Long Range Driving lights

Hello everyone. I am looking at doing a quad aux lamp setup on our big rig. It sees extremely long straight stretches on private roads where additional long range lighting would be beneficial. Already did JW speaker replacements for the sealed beam 4 lamp system. (which are awesome!). I live in northern Canada. And this is a unit that is legitimately driven on private oil and gas industry roads. Sometimes for several hours at a time during all hours of the day and night. I don't want any *wink wink nudge nudge* comments here.

But I have a list of must haves

One pair pencil beam
One pair euro beam (or similar)
Instant on/off (no HIDs sorry)
Must have an opaque cover either included or available for purchase
I would like them to be matching lights (brand , shape style etc)

So with that said I have came up with a couple options and would like some input.

Rigid Q2 Series.
One pair Hyperspot
One Pair Driving

I like rigids stuff , and have used it before , its tough , looks good , and works. I am pretty particular about which optics of theirs I will and will not buy though. The early E series made way too much foreground light. But anything with 2 optics I find to be much more well rounded. There all also snap on covers so that's perfect.



Vision X Light Cannon (8.7" 90w)
One pair with Spot Optics
One Pair with Euro Optics

The vison x stuff I have used in the past I wasn't all that fond of. I found it to be overpriced , dim , and the light to be poorly managed. As such I haven't returned to brand in several years. These new light cannons seem okay. But I haven't actually had any hands on with them They make slightly less raw lumens than the rigids. And with a 10 degree spot (rigids hyperspot having a 5 degree spot) I cant see them reaching out anywhere near as far as the hyperspot. The adjustable covers seem neat , I don't buy into the whole blue is good for snow bullcrap. But the amber ones with wide optics might be usefull in poor weather as well. Making them a more usefull all around light.




Baja Designs Squadron XL Pro
Pair High Speed Spot
Pair Driving Combo

These seem like an alright pair of lights , I like the color temperature better than the rigids. But the raw lumens are a little low. Changeable optics are nice. But they are pretty expensive for what you get I think. I've never used em so its hard to say.


Theres also combo bars out there. Rigids new E2 bars have my attention. I cant quite fit a 40" bar , so I am stuck getting a 30" if I go that route. But the covers for the Eseries are a PITA to take on and off. I have to re aim mine almost everytime I remove it. And I would have to stack two of them up to match the output of 4 Q series.



Just a junky pair of PIAAs hiding under the covers , nothing interesting...

Sadden said:

Hello everyone.

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Welcome to the CandlePowerForums, Sadden!

I am looking at doing a quad aux lamp setup on our big rig. It sees extremely long straight stretches on private roads where additional long range lighting would be beneficial. Already did JW speaker replacements for the sealed beam 4 lamp system. (which are awesome!). I live in northern Canada. And this is a unit that is legitimately driven on private oil and gas industry roads. Sometimes for several hours at a time during all hours of the day and night. I don't want any *wink wink nudge nudge* comments here.

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I have one very serious question-- just what kind of speeds will you be going in a vehicle this size, with the kinds of materials it'll be carrying, and in what condition are these private roads? There may not simply be the need for that kind of lighting, as even in the daytime the kind of speeds you might be going won't require an extreme amount of seeing distance.

The adjustable covers seem neat

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"Seem". They're not useful because they can't change the beam pattern usefully. The color selection is also not useful (and a selective yellow filter over a high beam does not make it a fog lamp).

I don't buy into the whole blue is good for snow bullcrap.

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Good! It's absolutely not useful under any conditions.

But the amber ones with wide optics might be usefull in poor weather as well.

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Even the ECE Amber that has been aligned with SAE Yellow is not the right forward lighting color-- it's a signalling color. For forward lighting, selective yellow is what you need, but save selective yellow for genuine fog lamps used properly (slowly, cautiously, and only at night) in fog.

Also, in this pic, it would appear the headlamps' effectiveness is severely reduced by the push bumper, and you might even get backscatter your own headlamps striking it. It's hard to tell from that one picture, but I would not find it surprising.

Yeah, forget the colored filter covers. The only potentially useful one is selective yellow (see here) but there's no real point to having selective yellow aux high beam/driving lamps.

I'd echo Alaric's questions and thoughts: those headlamps, unobstructed, should produce more than plenty of light for the kinds of speeds you'd likely be going on the kinds of roads you describe. The first step should be to un-obstruct the headlamps. Once it's time to pick lamps, for maximum output, focus, and durability I would walk right past the stuff from Rigid and Baja -- not enough engineering, too much BS. Instead I'd get Cibie Oscar or Super Oscar LEDs or JW Speaker 3000 LEDs.

There's no such thing as a "Euro beam", by the way -- that is a marketing term that doesn't actually mean anything (means whatever any particular vendor wants you to think it means at any particular moment).

The majority of truckies in Australia who are driving under similar conditions use Hella Rallye 4000 driving lights. They appear to handle the test of time and are optically excellent. I occasionally drive trucks during the night too and really wish they were fitted with the Rallye 4000s that I have on the front of my Hilux ute. Unfortunately the trucks I drive are fitted with LED light bars that throw out way too much foreground light, robbing me of distance vision (And low beam light when I dip).

Another option might be the Fyrlyt 9000 lumen driving lights. They use a 250W halogen globe and should provide more light than you will ever need. I've tested a pair and they were VERY good. Even drivers that are scared of the dark wouldn't need four of these.

Depends on the road conditions, but on these roads its maxof 90km/h. The distance I am looking for is mostly for driver comfort, as wellas to help give time to spot game hanging about on the road. Deer and moosefrequent these roads in the winter time, path of least resistance and all that.Additional time to stop is always nice. The JW Speakers are great, plenty wideand bright, but I really want something that will reach out past the highbeams.Giving me additional time to spot problems gives me additional time to dealwith them. It's not just about the time needed to slow down, theres also ahuman element people often forget about. Just because you are illuminatingsomething, does not always mean you see, or notice it.

Technically with the JW Speakers I shouldn't need any auxiliary lighting,outside of some decent foglights. The JW speakers ice up sometimes, which iswhy I didn't mention the JW speaker driving lights.

The bumper causes some mild ghosting on the extreme edges of the ditches. Butthe light is so dim there it's hard to see even if you're in the cab lookingfor it. Anything that close and it's too late to stop for it anyways making ita moot point. Nothing reflects back into the cab.

Those Fyrlyts look pretty crazy. I am curious as to how long the bulbs last.Easy enough to change though and it looks like the bulbs aren't too pricey. I couldkeep a handful in the truck. Can you get opaque lens covers for them though?They need to be covered on public roads.

Sadden said:

Can you get opaque lens covers for them though?They need to be covered on public roads.

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That's an odd requirement, unless your state or province requires all non road-legal auxiliary lighting to be covered completely when on the road-- surely it doesn't apply to road-legal auxiliary lighting, because they'd be unusable and might as well be cardboard boxes taped to the vehicle.

Basically, lighting with SAE Z (auxiliary low beam), SAE Y (auxiliary high beam), or SAE F or SAE F3 for the two different front fog lamp standards (F2 is for a rear fog lamp, hence the 'leap' from F to F3) should be acceptable to go uncovered.

The Fyrlyts 150 watt and the 250 watt are both rated at 300 hrs and yes black covers are available for the US states that require them for daylight covering of the lights.

You mentioned one of my suggestions. Rigid Q2 hyperspot. The pattern is kind of ugly and distracting IMHO but it would be hard to match the lux of those lights in a comparably sized unit. I've used Rigid products offroad for years with no complaints except the anodizing is fading - so I think you would likely be satisfied with their build quality.

My other suggestion was a bar. Baja Designs racer edition bars are their farthest throwing bars. They are made for racers who are exceeding the 100mph mark. IMHO and FWIW, Baja Designs has the edge over Rigid in the quality and design department. The biggest trouble I've had with bars versus pod mounted lights is aiming. I always feel like I would like to split the bar and spread the pattern a little left and a little right. The pod mounted lights make it easier to adjust the overall pattern. I guess that becomes less of a problem the farther down the road your trying to see though, so maybe that wouldn't be a concern for you.

Alaric Darconville said:

That's an odd requirement

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But it is a requirement that is in place in some US states (and possibly Canadian provinces).

Basically, lighting with SAE Z (auxiliary low beam), SAE Y (auxiliary high beam), or SAE F or SAE F3 for the two different front fog lamp standards (F2 is for a rear fog lamp, hence the 'leap' from F to F3) should be acceptable to go uncovered.

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Remember, SAE standards don't have any force of law by themselves, and auxiliary lamps aren't Federally regulated, so states are free to prohibit the use, require the covering, etc.

-Virgil- would this be true for the OP? I ask because the OP is in northern Canada and appears to be running a commercial rig.
He does say private roads, so the commercial aspect may be moot.

The OP will have to check his pronvincial or territorial laws. It sounds like he might already have done so, if he's determined that the aux lamps must be covered when the vehicle is on public roads.

Very good! Canadian law is maybe a little more unified than the USA states laws but with 1st Nation now applying to much of the territories, it is time consuming to learn. From a couple past responses, I wondered if you were Canuck.

No, I was "Born in the USA" as the old Springsteen tune goes. I'm not aware of having said "aboot" or "eh"...what gave the impression of Canadian-ness?

As far as Canadian provincial/territorial laws about vehicle equipment, they're just as haphazard and variable as US state laws.

I guess other than thinking you are secretly Daniel Stern, it was probably nothing........ hehe

It is not anything specific I'm sure...unless your familiarity with the laws and regs.
But if you were, I am a Louis Reil fan and really like Tim Horton coffee so it would have been in your favor. Sorry to invade this thread.

wcowan said:

Another option might be the Fyrlyt 9000 lumen driving lights. They use a 250W halogen globe and should provide more light than you will ever need. I've tested a pair and they were VERY good. Even drivers that are scared of the dark wouldn't need four of these.

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I've seen the Fyrlyts also and they are really impressive when compared to hid/led technology.

http://fyrlyt.com/fyrlyts/4587390332

Again borrowing from Australian experience and addressing OP's question:

For very long range pencil beams there is nothing that beats the Lightforce 240XGT range. Standard in halogen they give a very tight spot beam which is, from my experience, effective to around 1200m (although specified as 1 lux at 900m), depending on the terrain/road. Because of the very narrow beam they're not necessarily suitable as general purpose driving lights by themselves and need either additional driving lights or very good headlights. Highly impact resistant and available with covers which, IIRC, can be black to meet your needs to have them rendered ineffective on public roads.

For a slightly shorter range The Fyrlyt lamps offer exceptional spread and a much greater volume of light from a slightly smaller (200mm) package. Again, polycarbonate construction means high impact resistance and rust/corrosion proof. Available in 12v 150 watt (standard) or 24v 250 watt (Nemesis) variants the 150 watt alternative would possibly be a better choice than the 250 watt Nemesis when teamed with a set of Lightforce 240s so as not to overload the foreground which is a distinct possibility if you have LED headlights already.

The Fyrlyts also have the ability to change the bulb position giving either a spread or "spot" beam. The spot is not as tight as the Lightforce but does offer some extra range. In perfect conditions the 150 watt versions are effective to around 800m but in a more realistic sense about 600m while the 250 watt version adds about 200m to this. Two pairs of Fyrlyts (one spot, one spread) is a possibility for aesthetic reasons but not one that I'd recommend. Simply too much light.

As an alternative to the 4 light arrangement a single pair of Fyrlyt Nemesis would probably provide all the light you need.

NFT5 said:

For very long range pencil beams there is nothing that beats the Lightforce 240XGT range.

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I don't agree. An H7680HIR 80w halogen infrared beam unit (about $55 but sometimes they show up for much less) throws a practically solar 300,000cd (real numbers, not the laughably, almost randomly hyperinflated ones Lightfarce claims) in a very tight, round 6.5° spot. Zero foreground spill, no triple-digit wattage guzzling unreasonable amounts of current, totally waterproof and dirtproof, glass lens optically superior to polycarbonate, and can easily be mounted in a non-corroding chromed brass housing. Considerably more cost-effective as very long range, very tight spots go.

The Fyrlyts are very impressive in terms of their output and construction quality, but the power consumption is unreasonably high. I am guessing that (and filament lifespan, both electrically and mechanically) are reasons why the original poster wants LED lights.

NFT5 said:

Standard in halogen [the LightForce 240XGT] give a very tight spot beam which is, from my experience, effective to around 1200m (although specified as 1 lux at 900m)

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The 1-lux measure is a real measure for apples-to-apples comparisons. Be wary of marketing that talks about a .25lux reading at some phenomenal distance-- it's meaningless.

In actual driving, you're not going to be worried too much about what is 900m away. (2953 feet, or .56mi)

Thank you all for the input.

While honestly I am not sure if the opaque covers are legally necessary or not. The LEO's certainly seem to think so. I have seen uncovered lights have their cables snipped right on the side of the road. SAE or not... Only on commercial vehicles though , private vehicles can run whatever we want without worry... Its a strange...

The Fyrlyts are definitely of interest. They seem pretty new , without many reviews , or output pictures etc. The power consumption is not a huge concern. However halogens don't fare as well up here though. Bumpy roads and extreme temperatures are hard on them. But the bulbs are cheap and easy to replace. I could order a bunch and keep a couple spares on the truck without worry.

While LED units are a first choice , I have a hard time swallowing many of the claims spouted by many of the manufacturers. Having handled many , many , many rigid bars I know full well what they do and do not do. The original optics aren't very good. But the new optics (more specifically the hyperspot) is actually very good. It throws extremely far. Which is why the q series in hyperspot is of particular interest. But TBH I am not a big fan of the color temp. On the plus side they are easy to come by up here , along with the covers.

The only lightforce product that even tickles my fancy is the "Flame Throwing 70 watt XENON HID XGT's" off of their custom page. But I have had poor experiences with their products in the past , and would have a hard time stomaching the price on 4 of those given my history with them.. Particularly with a warm up time (not a complete non negotiable , but definitely a con). The bulbs can even be obtained in realistic color temps , and supposedly are designed for the higher wattage.

I also considered doing a boosted DL50 setup , say 75w-100w. But never got around to tracking down some quality pencil beams with a d2s socket.

This is fun for me. I enjoy improving vehicle lighting properly. Its fun to get to go balls out on an off road build like this.

Sadden said:

The Fyrlyts are definitely of interest. They seem pretty new , without many reviews , or output pictures etc.

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Photos are useless. Pretty good explanation of why that is the case here.

While LED units are a first choice , I have a hard time swallowing many of the claims spouted by many of the manufacturers.

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That's a very good reason to stick with products from legitimate makers with a long reputation for making good lamps and not spouting BS about them. Hella, Cibie, Speaker are the top names on that list for this kind of product.

The only lightforce product that even tickles my fancy is the "Flame Throwing 70 watt XENON HID XGT's" off of their custom page.

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Hyped up, unreliable junk.

But I have had poor experiences with their products in the past

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Exactly.

The bulbs can even be obtained in realistic color temps , and supposedly are designed for the higher wattage.

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...so goes the claim made by the people who specialize in making BS claims...