Recommend lights for a Golf Cart please!

hi folks. i have really enjoyed your forum and have lurked for a little while to monitor the Cree lights. I have a lighting task and figured this would be the place to ask. I can wire it into 12 volts and want an incredibly bright set of lights that illuminatea long distance ahead and make a large light footprint.

Of course, I could just go to advance auto parts and get the thing that looks cool and slap it on, but why not consult the experts first, right? any help appreciated!

Welcome to CPF!
What you are describing sounds like a big HID light ... and considering your mounting options it might actually be best to try out an automobile store. But I will let those who know answer the question, and move the thread to HID as LEDs won't do what you want.
bernie

there is only one choice in my mind I have a set of these on my golf cart and 4 wheelers. the osram x1010 and here is the best price/place to get them. They are a set of 35 watt hid lights. http://www.suvlights.com/index.php?cPath=55_57If you watch ebay and aren't in a hurry you might find a set cheaper. In total i have 14 sets on my place.

I would go with a good set of long throwing fog lights. Hella makes a great set of rectangular long throwing fogs called the 550. Fogs will give you a good amount of light to the sides so you won't hit that deer jumping out in front of you on your way to the 19th hole! They probably won't be on that long if your just using the cart for golf so it should not matter if it's a gas or electric cart. You could also stick a couple of those Dot-it leds on the roof so you have some inside light.

fishx65 said:

I would go with a good set of long throwing fog lights. Hella makes a great set of rectangular long throwing fogs called the 550. Fogs will give you a good amount of light to the sides so you won't hit that deer jumping out in front of you on your way to the 19th hole! They probably won't be on that long if your just using the cart for golf so it should not matter if it's a gas or electric cart. You could also stick a couple of those Dot-it leds on the roof so you have some inside light.

Click to expand...

The 550's will have somewhere around 600 lumens each and the x1010's will have 3,000 lumens each. unless money is a problem a hid light will be what you want.

thanks for the replies so far - only problem is, the caviar of golf cart headlights, the "osram 1010" is WAY out of my price range! (i'm raising 3 kids on Army pay right now!) Is there a "70% solution" ?? you know, the next best thing, that is actually affordable...if I put the Osram next to the autozone specials (35 bucks) then I might see the difference, but surely there is a light that does 70-80 percent of the job the Osram would do, but for a fraction of the cost?

oh, one more thought - seems to me the Osrams are marketed to SUV owners, and if you are buying a component for a expensive SUV then you might not blink at 400 bucks. That's why i am thinking there is a reasonable alternative.

just found the "edit" button - how do you knwo the lumens so a new guy like me can compare apples to apples?

anyone?

Yep, go to an auto parts store or Harbor Freight and get something that'll work for you. "Fog" lights are supposed to produce a wide flat bar of light and not so much long distance lighting. Most of the cheap "fog" lights are garbage with no horizontal cut-off to speak of, but as you're using them for headlights on a golf cart and not fog lights in actual foggy conditions on a car, I'm sure they'll be fine. If you want distance then look for "driving" lights. I warn you, however, that cheaper lights often use the terms "driving" and "fog" interchangeably; and label anything with an amber or yellow lens as a "fog" light, even though this isn't the case. Again, for a golf cart, I'm sure they'll be fine. Most of the lights will come with 55w H3 bulbs. Throw away the wiring harness the lights come with(often 18awg) and build your own using relays and 10awg wire; this will reduce your voltage drop and get you MUCH more light. If you build your own wiring harness, over-wattage H3 bulbs up to ~130w are readily available. Don't even think of using over-wattage bulbs with the wiring harness that comes with the lights unless you keep a fire extinguisher handy. If you do so, you still won't get much more light out, due to increased voltage drop. Good luck, and welcome to CPF!

:buddies:

Buy two 35 Watt HID at Sam's Club for $98 each and retrofit it to your golf cart..

Here is what I put on my ATV wow these are bright!
http://www.trailtech.net/eclipse_mr16.htm