That looks great!

Can you give some more info on your wiring? Where did you tap for the parking lights?

And, do the fogs go out when the high beams & driving lights come on? That would be the legal way to do it, I am wondering if you or anyone else has sorted that out. Not sure how to set it up so the circuit to the fogs it killed when the highs come on.

...Unless, I just wire into the factory fogs. Duh.

Thanks!

-jac

 

MINISport rally lamp bar

 

here is my set up: it is the cheap bar found on ebay that fits very nicely for 40 shipped and 4 hella 500ff's. i am still messing with the switch setup because i cannot find out how to hook up another switch into the factory switch panel.

 

Coopersport Driving lights (DIY Install)

 

How about feelings on different types of lights? I am looking at Hella 500s, but has anyone used anything less expensive like Pilots or anything?

 

When I had the bumper off I had easy access to the parking lamp wiring, So I just spiced into each side. I have a separate switch for the fogs and the driving lights. If I don't want the fogs on I just hit the switch and same for the driving lights. I did'nt want to only be able to use them with the high beams so that is why these are wired this way.

 

Hella 2500's are less and feature the same 55W driving lamps. They have LED "angel eyes" but if you don't like that look, they don't have to be hooked up. They're smaller (IIRC) than the 500's - don't know if that's a plus or minus for you. I think smaller = better for bonnet-mount applications and bigger = better for lower grille use. It's up to you. Either way, the 2500's are a great lamp at only about $50-$60 a pair.

 

+1 on the 2500's - here's mine (shamelessly copied from ImagoX)



I personally think these lights are best used as "deer lights" - I keep them aimed about 20 degrees left and right of center - that way they light up the shoulders of the road 100 feet or so in front of the car. That plus I'm running brighter-than-stock high beam bulbs and I have a nice wide illuminated pattern that's perfect for my late night driving on country roads with no oncoming traffic, where my biggest concern is DEER. These lights throw more of a "floodlight" pattern than many of the higher-end driving lights - so if what you're looking for is something that will light up your lane 1/4 mile down the road, these are NOT the lights for you. But if you want to add more light in the area near your car (but beyond the range of the HID low beams) they work well - and are small and light as Matt said. I did some mods to mine to make them look better from the side, and shamelessly copied Matt's custom mounts... but hard to beat the price, and I like the size.

 

Yep - I aimed mine EXACTLY the same way... I drive on a lot of curved, dark roads, so I don't need far-reaching pencil-beams, I need SPREAD to see the corners. I rely on my Highs for distance. I also have my 2500's wired to be switched on with the included switch, rather than with the high-beams only - that way, I can run the Hellas any way I want, and under any conditions, even in the daytime.

 

I can certainly reccomend the Hella 500s I'vegot 4 of them the driving lights light up everything for at least 1.3 miles ahead (and everything inbetween) I suppose I need to hit Nebraska in the dead of night to see just how far they really reach.

I picked up a set of cheap fog lights decided to not even install them as they were rectangles, but I felt the fit and finish of the kit was significantly weaker than the Hella harness.

 

Totally forgot about those... I need to have another set made to replace the ones that were destroyed...

Here's the drawing for my custom 2500 brackets. These work AWESOME with the Outmotoring bonnet-mount brackets. The 2500's come stock with a bracket that has TWO mounting holes in the base, and of course the bonnet brackets have but a single mounting hole. If you make brackets to these specs, the 2500's drop right in with the included mounting hardware, and are rock-solid with no vibration. Just use some wide nylon washers under rubber ones between the lamp bracket and the bonnet bracket, and I'd replace the included bolts with stainless steel - adds less than $10 to the final cost and looks good for years:



Enjoy!!

PS - if a vendor ends up making thees for mass production I want a cut. I'd make and sell them myself if I could quit my %$#$@#! job and become a full-time Manufacturer/Vendor, but I can't.

 

i've always wondered, the lower quad-light mount like the alta one, does it not block airflow to the radiator? has anyone w/ lots of driving lights mounted ever overheated 'cuz of that?

 

I made a set of very similar brackets to ImagoX's sketch - my dimensions are a little different (I actually just swagged them in my shop, built it around the light), cut and bent out of steel and drilled (not slotted), made them as low as I could and still fit visually with the light and outmotoring bracket. Painted flat black.

And I had to be different in the wiring, so my three-way switch toggles between off, on, and tied to high beams - so I can have my cake and eat it, too...

And I wired in a bright red LED that comes on whenever the Hellas are on - so I don't forget... put the switch and the LED in the knock-out in my parcel shelf. Wired the angel eyes into my parking lights.

 

Air still flows in and around them. A no longer active NAM member Battle Cattle, had 4 fogs and 4 driving lights and no overheating issues in SE TN.

 

B/C's gallery is empty but here is a MINI with the same set up "The owner lives in NSW Australia"

 

So for the 2500's you need a custom mounting bracket? I really like the size of those lights and am flirting with getting them. Also, do you know of any other brand with a light that is similar in size?

 

You don't NEED custom brackets with the 2500's - they come with "square" black brackets that were perfectly fine, but not as pretty - I ran them on my car for probably 6 months before making the custom brackets. You DO need the Outmotoring bonnet mount brackets in addition to what comes with the lights. Note that they're actually made to mount low, like in a lower grille area - so they're designed to mount from the top - so we're running them upside down. The only difference this MIGHT make is they may get more water / condensation inside that way if you don't seal them well with silicone - which I do.

I've looked far and wide for other lights of the same size - and haven't found any - everything else I find is significantly bigger, or more radical (like some of the tiny pencil beams). With my color scheme, I wish I could find chrome lights of the same size, but no luck so far.

 

Thanks for the help Paul