HID Offroad Lights

[HenryJ]

Found a pretty good deal on 7" HID Offroad Lights:

Custom Accessories Off Road Light: HID; 7"
Part Number: 99000CSK Price: $119.99

7" HID Off Road Light with a wide and very bright 35 watt Euro-Beam Light pattern. Features include a durable, hi-impact ABS housing with a red anodized aluminum trim ring. These have an internal starter and ballast. Easy two wire installation. Each light includes a clear polycarbonate protective lens cover to protect the tempered glass lens from rocks. The wiring harness to connect to the included blue back lit rocker switch is also included.

Sounds pretty good, right? Well it gets better. I called my local Shucks auto parts. They had two in stock. $99 each.
Next:

I found a 25% off coupon online. You have to go to Coupon and fill out the survey. I typed in my personal info and made up some information for the transaction date, transaction number,and transaction amount. I then got an e-mail to my account with a link to print the coupon. Its 25% off

This worked. I received and email with a link to print out a 25% off coupon for in store use only. That put the pair of lights at $148.50
Not too bad for a pair of HID offroad lights.

Mounting them up was not bad. The outer housing is ABS plastic with a red aluminum ring. The reflector is cast aluminum with a sealed clear glass lens. The ballast is mounted in the back of the housing. The bulb mounted to the reflector. They come with a clear snap on polycarbonate/plexiglass lens cover. The wiring and fuse is included. there is no switch as mentioned.
The reflector is easily clocked for side mount. the mounting bracket is a toothed aluminum block design. Overall I think the light is pretty substantial.



These replaced the 55w lights I had mounted to my winch. At 35w they will conserve some power and offer lots more light. I have not seen them in the dark , but I think I am going to find a good recipe for crow. The HIR lights were pretty white when compared to halogen. These make that difference look minimal. If the light output is as good as I think, I will be very happy.

I had been looking at HID offroad lights, but could not bring myself to fork out the kind of prices they were bringing. I found this hard to pass up.

This all came from a thread on another forum. here is the thread: Glamisdunes inexpensive HID

EDIT: I just noticed that the clip for the clear cover is broken in the partsamerica.com photo. That may be something to look forward to. I'll have to be more careful with mine

[F9K9]

Excellent find and price. Jealousy prevents me from writing more! I am way to dizzy from fighting with swapping out TV stands, satellite receivers, and HD BS

[HenryJ]

Took some night shots:

Low (highbeam bulbs) / Quad (HIR highbeams) / Quad w/HID


Quad / Quad w/HID


Front shots. Quad / HID / Aux. Fogs

The shot with all the lights on including the HID was the only one with enough light to properly focus the camera. Quads alone were not enough.

You do not know how yellow your lights are until you try something like this. The difference is huge. The HIDs are great. The headlamps look more like filler lighting. I would not say they are twice as bright as my quads. Maybe 20%-30% more light. That says quite a bit though. I have highbeam bulbs in the lows and toshiba HIR bulbs in the highbeams. These two HID lights are that much brighter than those combined.

The rose colored glasses of a new mod are still on here. It will take some time and some trips before I can make a better judgment. For now, I am pleased.

[purduecrew]

for offroad HID's you cant beat that price with a stick!!! You would be hard pressed to find the daggon electronics for that! HID's are like you said, hard to describe until you've been behind a set...My favorite is the second set of pictures. Look at the left, no cedar trees, then the right picture, you see the huge A** trees in the distance

[F9K9]

I refuse to look at Brule's links, I refuse to look at Brule's links, I refu..........................

[HenryJ]

I am not sure how long that coupon deal will last. It would be handy for other purchases as well. Hope it lasts a while.

I am also not sure how long the pricing on these lights will remain. I did see one online reference to a December 30 price expiration, but that may just have been a website thing. From the interest thus far, these may go the way of the $25 compressor. It looks like each store may have only received two of these lights. that may mean scrounging stores to find them.

At twice the price, I don't think I would have been tempted to try them. The plastic housing should last a long time. No rust problems. That red aluminum ring may be just eye candy for someone. I do think it is a good idea in that it does help support the plastic housing.
I am not sure how long it will be before the polycarbonate covers become so sand pitted that they will be unusable. Replacement covers may be hard to come by since these are not a common size.
The wiring from the light is nicely supported and protected. I did not use the supplied wire and fuse as I already had the wiring in place and reused the wireless controller. These can be operated remotely. They stay with the winch , they can be used as lighting on the rear hitch as well as the hitch on another vehicle using the booster cables as the power supply.

There is a little flicker sometimes when you start them. Kind of reminds me of a fluorescent bulb starting. I am told that they need time to warm up to full intensity and that HID lights are best left on and not cycled on and off repeatedly. Sort of the same thing as fluorescent lights is the impression I get.

[purduecrew]

Brule,
You mention flickering...and you probably are well aware of both of these things, but I thought I would just mention it in case you didnt know...

Is it flickering while they are trying to turn on initially? Is it like just a variation in intensity or is it strobing? Strobing is a sign of too little voltage supplied...

Or are they flickering, after you have them turned on? That is bad if it is the case, usually synonymous with afterket conversion kits alot of ricers use.

Just want to help ensure you get great performance and life from them!

[HenryJ]

I am sure the parts are not the highest quality available. If 50 million ricers are using them, how can I go wrong Seriously, any group of automotive enthusiasts is a good source for inspiration.

You are the "expert" in this area, I know just enough to be dangerous. I am still learning about HID, as should be somewhat obvious. I do take your input seriously.

Now to the phenomenon. It is a difference in color for a split second some times on a cold start. No strobing. I have seen it a couple of times from a distance when the lights are on a wall close you can see it. I really don't think it is anything alarming. I have seen pictures of the color change when these warm up. Rumor has it these are 6000k. That is up there. Not that it is all that important j/k

Reading the thread where I found them, I see a few people who own high dollar lights with a few put downs, but the majority still say "for the price...they are still a good deal". Much the same sort of remarks that go along with the MV50 compressor deal.
I was somewhat concerned about replacement parts. This site: Xenonlink.com was recommended. Looks like a good source for parts should they be needed.
Very few hard tests. a couple broken housings, but the mounting was questioned with no answers. There is mention of a name brand that appears to be an exact match. Sound familiar? Lots like the compressor.

Would I want to rely upon these as my primary lighting solution? Uh, well...just that hesitation for an answer should mean something. I do not think they are proven yet. They might, but it will take time to know.
The weakest link may be the plastic housing. It really doesn't scare me though. It is better than our plastic distributor, and much less critical for making it home.

"It is only as good as the optics." That is a good statement. Some are worried about the pattern. It is not a pencil beam spot. It is not a flood. I like the European pattern. Long range semi flood would be my best description. A flat beam that is wider than your stock headlamps. It does not offer the spread you get in close with the stock headlamps. Not as good as a cornering light. They really do reach out. The house pictured above was about a quarter mile away. A person walking at that distance would have been visible with the HID. I do not know what speed this would equate to for reaction time, but I would judge it to be twice what I had.

I am not knowledgeable enough to be informative on the electronics end. I am sure they are cheap Chinese parts. I don't know what it would take to upgrade to good bulbs. From the look of the linked website, $140 would replace the bulbs and ballast easily. That still puts me at half the cost of the other lights I have seen, should these ever need parts.

The reflector is cast aluminum and heavy enough to survive. The weak point might be the tempered glass lens. Keeping the polycarbonate cover in place to protect the glass may be critical in the desert. Should the glass get broken, I thin k a replacement glass could be cut. I really don't see that as a problem right now.

I will be watching that desert buggy group for test results. Those guys will bash their rigs harder than I could, even if I tried. It will be interesting to see where this ends up. Right now I really see no way you can get into HID lighting any cheaper. The kits with out reflectors run more than these lights. I would never have tried them at the costs I had seen before this deal. I am just glad I am getting the chance to run some HID and really see what all the fuss is about.

[purduecrew]

Everything you mentioned is right on track. If the color changes right after you turn them on, thats completely normal. No different than a metal halide lamp you see in an industrial building, gym, or a factory.

The color temp is great! I prefer anything 5-6000K myself, its just enough "eyecandy" and still tons of light.

You are still right though, for the price, cant beat em! If something electrical does go wrong, its either OE connections internally, or AMP connectors. Theres only so many ways to skin a cat in this area. Also, I would be willing to bet that IF you have problems, it will be ballast related...

You also heard right about the optics. Its probably the best all around mix between a tractor beam and a flood,and I would prefer that as well, but at 1/4 mile, it sounds like it does its job Another nice thing is that the larger the reflector the better and more efficient the light output is, so thats a big plus!

Gets two big thumbs up from me!!! Now you know why it sucks trying to make all that light fit into a low beam See what Im going through HAHA!

[F9K9]

Well, I actually started an order online since there are no stores anywhere near me. Free shipping but, $239.98 a pr kills it for me. I did get a coupon if, someone needs one PM me and I'll send it to you. You'll just need to send me a SASE.

[04crewvt]

Wow you resisted for 2 whole days I'm impressed.

[HenryJ]

People have been gathering these lights up from the rumors going on the different threads. Southern California is having problems finding them. Colorado has a few sets left. Rumors of them being discontinued are floating around. A couple shops in the Glamis thread bought large quantities and are selling them between $109-$120. The best deal is still buying at Shucks, Checker, Kragen, Murray's. These stores are in the west half of the US and the northern states. Advance Autoparts uses the same Partsamerica.com website. ( Store locator ) and covers the east half of the US. It would take a phone call to see if their stores stock these as well and if they would be willing to match the Shucks,Checker, Kragen , Murray's sale price of $99.

[Jigg]

Advanced Auto doesn't have them... i just called and the part number doesn't show up in their system.

[HenryJ]

Did you try this part number too? PA 8769168
That number was mentioned in the thread, but I never did get it to come up.

Here is another set of lights that must come from the same manufacturer: HIDfoglight.com - Truck lights Regular price:$209.00 Sale price: $129.00 These look to have a smooth reflector and may be a spot like pattern?

Here is yet another set of the lights: JC Whitney - Delta Offroad light $559.99 - $629.99

More: Lazer Star Dominator HID - 7" Spot $289.99 each This one may have a different light pattern.

Lazer Star press release
Gspeed racing Jeepspeed 1722 announces new sponsorship from Lazerstar lights and Morphic industries Looks like they have been around a while. that article is a couple years old.
Parts may not be hard to find at all. These lights use a H3 base and a halogen bulb could be substituted as evidenced from the Lazer Star website selling a halogen version of the same light.
I am still looking for a replacement protective cover. I have not found a source yet.

Here you go Reed: Jeep w/HID

[F9K9]

I went on a trail ride today and stopped by my local Advance. Asst. manager is in the club and special orders all kinds of parts for heeps and keeps allot of stuff in stock for us. He couldn't come up a source for the lights and he even wants some for himself. oh well.

I just located them on the advance site for $120 each. I'll check with him tomorrow or Wed for a price match.

[F9K9]

OK, my man was off work from Advance auto today. I PMed him my find on the Advance Auto site. I do not know if, I could repeat the search and find them on Advance. The coupon is a bust due to lack of a bar code. Here is my result of a search on the Advance/PartsAmerica site. HIDs He is going to check into this thing tomorrow.

[HenryJ]

I saw that too. If it can be picked up in store, they should ba able to get it in. There was some mention of 10% off for phone orders picked up in store. I don't know if that will apply in this case.
If they do a price match, That may be a hard one too. I have my receipt, but nothing online to offer as a source for a price match. I can scan the receipt if it would help.

[F9K9]

Let's just see what transpires. Thanks for the offer.

[HenryJ]

The stores in Boise may have some of these lights. I printed out another coupon, and I am very tempted to pick up a second set.
These could go on my rack, or more likely replace the lights on my cargo box, since it gets used the most.

EDIT: Yep. Picked up a set in Boise, ID. $24 more than the last set , but still a bargain. Pretty sure these will replace the lights on my cargo box. That will be 125 watts less power used and at least double the light. Looking forward to the upgrade.

[purduecrew]

they sure are big but

[HenryJ]

Like you said, "Big reflector, big light."

[purduecrew]

yes sir!!!

So I take it you have been absorbed by the HID phenomena?

[HenryJ]

I do like my HIR highbeams. If I had known about the huge difference I would have never wasted money on the halogen offroad lights. Until recently the HID have not been affordable though. $100 each is reasonable for them ,IMO. $300 each is still pretty crazy.

[purduecrew]

I completely agree with everything you said.

Of course, also like you mentioned, had you not wasted X dollars on halogens, you could have spent the $100 plus X dollars and still been even, if that makes any sense.

REGARDLESS, looks good! and apparently they are holding up enough to convince you into a second set!

[HenryJ]

Rigid industries 5" HID

[F9K9]

Nice find!!!!! Any reviews from the expedition forums?

[HenryJ]

Not yet. I wonder about the ballast getting hot inside that metal housing? Guess it shouldn't be much different from the plastic case.

[F9K9]

Hopefully they did a little testing. I like the concept of the covers on yours and the Light Force too.

[Horsehammerr]

Read the last paragraph of the description. It says the ballast is covered in epoxy and makes the metal case a "heat sink" ? They also say plastic cases suck.

[HenryJ]

Another source: Trail Duty HID lights