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New grille block: version III

will be working till midnight's after next week and needed some extra light because of wild pigs in one certain area. these things are big and the car wouldn't stand a chance.
bought a 60w LED spot light, 6000 lumens. wired through a relay to come on using high beams only. built a bracket from an old bed frame. this is hard to drill so had to burn a hole through then clean it with a new weld.
bought a badgeless grille. needed it because the badge in the old grille didn't leave room for the light.
after removing the center section, bracket was roughed out, cut, welded, repeated same process until it worked. probably would of been quicker to measure but "measure nunce and cut twice".
layed the 1st layer of fiber mat, made sure to overlap the edges. resin doesn't stick to the plastic very well. boxed in the area around the light. used anything i had to prop/hold pieces in place until resin set. most batches were mixed hot so cure times were short.
added a clear cover to the light from a sheet i found on the side of the road. looked like a rock guard from an RV. molded grooves for it to rest in and cemented it in place.
final sheet was a heavy weave using clear resin. found it at West Marine. pricey but real good stuff.
ran a few days without the block and then with it. it really seems to contribute to FE. could all just be a fantasy but it works for me.....................

That light is for low speed only, right? It might oversaturate your foreground with light, worsening your ability to see very far down the road/field.

depends on ones definition of high speed. i drive rarely over 55-57 mph. if one is use to driving 50, then yes, it's for high speed. if used to 70 mph, then no. it's a spotlight pattern, not a flood light. it has a long range and increases long range visibility. it's only used with high beam and they work great together.
just got from a week away so haven't got any night pics yet.

i lied but not really "night".
here is normal:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...psh6vtfmfj.jpg
high beam and spotlight:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...psydu8lbds.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by deejaaa (Post 502828)

depends on ones definition of high speed. i drive rarely over 55-57 mph.

For a lamp like that, anything over 25 is high speed. You're oversaturating your foreground, whether you're aware of it or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlaricD (Post 502897)

For a lamp like that, anything over 25 is high speed. You're oversaturating your foreground, whether you're aware of it or not.

guess you need to drive it to see it. there is no oversaturating so i will drive on and enjoy it or just remain oblivious.
really do appreciate your concern and comments though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deejaaa (Post 502915)

guess you need to drive it to see it. there is no oversaturating so i will drive on and enjoy it or just remain oblivious.
really do appreciate your concern and comments though.

That's the thing about the human optical system-- we think we see better than we can in many cases, and in other cases we think we see worse than we actually do. That's why we have FMVSS 108 :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlaricD (Post 502954)

That's the thing about the human optical system-- we think we see better than we can in many cases, and in other cases we think we see worse than we actually do. That's why we have FMVSS 108 :)

this light is for off-highway use only so don't see where FMVSS plays into it but thanks anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deejaaa (Post 502955)

this light is for off-highway use only so don't see where FMVSS plays into it but thanks anyway.

You can just as easily get yourself hurt or killed off-highway by lights that degrade your ability to see distant obstacles.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlaricD (Post 502960)

You can just as easily get yourself hurt or killed off-highway by lights that degrade your ability to see distant obstacles.

great info! thanks for it. really appreciate the concern. you're doing a great service.

Hey Alaric, do you know if there are any aftermarket led units with a beam pattern similar to low beam headlights and suitable for highway use?

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2000mc (Post 502998)

Hey Alaric, do you know if there are any aftermarket led units with a beam pattern similar to low beam headlights and suitable for highway use?

Pricey, but these in the right hand traffic low beam (#0549211) would fit the bill. Aim them as you would a low beam, wire them to turn off when you activate the high beams. Mount them so the lamp center is exactly at, or below, the lamp center of your existing low beams (but not TOO low, they lose their usefulness when too low). Be careful not to block view of your turn signals and front position lights.

They're useful for when the traffic is too dense for high beams, but moving too fast to just use a single set of low beams (for most cars, 50mph is the limit you can really see effectively on low beams, and 45 is a more realistic figure).

I have Hella XLs on my Previa (they're halogen) and have made driving on the interstate a lot less nervewracking, because their HB2-based headlamps have a rather mediocre low beam. [There are worse lamps out there (at least they're not the HB1 (9004)), but their lenses have lost some of their clarity and the reflectors are probably shot (despite LOOKING great).] The problem with interstate driving is often you have cars approaching from the other direction, or traveling in your direction in front of you, close enough to where high beams will be dangerously glaring-- but they'll also be far enough away to where you're overdriving your low beams' useful range if you're also going at interstate speeds. The auxiliary lows give you the extra seeing distance (not because they're pointed out farther, but because they're putting out more light in the same pattern) you need to go 65mph+.

It's a shame that SAE J582 was canceled without replacement, because the auxiliary low beam is much more useful than fog lamps for most drivers, and possibly more useful than auxiliary high beams for most drivers.