you have on the ARB bar Andy, but the photo shows Hella Predators (same size as the full size 4000's) on an ECB bar on a D2.

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/7900/dscf1269c.jpg (http://img192.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf1269c.jpg)

I've previously installed the 4000 compact's on a mate's Prado and he was happy with them. Later, I fitted an aftermarket HID kit to these lights for him, and he was very happy with the result.

They're not as good as the full size 4000's or Predators (in range), but for your requirement in Tassie, they would be more than capable.

I understand what you're saying about maybe sticking with two spread beams down there. Last time I took my work Prado down there (had Rally 4000's with HID conversions, both spots), they were pretty useless throughout Tassie. The Predators on the Disco (one spot, one spread) worked much better when I was down there in the Disco more recently - two spreads would probably be better again. Must admit - I'm cheating a bit in the Disco - the headlights are HID as well. If you are only intending to travel across to the mainland occasionally, two spreads would still be enough, especially if you every put HID kits into them.

[AndyRevill]

The Hella price hasn't change a lot in 5 years but I think I paid about $300 for the IPF's. The new LF's don't look too bad.



That's a good price for the IPFs - last list price I saw was $420 - might have to do some phoning around :) I guess at a similar price the claimed "waterproofness" of the IPFs is good - I don't intend wading but you never know where you might find yourself. Any idea how well sealed the Hellas are?

The LF Genesis did OK in the tests except the spread seemed very spread and didn't penetrate very far. The spot was good as you might expect. Interestingly they don't come with the optional covers like the bigger versions.

Thanks again,

Andy

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I think the road would have to be awfully long and straight to warrant spots at all,,

Its hard to outrun most modern spreads.
HID spreads would be the ducks I reckon:cool:

[dmdigital]

That's a good price for the IPFs - last list price I saw was $420 - might have to do some phoning around :) I guess at a similar price the claimed "waterproofness" of the IPFs is good - I don't intend wading but you never know where you might find yourself. Any idea how well sealed the Hellas are?
Should point out I bought the IPF's about 3 years ago.

Both the Hella's and IPF are very well sealed.

[BigJon]

I think the road would have to be awfully long and straight to warrant spots at all,,

Its hard to outrun most modern spreads.
HID spreads would be the ducks I reckon:cool:

I have two Hella Rallye 4000 spreads converted to HID, I will never outrun them :cool:. If I do, I still have my Hella Rig 220 spots converted to HID, I don't know what would outrun them, but whatever it is it doesn't have a Land Rover badge :angel:.