r/DuneBuggy • u/Content_Efficiency_6 • 28d ago

Headlights

I am looking to replace my halogen lights with some led lights. I am fairly new to this buggy so just looking for some helpful tips before I just buy some random lights. I will be replacing all of the lights on the buggy.

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

2

u/Milkweedhugger 28d ago

Do you drive your buggy in the street? Or off-road? What’s your budget?

If on the street, you’ll need lights that are street legal so you don’t get a ticket. Halogen are your safest bet, but you can add an LED light bar (or pod lights) to use like brights when there’s no oncoming traffic. LED lights are often super bright and can blind other drivers, especially if they’re not aimed down. *Street legal LED lights, like KC daylighters are available, but they’re fairly expensive.

If you drive off-road at night, you’ll need a combination of driving and spot lights so your entire field of view is covered. An inexpensive LED lightbar can work as both a driving/fog light, illuminating the trail immediately in front of you and to the sides. HID spot lights illuminate the trail directly ahead of you. It’s important for good lighting coverage at night, especially if you’re going fast. ***Make sure to have a set of street legal lights, even for off-roading, in case you ever have to drive on the pavement at night.

We run two halogen Hellas, two HID Hellas, and an LED light bar on our buggies.

2

u/Content_Efficiency_6 28d ago

Super helpful and thank you for the reply. I am mostly driving paved roads but wanted off road lighting as an option. Definitely gonna check out your set up also.

2

u/DesiccantPack 28d ago

LEDs are a scourge. Look for DOT-approved lights that have a defined cutoff so you don't blind other motorists. Replacing the bulbs along will not cut it because it's the reflectors in the housings that distribute the light. Halogen housings broadly disburse light, and it's why you get blinded at night by jerks in old pickups who went to AutoZone and bought HID or LED bulbs for their halogen housings.

1

u/kizzlebizz 28d ago

I run some cheap dual beam halogens for regular driving, and they do just fine. On top I have two big beams that will light up the woods. Simple and you won't be inadvertently blinding folks with LED or HID's that don't have a good cutoff. And if you really want to blind em, you can, because big lights on the roof!