Hanslow

Folks,

Last weekend, when myself and PeterPerfect had a spare 10 hours we fitted my new super duper gas discharge Comet 200 Xenons.

Suffice to say they are bloody bright, but I need to fine tune them as they are slightly pointing at the ground. The hard work is done though, so it should be just a case of playing around until I am happy with the angle.

I should ( ) be sorting out my website sometime with details of the full job, but in the meantime, here's some pictures to be getting on with.

When I get them properly aligned, I'll post some night-time shots so you can see the light levels.






[This message has been edited by Hanslow (edited 13 April 2001).]

carl

Maybe it's the photos, but they seem a bit smaller than the OEM foglights, and look as if they're mounted near the top of the square holes. Could you not have mounted them in the middle of the holes?

Hanslow

They are smaller than the stock lights and there is no mounting bracket for them like the existing fog lights. They come with a collar type mounting bracket which after some fiddling, we decided to move slightly from the recommended position and mount as shown.

The light output (IMHO) is only second to the Hella 1000FF gas discharges. I think they are brighter than the PIAAs, I just need to angle them better

If I had spent some time designing a mountain bracket that somehow fit round the light then I think they would have mounted more flush in the centre....but being the excited child that I was I wanted them on straight away.

PeterPerfect

10 hours
That time just flew by...must have been all that Murphys I was sipping

IWatkins

Glad to see you were taking the supervision bit seriously PP

They look OK to me, but I'm actually more interested in how good thy really are, look forward to the lighting shots when you have them Hanslow.

Cheers

Ian

Hanslow

Ian,

Excuse my absolutely pants ability with a camera...it was dark, it was raining, and it wasn't altogether warm

You can see from the examples below, although not good quality, the light difference given. It was the first time I've tested them in earnest, and I was not disappoined.

The pictures show my headlights (with PIAA superwhites) on dipped, followed by main (you can make out slightly higher tree definition) followed by OVERKILL with the Comet 200s on UFO mode. If you know what the light levels from the PIAA Superwhite H4 bulbs are are like, you can guage the light level from the Comets. I will endeavour to get some good pics when I work out how to take decent pictures at night

Apologies if the images are large, I'm tired and I want to go to bed.....

Dipped


Main Beam


Bring on the Hellas


Really got to be seen at night to be believed

Cheers

Steve

ndouglass

Hanslow,

I'm glad I seen this as I was thinking of installing the same a while back but put it on hold for a while.

Have a look at the following links if anyone wants any more info :

Hanslow

Just had a look at the pics this morn in the light of day and to be honest they don't do them justice.

I'm going to have to work out the best settings for night time shots with my camera and get some more done.

When I turned them on, my girlfriend saw a vole scamper across the road about 100 yds away in fright

HunterB

V impressive, but you should have them wired to the main beam, not switchable separately, unless you plan to use them only as fog lights

Hanslow

They are wired both to the fog light switch and the main beam. The basic operation is that they will only come on when the main beam is on, but I can turn them off with the fog light switch.

Basically so that when on A-roads, I just use main beam, when on back B-roads where there is nothing but fields and crap roads, I stick the lot on.

I also wanted the override switch so that if I flashed someone I didn't burn their retinas out

So it was probably a bad description of the last shot...that was with Main Beam and the 200s, the one above was just Main Beam, the one at the top just dipped.

Hanslow

Cheers for the links Neil. The second link is what my picture was supposed to look like It did in real life!

I'm gonna fish my camera manual out tonight and see what the recommended settings are for night time shots. Wanted to give a nice real world scenario of the light level. If it hadn't been raining and I didn't have a cat meowing it's head off in the back of the car (picking it up from family who were cat sitting for us) then I might have spent more time on them....might have opportunity to do some more this weekend. I will post any decent shots when I get them.

mutant_matt

How much were they?

Matt

Hanslow

Matt,

Retail they are about 300 quid inclusive of VAT. That includes everything you need to wire them up.

Someone mentioned they found them for 250 inclusive of VAT and I got mine (through a mate) for a little less.

I'm sure somewhere would do a group buy if enough people were interested.

Steve

chiark

Hi Hanslow

Looks like good kit. Could you let me know how you wired the fog light switch? I want to use the switch rather than another relay...

Cheers,

Nick.

Hanslow

Hey up Nick,

After about 2 hours deliberation on the electrics, we actually wired the Comets into the fog light connectors themselves. We could get away with this as the lights only draw 35W when operating. They draw a little more for a split second when firing up as they need a bit more juice to set them off.

There is one relay for the two lights which is wired into the main beam cable. This means that the power will feed to the lights once main beam is on, but as we wired them up to the standard fog light wiring, we get the fog light override switch for free

We were initially going to wire them to the battery, at which point we realised they would come on with main beam all the time, which I didn't want, so we used the standard fog light loom.

That's probably going to be of no help to you whatsoever

Cheers

Steve

IWatkins

Steve,

They look the dogs. Although the photos may not be up to much, I reckon they clearly show the difference. Top banana

Cheers

Ian

Hanslow

Cheers chap. I'm gonna mess around with my camera tonight to find out the best settings for night time pictures.

Then I'll be 'forced' to go out and find some dark country lanes to go and test them on again and take some 'decent' pics

BugEyed

Look brilliant (opps, sorry!).

Just one question - why did you go for the 200's and not the Rallye 1000's?

Hanslow

Good question. Two reasons really.

1) Cost. They are about twice as expensive as the 200s.

2) They stick out! When fitted the light sticks out about an inch and a half from the bumper.

They are a similar size to the standard fog light in diameter but I believe they are a bit deeper. PeterPerfect has some on his and they give a better throw of light, but then they are rally spec

The 200s were a good compromise for light and cost. Also, I've been thinking about getting some of the clear STI covers from upauto. As the 200s sit so flush in the bumper, the standard STI covers 'should' cover the light with no probs. Trying to justify the cost though

chiark

Steve,

At least I know! Cheers. My PIAAs are just wired to battery with switching feed coming from the headlights. I want to take the feed into the back of the fog-light switch too to "de-activate" 'em..

Ho hum. I'll get the multimeter out

BugEyed

Hanslow

Two good reasons! I think the lights on my car are already strange enough, so if I add one that stick out then .....

Anyone interested in a group buy?

Willo

Definitely in for a group buy since they are ideal for fitting behind covers - Who's capable of designing a bracket for these??

Hanslow

Willo,

If you don't mind them looking like mine do, then you don't need any other bracket type stuff at all. If you want them to fit dead central though, you will probably require a non-standard bracket.

Mine are fitted with the bracket that you get with the lights when you buy the complete kit.

I've got pictures of how the bracket fits onto my lights and also the modifications required to the hole in the plate behind the fog lights. These aren't currently available but can be made available.....

I'm hoping to sort some stuff out on a webpage as to how I fitted them to aid others that want to go down the same route.

Haven't time to get round to doing it 'decently' at the mo, but I may just knock something up for reference for people.

Willo

Pics of the mounting would be very useful and these lights definitely appear to be the right product for those of us who "hide" our lights behind covers during the daytime - Have you got a web address for the manufacturers of the clear covers??

Hanslow

Willo,

Right, I've uploaded some more pics so you should see these below.

The manufacturer for the clear covers is UP Auto,

Pete Croney

Bugeyed

This is a WRX with the Scoobysport Hella 1000's fitted.

They are slightly larger diameter than the original foglights but the bracket design means that they sit further back in the bumper than Cibies or PIAA's.

They come mounted on alloy brackets that use the same location points as the original foglights. No cutting or drilling required.

The also come with all wiring and the whole fitting exercise takes approx 30 minutes.

As Hanslow says, they are rally spec items and the light output is something else. They are very expensive, but you save 9.5 hours on fitting

BugEyed

Pete

thanks for the reply with the pic of the MY01.

Looks a good modification. Given that you've been helpful, can you supply the Hellas?

Cheers

Duncan

PeterPerfect

I really don't understand this obsession with 'high power' driving lights !

In my opinion I find the standard driving lights on the Imprezal more than adequate for the speed limits of this country.

However, under extreme situations I do replace the fog lamps with a couple of night light candles in jam jars. I find this generates a considerable increase in light output which allows me to safely drive at 61 mph on B roads!

I recommend others try this flametastic method before wasting money on lights which can cause a rabbit to freeze at 1km.

Gus Dischargeo

Hanslow

Pete ..... you muppet

Maybe we ought to have a good old fashioned joust. Your Rally 1000s against my Comet 200s. Woe betide anything that gets in-between

PeterPerfect

Dude I'll take you on any day...or should that be night

Just remember, with my super soldering powers I can wire your comets up to your indicators
Now that would be fun
I'll have given you a nasty discharge problem

Pete