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Opinions on lights?

K

kickinasphalt383

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I am looking to buy auxilary lights for my truck and was looking at pro comp 130watt Vs. Hella 500s (55watt). Which ones are better (and in what way)? are the 130w lights alot brighter than the 55w lights? thanks for any info
 
or you could be like me, go to wal-mart and buy the $30 trail lights, they bright, with the h3 bulb, like spot lights, just don't like the mounts, don't adjust good

Brett
 
I can't speak for the hellas, but I do like my 130s. They are a nice spotlight pattern and give good long range vision and reflection. Be careful where and how you mount them. Mine have a tendency to reflect off dust on my hood and can blind you from time to time.

I also like my ProComp 100s as well. They give a nice rectangular beam which is often more helpful than the spotlight pattern. I have had a pair mounted on my bumper for about 8 years now. Only problem was that one shorted on me (my fault for not putting enough protection on the wiring where it crossed under my radiator support). But very good lights and reliable.
 
In the late 70s when I was running my Ralley car I had 4 Cibie Super Oscars acroos the front. From left to right a fog mount at a 45* angle to light the left side of turns. Then a pencil beam for up to 3 miles distants. Then a driving light good for 1.5 miles then another fog a 45* angle for right hand turns. All runing the 2 center had 100watt bulbs the fogs had 55 watt bulbs. It was instant day light in front of the car. Plus I had 2 big marine batteries in the truck and the biggest altenator I could fit to run it all. Some where around here I have a pic of that car, when I find it I'll post it. The Cibies were nice in that they used lead crystal lenses and were very precise in there manufactor. But they were a little pricey. /forums/images/icons/cool.gif
 
There is a lot to lights. What sort of application are you looking for? For crawling low speed off road stuff the penci beams are not that great. the light is too concentrated. it's ment for high speed travel. The Euro beam pattern would be better choice. Not to bad for use on the road. gives a wide pattern with pretty good distance. suitable for twisty back roads.
I like Hella and Bosch products personnaly. I have a set of honker Bosch driving beams in my truck. do a fair job for off road. Can be aimed them down a little and they do ok for fog. Nice wide low pattern. Straight out the are about as bight as the high beams (retro fit Sylvania Hallogens) but wider area lit.
http://www.hella.com/ or http://www.hellausa.com/ or www.bosch.com
I run a set of Hell H4's in my Supra. Man what a great head light. No need for any aux lighting except a dedicated Fog.
 
Grim till you start runnin' at a 100 plus the the 8 5/8" super oscars shined. I could run as fast at night with the setup on the ralley car as I could during the day. Some places it was easier to go faster at night than during the day.
 
pro comp 130s are nice cuz they're BIG /forums/images/icons/cool.gif /forums/images/icons/smile.gif . i run KC daylighters and like them but they are so long range that the beam is hella concentrated and they're almost no good for closeup stuff. i need another set of lights that will give me good close up light.
 
That's what I ran the huge fogs angled out on the ralley car for too /ll\ the inside of the beam shine infront and the out side of the beam shined around the side of the car. Would let me see most of the way around a hairpin turn too.
 
I do trails/snow/mud at night. if i buy hellas i plan to get 2 fog and 2 driving. i prefer the look and quality of hellas but the whole 55w VS. 130w thing is a big difference. will the hellas be bright enough or are the pro comps gonna kick the hellas A$$?
 
You can always change the bulbs in the hellas if you want the higher output. But I think you'll ber pleased with the hellas with the 55 watt bulbs. And the lower watt bulbs last longer too.
 
I have reverse lights mounted on my roof that are 55W. They give lots of light. Won't shoot as far or reflect at the same distance as the 130s, but probably nothing you will have trouble with.
 
A lot of the design of lights goes into the refector and lense. The better they are the better the light works. I'd put one of my Super Oscars with just a 55 watt bulb against one of these super power lights as they're a better design. /forums/images/icons/smirk.gif
 
yeah, that was what i was kinda wondering with the hellas too. if the hellas have a better design and could compete with the 130s(maybe not better, but compete) then the the hellas might be better overall since they draw far less power? i am just scared that the 130s will just totally out power the hellas?

tx85gmcguy
would you put hellas on the front? or do you think the 130s are FAR superior?
 
You don't need alot more light, just a lot more light in the right spots. That's where the better quality lights shine. /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif
 
55W is the max you can have and not have them covered.
If you want to not worry about covering them when you drive on the road get the 55w lights. If you get 55w lights get round Hella's. The Hella's put out more light for their wattage because of the better focusing of the reflector. Their wiring kits are also really good. Round lights is for the same reason...they focus light better.

For trail lights they don't need to be focused as well as the Hella's to see as far because of the higher wattage. As a result of this they put out more light to the areas around the "spot" as well as having a larger "spot".

I would put on a set of 55w Round Hella's on a daily driver. If you need more light I would go with some flood light KC's (hard to find) to fill in all the close stuff and be able to see around corners.

I tend to not like much Pro-Comp stuff. I would go with KC's (23 year warinte) or Hella's
 
I should mention that I have a set of Hella fog lights (amber lens...they also sell them in clear) and a set of Hella driving lights (pencil beams) on my s10 (alot of light for a little truck). I also upgraded to Halogen headlights (which I recomend). I have the rectangle lights. I have a friend that has the same lights only round. His are quight a bit brighter than mine.

On the Blazer...I only have the halogen headlights. It sucks to wheel at night.
 
i have 2 9" lightforces, the best lights i have had and or used, brighter than anything else i have ever seen and plus they are superlight and stay put real well.
 
70~k5 is right. all the power in the world doesn't mean a thing if it isn't going where you need it. I personnaly have not had any experiance with the Procomps. Might be a great light for a very reasonable price. I have had Hella, Bosch and my Dad ran Cibie's in his Porsche and I feel those three manufactures are putting out a quality product. Bosch and Hella are OEM equipment on Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, VW and SAAB. When two manufactures are dominating some of the best european vehicles they got to be doing something right.
 
I've never run the Cibies but have heard nothing but great reviews from those who have. I have a set of 55w round Hella fog lights on the '80 and a set of 55w rectangle Bosh fog lights on the '73, both have clear lenses. I like the Hellas better, but it is not a fair comparison right now. I wired the Hellas myself while the Bosh were on there when I bought the truck. They (bosh) were installed with a crappy switch & no relay. I think the performance will be closer once I get the wiring on the '73 corected. If what you are looking at is the 'Hella 500' I don't think you will be dissapointed. Get the kit, it comes with a quality switch & relay. Leon Rosser (the Jeep place in AL) used to have the best price on them.
 
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