LED Light Bar vs. Hella 4000 halogen

c7train · 08-24-2014, 08:38 PM

I have a set of Hella 4000's on the front bumper (along with the 500's in the bumper down low) and have been thinking about swapping them out for an LED Light bar, can anyone speak to how LED bars perform? OR would it be better to buy an HID conversion kit for Hella 4000's, if so where do I get a conversion kit, heck even a xenon kit would be better than the halogen's I bet?
Cheers,
C.

ANZAC · 08-24-2014, 10:32 PM

The aftermarket HID conversion kits are generally crap --- at least for a driving light like that.

My experience has been the LED light bars give a good spread of light but not as much distance.
Which is actually useful for offroading at lower speeds.

But for higher speed driving:

These are really good: (yes they should be for the price)
http://www.rallylights.com/all/lights/d ... light.html

These little HIDs are only sale right now:
http://www.rallylights.com/hella-rallye ... icing.html

rallypanam · 08-24-2014, 10:49 PM

LEDs are better than anything other than a properly designed off road race HID.

Anzac is definitely correct that you can outrun LEDs, but you'd be hard pressed to do that in a 10,000 pound van. I got rid of my 4 Baja Designs 8" HIDs and replaced with a 38" LED light bar, and it is way smaller, takes less energy, and is more reliable. I'm very happy. If I was racing I would supplement with a few HID spots, but I'm not.

BajaSportsmobile · 08-24-2014, 11:42 PM

I would completely agree with both posts above - but would question your need to change anything as you have plenty of light with your current setup.

**daveb** · 08-25-2014, 07:50 AM

There is a slight advantage being able to see off into the distance and why I never pulled my halogens off. But the LED's make rock crawling and slow speed driving so much better. I have a 42" bar with two smaller side lights. I hardly ever use the halogens unless driving in desert type terrain.

**rionapo** · 08-25-2014, 02:09 PM

Not exactly a hijack, I hope, but a related question: We put SMB's Hella 500 fog lamps in our van, not realizing they weren't driving lights. Is there a replacement light we can put in the existing fixtures? We want/need much more power for night off-road conditions, esp. since we started carrying our bikes on the front. We don't even notice the fog lamps.

Don

**daveb** · 08-25-2014, 05:07 PM

CellularSteve did it. The bulbs he put in are slightly annoying and probably not CA legal but do a good job lighting up the road. Not sure if they were complete new light fixtures but I thought he just replaced the bulbs. Then there is what Ralleypanam did and put LED's in place which I figured you've already seen.

rallypanam · 08-25-2014, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rionapo

Not exactly a hijack, I hope, but a related question: We put SMB's Hella 500 fog lamps in our van, not realizing they weren't driving lights. Is there a replacement light we can put in the existing fixtures? We want/need much more power for night off-road conditions, esp. since we started carrying our bikes on the front. We don't even notice the fog lamps.

Don

To save you the looking, here's my mod that DaveB mentioned.

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/viewto ... 14&t=13581

**daveb** · 08-25-2014, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rallypanam

Quote:

Originally Posted by rionapo

Not exactly a hijack, I hope, but a related question: We put SMB's Hella 500 fog lamps in our van, not realizing they weren't driving lights. Is there a replacement light we can put in the existing fixtures? We want/need much more power for night off-road conditions, esp. since we started carrying our bikes on the front. We don't even notice the fog lamps.

Don

To save you the looking, here's my mod that DaveB mentioned.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=13581

And how I'd go if I wanted brighter lighting for off road. For on road I'd be a bit careful not to over-do it. I don't know how bright Robb's LED's are. Living in a fog zone, I like that the fog lights don't wash out the oncoming roadway. If I want brighter road lights I might add some different lights down the road though. Kind of tired of those weird ultra bright blue haze LED lights coming at me these days. What are those? They do nothing to light up the roadway in front of the driver. Just COOL I guess. Payback just to see the roadway might be in order. It pisses me off

c7train · 08-25-2014, 08:36 PM

Well I'm glad to hear that I should have trouble our driving the LED bar, At 75 with the 4000's I do out drive them in certain conditions, which is annoying, plus having a little more flood with the LED will be nice as wildlife are all over the roads it seems. We have lots of hour long stretches here in desolate Wyoming where I can leave my Lights on while at highway speeds. Hopefully the LED bar will supplement nicely. Thanks for the insight on all this, and saving me money on an HID conversion. I'll post up some good pics of before and after when everything is on!