does this seem like a plausible way to mount lights?
 

so im looking for a way to mount 4 Hella 500's.......

now i know you can buy brackets, but i find they all seem to mount the lights fairly low....i tend to like lights mounted a bit higher and more 'pronounced'.

so looking under the hood i found a spot that looks like it would be like an ideal spot.....im wondering if anyone has any input.


here are the spots im im thinking of:

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/i...pseb5be7f3.jpg

i was thinking of removing the plugs and replacing them with actual fasteners and creating brackets like this:

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps25543e98.jpg


now looking at the hood, it seems like i should have roughly .25" clearence between the top of the grill and the hood, which should be plenty for a bracket to fit through.

now if im correct, with the above brackets, it should position the lights something like this:

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps8dac87e2.jpg



was wondering what y'all thought of that idea.....

There is always this option
http://www.vipcustomparts.com/driving%20lights.htm

I just thing you are going to have problems closing the hood if you do it that way but, that is just me.

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps25543e98.jpg

this may work OK for the two inner brackets, I played with some 1/8 inch stock in the gap and there is sufficient room 'tween the grill and the bonnet trim ther if you keep the profile of your bracket and fastener low so you can still close correctly.

But look at your outer spots. The grill has curved down here and you'd need to match the profile of the black grill piece to where your bracket actually would pop forward to be exposed. Follow me? Try this: Make some tin foil brackets and determine what your actual shape would be and then determine if you have the metal skills to form them. You need more than a simple straight bend on those outer spots

OR you could use the two inner spots for the support brackets and then make a cross bar long enough to hang your 4 lights. A bookshelf essentially.

Be careful hanging a bracket such that you pinch that grill piece tho cuz getting it tight enuf to not shake could break the plastic grill. You might want to enlarge the gill's hole and insert a metal bushing . . .

or, look between the inner and outer spots you are considering - see that little hole? That unused hole goes thru to the same metal. I'd cut away the plastic here and expose the metal for an inch and then mount the brackets directly to that frame piece, staying clear of the grill's plastic.

I'm saying how I would do it if someone came to me and asked me to do it 'this way' .... not be be considered an endorsement or comment +/-. I can weld and fabricate a bit so what I see as doable might exceed what's in your garage skill set. I don't have extra lights on either of mine .. .

Personally I think it would look absurd, but you know what they say about opinions...

Aside from that, be sure you account for the fact that these brackets need to be stout enough to support the weight of the lights well enough to keep them from wobbling around at highway speeds. Not sure 1/8" would be enough to do that with just an "L" bend and no additional triangulation / support...

You might consider taking the grille off and looking to see if you can find some alternate mounting points that would allow you to make up something stouter that would allow you to have the brackets go up and protrude through some of the "holes" in the upper part of the grille so as to have them mounted higher.

Not sure 1/8" would be enough to do that with just an "L" bend and no additional triangulation / support...

Not sure either but 1/8 is 12 gauge and about twice as thick as the steel used in most automotive components. Even modern frames are often boxed 20 or 22 gauge.

I'm not suggesting the use of 12 gauge either - just saying there was that much room to play with. How much vibration is realized will depend not only on the thickness of the material but it's strength ... stainless vs aluminum for example .. and the length of the lever arm ... and the weight hung at the end (one light per bracket or 4 lights plus a cross bar or two brackets) and and.

Or in other words OP

this (like anything) CAN be done. But you are not going to just buy some thin flat stock, drill a couple of holes and be good to go .... you basic 4 L brackets won't work.

If you do this, make sure you can get to the hood release. Looks like the bracket on the driver's side may block it.

If you can pull it off and make it look good (and it makes you happy) more power to you.

From a performance standpoint, I've never understood adding so many damn rally lights. Laws differ so much state to state but most of them say NO to these.

From a performance standpoint,

didn't you know that every driving light is 4hp and a fog is 3?????

thats actually a pretty good idea, i will definatelly look into that, thanks!

as for tools, i have all the basic shop tools, a grinder, and ready access to a welder, mill and lathe...so fabing up a custom bracket shouldnt be too difficult.




few reasons for the lights.....

1) aesthetics. personally i really like the look of AUX lights, i had them on my jeep and i really like how they look on the MINI. and it will add to the look im trying to acheive for my car( sort of a low-ish key 'suburban' race car)

2) i have a natural affinity for lights and tinkering, and this has a bit of both.....i absolutely love flashlight and have a massive collection, heck i had Solar powered AUX lights on my jeep :grin:.......


3) i live in a small backwoods hick town that doesnt illuminate their roads, so it can get VERY dark, even with high beams. couple that with my naturally poor eye sight and the LOADS of deer we have in the area.....i want as many lumens on my car as i can fit.....i never use them if there is oncoming traffic or someone close in front of me, so i like to get as many as i can

If I were you and felt the need for four lights I would go with VIP Custom as Porthos said above. The only problem with that is that according to VIP the center brackets won't fit with an aftermarket FMIC.

Honestly I'm really just looking for a reason to tinker.....but if it proves to be too much of a hassle and I can't build something reliable, the VIP bar is most likely the mount I'm going to go with. They seem to have a pretty nice setup.

At the moment I'm not too concerned about the Intercooler as im not running any tunes and I've yet to see any evidence the aftermarket coolers do a substantially better job than the factory cooler.