Hella 500 driving light: bulb?

[Flipswitch]

Hi guys fun question

I'm adding a set of hella 500s to the subie but am not sure of which bulb option to go with.

Stock 55w h3 @ 1450 lumens

100w h3 @ 2200 lumens

35w h3c hid @ 3200 lumens

55w h3c hid @ 4700 lumens

Does anyone have experience with these lights & bulb options?

I know that it is not just light output but beam pattern / placement are also important. (That and hid options can be grossly overvalued / inconsistent)

The wiring will be upgraded to 12 gauge from battery through ground so no worries on melting here. The switch will only become available when the highs are on so I will be only blinding bambi & not other drivers.

I look forward to any stories you might have

 

[blmpkn]

Im pretty sure you will have to mod your hellas to fit a h.I.d bulb, just keep that in mind. Ive seen diy threads on other boards though

Aaand, ive always thought that h.I.d's only really "work" (throw more light;farther downstream) better when being shot through a projector lens? My buddy has hids in his f150 (non projector) and they really dont seem any brighter..

 

[Flipswitch]

That's my worry about the hid options; the difference of position between the original filament of an h3 & a the change to an HID arc will change the focal point so that the light pattern is less beneficial. I recently completed a bi xenon retrofit with morimoto minis. It added a great deal of width to the original headlights, keeping the cutoff low so the light doesn't blind anyone but the catch is that these projectors are heavy in foreground lighting. I'm looking for an option to offset this with a set of driving lights with decent throw.

 

[Pedro]

you would need a short rebased H3 to do a HID conversion. it will also suck quite a bit. The Hella 500's aren't that great to begin with. the 100w bulbs will end up cracking the lense if you use them in the winter. Get a better light and just run it the way it is designed.

HID lights also don't like to be flipped on and off. That is why you see them as low beams only (with a halogen high beam) or as a Bi-Xenon setup (there is a moveable shroud that blocks the upper and long range portion of the beam in a single housing). Fog lights and driving lights for street cars aren't meant for HID retrofits.

 

[Flipswitch]

Thanks Pedro. I had considered the housing melting but the interior portion is metal. Unless I completely butcher the wiring I wasn't worried there but I hadn't considered cracking the lens with the additional wattage halogen. The additional output of HID is becoming less enticing with a lack of rave reviews and a personal bias against PnP kits.

So right now the question comes to keeping the stock 55w halogen or looking for a new light.

Thanks for your input

 

[Carter]

Link?

 

[Pedro]

rallylights.com is my favorite for Hella parts and lights.

 

[Legwagon]

^indeed!

 

[2point5RS_Dan]

Rally lights is amazing.

As for the lights, if the lights could be improved from the manufacturer, they would have done it. IMO if you don't like the 500s get a better light. I'm comfortable with 4x 500s up to about 70-75mph. I'm thinking I'll upgrade to 700s for corners and a ridiculous pencil for the centres once the rest of the car is built.

If you want to check out 4x 500s I'm always down to let people take a look and talk shop.

 

[Matt]

I had two 500s mounted as fogs and my stock headlights had hids and the fogs would honestly be brighter than the hids.

 

[Flipswitch]

Re-found a list of aux light output:

Lightforce Lance 140 = 1 lux @ 450m

Hella 500 (160mm) = 1 lux @ 482m

Lightforce Striker 170 = 1 lux @ 650m

Hella Rallye 4000 Compact (170mm) = 1 lux @ 680m

Hella Rallye 4000 = 1 lux @ 700m

Lightforce Blitz 240 = 1 lux @ 900m

http://www.hidplanet...oad-Lights-help