Subaru offroad lighting

[SuperchargedRS]

I am trying to get some 7" off-road lights mounted on the top of my bumper on my 90' loyale. I posted this in another section with no avail. HOW DO I GO ABOUT MOUNTING THESE PROPERLY??? I know I cant be the only one who is doing/did this

 

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

[crockettbrat]

I am trying to get some 7" off-road lights mounted on the top of my bumper on my 90' loyale. I posted this in another section with no avail. HOW DO I GO ABOUT MOUNTING THESE PROPERLY??? I know I cant be the only one who is doing/did this

 

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

 

 

I mounted some Hella 500 lights on my bumper. I made my own bumper, but I just drilled a hole and mounted the lights. Most lights will come with mounting instructions and wiring instructions. Good luck.

 

Daniel

[3eyedwagon]

Dude,

 

There are about 40 variables I can think of here, so that's probably why your previous thread didn't go so well.

 

You need to consider things like:

 

* Your lights mounting style.

-is it a single stud pointed downward (with, or without a pivot), or a h-stlye bracket that wraps around the lights. This may be important in the aiming of your lights. If they are cheap lights with no pivots in the mounting, you are going to need to configure the aim into your mounting. I can only guess as to the mounting configuration of your lights, so you are going to have to do the leg work on this one.

 

* The makeup of the bumper you are bolting these to.

-I have never had the front bumper off of a 3rd gen, but from the looks of it, I would guess it to be an outter plastic shell with a steel frame, and maybe even a bit of styrofoam thrown in for good measure. You will need to know if the mounting studs on your lights will reach through both the plastic bumper cover, and the steel bracing I would guess is in there.

 

* Consider things like placement of the lights.

- You say you want these lights on the bumper of a 3rd gen. The only logical place I can think to put them is in front of the grill (so as not to interfere with stock lighting). If you wish to place them in front of the grill, you may want to consider a possible over heating condition. The cooling system on these vehicles are already small, and your EA82 is incredibly sensitive to over heating. If you decide to put them in front of your grill; be sure your cooling system is in good working condition, and keep an eye on your temp gauge for awhile.

 

At some point you are going to need to get on the ground, and take a look around under the vehicle. Look up under the bumper where you want the lights to go. This should answer most of your questions. Consider the length of the mounting studs, and the strength of the material you will be mounting to. Mounting to only plastic may hold them in place, but not very well. Given that everything underneath the car is to your liking; pick the spot you want, find the correct size drill bit, measure to make sure the spacing of your lights is even, then drill a big hole all the way through the top of the bumper. You should then bolt the lights to the top of the bumper in some fashion. You will then want to run both a ground, and a source of power to the lights, so that they will turn on. You may want to put the power source through some sort of switch, so that they may be turned on/off from inside the vehicle. This power source should probably also be fused. Or you can just run the wires up under the hood, and loop them around the battery terminals. This usually does a better job of impressing women. Then be sure to point the lights about 3 feet off the ground at 20/30 meters, and about 7 feet left of center. Now drive around with them on AT ALL TIMES. You should be all set.

[SuperchargedRS]

.

[SuperchargedRS]

Dude,

 

There are about 40 variables I can think of here, so that's probably why your previous thread didn't go so well.

 

You need to consider things like:

 

* Your lights mounting style.

-is it a single stud pointed downward (with, or without a pivot), or a h-stlye bracket that wraps around the lights. This may be important in the aiming of your lights. If they are cheap lights with no pivots in the mounting, you are going to need to configure the aim into your mounting. I can only guess as to the mounting configuration of your lights, so you are going to have to do the leg work on this one.

***The lights have a single stud with a pivot

 

* The makeup of the bumper you are bolting these to.

-I have never had the front bumper off of a 3rd gen, but from the looks of it, I would guess it to be an outter plastic shell with a steel frame, and maybe even a bit of styrofoam thrown in for good measure. You will need to know if the mounting studs on your lights will reach through both the plastic bumper cover, and the steel bracing I would guess is in there.

 

*** Yea' it's the OEM bumper on a 90' loyale,

 

* Consider things like placement of the lights.

- You say you want these lights on the bumper of a 3rd gen. The only logical place I can think to put them is in front of the grill (so as not to interfere with stock lighting). If you wish to place them in front of the grill, you may want to consider a possible over heating condition. The cooling system on these vehicles are already small, and your EA82 is incredibly sensitive to over heating. If you decide to put them in front of your grill; be sure your cooling system is in good working condition, and keep an eye on your temp gauge for awhile.

 

At some point you are going to need to get on the ground, and take a look around under the vehicle. Look up under the bumper where you want the lights to go. This should answer most of your questions. Consider the length of the mounting studs, and the strength of the material you will be mounting to. Mounting to only plastic may hold them in place, but not very well. Given that everything underneath the car is to your liking; pick the spot you want, find the correct size drill bit, measure to make sure the spacing of your lights is even, then drill a big hole all the way through the top of the bumper. You should then bolt the lights to the top of the bumper in some fashion. You will then want to run both a ground, and a source of power to the lights, so that they will turn on. You may want to put the power source through some sort of switch, so that they may be turned on/off from inside the vehicle. This power source should probably also be fused. Or you can just run the wires up under the hood, and loop them around the battery terminals. This usually does a better job of impressing women. Then be sure to point the lights about 3 feet off the ground at 20/30 meters, and about 7 feet left of center. Now drive around with them on AT ALL TIMES. You should be all set.

 

**I'm hooking them up with a DPST relay hooked to my high beams with a cut off switch mounted in OEM fashion and they came with harnesses.

 

And...dude... for the impress the women and drive with them on all the time...well I dont think that would be a very good idea, I'm not a big subscriber in trying to "pick up" women with a car, but what ever works for you I guess, and the lights are HIDS so I am guessing that I would make it about a block before getting pulled over or causing a accident if I left them on all the time. I just want to see what's down the trail when I'm exploring out in the woods, I dont mean to be a pr!ck, but theres no need to be a pr!ck to me just because I am asking a question on a forum

[3eyedwagon]

Just letting you know, you are being a little vague.

 

And, there's a million ways to skin this cat.

 

Just trying to point out why your previous post probably sank like a stone.

 

It sounds to me like you have already figured most of it out.

 

All you need to know is the length of the single mounting stud. Be glad that it has a pivot, as that will make you job much easier. Just measure the length of that stud, then guess the thickness of the bumper in the spot you wish to drill. If you are concerned about the strength of the plastic bumper, you need to investigate the backing material of this bumper. Like I said, there is probably some steel bracing inside there. I would guess it to be a heavier sheet metal type material. If that is the case, it should be ok. If you are concerned about it being to flimsy, manufacture some sort of large washer type device. Like a flat bar, or large diameter washer. Then put this between the nut, and the bumper on the bottom side. This will help disperse the stress put on the parent material of your bumper. Making it larger will disperse the stress further, so I'd advise making it as large as is easy to install. I would personally guess this would be strong enough for what it sounds like you want to do. I would guess the housing of these lights will probably break before they are ripped from the stock bumper. Especially if you use the washer method I described. If you want something more sturdy than that; I would advise looking into a custom steel bumper, or cutting larger holes in your stock bumper in favor of a heavier bracket mounted to the internal workings of the uni-body.

[SuperchargedRS]

Just letting you know, you are being a little vague.

 

And, there's a million ways to skin this cat.

 

Just trying to point out why your previous post probably sank like a stone.

 

It sounds to me like you have already figured most of it out.

 

All you need to know is the length of the single mounting stud. Be glad that it has a pivot, as that will make you job much easier. Just measure the length of that stud, then guess the thickness of the bumper in the spot you wish to drill. If you are concerned about the strength of the plastic bumper, you need to investigate the backing material of this bumper. Like I said, there is probably some steel bracing inside there. I would guess it to be a heavier sheet metal type material. If that is the case, it should be ok. If you are concerned about it being to flimsy, manufacture some sort of large washer type device. Like a flat bar, or large diameter washer. Then put this between the nut, and the bumper on the bottom side. This will help disperse the stress put on the parent material of your bumper. Making it larger will disperse the stress further, so I'd advise making it as large as is easy to install. I would personally guess this would be strong enough for what it sounds like you want to do. I would guess the housing of these lights will probably break before they are ripped from the stock bumper. Especially if you use the washer method I described. If you want something more sturdy than that; I would advise looking into a custom steel bumper, or cutting larger holes in your stock bumper in favor of a heavier bracket mounted to the internal workings of the uni-body.

 

gotcha ya' I guess I will do a little more probing inside that bumper and try the washer thing and see where it goes, I just dont want these things flexing back when I get of the freeway or bouncing back and forth on the trail lol

[r_kirky]

there's a million ways to skin this cat.

 

all of which would be much easier with the light, properly mounted hids would render.

[3eyedwagon]

gotcha ya' I guess I will do a little more probing inside that bumper and try the washer thing and see where it goes, I just dont want these things flexing back when I get of the freeway or bouncing back and forth on the trail lol

 

I hear ya. Just make sure that mounting stud is long enough to go through the bumper, as well as your washer setup. I have seen this mounting style in both long, and short lengths. If you are going through the bumper, I would guess you will need at least 2 inches (51mm) of stud length. The washer setup should be plenty strong to stand up to the winds of freeway use, and should prevent much bouncing on the trails. Just use a good beefy washer design, and sandwhich it in there good and tight.

[3eyedwagon]

all of which would be much easier with the light, properly mounted hids would render.

 

Skinning cats by High Intensity Discharge....

 

isn't that a song by Billy Idol?