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Old 03-27-2013, 12:32 PM   #1
kpet3
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Default help with choosing lights for my lightbar

Right now i have a 2012wrx with a rally innovation light bar. I have piaa 520 atp lights right now i just went through a snow storm in Canada couldn't see a thing so I was thinking about getting the fog piaa and move the other lights on top of the bar but not sold if I really like them maybe they will work better on top looking for some opinions and suggestions. On my tablet not sure how to add pictures on this will add when I get home. Thanks for any thoughts.
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Old 03-27-2013, 12:50 PM   #2
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To add pictures, they need to be hosted somewhere. then just input the link using the [IMG] brackets around it.

Call up Rally Inno and see what they might recommend.
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Old 03-27-2013, 01:07 PM   #3
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http://s1354.photobucket.com/user/kwpettersen/media/IMG_20130214_220136_zps37596e1f.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q692/kwpettersen/IMG_20130214_220136_zps37596e1f.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_20130214_220136_zps37596e1f.jpg

Last edited by kpet3; 03-27-2013 at 01:29 PM.
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Old 03-27-2013, 01:17 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kpet3 View Post
<a href="http://s1354.photobucket.com/user/kwpettersen/media/IMG_20130214_220136_zps37596e1f.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q692/kwpettersen/IMG_20130214_220136_zps37596e1f.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_20130214_220136_zps37596e1f.jpg"/></a>
Being helpful


Interesting, mobile link doesn't seem to work.
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Old 03-27-2013, 02:08 PM   #5
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Was it IN the snowstorm?

The key there is that the higher the lights shine (at all), the more you look at snowflakes instead of what's ahead. Fogs as low as possible is what you'll be looking for. Probably lower than your bar is setup for. I've driven in similar conditions where there was unbelievable fog in the mountains of NH. I ran with no headlights at all and some Hella rectangular fogs very low, under the bumper. They do the best job and have a nice cutoff so you can see something. You still don't want to be out driving fast like you're a KenBlockwannabe but you at least can see the road.
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Old 03-27-2013, 02:20 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Loyale93 View Post
Being helpful


Interesting, mobile link doesn't seem to work.
Photobucket has been acting up lately. Try Imgur or Minus.





OP, Jack hit nail on the head. Maybe look into some rectangular low profile fogs that sit lower to the bar.
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Old 03-27-2013, 02:33 PM   #7
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The lights i have on now are not fog lights if i switched to fog lights I thought it would work better and move the other lights on top. So when I get in bad weather again I can just run my fog lights by themselves. Would mounting them lower really make that big of a difference? Also should I just get piaa fog lights or go with something else also not sure if I want to stick with the 520atp piaa or will remounting them make a big enough difference?
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Old 03-27-2013, 02:39 PM   #8
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I was in the snow storm i could only see about 15 feet in front of me and was going pretty slow.
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Old 03-27-2013, 02:55 PM   #9
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Quote:
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Would mounting them lower really make that big of a difference? Also should I just get piaa fog lights or go with something else also not sure if I want to stick with the 520atp piaa or will remounting them make a big enough difference?
Mounting them lower making a difference? Read what Jack wrote again.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Man Jack
The key there is that the higher the lights shine (at all), the more you look at snowflakes instead of what's ahead. Fogs as low as possible is what you'll be looking for. Probably lower than your bar is setup for.
As for whether the PIAA's remounted will do what you want... just have to try it out. every weather situation is different. There is a reason that Hella sells Fogs and Driving lights that look exactly the same but do two totally different things. You can't just expect driving lights to work as well as fogs.
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Old 03-27-2013, 03:01 PM   #10
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You want the light source to be as close to the road as possible. The higher up the lights, the more reflection you'll get from the fog/snow.

I had best results using PIAA Plasma Ion fog light bulbs in stock fogs on my 2002 WRX.
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Old 03-27-2013, 08:22 PM   #11
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I think i am going to get piaa 520 fog lights put them on the bottom of the bar and move the other lights on top.
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Old 03-29-2013, 10:31 AM   #12
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Can i run all 4 lights with out to much strain on the battery?
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Old 03-29-2013, 09:53 PM   #13
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I've had quite a few lights on my other vehicle that I use for off-roading, and really like the Hella 4000 lights. It may be too beefy for the light bar on the Subaru, but easy enough to measure. They come in a driving light which are 100 watts or a fog in 55 watts. I run the 4000 Euros which have the dim lit look when I have my parking lights on or headlights, when the Hellas are not switched on.

Just found a picture of them mounted on a STi, which are the ones on the bottom:

http://derfotohof.net/autos/wrx/labr...r-2007-085.JPG
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Old 04-02-2013, 11:16 AM   #14
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Instead of creating a new thread I am going to add to this one. I have HID's and would like to replace the original Fog lights with small driving lights instead of fog will just switching the bulb do anything or do I need to completely switch it out. I see a lot of different cars with aftermarket lights in there fog spot and just blinds me and don't want to do that. I have a light bar and putting fog lights on it so I will have some real ones on the car. What is a good option for switching out the fog light the right way. Thanks.
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Old 04-02-2013, 11:34 AM   #15
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First I will state the obvious. Your English is terrible, use punctuations. Second, what do you mean by "light bar"? These are usually seen on rally cars
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Old 04-02-2013, 11:37 AM   #16
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If the snow is severe enough it wont matter if you have a yellow filtered lighthouse lamp on your car. But yeah low mounted yellow light is the best bet IMO to keep you on the road.
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Old 04-02-2013, 04:21 PM   #17
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Thanks I had to bribe the teacher to pass english . Just trying to get some better lighting that's why I am adding the fog lights on my "rally innovations" light bar. I was thinking about switching the stock fog into more functional of a light, since I am adding a PIAA fog light on the light bar. I want to make sure that I am not straining the car too much.
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Old 04-02-2013, 05:07 PM   #18
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get some LED Rigid lights and place them on your Roof rack system. Would look definitely mean.
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Old 04-02-2013, 06:34 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kpet3 View Post
Right now i have a 2012wrx with a rally innovation light bar. I have piaa 520 atp lights right now i just went through a snow storm in Canada couldn't see a thing so I was thinking about getting the fog piaa and move the other lights on top of the bar but not sold if I really like them maybe they will work better on top looking for some opinions and suggestions. On my tablet not sure how to add pictures on this will add when I get home. Thanks for any thoughts.
Your first problem is they are DRIVING lights and not FOG lights, Fogs have a flat cutoff, if you shine them on a wall they light below the line you will see and not above it. Kinda like

dark
_____________/light
light

Driving lights are more like spot lights that throw a straight conical beam waaaaaay out there.
If you buy fogs you have to make sure the lens is in the housing correctly, Hella 500's come out of the box to be mounted straight up, to mount them upside down you take the two screws out out of the housing and rotate the light 180 and screw it back in.
The closer to the road the better.
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Old 04-02-2013, 07:26 PM   #20
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i am going to put some fog lights on the bottom of the bar move the other lights on top and thinking about throwing LED lights in the oem fog lights since i will have dedicated fog lights instead. Is that the best way for the oem fog light?
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Old 04-03-2013, 10:46 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kpet3 View Post
i am going to put some fog lights on the bottom of the bar move the other lights on top and thinking about throwing LED lights in the oem fog lights since i will have dedicated fog lights instead. Is that the best way for the oem fog light?
I don't know, I have never seen the pattern a LED fog light throws, though I would think a good set of LED's would be pretty good with proper lenses. I would want to see them in a test rig before I bought them though. You want that flat cutoff on top so the light is not reflected back into your face from the fog/snow. I have never actually seen a set of LED's labeled as dedicated fogs. Have seen them labeled 'Fog/driving' though and in my book that's a bald faced lie, one of the other not both unless you have a james bond revolving lenses hidden in there somewhere.
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Old 04-03-2013, 11:27 AM   #22
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I don't know, I have never seen the pattern a LED fog light throws, though I would think a good set of LED's would be pretty good with proper lenses. I would want to see them in a test rig before I bought them though. You want that flat cutoff on top so the light is not reflected back into your face from the fog/snow. I have never actually seen a set of LED's labeled as dedicated fogs. Have seen them labeled 'Fog/driving' though and in my book that's a bald faced lie, one of the other not both unless you have a james bond revolving lenses hidden in there somewhere.
Since I am installing dedicated fog lights on my light bar, I don't see much point in keeping the fog lights that come with the car. So was thinking of putting some LED's in them to help with my normal headlights. The only thing is I don't want to just switch the bulb or something and just have it glare at on coming drivers, I am trying to be courteous and do it right. I wish I had some James Bond revolving lens.
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Old 04-03-2013, 11:52 AM   #23
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You can mod the stock fogs to be driving floods/high beam. Just pull out the inner deflector that goes around the bulb. This will remove the cutoff point in the light and make it a flood. If you do this I recommend a mesh fog covers or tinting then with something to tone them down. Another option is to rewire them to be a secondary high beam for high beam switch use only.
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