[autobotguy]

I've been interested in buying the OEM fog lights for my 2012 xB but after searching around on the web I found LED light bars available. It looks like the 30 LED varieties pump out around 5000 lumens at a 6000k color temp. Has anyone had experience with this LED light bars? I thought it would be interesting to cut about 3 inches off of the top of the lower grill section and mount a single row 30 LED light bar spanding the width of the grill area.

Here is the light bar I'm thinking about.....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/30-Inch-LED-Offroad-Light-Bar-5w-CREE-LEDs-Hardware-Included-Bright-/251207918552?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a7d28a3d8&vxp=mtr

 

[autobotguy]

I made up a little picture of what I'm talking about....

 

[iceman3366]

its the knight rid.......oh wait BOXRIDER!!!! lol that looks cool...been looking for lights too

 

[box monkey]

photoshop looks cool. original. bet it would be bright as day! lol

 

[NITROBUSA]

U won't be able to use a led bar in fog or bad conditions unless you go a amber colour light.

"White" light which is what the led bars produce doesn't penetrate fog etc as well as amber light, I have 3 led "driving lights" & in fog or rain it's just a massive white wall in front of you & can't see.

I work in the mines & the company just put LEDs on the diggers & when it's in dusty conditions u can't see anything. The old digger with the amber lights, the light penetrates the dust & u can see a lot better.

Same reason over here street lights are amber, so you can still see the road in adverse conditions

 

[autobotguy]

Perhaps I can just put some laminx transparent yellow sheeting over the LEDs? That would make the output a bit more yellow/amber which WOULD help with rain/fog.

 

[DJ_Moonbass]

he is right, amber does work MUCH better in bad weather but ill never run anything but 6k up front. it would ruin the look. i was contemplating doing this for a LONG time but mount it BEHIND my grill. i ended up getting 10 of the 3W projector DRL LEDs from V-LEDs. in theory you can get 10 of the **** things for the exact same price that you can get two from scionpro.com. dont get me wrong i love the guy but his prices are way to outrageous on some of his stuff. V-LEDs sell the exact same LEDs for 8.00 bucks a piece. scion pro sells a pair for 80.00. another good example. 9 watt projector LED fog lights. 80 bucks for the pair at V-LEDs same ones sold from scion pro but different finish 250.00 bucks.

anyways ill be putting the 10 3w LEDs on its own relayed circuit and hooked up to my custom fog switch and i will machine custom recessed mounting points on my lower billet grille on the lower right and left hand corners. i think it should give me plenty of light output. im also thinking of getting 10 more to mount where my oznium verticle vent lights are. V-LEDs did one and it came out AWESOME!

so i think im going to do that after i get the ones in the billet grill. and on top of running the worlds most advanced and brightest switchback system on the market, the triton V3

and with upgraded Morimoto bi-xenon projectors from the retrofit source, and dual 50 watt morimoto HID systems for lows and highs. i feel safe to say ill have plenty of forward light output. lets see thats 135 watts of pure LED power output and 200 watts of Xenon light output. so yeah. :biggrin:

thoughts?

 

[NITROBUSA]

Took some fotos of the light output of mine.
low beam

High Beam with lights

Setup Turned on

I dont realy need the middle bar now i have a good quality HID kitt in the hibeams but you can never have enough light.

 

[DJ_Moonbass]

are you running stock projectors? also what type of HID kit are you running?

 

[NITROBUSA]

Yep low beam is stock projectors

Kit is off eBay, a auto electrician over here imports them under he's own brand, first kit I had interfered with the radio, so I tried a slim kit & it kept blowing fuses or not working.
Kit I have know is 6k & really happy with it.

 

[autobotguy]

Finally got my DDM 35watt 5000k HIDs in today and so far....I'm iffy about them. They are not any brighter than the stock H11 bulbs were, but they are white and they project a wider beam.

BTW....I also installed a pair of Sylvania LEDriving 194 bulbs for the front marker lights. They are SWEET! I'm surprised how much light these bulbs put out. Sure they are $9 per LED bulb, but they are WHITE (not amber) and since they are LED they have a lower power consumption and should last quite a bit longer than a standard 194 bulb.

I may have to get some Sylvania LEDriving festoon bulbs for the interior lights. ^_^

 

[DJ_Moonbass]

dooood. please go with these kits:

H11: Morimoto Elite HID System - HID Systems from The Retrofit Source Inc


when it comes to HID kits and lighting you really do get what you pay for. we need to hang out ive got some stuff to show you. :cheers

if i were you id trash that DDM kit. its junk. the only good kit ive come across before i learned more about HID kits is HIDguy.coms kits. i run two sets. ive loved them never had any issues. bright as ****.

here i encourage you to go through and read this information. i did and it seriously opened my eyes to the world of automotive lighting. Helpful information on upgrading headlights from The Retrofit Source Inc

im very passionate about LED and HID lighting so i always use and research the best.

 

[autobotguy]

Thing is, the DDM kit is what I can afford. I would jump on one of those Morimoto kits if I was able to spend that kind of money.

PS....I called and left you a message a few days ago and PMed you on the other forum.

 

[DJ_Moonbass]

i know i missed your call and i responded with a text. didnt get it till late at night. also i responded to your PM but perhaps it didnt go. i remember having a connection problems the moment i sent you a PM on scionlife. tell you what bro. run the DDM kit for now. ill be getting my morimotos in soon and ill give you my HIDguy H11 35w 6000k kit for what you bought the DDM for if your interested. its an awesome kit and i spent 100 on it and ive never had any problems with it and its VERY bright. works 100%. let me know. anyways im sorry i missed your call. hit me up again and we can set up a day to chill and talk cars :cheers:

 

[Rolya]

Hi there. Well you could go with 55W H-11 5000k-6000k. Will be brighter than 35W. they are around $50 from DMM tuning. cheap and bright

 

[autobotguy]

I may end out doing that. I didn't get it because of I thought the stock headlight wiring would have an issue with the initial high amperage draw of the 55 watt ballast. Now it seams that people don't have any issues with them.

 

[DJ_Moonbass]

Hi there. Well you could go with 55W H-11 5000k-6000k. Will be brighter than 35W. they are around $50 from DMM tuning. cheap and bright

when you do that, it shortens the bulb life tremendously because with cheap HID kits you are running a 35 watt bulb at 55 watts. the bulb isnt rated for that. plus you wash out the color tremendously. i would not suggest this unless you have a kit that built for that amount of power WITH the correct wattage of bulb. like the morimoto 50 watt HID kit.

i also discourage from running a 55 watt kit inside the stock projector as the heat output MAY cause problems.

if you do run a 55 watt kit. get an 8000k bulb as it the color will be much closer to 6000k. and also run a relay harness. just be aware your bulbs wont last near as long.