Who here has any experience with HID or Halogen lights? The world I drive in is full of Deer, and more often than not I am driving close to dawn or dusk.
What I am looking at is the Soltek lights from Baja Designs. What I am wanting to know is the difference between the two types of lights. Will 2 HID's outshine 4 or 5 Halogens? Does a guy want Spot lights or driving lights, or a mixture of both? Would one spot and one driving HID light up my world?

 

a replacement front end would be a good addition to your truck when deer are in abundance

brett

 

Ide go with HID's. I have had both and the HIDs puts out a much brighter and CLEANER light. Once you drive with HIDs you will never want to drive without them.

 

Just dont mess around with colored HIDs, get a 5000 or 6000K bulb for a pure white. And also you get what you pay for with HID kits, go cheap (less than $300) and they will crap out fast, get a good set like phillips or McCulloch ($350-$450) and they will last you a long time. Dont go too high on the wattage either, tends to melt harnesses, stick around 35 watts. Its plenty of light output

 

I am talking about a stand alone light system, installed on a light bar. not replacement bulbs.

 

I guess some people didnt read, yes the Baja Design's are a great entry level off road HID lights. I was also thinking about getting a
pair but $$$$ is tight.


Type of beam depends on conditions.

You know your not going to be able to use these with oncomming traffic right..... They will blind the heck out of other drivers and can cause a wreck.

Most baja guys reccomend driving over spot for your first pair of lights.

You might also want to look into the hella HID's

 

I'll second that opinion. Better lights can only help too.

 

I run the KC light bar and have 4 of the PIAA 525 SMR's on it and used a custom fit PIAA 510 (can't remember but it looks stock from the outside) in the fog light openings and put the 130KC ice blue bulbs in all of them... Lights up everything I could ever hope to see but the HID's are the ultimate period...

 

my answer doesnt change, hids are the way to go, brighter, cleaner, than halos.

 

When it comes to lighting HID's are going to be the better choice, but like others have pointed out, don't go cheap. You are going to have to spend close to 4 times as much for HID's then a halogen set. I believe some of the higher end HID's are 350 -$500 per light. You could get a nice set (2 lights and wiring harness) of Hella 4000 halogens for around $250. Another nice set of lights are KC's new Rally 800's for around $250 per set. They also make them in a HID configuration but I am not sure of the price. For your application I would go with a nice set of halogen driving lights on the inside slightly pointing out and another set of cornering beams (fog or flood) on the outside. One other thought is, if in fact you do come in contact with a deer and damage a light, it would be a lot cheaper to replace a halogen lamp then a HID one. Also check out Randy Ellis lightbars online. He has a deal for $690, you get his sturdy light bar and 4 KC Rally 800's, choice of driving or long range (I would get a pair of each). This should provide you with more than enough light.

 

I'm interested in replacing my foglights with these PIAA 510's since I already have a busted stock fog light. Can you tell me more?

 

Thanks for steering me to the Randy Ellis lightbar. Could you shed some light on the different types of lights. Cornering vs. driving vs. spot vs. long range.... I am 99% sure i will spend the dollars to get either the Baja designs Fuego HID lights, or the Baja Designs Soltek HID's. Just not sure how many i need or what type....

 

Well it was not really that big of a deal but there was a little fab involved for the bracket and you have to use the PIAA harness as the stock wiring as well as the switch will fry---Mikes Off Road in Haltom City Texas did most of it. Mike has been doing my trucks for over 20 years..

 

hmmmmm there must be a way to use the stock wiring and switch, with some reconfiguring...

 

Not when running 2 130 watt KC bulbs plus the 80 x 100 headlights on 1 switch... The PIAA harness is plug and play and goes to the battery direct so not power loss thru the thin factory wiring..