Special Stage Forums banner

Aux lights in ontario?

18K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  Pop Alexandra 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey all,

I'm contemplating putting some aux lights on my truck and seeing as rally cars have them I figured this would be a good place to ask. Does anyone know what the laws are in Ontario about aux lighting for on-road vehicles? I believe they're supposed to be covered when on road but can they be used for on road driving or would they be just an expensive decoration on the front? I tried going through the highway traffic act and didn't see anything pertaining to them in the "lamps" section. If they are legal for on-road use what brand do you folks seem to have the best bang for your buck with?
 
#2 ·
Here is the section of the HTA:

Strength of front lamps

(9) No motor vehicle shall carry on the front thereof more than four lighted lamps that project a beam having an intensity of over 300 candela. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 62 (9).

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90h08_e.htm#BK119

Good luck finding a police officer with a candela meter!

I have a set of aux lights on both my Subaru and my Exploder. The Subaru has a pair of Hella 700 FF's (55W) and the truck has two Bosch fogs (100W). If you get caught using them on the highways by the police you can probably count on a ticket. I keep them covered during normal use and they are set-up to be removed quickly and just leave the mounts on both vehicles, so they don't get crunched in day-to-day use:




This is what I originally planned, but I decided for 1 set per vehicle:

 
#3 ·
So the way I read that is you can mount up to 4 additional lights, hmm might have to talk to some friends that are cops and get their $0.02
 
#4 ·
Um, you might want to reread that. And then be very careful.

"Strength of front lamps

(9) No motor vehicle shall carry on the front thereof more than four lighted lamps that project a beam having an intensity of over 300 candela. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 62 (9)."

My reading is, you can mount as many lights/lamps as you want. Just don't let the OPP see you with more than 4 of them on at any time. Now, I try to dim long before I get to anyone. And trying to figure out how many lights were on is difficult....

OPP has only stopped me when working Pines for alcohol check (they were checking everyone), and they seemed more interested in my lack of front plate (Michigan does not have one).

ymmv

So the way I read that is you can mount up to 4 additional lights, hmm might have to talk to some friends that are cops and get their $0.02
press on,
 
#6 ·
Just talked to one of my buddies who's an LEO and he reads the HTA the same way as Jimmy. So my next decision is brand, wattage and type. I figure a fog on each end and 2 driving in the center would be the best overall combo. I think pencils might be a bit overkill on a non-racing set-up. I also found a few companies that make up mount bars instead of the full blown bull bars (can't block the intercooler cut out on my truck)
 
#8 ·
I've used my KC Daylighter Pencils (100 Watts) during highway / rural road travel, and they help quite a bit over my stock head lights (which are aimed too low, and are too dim)

BUT Yes, Driving patterns will be MUCH better. I've used both (1 set at a time) during commuting . the $100 kit from summit is really nice (though you can out drive them during a rally)
 
#10 ·
So I guess the question I have now is Hella, PIAA or lightforce? Seems like Hella has the most bang for your buck
 
#13 ·
I used to run a pair of 6" Cibies on my Toyota - for street/highway use I found that 55W bulbs were just fine. With decent reflectors the 55W bulbs put out enough that I wouldn't overdrive the lights at legal road speeds and they got reflections from the deer's eyes at up to 1 km (the most important feature). That's all I really needed out of them, so it didn't make sense to upgrade the wiring to support 100W bulbs.

I had then wired to the high beam switch, so they were never on except in situations where I could legally use high beams.

Adrian
 
#16 ·
I have the Hella 550 (?) rectangle driving lights on my pick up, they work great, not as much light ( of course) as the rally car's Hella 2000s, but way easier to find space for on the front of the truck. While the Hellas never seem to move, my current set of KC Daylighters on the 4x4 don't seem to want to stay in adjustment,( I have had other KC in the past that I don't remember this issue with, so it may be just THIS set - but it is annoying ). I find I end up not using the KCs most of the time because I don't want to stop and mess with the aiming, while the pick up's Hellas are wired rally style to a switch controlled by the high beams and are on almost all the time the high beams are.

Most of my driving is rural 2 lane so I aim the lights slightly out, so they light up Bambi before he thinks to jump out in front of you...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top