Far-reaching driving light

[Das Delfin]

Last night I was driving to a friend's campsite out in the boonies and even with the brights on, my headlights wouldn't really shoot light that far down the road. I have smileys so I'm already maxed out there. I want to upgrade to LED high beams but I'm thinking the beam pattern is the real limitation.

What are some driving lights that will shoot light around a half mile down the road? Something with a beam pattern that goes mostly straight ahead and not as much on the side of the road etc. Like a pencil tip.

I'm going to repurpose my fog light switch, since the ellipsoid upgrade has made those redundant. So I'm looking for something 55w in each bulb. Budget is 150 but more if there is something really cool

[Das Delfin]

Okay well it looks like a pair of KC Daylighter 100w are what I'm going for. The fog light wiring is up to spec for running around 110 watts per side so it should be just fine. I'm trying to mount them right next to each other in front of the kidneys. Debating whether to drill into my aluminum bumper or get some home depot L brackets and use the license plate bolts.

Advantage of the bumper mounts is a cleaner and more stable install, but the license plate bolts offer a reversible option. I don't plan on keeping these on the car forever but I also don't plan on running diving boards forever..

[15Michaeljoseph]

Okay well it looks like a pair of KC Daylighter 100w are what I'm going for. The fog light wiring is up to spec for running around 110 watts per side so it should be just fine. I'm trying to mount them right next to each other in front of the kidneys. Debating whether to drill into my aluminum bumper or get some home depot L brackets and use the license plate bolts.

Advantage of the bumper mounts is a cleaner and more stable install, but the license plate bolts offer a reversible option. I don't plan on keeping these on the car forever but I also don't plan on running diving boards forever..

Go with the removable brackets. Then even when you convert to plastic you can keep/sell the DB's WITHOUT holes in them. Will also be easier on your OCD... you do NOT want to live with an ever-so-slightly mis-drilled hole. You may also have to 'upgrade' the fuses to run the bigger bulbs, but I believe our headlight wiring is within the threshold of very safely taking 10A in a 7.5A location. It is for the high beams anyway, don't quote me on the fogs.

What about a rally roof rack? ...oh, right.

Rally bumper bracket? Someone on here makes them... then you could keep the mudflaps too!

How about one of those phat LED off road light bars?

I'm just trying to help.

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[ELVA164]

This is an honest question: What possible situation would necessitate a half mile of visibility? At 60mph, that's 30 seconds of visibility.

[Kershaw]

Put HIDs in your fog lights and LEDs in your high beams. Done. A friend of mine has HIDs in his fogs and it's quite an impressive light output.

I have LEDs in my highs, and again, it's quite an impressive light output. I never use them though.

[ELVA164]

By the way, which bulbs were you using and what shape are your reflectors in? H/O 55W bulbs like Narva Rangepower+ make a noticeable difference in low and high beams while using stock wattage. I mentioned it in another thread about this, but I have over 20 seconds of visibility at 45mph with my smiley high beams and those bulbs.

[Das Delfin]

I want as much light as possible while driving along a road with no street lights at all on a dark night with trees over the roadway. When I'm the only car around I want to be able to see everything.

I haven't put LEDs in my highs because the high beam pattern is more or less a flood light, and I want a spot light.. but it would still be an increase

I can actually get those LED light bars through my work. I'm going to check it out tomorrow. They look kinda cheesy but draw much less current so we'll see.

And yeah the fog light wiring is fine for the higher wattage. I had to use 10a fuses for my high beams when I had H4's so I'm just going to pull them out and put them in the fog light spots. I did a lot of research to find that out.

I can actually mount one roof rack horizontal bar on the chrome trim on either side of my windshield, but the bumper is a better place to mount lights. And I haven't seen a light rack made for chrome bumpers which is all that different than what I could make from home depot L brackets

I'll look into those +20's.. I was on the fence between those and just going balls to the wall and doing a mini H1 HID conversion. But those are for the low beams anyway

Hell, I'll probably end up doing all of it :)

[ELVA164]

I drive on wooded streets all the time, no problems whatsoever. I'm thinking your reflectors are boned,your adjustment is off, or the bulbs aren't very good. But if it makes you more comfortable, that's really what matters :)

P.S. Where in CT are you? You should come to the vintage race at Lime Rock this Friday and Saturday with the E30!

[Mo Brighta]

Far as the eye can see?

I want as much light as possible while driving along a road with no street lights at all on a dark night with trees over the roadway. When I'm the only car around I want to be able to see everything.

I haven't put LEDs in my highs because the high beam pattern is more or less a flood light, and I want a spot light.. but it would still be an increase ... :)

I am with you on this, there's something reassuring about seeing ALL THE WAY down the road to next bend. When I was upgrading my BMW K100 motorcycle, I added a light bar and two Cibie aux. lights. One was a flood, one a spot. The flood was wired with the low beam, the spot with the high beam, as you'd expect. The spot had around 2 miles of range, very nice.

Both used 55W lamps, but with the huge (8-9 inch) reflectors, they worked quite well.

If you can find these old lights, they are fabulously effective, and a single 55W light should do the job for you. Two will do it twice as well.

My records indicate the Super Oscar Pencil Beam is the one I had. Takes an H1 lamp. It's big, mounts with a single bolt (upright or pendant) with an optional stay for stability. It has a dished lens, and I would not use this light without headlight protection film. They run about $145 - 200. This spot has NO fluting in the lens, just a clear glass to allow the reflector to do it's job.

There are also other good lights - the Oscar has a good light pattern in the spot, and the BiOscar is a high/low version, but not available in a spot beam pattern. There are other variations- Oscar Plus, Super Oscar, Oscar SC, most are hard to find.

You may find them on ebay, of course. Quick search - 'DemonTweeks' in Wrexham, UK has 4 Super Oscar spots available at a little over your budget.

Good gravy, I wish I had a source for these old lights from Cibie, they were fantastic!

And by the way, Osram has an H1+90. Their 55W 'NightBreaker Unlimited' has a slight blue tint in the glass but not noticeably tinted in comparison to my clear Narva RangePower +50 lamps. It is noticeably brighter, though, and is made in GERMANY. Maybe a set of these in your existing highs will do a better job? If not you can put them in whatever new lights you get.... just another option to consider.

Andy

[Das Delfin]

That's some good stuff. Those cibies are out of my price range but I would love to run them. I'm leaning toward the KC spots but I'm not sure if I even need 2x 100w bulbs. I'll have to pick up a set of those +50's and play around with different set ups

[Mo Brighta]

Price on old Cibie lights...

That's some good stuff. Those cibies are out of my price range ...

Amen, they are rather pricey. If you can afford them, you'll be happy for a Loooooong Time.

... but I would love to run them. I'm leaning toward the KC spots but I'm not sure if I even need 2x 100w bulbs. I'll have to pick up a set of those +50's and play around with different set ups

Let me know when you need a pair, I have a bunch of the +50s on hand. It's a good idea to start with the lower wattage high output bulbs.

[spike68]

I just mounted a 32" 180w light bar below my bumper and its pretty dang sweet. Got it off amazon for $150 and it came with a harness. Im very impressed for the price. Thats always a fun ridiculous option...

[Mo Brighta]

180 watts?

I just mounted a 32" 180w light bar below my bumper and its pretty dang sweet. Got it off amazon for $150 and it came with a harness. Im very impressed for the price. Thats always a fun ridiculous option...

Seriously, 180 watts? It's an LED bar, correct? I assume you have it on a relay, of course, so that should be fine. What is the output pattern like? with all the LED elements you need to consume 180 watts, you'd probably get a flood pattern.

Pics are nice... Link to the seller is also useful for anyone considering the same upgrade.

I can still provide the Night Breaker H1 +90 lamps if you want to use them in your highs - stock watts, lots more light. I use them, they are great, and there's no wiring to change. Just install, plug them in and go.

Andy

[spike68]

Seriously, 180 watts? It's an LED bar, correct? I assume you have it on a relay, of course, so that should be fine. What is the output pattern like? with all the LED elements you need to consume 180 watts, you'd probably get a flood pattern.

Pics are nice... Link to the seller is also useful for anyone considering the same upgrade.

I can still provide the Night Breaker H1 +90 lamps if you want to use them in your highs - stock watts, lots more light. I use them, they are great, and there's no wiring to change. Just install, plug them in and go.

Andy

Yup. I'll take pictures when I get a chance. I wasn't going to post it on r3v cause I feel like I'd get he'll from everyone for doing something like that to an e30 lol. It's on its own relay and everything. It came with its own harness which was pretty nice. Only thing that sucked about the harness was the switch, but I just went and bought my own switch that looked cooler. You could even wire it in with stock switches if you want. It thought about tying it in with my high beam switch, but got impatient so it has its own switch.

I got it off amazon and I'll post the link to it when it post pictures

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[spike68]

Sorry for the delayed posting. I keep telling myself to take pictures but I always seem to forget. Here are some pictures I posted when it first got mounted. I dont have one that shows its distance, but this thing has come in handy a lot when driving on dark roads at night. It's plenty bright and pretty much makes my stock headlights look like theyre night lights. The light bar would probably be more effective if it were mounted higher, but I'm not interested in that. I'll take pictures of how far it reaches when I remember to do so.

20160619_110929 by Tony Gomez, on Flickr

20160618_220744 by Tony Gomez, on Flickr