Was at northern tool today, and they had some 5"x1 3/4" and 3 1/2" dia. driving lights. they were $9.99 for a pair(links below), so im thinkin about gettin a pair of round for the front and rectangle for the rear.

i opened the box and they were all metal housings and looked & felt to be built well.

my question is, will the 55w H3 bulbs be bright for the front lights, to use for off roading, or will my hi-beams be the same or over power them? im sure the rectangle ones will be pleanty bright to augment my back-up lights.

and if the round ones wont cut it for brightness with the 55w bulbs, would it hurt things to throw some like 110w H3 bulbs in the housing?

Rectangle Item# 18816:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w..._352681_352681

Round Item #18814:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w..._352679_352679

 

I don't think they will be over powered, as driving lights and headlights have a bit different light pattern. As far as throwing in a 110w, you could, but you might also burn up the wiring harnesses to them if they are not heavy enough.
Also for $9.99, is it going to hurt to try them?

 

well wiring them with heavy enough wire isnt a problem, and i was also gonna throw a relay in there as well.

 

What about the wiring internal to the lights?

 

i bet if need be i could solder some better wires in there. but how much of a difference would the wire need to be to go from 55w to 100w?

 

Not sure what gauge you would have to go with. I have heard of some people who put in higher wattage headlight bulbs in and melting the wiring harness at the light. Drawing too much juice, thru too little a wire and generated a lot of heat.

 

If you use the headlights to trigger the relay for the fogs, that's fine.

Personally, there is no 55-watt that actually works well. I've used them on other vehicles.... they don't work much beyond the headlights, even if mounted up high. Personally, I'd rather spend the extra money on a set of Daylighters. $100 for 150-watters from Desert Rat. (Pics are in the gallery in my signature.... Select Lighting Comparison from the pull-down)

-Joe

 

well even if i got these lights and put 100w or 130w bulbs in em, and re-wired 'em, i think id still be WAY under $100. I gotta go by autozone and see what a relay would cost, but i think they're just $5 or so arent they?

 

As with most things, you get what you pay for. The last pair of sub-$20 lights I used (on a Ranger) lasted all of 6 months. I swore them off. I'm still running the same set of Daylighters on the F-150 I've had on there for almost 6 years. I've got the same set of 150-watt sealed-beams on my daily-driver Explorer, and they've been on there for almost a year and a half. I bounced a shovel off the front end, destroying the OEM headlight and parking light, but the Daylighter right next to it was unfazed by the blow. Won me over for good right there!

 

Metal

I agree with GIJoe. Don't skimp when it comes to lighting. Go with the KC
lights if you can afford them. You won't regret it! KC light kits come with
everything you need to install....correct wiring, relay, etc.

https://www.f150online.com/galleries....cfm?gnum=8192

 

when u say lasted 6months, what went out? the bulbs? the cases fall apart or what?

plus, these lights are 3" diameter, KC just has 5". too big for my application.