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Altema
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2010
Posts: 2904
Location: Lower Michigan
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 Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 12:48 pm Post subject: What driving lights do you use? |
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Was just wondering what people have used or experienced with different driving lights (if any). I know most (including me) would prefer the classic Hella fogs or driving lights for the look, but was also curious about some of the newer LED auxiliary lights since they are small, bright, and use very little power. The ones below would look better without the screws in front, but they are only two inches in diameter and put out 700 lumens each. The "P" mounds will fit our 30 mm towel bars perfectly. If you do use driving lights of ANY kind, then what kind and how do you like them?
http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/mini-auxil...1386/3270/
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mfitzsimor
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Joined: May 09, 2004
Posts: 171
Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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I'm not currently using them but when I do, I will get these:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=326849
- purely for the cost and the way they will look with '69 bumpers and turnsignals.
Mark
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portland, or
69 cypress green ghia coupe
82 vanagon TD
86 quantum syncro |
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mlhsquared
Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2008
Posts: 1482
Location: Strasburg, VA
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| Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 6:32 pm Post subject: |
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Altema, 700 lumens doesn't sound that bright to me. I'd like to see those in use, though. I like the design a lot.
Mark, I am sure that you're aware, but those are fog lights, which will have a wide, short beam pattern. Altema was asking about driving lights, which have a thinner, longer beam. Different purposes, different beam patterns. Just sayin'... 
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Mike
'67 Ghia Coupe |
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mfitzsimor
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Joined: May 09, 2004
Posts: 171
Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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Mike - sorry I wasn't clear in my response - yes, the two have very different beam patterns. Altema mentioned both fogs and driving lights in so I thought the knock-off vintage look fogs might be of interest.
Since I've started driving my ghia again on a daily/weekly basis I've felt that my H-4 headlights cover me pretty well on the high beam setting so it seems I might gain the most with auxiliary fogs if push comes to shove.
I don't want to hijack Altema's thread so I hope it's appropriate to ask - is there something similar to the H3's in my Vanagon and A2 Jetta grill that would bumper mount and look 60's-ish?
Here in Oregon the law requires you to turn off all auxiliary lights when meeting or overtaking someone so convenient switching is also important.
mark
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portland, or
69 cypress green ghia coupe
82 vanagon TD
86 quantum syncro |
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Altema
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2010
Posts: 2904
Location: Lower Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 8:33 pm Post subject: |
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| mlhsquared wrote: |
Altema, 700 lumens doesn't sound that bright to me. I'd like to see those in use, though. I like the design a lot.
Mark, I am sure that you're aware, but those are fog lights, which will have a wide, short beam pattern. Altema was asking about driving lights, which have a thinner, longer beam. Different purposes, different beam patterns. Just sayin'... |
The typical police spotlight is 800 lumens, so 700 is brighter than it sounds. They do have two different patterns; a 20 degree and a 45 degree pattern, so you could have fogs or driving. They are pretty expensive though...
Paul |
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mlhsquared
Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2008
Posts: 1482
Location: Strasburg, VA
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| Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 8:59 pm Post subject: |
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Mark, you make a very good point re; the H4s. I have H4s mounted also. Kinda has me rethinking the fog versus driving thing for my own Ghia.
Altima, if they're as well made as they look to be, they're probably worth their price. Very cool lights.
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Mike
'67 Ghia Coupe |
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Jeromerino
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Joined: February 28, 2013
Posts: 209
Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 12:18 pm Post subject: |
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700 lumens is plenty. The light I use on my bicycle is 350 and it lights things up really well. 2x the power and two lights would be plenty, even for going fast in a Ghia.
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1964 Karmann Ghia Coupe
1971 Beetle Sedan |
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Rome
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Joined: June 02, 2004
Posts: 9655
Location: Pearl River, NY
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| Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| If you do use driving lights of ANY kind |
I also prefer the classic look. Each of my old VWs has driving lights. On my '64 Ghia (below; on a '70 pan) I have 5.5" chrome lights, the kit that JC Whitney sold for many years at like $29.95. 55w bulbs. Towel bar clamps are a 2-piece unit from a motorcycle accessory shop. I've had these on since I had the car registered in summer 1985. They have held up well all these years, and provide good supplemental illumination during the rare evening drives.
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Altema
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Joined: June 20, 2010
Posts: 2904
Location: Lower Michigan
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| Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Rome wrote: |
| I also prefer the classic look. Each of my old VWs has driving lights. On my '64 Ghia (below; on a '70 pan) I have 5.5" chrome lights, the kit that JC Whitney sold for many years at like $29.95. 55w bulbs. Towel bar clamps are a 2-piece unit from a motorcycle accessory shop. I've had these on since I had the car registered in summer 1985. They have held up well all these years, and provide good supplemental illumination during the rare evening drives. |
Mmm, those do look nice. I actually drive mine at night quite a bit, sometimes on two lane blacktop in the country. One section is narrow and winding and the speed limit is 55mph! I don't go that fast on that road at night due to deer and other animals, but some extra visibility would be nice.
Paul |
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Altema
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Joined: June 20, 2010
Posts: 2904
Location: Lower Michigan
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| Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Jeromerino wrote: |
| 700 lumens is plenty. The light I use on my bicycle is 350 and it lights things up really well. 2x the power and two lights would be plenty, even for going fast in a Ghia. |
You know what I was thinking (if I do go with these), is that a cool setup would be a total of four lights on the towel bars. Two narrow beam lights between the over-riders, and two wide angle lights on the outsides of the over-riders. That way I could have my choice between narrow and long, or short and wide. And if there was no other traffic, I could just light up everything!
Paul |
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mlhsquared
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Joined: October 13, 2008
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Location: Strasburg, VA
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Altema
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2010
Posts: 2904
Location: Lower Michigan
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| Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 12:55 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, definitely something to consider... |
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Altema
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Joined: June 20, 2010
Posts: 2904
Location: Lower Michigan
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| Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Altema wrote: |
Yes, definitely something to consider... |
Of course, I also realized that a pair of 55W bulbs would consume almost a third of the capacity of my stock generator (360 watts max), which means no bus blower in the winter when the lights are in use. 
Paul |
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KGCoupe
Samba Member
Joined: July 01, 2005
Posts: 3580
Location: Putting the "ill" and "annoy" in Illinois
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| Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 8:15 am Post subject: |
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| Altema wrote: |
| Altema wrote: |
Yes, definitely something to consider... |
Of course, I also realized that a pair of 55W bulbs would consume almost a third of the capacity of my stock generator (360 watts max), which means no bus blower in the winter when the lights are in use.
Paul |
Mount the lights on top of the dash, pointing out through the windshield.
That way, the heat they generate would more than compensate for not being able to run the blower in winter.
Problem solved - you're welcome!
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8URN
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Joined: August 20, 2007
Posts: 107
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne,UK
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| Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 9:23 am Post subject: |
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Now that my ghia's back on the road I've been contemplating putting my Sev Marchal's on, drivers spot and fog light, quick mock up of drivers light:
Not sure they spoil the clean lines though!  |
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Altema
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Joined: June 20, 2010
Posts: 2904
Location: Lower Michigan
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| Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 10:01 am Post subject: |
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| KGCoupe wrote: |
| Altema wrote: |
| Altema wrote: |
Yes, definitely something to consider... |
Of course, I also realized that a pair of 55W bulbs would consume almost a third of the capacity of my stock generator (360 watts max), which means no bus blower in the winter when the lights are in use.
Paul |
Mount the lights on top of the dash, pointing out through the windshield.
That way, the heat they generate would more than compensate for not being able to run the blower in winter.
Problem solved - you're welcome!
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Well, at least that would keep the window from fogging up, lol |
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mlhsquared
Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2008
Posts: 1482
Location: Strasburg, VA
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| Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 10:44 am Post subject: |
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| Altema wrote: |
Of course, I also realized that a pair of 55W bulbs would consume almost a third of the capacity of my stock generator (360 watts max), which means no bus blower in the winter when the lights are in use.
Paul |
I'm not advocating using 55W bulbs necessarily. All that I was pointing out is that you might want to go with higher lumens regardless of your lighting type. An LED with a lumen output equal to the 55W H3 bulb should still consume much less power and last considerably longer. The down side is that they will be expensive, because LEDs are "hot tech" and because they last longer.
This is just my opinion, based on the information that I have gathered in my own personal research. If the 700 lumen LEDS and your headlights, in combination, are enough for you and give you what you want, that's really all that matters. Enjoy!
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Mike
'67 Ghia Coupe |
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Altema
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2010
Posts: 2904
Location: Lower Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 6:41 pm Post subject: |
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| mlhsquared wrote: |
| Altema wrote: |
Of course, I also realized that a pair of 55W bulbs would consume almost a third of the capacity of my stock generator (360 watts max), which means no bus blower in the winter when the lights are in use.
Paul |
I'm not advocating using 55W bulbs necessarily. All that I was pointing out is that you might want to go with higher lumens regardless of your lighting type. An LED with a lumen output equal to the 55W H3 bulb should still consume much less power and last considerably longer. The down side is that they will be expensive, because LEDs are "hot tech" and because they last longer.
This is just my opinion, based on the information that I have gathered in my own personal research. If the 700 lumen LEDS and your headlights, in combination, are enough for you and give you what you want, that's really all that matters. Enjoy! |
No problem, and the 55W would be the way to go if I had enough juice. Technically speaking, I would be ok while driving, but coming to a stoplight with the regular lights, driving lights, and heater blower would drop it below 12 volts. Of course, I would not need the driving lights while stopped anyway, but it would require I turn them on and off unless I wire in a double pole relay to have them operate by a manual toggle OR come on with the high beams. Looking at how I drive the car in the winter, the heater blower is most useful in stop and go traffic where the driving lights would not be needed. In situations where I would use the driving lights is usually on a dark highway where the blower would not be needed anyway unless it was way below freezing. I think the only situation when both would be on at the same time is when going for a late night drive with our handicapped son. We have a long winding road through a park with a 40mph speed limit. The engine is loafing at that speed and not putting out a lot of heat, and through the woods at night is where I would use the lights at the same time.
Of course the expensive approach would the four LED lights with two wide and two narrow beams as I mentioned earlier. That would give me a total of 2800 lumens, which is still shy of the 55 watt H3's, but I would not have to worry about power draw or leaving them on by accident. Maybe I'll do a photo shop and see how they would look...
Paul |
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Altema
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2010
Posts: 2904
Location: Lower Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 6:55 pm Post subject: |
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Just did the math: four lights at $54.95 each plus four "P" clamps at $23.99 each comes to $315.76 USD.
Ouch!  |
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cmarino929
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Joined: August 16, 2009
Posts: 257
Location: Central NJ
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| Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 6:48 am Post subject: |
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Anyone have any suggestions for newer repro fog lights that would kinda be period correct-ish for a ghia? I dont have any fog light knowledge but wouldnt mind have a set for when im on those super dark roads.
The prices of some of these for sale here are insane and you dont even know if they work. |
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