Auxiliary lights, spotties, whatever you want to call them, are one of the first modification people seem to make to their 4X4. For someone driving an older 4X4 I can understand it. The driving lights on older rigs like 40/60 series Landcruisers are just plain shithouse.

These days new rigs actually come with some pretty decent lighting, right out of the box, so there would be a heap of other mods I’d make before lights. But this is not a ‘why you shouldn’t fit spotties on your rig’ article, so let’s take a closer look at how you can pick the right auxiliary lights for your rig…

What are the benefits of auxiliary lights?

Um, we’ll they allow you to see more in the dark. That’s about it. But at a stretch, give you a backup supply of lights should your main headlights fail.

Where will you mount them?

This will always vary car to car. Dependent of if you’ve got a bulbar, what kind of bulbar, if you have permanently mounted roof racks, what type of rig, too many variables for me to cater for here. Put if I was to put possible locations into a priority list, here’s what I’d say.

• In between your headlights, protected by the top of your bull bar
• Mounted on the front of your roof racks
• Mounted above your bulbar
• Mounted on your front bumper bar

Some may disagree that mounting them on top of your bull bar should be higher in the list, however I consider reducing your vision through the windscreen by putting a set of huge spotties in the way to be a huge no no. Leave that to the competition trucks.

What will fit?

Once you’ve picked the ideal location it’s time to check what will fit. When your measuring your max size, don’t forget to consider depth as well as height and width. You don’t want your $400 spotties being the most extreme front point of your rig. Get em tucked away in your bull bar.

Is bigger better?

Yes, to an extent. A bigger version of a quality set of headlights will most likely perform better. However a medium size quality set, may outperform a huge set of budget lamps. It’s also worth noting that there are different grades of the same size – by the same manufacturers.

Type of beam

There are two main types of beams you’ll see when shopping for lights, pencil and spread. Pencil casts a long thin beam directly to the front of the lights. A spread beam casts a shorter but significantly wider spread of lights. Ideally you’d have two spread either side of one pencil, however rarely do you have the space for three lights, so you may need to stick with one pencil one spread. The illustration below shows the difference light direction of pencil and spread beam headlights.

Light penetration distance

This is really the main measure of the performance of a headlight. But don’t be caught in the marketing hype of the competing manufactures chasing that illusive, where the longest tag. Whilst brand x might claim distance Y, remember it’s on a perfectly clear night, and measuring only the faintest sign of light penetration. I’ve always support manufactures who don’t try to disguise that fact. Again the Hella brand is a good example of that.

Protection

Some lights might come with covers as a part of the package, other’s you’ll need to pay a little more. You’ve got two options when it comes to covers. Clear of not. Clear covers will impact the performance of the lights as it needs to pass through the Perspex, but give you the benefit of not needing to get out of the car when you want to run your extra headlights. It’s also means that your lights are protected at all times, where non clear covers will only protect your lights when they are not being used. Finally, manufactures who don’t offer a clear option, it probably means that they emit too much heat, which will just melt the Perspex. With it you leave your covers on these types of lights, you’ll melt the plastic and pretty much destroy your lights. It’s easier to do than you think. My advice, go with clear if you can.

Durability

Price does not always equal quality. But don’t expect a really really cheap set of lights to last long. Particularly if you’re hitting the mud frequently. A middle of the road model might outperform a premium model, but the cheap and nasties will never last. Quality until will also be more water resistant, if river crossings are in your destiny.

Availability of replacement parts

This is your last consideration, and it’s for the most part it’s about the globes. How easy is it to obtain and fit replacement globes? Check this before you buy. Also, if you go for covers, can you get an extra set of one breaks, or is stolen?

So there you have it, all the factors you need to consider when buying a set of aftermarket lighting for your rig. Enjoy!

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