I'd like to convert my Hella 4000 compact driving lights to HID/Xenon bulbs 5000k.  Google turns up a ton of hits.  Does anyone have any recomendations for good high quality conversion kits?

Craig

 Craig,

I was also thinking about off road lights up high but they will throw light down on the windscreen as well unless they are farther back.  I did not want to weld tabs or brackets on my bumper mostly because I did not want to refinish it after welding.

Since my bumper is 1/4'' thick 3 x 6 box beam I drilled and tapped it for bolts to attach the lights. Works well and the lights are down low and I can position them for where I want them to illuminate. One for slightly up and one for straight ahead. I have even used them for late night on very lonely roads, great view and keeps me from hitting animals. Super for off road as the regular headlights are only 80 watts and shadows and holes sometimes look like rocks.

Morris - a hood blackout will prevent the glare. That's why so many Land Rovers are running around with flat black hoods. It's interesting though that they will actually send light right down on the windshield. Can you mount them just a smidge further back so the roof will serve as a lower cut off point?

On my DII, I drilled the bumper with a hole saw, welded a screw underneath/inside, and mounted small Hella Micro DEs flush with the front of the bumper. It worked really well. Like Morris, I'm not sure I want to re-powder coat the ARB bumper. They come with such a good finish from the factory.

I'm also trying to keep this vehicle understated. I like the Jeep location a lot, but I'm not sure it's possible to do and keep the vehicle subtle. :-) It's probably just a matter of time before I wind up with a roofrack, with lights and a hi-lift mounted to it but at this point I'm still trying to keep it conservative. I might just forego the fog lights altogether this time. HID driving lights should rock offroad though... oh, and help me spot Sasquatch.  

Craig

This is about as good as it get's Craig!  Forget understatement!  When it comes to light I say pile them on!  Yes, there are six PIAA 8-inch HID's and the rest are PIAA halogens!  And YES, the entire bumper is hooked into my high-beam circuit except the two inner fog lights which are always on!  In other words, when I flip on my high beams the entire bumper lights up!  I use them on the road everyday!  I have never gotten a ticket but have been pulled over!   Most just wanted to see them! 

Here is the formula I use!  A ticket is for using these lights in the State of Washington is $110!  My insurance deductible is $1500!  That means I can get 13.63 tickets before I have reached my deductible price for repairing ONE animal encounter!  Now, considering I have avoided so many potential animal maulings I have lost count (including several elk and one Moose and her calf which was directly related to the lights being on at the time) I figure I have more than paid for the potential ticket possibility!  Of course I live "out there" and not in a city so I understand all your guy's pain!  I will tell you I have them all circuited to a single triple position switch on the dash!  So, if I am in a city (god forbid) I can turn them off and leave just the headlights and foglights woking!   I will also tell you on a paved road or highway doing 70 plus at night is a real pleasure with them as well! 

I needn't tell you on the trail and doing 50 plus on a long backcountry road at night is where these shine!  You can never too much light!  hahaha!  Anyone want me behind them on a night run?

The new Tacoma is getting a very similar set-up but using smaller SOLTEK Pre-Runner's instead! 

Craig, Ever think about putting some fog lights behind/in the holes of that skid plate? Might be an option.

I  am also at a point where I can't decide between the 2 A-pillar mounts or on my roof rack..I like the a-pillar mounts a little due to wiring ease but I do like the looks of the rack lights a little more..

Smal HIDs would be nice, but I'll add that I've probably never outdriven my lighting, and I sweep rally stages at night.  My Nissan just has the stock headlights, so I rely on my driving lights a lot.  I ve got two IPF SuperRally driving light with the 130 watt bulbs, and they're about 6.5" in diameter.  My ARB bullbar also has spots for the OEM fog lights, so use them a lot as well when I need good lighting right in front of the truck.

I also like the more understated look as Craig has supported.

It's a non-winch version, but I'm going to mount my winch in it anyway.    Which proably confirms that I should just get out the hole saw and mount fog lights inside of the bumper... the finish is going to be trashed from the winch install and is going to need to get redone anyway.

Craig

That look is what I'd be going after both with installing the winch and in using a hole saw to mount small fog lights.

Brett - Have a look at my vehicle gallery. I'm leaning towards installing some Hella Micro DEs or something similar the same way I did in the bumper on my DII, but I'm going to look into my under bumper options first.

I'll create a winch tray between the frame rails and put the fogs further out. My winch is huge, so I'll have to cut into the grille to get it to fit. Should be a really nice and snug mount if I can get it in there though.

Craig

Craig,

I converted my IPF lights to HID and they are definitely brighter. The only downside to them is when I went out at night with a group, I couldn't have them on unless I was up front because they just blinded the other rigs in front of me. Here's a link I posted on Mud, which references the original link that Brian started.

forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/343386-ipf-900ddcs-hid-conversion.html

If I ever make it to a meet, I can show you my setup.

Cheers,

Salue

Yep. That's the way the RE12k is designed to mount.  Structurally, the holes for the fog lights would be on the wings, so it shouldn't affect the integrity of the area securing the winch.  I'll be careful though.

Kyle Van Tessel on DiscoWeb helped a guy fit one into his non-winch ARB on a D1 so I'm pretty sure I can get it in there.  I'll use a grease pencil and a ruler before making any cuts.

Craig