Topic: auxillary lighting question

[stan98tj]

i wanna get a grill guard on my jeep-a simple one, square shaped, tube on top, tube on bottom and i wanna mount 2 lights on it.  My jeep didnt come with aux lights-so all i have are the 2 flashlights and quite frankly id like a little more lighting-back roads in these parts of CT are pretty dark. i was lookin for some aux lights to put on and a friend raised a good point-not all of em are street legal. im lookin for a good pair-under 100 bucks, round, stone guard is cool i suppose...that i can use ON the road as well as off....i checked walmart but i shyed away from buyin some hellas cause they had "offroad light" stamped on the box and i figured it prob wasnt DOT approved.

[Jeffy]

Well, non-headlights lights DO NOT have to have DOT printed on them companies do it as sort of a courtesy though.  I know some LE's will look for them but really isn't not a requirement.  Still doesn't help you once you're pulled over though.  BUT as long as you're lights are otherwise legal, they should not notice if they are not DOT certified.

The main thing to look for are Driving and Fog lights.  Those are usually meant for use onroad.  They have usually 55w max as well.  Lights labeled as Projection, Flood, Pencil, etc... are used for off-road only.  Check your local laws on AUX. lights though.  Some states don't allow then unless they are Factory since Factory stuff supersede state laws.  There are also laws on high they can be mounted etc...  If they're really for driving then you'll probably want to have the lights pointed down a bit so they light up the area where the headlights should be lighting.

Hella's are decent lights.  Actually, I'd say they're more then decent since they typically come with a nice wire harness.

[stan98tj]

thanks for the info jeffy
-stan

[GTChrisB]

Generally fog lamps are going to be 55w.  Depending on state laws, you can run them no problem generally.  If you're looking for something in the 100w realm, ProComp makes a few lights in different shapes for around $40 a piece.  I've had 2 ProComp 100w lights on mine for 2 years.  They still work fine, but they look horrible from being through dirt and such.  I'll upgrade them to some KC's or something on down the road.  Then there's always the AutoZone specials... 

You can have the 100w lights on the vehicle while driving, but don't TURN ON unless you are off road.  That, or if like here, you have a lot of people that think you have your brights on and try to blind you with theirs.  A quick flash of the brights and 100w'ers always makes them go back to normal haha. 

Get a good wiring kit with a relay, measure twice and drill once.   

[stan98tj]

yea im basically lookin for something to use in adition to the stock headlights-so it doesnt need to be real bright, just enough to light up the road a bit better.

[aka-justin]

You want some light cheap??  I picked up two of Kragens/Checkers 7" HID's for 180+ tax.  Here's one guy who went nuts, but proves the point.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14820

I mounted mine on the windshield mounts by KC for only $35 bucks more.  Just be careful with those torx bolts.

[Jesse-James]

I had a set of these for a while until I broke one due to stupid placement. Very happy considering the price, I just gotta stop "rubbing" trees.



BTW - I am not aware of a state that allows winshield mounted lights of any type to be lit on the road. FYI.

[jfrabat]

I have a pair of KC HiLiTES SlimLite 100W Super White Fog Pair Pack in Black that I use for normal driving.  I replaced the bulbs (H3) with 55W units (I think I used these, if I remember correctly) so that (1) they would last longer, and (2) so that they would be street legal.  These are mounted on the bumper, and really help in city driving, as they liht up nicely the area close to the Jeep (far enough to see in time for city speeds).



For longer range, I also have a pair of KC DayLighters (100W) that will really light up far enough to use at highway speeds when no-one is coming in the other direction.  Now these I normally dont use on the street (they are not street legal, as they are 100W), but I do light them up when I'm in one of the backroads here (like Alligator Alley, for example) with no cars in front of me, and also when someone shines their brights at me (they tend to make them sut their brights down REALLY fast with a quick flash of these...).  These are mounted on the windshield frame at the time, but may be moved to the hood hinges, as I cannot mount the snorkel with the windshield frame (not on the YJ; in a TJ is not a problem).  If you are planning on mounting anything on the windshield frame, make sure it is something focus, as any type of flood light (including fog lights) will reflect on the hood...



I also replaced the stock headlights with the Delta Xenon lights with H4 bulbs.  They are street legal and also help light up a bit more than the stockers (not as much as HID's but much better than stock).  Light is also a bit whiter, which helps.



Here's how the Jeep looks like as of now:



I hope this helps!

Felipe

[oldjeep]

Get something that mounts on the bumper.  Windsheild and roof mounted lights really tick off other drivers, not to mention the glare that you'll see if you have a freshlyy waxed jeep

[aka-justin]

Those HIDs I mentioned are offroad, not ment for fog or extra driving lights.  They're ment for when your out exploring.

[jfrabat]

By the way, KC has some replacement Aux Lights for TJ's which are for on-road driving (should be installed in the bumper).

[Jeffy]

You want some light cheap??  I picked up two of Kragens/Checkers 7" HID's for 180+ tax.  Here's one guy who went nuts, but proves the point.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14820

I mounted mine on the windshield mounts by KC for only $35 bucks more.  Just be careful with those torx bolts.

Hmm, I didn't know about those lights.  I might be willing to get a set or two of the 4" for my roof rack.  Not much going on the ExpoPortal on the Jeep side.  It's weird, most of the Jeeps are still very specialized while everyone else is more about being well rounded.

I don't really like having lights above my hoodline though.  They cast a lot of glare on the hood.  Although, there are way around that.

[JeepBoy2000]

i have two procomp 55w fluted lights mounted to my bumper and they work pretty well. i have them aimed pretty high so they dont seem to bother anyone. got them for $20 a piece at 4wheelparts.

[stan98tj]

excellent...from what im reading as long as they are tagged as driving lights and as long as they are 55w or less and not mounted higher than the bumper i can use em in addition to my stock flashlights. i think im gonna try and locate me a pair of those procomps jeepboy2000 has
thanks everyone for your posts-much appreciate the info!