Best Driving Light for the Buck

[trainman]

I'm going to buy the rocker switches for the dash and install front and rear driving lights on the roll bar myself on my new 825i. I would like the put two to the front and two two the rear, I will put them on separate switches. I just want lights for work use at night and to help this old guy to see where he is going. I would like them to be round and the smaller the better, somewhere in the 2-3" range. What did you use that looks and works well, anything less expensive then the Xenon lights that give good light, thanks.

John

[CCGATOR]

I also wanted lights front and rear that were not too large. I bought the PIAA (All Terrain pattern), 510 ATP. H3 55 watt = 110watt XTRA Intense White. Diameter is 3-15/16.

[CCGATOR]

I did not mention these lights in my previous post, because they are a driving light with only a 25 deg spread. However they are smaller and use the same bulb. PIAA 004XT only 2-3/8 in diameter.

Charlie

[purplewg]

I know you want small but I put 6 inch Rugged Ridge 100W driving lights on my roll bars facing forward. Let me tell you they light it up out there. I hope to get some pics but have just been way too busy lately. I still plan to mount some mid range lights on the front brush guard and just utility lights facing out the back.

[dieselsmith]

I went with 5" tractor lights with a flood pattern. Need higher wattage bulbs though.

[Gator_Racer]

well i am going to say that PIAA builds an awesome light all of there products are nice but if it is size and patterns you are afte you cannot go wrong with the Rigid Industries Duallies there a 3"x3" light and a 2"x2" light that have more output and less draw on your system cause they are an LED light these will outperform ever light mentioned here and they are made in the USA and they support racers like myself here is their site www.rigidindustries.com

[purplewg]

Nice link Gator_Racer. Those are some nice lights but too rich for my blood.

[825joe]

another option too is the Warn 350f wireless lights. They were 110 on amazon.com and put out some great light. Here's a link if ya want to check it out. That is what I put on my gator.

http://www.amazon.com/WARN-82410-W350F-Fog-Beam/dp/B003G9SDOW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305721583&sr=8-1

[purplewg]

Thanks Joe. I have been looking for a pair to mount on the brush guard. I put the big ol 6 inches up top at 100W and driving type lights. I think I will get these for the brush guard.

Joe, I ordered these lights this morning...

[trainman]

Thanks for all the imput, I'm going to pick one and go with it.

John

[CaptDan]

What are the options for lights that actually fit in the round hole in the front of the Gator, I think JD puts the long-range lights in these holes, are there any aftermarket lights that work in here?

I am not necessarily looking for long range bright lights for here, actually I would like a not so bright light aimed lower to the ground for use around a campground.

Thanks in advance for any information.

[CCGATOR]

Trainman, let us know which one you end up installing

[825joe]

Thanks Joe. I have been looking for a pair to mount on the brush guard. I put the big ol 6 inches up top at 100W and driving type lights. I think I will get these for the brush guard.

Joe, I ordered these lights this morning...

Great!! I love them. I put pics up on another thread too. If you have any questions let me know. I can take pics of where I mounted every thing if you need.

[trainman]

The driving lights will come next, right now I am putting truck/trailer side marker lamps in the holes next to the headlights, you know where those white/silver reflective decals are. I got the 2" type at Northern Tool (#C525A) , they come with the amber 2" lamp, rubber mounting ring, and the light pigtail. After removing the reflective decal I can see that JD built the grille with lights in mind and all you have to do is cut the four small tabs that hold the center of the plastic in place for your hole for their lamps. Well this does cause a small problem as that makes a 2 1/2" hole and I need a 2 1/4" hole. I'm going to get a 2 1/4" hole saw and just cut the hole out and leave the factory ring there and the tabs, this should work fine and make a nice fit for the light. I would have liked to use the 2 1/2" lamps, but it would not work as it needs a 2 3/4" hole and with the rubber mounting ring it's too big for the area in the grille to fit into. This small LED lamp should look really nice as it fits up in the lamp pocket and has a custom look to it, I will wire these lamps to the park lamp switch on the dash and should function with the park lamp/headlight switch.

John

[cfkiii]

John, did you finish your install on the parking lights? Any pic's or other problems? Chuck

[trainman]

I used these side lamps, http://www.customdynamics.com/trailer_led_lights.htm#Round_2_LED_Sidemarker/Clearance_Light_ they worked out great and the single LED ones can be clearly seen. I would have liked to use the 2 1/2" ones, but the rubber bezel that holds the light in was too big to fit in the grille circle where the light goes. I did pickup a plastic wiring loom at Home Depot the 3/8" size that sells for $1.99 and it is 10' long, the loom matches the JD ones that the Gator has. With this loom for the wires I ran one wire for the ground and one wire for the lamps, I went from switch, to one lamp, then the other lamp. I grounded one wire under the dash to the body and the other wire was clipped on to one of the pink wires coming out of the light switch, you will have to check out with pink wire to use as there are two. You can use a test light for this, you want the pink wire that gives power when the park lights are turned on. I did run another set of wires inside the same harness for the driving lights that I will add on the front where the 3" holes are for the lights to go. I left them loose at each end where all I have to do is install the lights and put another dash light switch in the dash and then get power for the lights at the fuse box. All turned out nice and neet and looks factory, I don't know if you could tell it wasn't. Note: the lights I used were from Northern Tool #C525A, I only used the pictures of the lights from another seller as NT did not have a picture of their lights to send. Lights were $17.95 each at NT. I will have to work on my picture sending.

John

[cfkiii]

Thanks John for the good info!