I want to see in the dark

Ser_Egg

Ser_Egg

Forum Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2019
Messages
286
Location
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Car Year
2005
Car Model
Subaru Forester SG series 1
Transmission
5Spd Manual
Basically i want to see in the dark. Im want to get to spotties and mount them on the bullbar when i eventually get one as well as im thinking about mounting an LED bar on the front of the roof tray and then add some some little flood lights or something to the corners of the tray.

What brands should i be looking at and where should i be buying from. Installation isnt a problem since my mate can do the work for me
 
I don't have auxilliary lights on my SG, as I am fine with HIDs plus good high beams, but when I used to on other 4x4s, I always mounted them in front of the hood because when they are mounted high up on the roof, they also illuminate all the dust and debris in front of the windshield.

I am a below 4300K guy when it comes to road/trail lighting. Anything above that will just scatter blue light. Sadly, most LEDs come with at least 5,000K. Fog is highlighted at that colour temperature. If it's just for close range lighting, 5,000K LEDs for me are OK but if I want less fatigue, I will go with 4,300K HIDs or halogens.

If I am going to install auxilliary lighting on my SG, I will 100% go with Fyrlyt (Best Driving Lights. Vision beyond LED or HID!). I can also consider JDM PIAAs. I like Fyrlyt because of less fatigue at night time, it does not scatter blue light as much as the 5,000K LEDs and it's made in OZ. It's easier for me to acquire it as it's just across the ditch.
 
If you really want to see in the dark, get Cibie Super Oscars, Lightforce 240s or other reputable Halogen/HID truck light,
If you want everyone to see in the dark, except those heading towards you, get LED.

LEDs still don't come close to a decent reflector & lens, they just haven't got the throw. Plus they are the most horrible things to approach, I hate most modern cars because of it. Just another sign of humanity's current "I'm alright Jack, F*ck the rest of you" phase.
Lastly almost all LEDs are too white in my opinion. Not good for the eyes, and the eyes are the windows to the soul.
(dunno where I'm going with that)
 
Kevin said:
This is how I discovered Stedi: https://www.offroadsubarus.com/threads/led-lightbar-wow.7183/
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Looks like their products have good construction, @Kevin. Plus it looks like they have real screws for the lens so the user can replace it with filters, if wanted. A yellow vinyl can do the job for filtering, by the way.

jf1sf5 said:
This guy makes very honest reviews and just did one this week on additional lights.
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Yes, I watch his videos sometimes. He's not one of those obnoxious YTers. He just likes to tour and share it with the community.

He put in 5000K+ LEDs in his headlight housing and didn't like it because of scattering and the colour temperature. Those yellow driving lights perform well, especially in low visibility driving conditions.

If I am going to replace my fog, I will consider Diode Dynamics because of their yellow LEDs from their factory in the US.

Ben Up North said:
Lastly almost all LEDs are too white in my opinion. Not good for the eyes, and the eyes are the windows to the soul.
(dunno where I'm going with that)
Click to expand...
Yes. Blue light is on the higher frequency in the visible light spectrum just before ultraviolet, which is as invisible to the naked eye. Blue light scatters behind the cornea and damages the optic nerve during long exposure. It causes age-related macular degeneration (AMD), although at different levels and different physiologies. With exposure to it, the eye accommodates too much, hence the strain. For example, any computer screen emits extremely high amounts of blue light, which is why we have night mode and any sort of yellowing feature on our computing devices, to help people with the sleep-wake cycle and reduce eye strain in general.
 
ABFoz said:
Looks like their products have good construction
Click to expand...

Indeed - I was impressed with the build quality. They are a combination of Spot and Wide angle beams and so I get to see a long way ahead and also able to see the critters on the side of the road just waiting to jump.
 
I found that my el cheapo Sunyee lightbar plus the ordinary high beams are like someone let off a small thermonuclear device about 500+ metres out. Illuminates sides, front, pretty fair distance. The latter is not as good as twin 100W aircraft landing lights, but far better to the sides. As @Kevin mentioned, the sides are where most of the danger is lurking.

If you cannot come to a dead halt in 500m, you are driving far too fast!
 
How they light new is one thing more important how they will work after 2 yrs or so.
 
Those photos were taken 5 years ago ...

According to the specs, the LEDs are made by Cree.
 
^ Cree have a very good reputation. Mine are now 3 years old and are just as good as when new.
 
Thats the point where i dont wanna go cheap for ebay leds. I had previous cheap ones on my red outback 2 on sides and half leds where off after 2 yrs about that time. They where still workimf but just half or less leds where on.
So maybe halogens are still ok options guess they cheaper no? Holds longer?
 
subyroo said:
Those vibrating yellow lights would drive me nuts.
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Ooh yeah! one of my lights has a small wobble on bumps since I put them on the 'new' bull bar. Bloody annoying, but nowhere near as bad as those yellow ones.
Dunno why it's wobbling, everything is firm. I'm surprised that my jury rigged mount was more solid, but I guess they were mounted further back, they stick out the front a lot more than they did (used to be embedded in the grill.).
 
Talking about wobble of the lights of the SH in the video, I think the mount that he uses is a good idea but it just allows too much flex. I was thinking of making a similar mount because we are not allowed to touch the bumper support for the driving lights, at all.

I got this photo from an old post on this site:
1593663910600.png
On your sister's BH, @El_Freddo, did you bolt those lights on the bumper support?

This thread may have triggered my lighting addiction. I have already started looking at mounting a pair in front to turn on with the high beams. Before, I do that, I may just start with the installation of a relay harness to get rid of most of the voltage drop. Next to that is the 9011/HIR1 mod as a replacement for my HB3s. Again it's not urgent for me (I heard that before) as my 4300K low-beam HIDs throw a lot of light on a relatively longer beam.
 
@ABFoz - they’re bolted to the steel reinforcing panel behind the plastic bumper bar. There’s four rivnuts in there holding the custom made metal bracket on to the front bar. Little to no bounce/wobble.

Cheers

Bennie
 
I got these bad boys today for $80. 9" Hella Rallye 4000s once pencil and one spread. Both have the HID conversion but only 35w. i wanna go abit higher though, was also wondering are there any kits that go under 5000k as you guys have recommended? I will also have to create a custom mount for these as they do not fit the bar with the current mounts haha118590334_314190039675186_3263096193837039788_n.jpg
 
Mount 'em an try them before you bother about changing the bulbs (and ballast?)
Might be expensive..
How come they don't fit? Does the bar the mounts are on get in the way?
 
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