Spot lights behind front grill

by **duddley** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:06 am

I am looking to install some spot lights (pencil beams) for the late night driving on freeways/country roads etc.

I don't want to spoil the appearance of the front of the car with some huge spotties on the front (let's be honest the Gen V has enough issues in looks already). I think I saw a Gen 4 that had a the mesh front grill that had some spotties mounted behind them. Has anyone done that here?

I did do a bit of searching on the forum back couldnt see anything.

I would expect the grill neds to be a metal mesh rather than plastic to resist the heat coming off the lights. I did see this one on ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Carbon-Fiber-Car-Front-Grill-Subaru-Liberty-BM-BR-/320735592604?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4aad54c09c but not sure if it looks cheap or not. I know there is also the genuine Subaru mesh grill but also looking at alternatives.

So any thoughts on this idea? positives/negatives etc?

thanks

by **bass_straitener** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:17 am

Not sure if this applies, but why not convert the foglights to HID. I've seen a few cars with them and they really light up the road. Not sure for what distance, but they're very bright and dont spoilt the aesthetics of the car.

by **agan** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:43 am

ooo that's a nice grille! The hid foggies light up well but just 'behinf' the low beams. A good set of hid high beams should do very nicely, no?

by **bass_straitener** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:54 am

The problem I see with putting things like lights etc behind grills is the cleaning.

For lights to work effectively they need to be clean for all light to be transmitted. With dust, dirt, bug splatter etc you'll soon have a cleaning nightmare having to either spray and heap of high pressure water at them through the grill or taking the grill off to give them a good clean.

I'd recommend making it easy on yourself and work to improve what's already installed.

by **duddley** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:57 am

bass_straitener wrote:Not sure if this applies, but why not convert the foglights to HID. I've seen a few cars with them and they really light up the road. Not sure for what distance, but they're very bright and dont spoilt the aesthetics of the car.

The Low beams are stock HID's, I was looking for something that will light up a few hundred metres down the road, hence the pencil beams.

by **bass_straitener** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 9:20 am

duddley wrote:
bass_straitener wrote:Not sure if this applies, but why not convert the foglights to HID. I've seen a few cars with them and they really light up the road. Not sure for what distance, but they're very bright and dont spoilt the aesthetics of the car.

The Low beams are stock HID's, I was looking for something that will light up a few hundred metres down the road, hence the pencil beams.

What sort of lights are you looking at sticking behind the grill? Anything that gives you a few hundred metres would be pretty big.

by **duddley** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 9:25 am

bass_straitener wrote:
duddley wrote:
The Low beams are stock HID's, I was looking for something that will light up a few hundred metres down the road, hence the pencil beams.

What sort of lights are you looking at sticking behind the grill? Anything that gives you a few hundred metres would be pretty big.

Yeah I will be restricted by what can actually fit behind the grill so I will need to do some measuring etc and check with light suppliers.

by **zch91** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 5:02 pm

Have seen it done before on Foresters, along with other cars. Just make sure there's enough clearance behind the grill to suit the spotties you're installing, make sure the mesh isn't plastic as it would probably melt it pretty quick. You'll have to custom fab up a mount/bracket for the spotties too which shouldn't be too much trouble if you're handy with tools.

by **zch91** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 5:21 pm

I know it's a different car but it's still the same deal really, abit of a discussion on it here
http://ozfoz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f= ... ight+grill

by **Nipple06** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 5:50 pm

Hid hi beams .. would you like me to post a pic for you ?