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HI guys
i currently have the standard lights in my gq and one is smashed, so im thinking is it worth getting something brighter or better, even though i have driving lights.
has anyone done this or have info on where is the right place to look.?
Thanks
Not sure if you have seal beams or not
You could upgrade the globes to 50% brighter globes available from most auto shops..some thing like this : http://www.narva.com.au/products/bro...ormance-globes
Or you can go to HID's which are great but you might hacve to lower your beam down a bit so you don't blind oncoming traffic ..something like this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/55W-Hi-Lo...#ht_5094wt_951
My personal opinion would be to keep the frequency of the light low like 4300 or 5300k. This should reduce glare of signs, etc and also better on your eyes
I don't know where your from mate but give this bloke a try: http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...848-big_fletch
He's a member here so if you tell him you are too & you got he's info from here Im sure he'll look after you.
if you play in mud and don't get sealed beams, make sure the back of the light is sealed - eg where there is provision for a parking light fitting
As Patch said mate, get a hold of Big_fletch I put on some 55w HID's and they are amazing!!!!
Thanks heaps NissPat that is a great help. im liking the sound of HID lights as im in the country and extra light never goes astray.LOL. but how hard is the install ( im a practical person as i am a builder but im just a beginner at automotive stuff)
Silver im not exactly sure what you mean buy 'sealed beams' mentioned above im a beginner at auto stuff...haha
I watched Fletcha install mine and if someone (ar achem....Fletch) was to briefly explain how to install it I would say It's a pretty straight forward job....haha
Sealed beams just means the casing behind the light is all sealed up so no water / mud gets in.
Fletcha just siliconed the back of my lights but after going through a large mud hole I did fill up one of the lights with muddy water as we forgot to seal up one of the lights which stains the inside and is a nightmare to get out again....
HID kits are easy to install, everything is all plug and play and they usually come with instructions as well.. Could do it all yourself in an hour or 2 over a few cold ones lol.. You basically change the globes over, mount the little ballast box somewhere near the light and plug in the wiring thats supplied.. Run the red wire to the POS + of the battery and job done
Definately go the HID inserts gavinsell!
and while ya at it hit ebay up for some 7 inch 'crystal lights'!
as big_fletch said it is pretty self explanitory! if ya can change oil and a filter then you are over-quallified!...or if ya in Sth Oz i would be happy to do it for ya if you source all the gear.
I have them in my GU, the missus Zook and my GQ race car.
here's a pic with the HID's off and the 'crystal lights' ( this is my race car)
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h2...d/Stuff006.jpg
and with the HID's on....they bright!
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h2...d/Stuff007.jpg
Worth the effort! i hardy use high beam anymore, no use!
Have fun,
Steve.
Thanks heaps boys. a tone of info there and i have already found the crystal lights you have on your truck et4wd! this has been a great help and i will take picks when do the install... as we all love picies!! the install sounds rather simple to big fletch thanks for that!!
and is 'Semi sealed alright or is it worth finding fully sealed ones?
If you go a sealed beam it basically means that you buy it with the rating of output globe built in. You cant change the globes, they are a fixed unit. It means they dont leak but it also means if it blows you rip it out and replace the whole thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by gavinsell
If you want to go HID then a Sealed beam is no good to you. If you have driving lights and do a bit of town work the HID in your head lights can be a little hard on oncoming traffic. Think about doing the HID conversion to your spotties or driving lights and upgrade your headlights to sealed beam 80/110s or something a little bigger than standard 55/65.
Note also that changing the lighting loom to your headlights with something bigger will give you a heap of output increase too. 12v systems suffer from Voltage drop and the Headlight loom on a GQ is crap to say the least.
As stated by Big Fletch, a HID Kit is a plug and play system mate and is as easy as pie to fit. but you do need a non sealed beam.
What MudRunnerTD said. Rewiring with 12-14 guage wire and 4 relays will help a lot. I tend to get a lot of rock damage going through at least a set of headlights every year or less. It is the nature of winter driving here. The Safari has wipers, so headlight protectors do not work. I am using the cheapest of the lot of semi-sealed headlights - Hellas. I get them for about $85 a set at trade prices. For the bush lights I have CIBIEs that are covered when on the highway. Also, I use cheap foggies (about $25 a pair) that are uncovered and aimed to help out with the Hella's pathetic low beam spread. Go through one or two sets of them a year now.
Big fan of HID lights but please make sure they are adjusted correctly. I hate it when I get blinded by them when they are only on low beam. I myself am upgrading my standard lights by upgrading the loom and running higher wattage bulbs. HID's will go in the driving lights.
HID's should be for driving lights/spotties only. I get more than a little annoyed when blinded by someone that fits HID's to vehicles that weren't designed for them. I went from sealed beam to halogen's. 55/100 & they are more than efficient. Also upgrade the wiring loom & add relays. I made my own was easy as.
Hey, I was wondering about a good HID spottie brand or light conversion kit but is cheap, is that possible?
Would converting my halogen spotties to HID be cheaper but just as good as buying a HID spottie set?
Hey ET, are those sealed beams on the Green Truck?
Have to agree a bit. When driving at night it would have to be a little unnerving knowing that the car speeding towards you is blinded by your lights. But great for out bush.Quote:
Originally Posted by TuffTD42
X2 mate - not ideal and in my limited understanding illegal in most of not all states ...Quote:
Originally Posted by taslucas
I had dramas with my standard lights a few months ago. The light switch on the dash wasn't handling the current and was creating a bad connection. I fixed it by installing relays..... What ever system you decide on i'd concider relays
Hey g'day,
From what I understand, having HID bulbs / upgrades in a car that was never designed for HID lights is illegal. I don't know if it is state by state or against the Australia Design Rules. To have HID I think you have to have self leveling lights (i think i read somewhere - correct me if I am wrong) so you don't blind other people. This is especially so if your 4x4 is raised. If your lights are illegal and you cause / have an accident then you may be liable to face court on the matter. Also your car would be deemed to be unroadworthy by the department of transport and you may not be covered by your insurance.
You can definatly buy a new set of headlight lenses and upgrade the power of your bulbs but as the others above have said you may be far better upgrading your wiring loom.
You can buy ready made sets from 4x4 shops (brands like pirhana and terrain tamer, etc) or you can get thick wiring and wire some H4 plugs and make your own.
Run the power from your battery to a relay for each beam (4 all up) (low beam by two and high beam by two) then from the relay output pin to each power pin on the h4 socket to your bulb (high, low & high, low). Your negative from the negative h4 pin to the battery negative. Next you can cut your old wiring or buy male h4 sockets to run your normal power pin to your headlight to each relay switch pin to tell the relay to allow the power through (this is so when you turn your lights on the normal power that would go to the bulb which has now dropped in voltage over the years will go to the relay and switch it on. The power will then be allowed through the relay directly from your battery to the new headlight socket with new, thick wiring giving you good output for your headlights). The negative pin from each relay can be returned to the battery negative or earthed to the body.
There are a heap of diagrams and instructions out there that explain each step in detail and I know my response is a bit hard to understand if you are not familiar with this type of thing but I am in a bit of a rush at the moment sorry.
I would google headlight wiring loom upgrade and you will then be able to see home made and bought ones. I found a good one a while ago from a jeep forum in the states I think. I know it is not a patrol but the principle should be the same on any car where the car has a constant negative with the power pin dictating the power going to the bulb. I don't know if there are any patrols that switch the other way (Posative switching as opposed to negative switching is something that the other more electrical people can explain indepth).
I hope this helps.
Cheers
thanks heaps guys for the great info keep it up:)
x2, please leave hid for the spotties and or hi beam only.Quote:
Originally Posted by TuffTD42
low beam "WILL" still blind everyone around you.
ie- as you come over a rise, is the same as hi beam, for anyone approaching you.
I bought a set of 'Crystal' Replacement headlights from repco, the same as old mates green truck. They were $50 or so at my price so probably around 80 retail. I then fitted HID's, also sourced at repco and i aimed the beams down a smidge. It was easy as, took half an hour and a pack of zippy ties, and i'm used to outsourcing all my wiring jobs to auto sparkys.
And to date i have never been flashed, i even drove in my other car towards mine being driven by another person and i found them less annoying than my commodore with regular halogen globes in it.
And yes, HID's or really any high intensity globe that exceeds factory specs by a certain amount is illegal on any car that does not have light/vehicle sensing auto dipping on low beam. So just trim your lights down and you should be fine
Also i am known for frequently being seen with my bonnet lost underwater and i have to date never filled up my headlights. When installing my hids i simply carefully cut the rubber seal on the back of the light that required widening for fitment and it has worked a treat. Ive put more water through my motor than ive gotten into my headlights ha ha
they are illegal in all states if not factory or OEM as your main headlightsQuote:
Originally Posted by Bigrig
you can guarantee a defect in any state if the locals are in the frame of mind to go over your vehicle properly
its the same deal that dick smith used to exploit with digital dialers for analogue phones back in the 80's.
Companies can sell them but its actually technically and literally illegal to use them as mains if your vehicle didn't come fitted with them as standard and/or optional
they're only supposed to be used offoad and as supplementaries
I do have HIDS but wired to the high beam circuit and covered off when not in use. I don't use them in metro/built up areas.
people assume that HIDS will work in the same way as their H4's in the same 7" parabolic dish - they don't - the beam is not thrown in the same fashion as an H4.
properly manufactured HIDS come with a purpose built (ie designed for them) beam parabolic - and that parabolic is usually dimpled like a golf ball so as to diffuse and scatter the glare.
If you want to get the proper engineering critique then look up HID in the candlepower forums - there are a couple of vehicle lighting engineers on there and they're quite knowledgeable
however, people will buy them and use them as main replacements anyway despite the engineering issues... (which the average person doesn't care about anyway)
even if your lights are self levelling you will still be up for a defect if they were not factory fitted or options - the beam throw for a HID is not the same as an H4 and lowering your lights to LO beam does not change the inherent beam characteristics.
can someone answer this if i buy the 7" and a globe does it just plug straight in? so no wire upgrades just pop out the old and put in the new??Quote:
Originally Posted by -ET 4wd-
You're right, retro fitted HID's in halogen headlights, even (Crystal style inserts with globe shields) is illegal in all states. Upping the low beam halogen above 55W is also illegal. That was told to me direct from Vehicle Standards which I deal with on a fairly regular basis. Also have an old school mate who works for them making vehicle standards policies and he can vouch for it too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigrig
I personally hate the !^^$##!! things in headlights, they are blinding. The only reason you see better is because yes, the light is 10X brighter, and people think wow they're amazing, but in a lamp designed for halogen globes the HID's throw the light out in all directions including oncoming traffic. No amount of adjusting will stop it because the lamps reflectors and lenses can't direct the light correctly from an HID globe.
There are new aftermarket inserts out now that have a collimator (the small round prism looking dome that houses the HID globe) and have reflectors that direct the light properly on the road (just like factory HID's) and it has a proper cut off line in front of oncoming drivers so it doesn't blind them. The vision and light is actually better than from just wacking them in a halogen housing and you get better vision of the road without blinding oncoming drivers. These are the only legal retrofit HID's I know of and should be used with HID kits.
Cheers, Bordertech