[Lil Black 4x4 Hemi]

Hey guys, due to a small accident, I was not in the truck it was my wife and mom, and being tired of waiting on HIDs to fire up I'm going old school with Halogens.

I've looked at Hella Rallye 4000 compacts, PIAA 520s, and KC Daylighters and feel like PIAA is the direction I wanna go for a number of reasons. Obviously their warranty is great, customer service appears to be pretty good, and I've found quite a few folks that really like them. The thing that seems to be missed the most is they will never rust because the housing made of aluminum! This actually helps explain the price difference as well and makes the sticker shock a little more tolerable. But, it's not set in stone if you guys have some more input I'd love to hear it. My only issue with the PIAA is they are so shallow looking (2.75") I wonder if they'll look goofy on a big ole truck! lol

All that said, I've got 5 tabs on the ole roll-bar and I'm trying to decide what combination of lights and their placement. The lights are wired on 3 relays, outside pair, inside pair, middle alone. I was thinking 2 85W fog and 3 85W ATP (all terrain pattern) initially. Now I'm thinking maybe go with the 2 85W fogs and 3 85W driving so the middle ones will really get out there.

I'm not a big LED fan due to the scatter and the light color.

Anyhow I'm curious what you guys think and which should be where, so let me know.

Luke

 

[Lil Black 4x4 Hemi]

Wow, I guess I'm the only one that's old school and not an LED fan! lol

 

[Bushmaster]

I would go with the fog's on outer tabs angled out slightly to give you side view, ATP next to them pointed straight forward and since you can get single PIAA lights I would get a single spot for the middle to give you a bit more distance in center.


I had the PIAA 520's ATP on my previous truck. They had a nice pattern. When I got my Ram I went with a Rigid SR series in combo pattern. All I need.

 

[14Hemi]

I prefer the old school to the LED lightbars too, I just don't have experience with expensive lighting options.
I look forward to some pics when it's done.

 

[Lil Black 4x4 Hemi]

Thanks for the info fellas. Just as the counterpoint...the KCs I would go with would be 2x100w floods 2x130w driving, and a single 130w spot was what I was planning to use if I went with daylighters. I also found some blue/white daylighter rock guards on eBay to suit my vanity. Lol

Luke

 

[spamPALA]

All that said, I've got 5 tabs on the ole roll-bar and I'm trying to decide what combination of lights and their placement. The lights are wired on 3 relays, outside pair, inside pair, middle alone. I was thinking 2 85W fog and 3 85W ATP (all terrain pattern) initially. Now I'm thinking maybe go with the 2 85W fogs and 3 85W driving so the middle ones will really get out there.

Like I mentioned in the other thread, the fogs are really close focus and in the GM 4500 I hame them on they don't seem to even do a lot that the stock headlights aren't already doing. Maybe just a tiny bit more close lighting for navigating around parking lots or other tight spaces.

I use the Driving pattern ones a lot. The only negative to them is that they are pretty wicked even mounted low where I have them on that truck, so I have to be ready all the time with the off switch (they are on a relay to cut off when I switch to low primary beams) so I don't blind other drivers. The beam edge is pretty good and I guess I could aim them down and to the right a bit more but that would limit their usefulness for seeing deer off the left side of the road. I have about 17 tons to stop so I need the earliest warning possible.

 

[Lil Black 4x4 Hemi]

Thanks for the info! I just committed and I've got a set of fogs, and 2 ATPs on the way. One ATP will be a spare and the other is getting the driving lens for the middle tab. With everything mounted above the cab I think the fog will act as a flood, and that was my goal from the onset for those lights.

I just really hope this 85w bulbs are as good as PIAA makes them out to be.

 

[Lil Black 4x4 Hemi]

Here are some initial pics. All the bulbs are 85w the outside ones are the only actual Plasma Ion Bulb. Outside pair are Fog lights, then ATP, the middle is Driving but has the Xtreme White plus bulb from the ATP

 

[Bushmaster]

Looks good you will have to get some night pics.

 

[Lil Black 4x4 Hemi]

So far so good with the PIAAs. I'm still working on getting them aimed correctly for my uses. The Fog/flood lights are the most problematic. Just to review these are arranged as a pair of fog/flood lights, ATPs, and a single driving light. The Fogs are plasma ion and the driving is plasma ion lens with an Xtra White bulb.

On All On at the pond you're looking at my house building site shining the light SE. The trees are about 100-150yds

On the 2nd one at the pond I'm facing NE and there's some downward slope so I'm shining down quite a bit, but the tree is somewhere around the 150yd mark maybe more. The orange light is your typical sodium light and is probably 300yds away

On the Fogs you can see I'm getting the nice "bar of light" but I haven't got it placed correctly yet. I think these lights are hurt the most from a "lower" mount in relation to the cab

On the ATP pic the 2nd pole you see is about 50 yds away and further down you can see a third pole so that is around the 100-125yd mark as well. The bright place waaaay far off is a gate at least a 500yds. If you zoom in you can see there is actually a 4th pole.

The driving light picture I had to zoom in to get very well. It is about 200-250yds from the gate and another telephone pole from the 3rd pole in the picture before

Anyhow, they aren't lighting up the world in front of the truck like LEDs are so good about, but the PIAAs do a good job getting down the road.

Hope this helps somebody at some point.

***guess I need to update my signature***

 

[spamPALA]

Thanks for updating! Photos of lighting are always difficult, it's like listening to a recording of some speakers on some other speakers. :thk: Camera sensors don't work the same way our eyes do so what they pick up is only part of the story.

Anyhow, they aren't lighting up the world in front of the truck like LEDs are so good about, but the PIAAs do a good job getting down the road.

Hope this helps somebody at some point.

Sounds about right! I'm not a fan of glare up close while driving, by the time something's that close at highway speeds there's nothing I can do about it anyway :str:

 

[Lil Black 4x4 Hemi]

Thanks for updating! Photos of lighting are always difficult, it's like listening to a recording of some speakers on some other speakers. :thk: Camera sensors don't work the same way our eyes do so what they pick up is only part of the story.



Sounds about right! I'm not a fan of glare up close while driving, by the time something's that close at highway speeds there's nothing I can do about it anyway :str:

Your nailed it...all that light so close to you and bouncing around...is glare. Supposedly blue is really bad about it and I just don't like all the blue in most HID and LED lights. I appreciate white but not that 5500-7000k type of light.

I'm an "old soul" I guess!

 

[14Hemi]

Thanks for sharing the pics. After all is said and done, was it worth the expense? Are you happy with the fog lights mounted on the bar that high?

 

[Lil Black 4x4 Hemi]

I don't have any KCs to compare side by side, but the PIAAs seem really powerful to only be 85w. The only problem with the fog lights is getting them aimed correctly. I am going to eventually get some kind of isolators, for all the lights. and that will raise them up a bit and I believe that will help.

The only thing I would change was the included harness. I've got 3 really nice looking unused relays, their relay is really large and fancy looking too, because they are SO plug and play easy for bumper mounts...but you have to go into cutting and splicing if they are going anywhere else. Then the cost savings isn't really enough to buy single lights if you are a good shopper.