Isuzu Modifications/Aftermarket/Accessories

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  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    The only way to get brighter bulbs is higher wattage (except for true HIDS) get som 80/100w Hella or Sylania bulbs and you'll be happier.

    -mike
  • breakorbreakor Member Posts: 398
    Wattage is not the same thing as brightness. Granted wattage is a major factor. However, there are plenty of ways to increase (or decrease) the lumen or candlepower output of a bulb without changing the wattage (e.g. the filament size, number of windings, spacing of windings, shape of the bulb, internal reflective coatings, type and mix of halogens used, etc.). If you don't believe me go stare at the glowing coils of a 1000w space heater and then try staring at a 1000w spotlight.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    That's true. But for instance, you have PIAA bulbs @ stock wattage that are supposedly as bright as 135w bulbs. What they do is wind the coils tighter so that there is a bright spot but it's range and breathe is not nearly as wide as a std. bulb. So you gain no extra light except in a small area.

    My point is that most if not all of the "acts like a brighter bulb @ stock wattage" are the marketing people talking. I'm a light freak, I've had at least 4 different sets of bulbs in my Trooper in the past 2.5years finally settled on 80/100w Hellas.

    -mike
  • silkboxersilkboxer Member Posts: 1
    2001 Trooper S with performance package.

    I am looking for a roof rack or atleast roof mounts that attach to the holes in the rain channel.

    I remember a discusion on here about BigHorn accessories and that they had such mounts. Does anyone know if they are available in the US, or how to acquire?
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    The T-100 brackets for the Trooper are available on http://www.overlander.com.


    From there you can build your own rack. I have the Thule crossbars bolted directly to the T-100 brackets. I drilled a hole in one side of 50 inch Thule bars and held a nut inside the end with a needlenose pliers while tightenning. There is nothing visible on the outside except for the head of a 5/16 bolt on the underside of the T-100 brackets.


    Yakima parts are available with a 5/16 threaded hole in the bottom of an aluminum bracket meant to hold the Yakima round cross bars to their roof rack foot. Just bolt these down direct on top of the T-100 brackets.


    I am experimenting with front to back bars and to make the cross bars moveable and removeable.

  • 96_i30_5sp96_i30_5sp Member Posts: 127
    Have you noticed any problems with the stock wire harness? On other models people have burnt the harness when running higher wattage bulbs. I was leaning towards Sylvania bulbs because they are cheaper, have you tried them yourself?
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I ran 80/100s in my 97 rodeo for 3 years, no wiring harness problems. The Trooper has had them in for 10 months w/o issue and I generally drive 90% of my time @ night. The higher wattages Phillips and Sylvania are also good.

    -mike
  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    I use the sylvania XV bulbs. They aren't super, but much better and whiter than the dull yellowish stock bulbs. The real problem with the lights is the reflectors...money better spent would be replacing the entire reflector/light assembly. I don't know if you can buy different or better headlight assemblies for the trooper, but if you can for under a $100 a pop it would seem better than spending close to that on 80W bulbs.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I priced them around $200 each from australia + $100 shipping.

    -mike
  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    I have a set of NightVision 100W H3 bulbs in my driving lights that have better range and brightness than the original no name 130W.

    The Narvas have become a popular upgrade in Australia. Also, 4x4 Australia Magazine did a comparison recently and found the Narva bulbs outdoing all the other major brands at equal wattage. Pity they don't have an online magazine.

    As a general guide, standard halogens put out approximately 25 lumens per watt, or 1375 lumens at low beam and 1500 lumens at high beam. A Plus 50 outputs 30 lumens per watt or 1650 lumens at low beam and 1800 lumens at high beam. That's assuming 55/60W bulbs.

    Xenon HID outputs about 100 lumens per watt. That would be ideal! 3500 lumens at high beam.
  • breakorbreakor Member Posts: 398
    sawas-e thanks for the magazine summary. Too bad those bulbs aren't available here in the states. While they would help, I agree with others that our real problem is the housing itself.


    Presumably you got your lumen per watt numbers from the article. I only wish I could find a 25lumens/watt bulb let alone one that does 30. For example, Sylvania Silverstars per the manufacturer's website burn "brighter and whiter than halogen ever has". Yet the data they have show lumens/watt figures averaging 17, with the highest being 24. http://www.sylvania.com/auto/silverstar.htm

  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    Actually, I made a mistake. The Narva Plus50's output 38 lumens/watt. I did the sums to show low beam/high beam. So the right numbers are 2090 low/2280 high.

    Yep ... the lumens per watt are from the article. Are you guys really that limited in your lights? I thought our stock lights were bad!
  • 96_i30_5sp96_i30_5sp Member Posts: 127
    Just checked the specs on the Sylvania 9004XV (XtraVision) and although they are 20% brighter than regular halogen, the wattage is actually lower (65/45). The Silverstar 9004ST are rated at 50/70 but the lumens are unimpressive 700/1200. With these numbers, how could they claim 20% better luminance?
  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    Narva is a subsidiary of Philips. While Philips concentrate on OEM, Narva does premium aftermarket.

    The Plus50 and Plus30 bulbs are sold in the US under the Philips range. However only Plus30 are available for DOT headlights. These are a 30% increase in luminance.

    Have a look at www.autolamps-online.com and checkout the Philips Premium bulb.

    I also noticed this site sells a halogen to HID conversion kit. Slightly pricey at $499-$579 per kit, though.
  • ostazostaz Member Posts: 80
    I have been trying to find a fog light set that will fit the existing cut-out in my 99 Trooper S.

    Has any one installed an after market kit? I am looking for the brightest possible, since I live in the country.

    Thanks
  • 96_i30_5sp96_i30_5sp Member Posts: 127
    I checked the link you provided and the Philips Premium bulbs are advertised as 30% more than standard bulbs. Unfortunately, if you look closely at the spec sheet, the bulbs are still rated at 730/1250 lumens. What is wrong with this rating system?
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    That's why I just went with the Hella 4000s w/130w bulbs. Once I put them on the headlights are not even noticable at all.

    -mike
  • breakorbreakor Member Posts: 398
    Like I noted before, the major problem with % improvement figures is that the "standard bulb" used as the baseline is a great unknown.

    Thanks for the Phillips info. The interesting bulb is their Vision Plus. Presumably its has the same basic technology but they bump the low beams to 55w. (Note: most manufacturers report the low beams in the 9004 series as 45w, including the other Phillip's bulbs, however their test data is for "50w max".)
  • bahmedbahmed Member Posts: 66
    There are no pre-drilled holes behind the back seat in the cargo area in my 98' Rodeo. I am wondering if I can just connect the Anchor to the cargo tie downs. As per Isuzu I need to get the holes drilled and then buy the official Anchor bolts, which will cost me around $150 including labor, the part is like $15 a piece.

    I called Isuzu and they don't have any retrofit kit for the new LATCH system yet for all the older models.

    Any experience, reccommendations will be appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance.
  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    Mike,

    When you wired up your Hella 4000's, were you able to get them to flash when you used the headlight flasher with high beams switched off?

    I may not be making sense. With mine and my friend's new Jackaroo if you pull the stalk to flash headlights, the driving lights won't come on unless you pull the stalk right back and the high beam switch clicks on. Then the driving lights will flash until again you pull the stalk right back and the high beams click off. The headlights are flashing on high beam irrespective of the switch setting.

    Does anyone have any thoughts? Maybe this is specific to H4 headlight setups.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Over here we only have optional factory foglights. My driving lights are wired on a separate Hella Harness that came with them. On the trigger lead of the harness instead of going to a switch to turn them on, I wired the trigger wire directly to one of the highbeam wires just before they go ino the headlight assembly. So anytime the highbeams are activated the Hella 4000s also are activated. In fact that is the only way to turn em on, is to turn on the highbeams or flash-to-pass with the highbeams. It does work wonders on the highway :)

    -mike
  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    That's how mine and John's are too. I didn't wire in a switch or anything. Just a pickup of the high beam circuit.

    There must be something weird about the H4 setup, because flash-to-pass won't work with our driving lights unless the high beam switch is pulled right back and clicked on. The headlights will flash with no problems with half pull of the stalk.

    Time to get out the multimeter.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Actually now I know what you are saying. I usually pull mine all the way back. I bet the 1/2 pullback is just a low-beam scenario. I pull it all the way back when doing a flash to pass :)

    -mike
  • sdc2sdc2 Member Posts: 780
    I knew a guy who would drive at night on country roads with the turn signal/light switch stalk pulled partway back, because BOTH the high and low beams were activated at that position. That was a Chevy pickup, though.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    The only problem with that is that it will blow the bulbs on single bulb cars. The Chevy's are dual bulbs so you can do that, whereas on ours it's 2 filaments in one bulb what happens is that it overheats eventually and blows up the bulb.

    -mike
  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    I am thinking about making this my Christmas present/project. Has anyone else installed a snorkel on their trooper? Here is a shot of the ARB Trooper that is all decked out.


    http://www.planetisuzoo.com/data/articles/45/Image09-me.jpg

  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    Unless you're adept at panel work, don't install it yourself.

    You will need to cut a large hole in the guard for the air tube to pass through, and a series of mounting holes too. Get these in the wrong place and the results will be tragic. Basically get a new guard and start again.

    I'd leave it to an installer to do. If they get it wrong, then they need to fix it.
  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    1/2 the fun is doing it myself. I have read several web articles about doing it, and it seems possible.

    Supposedly it comes with a nice template to use to score, mark and then cut the holes. I have been wondering if taking the whole fender off would be easier than trying to do it on the vehicle?
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Treekilla Doug with the Monty did his own, and it came out perfect. Just have to take your time. IIRC.

    -mike
  • ccallanaccallana Member Posts: 3
    What easy stuff can be done to make my 99 Trooper S "better" - spends most of its time on the road - some snow, some dirt...
  • cmunizcmuniz Member Posts: 604
    New shocks, poly bushings, fog lights, replace stock speakers. All those will increase your enjoyment and are easy to do. There are past postings related to all those subjects.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    at http://isuzu-suvs.com


    -mike

  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    What is with the toy Axiom on the planetisuzoo site? Is someone getting the better of them, or just an inside joke?
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    The Axiom is available @ Radio Shack. And we bring at least one to ever Uwharrie trip and usually do some mods (rear LSD, Lift, etc) :)

    -mike
  • 96_i30_5sp96_i30_5sp Member Posts: 127
    I saw yesterday a sign that there is a Christmas blowout sale on all Isuzu and Kia accessories at McKinzey-Bond Isuzu/Kia in Houston, Tx. There is no info for the sale on their website but here is the contact info: http://www.mckinzeybond.com/parts.html The prices seem to be at least 30% off and Mike (the part manager) said that he'll give free shipping on orders over $50. I'm not related to the dealership, just passing what I feel is a good deal.
  • sdc2sdc2 Member Posts: 780
    How's yer Calmini rear bumper looking? I think mine looks pretty dang good, once I touched up all of the scratches from shipping...

    It's gonna take a beating from stuff kicked up by the rear tires, though. I am thinking of trying to fit a mudflap on there somehow...unfortunately it has been like 15 degrees here all week, and my motivation for laying under the truck is very low.
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    How about taking the new steel rear bumper to the Rhino Linings people to be coated like the bed of a pickup truck? Take the front winch bumper too and get them to match or contrast to your specs to the color of the rest of the Trooper?
    ..
  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    I got a chance to check out my new Dueler A/T's in the snow this morning. The reviews were right on...they are OK, not great. I think they are as good as stock, maybe a little better. The TOD system is really great in the snow and makes up for any shortcomings. They seem much better than stock in the unplowed powder and equal on the slushy roads. This is only about 3-4" though. I will see if I can find some 6" plus on the way home to really see how they perform. The backend of the truck seems to come around a lot faster too, maybe the rears are getting more bite than I think?
  • sdc2sdc2 Member Posts: 780
    I've thought about something like that, spraying some herculiner or similar on the part behind the rear tires. It is already white with that damn road salt!

    Fortunately, my Trooper is all black, so color matching isn't a problem...
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    Are your Dueler A/Ts the new Revo type? If yes, then please tell me more about them. How do they compare in noise and handling on pavement to the stock tires? I want them to be a good snow tire for a trip up North, are they better on snow than the Michelin LTX MS? I want good performance on road and snow an occational off road, I like to try new things so the Dueler Revo introduced a few months ago with rave reviews apeals to me. Would you buy them again? Thank You BoxTrooper
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Generally IIRC ATs are not as good in snow as M&S (AKA All Season) tires.

    -mike
  • mkayemkaye Member Posts: 184
    Anyone have an opinion on the 'new' Rancho 9000X versus their 'old' RS9000?

    My opinion, mostly marketing hype to combat the Explorer ProComp 6-position mono-tube shock:

    Old:
    VFC (Variable Force Control) technology - for precise flow metering at all settings.
    Cellular gas design.
    15-stage velocity sensitive valving controlling compression and rebound.
    Tri-Tube Monoflow design.
    5/8" rod.
    Five position adjustment.

    New:
    VFC (Variable Force Control) technology - for precise flow metering at all settings.
    Cellular gas design.
    17-stage velocity sensitive valving controlling compression and rebound.
    "New" Tri-Tube Monoflow design with "17 times" greater fluid area than its predecessor.
    5/8" rod.
    "9" position adjustment.
  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    They are A/T 693's. I got them in the spring, I don't know anything more about the material in them? They are great onroad, cornering, wet roads, etc. They were good offroad (deep sand in Nantucket this summer), they had more bite than stock, which forced me to change how much gas I would give it when I hit really deep sand...a little less than more. Snow they are good, as good or better than stock. They stop great in the snow, just some spinning while accelerating. I agree with Paisan, they won't be as good in snow as a m&s tire.

    I like them over stock and am happy I got them (265/70's), although I am not sure if I would get them again. I have had quite a time getting them balanced correctly. I have a lot of balance weights per wheel...more than I would expect for new tires. The first tire place said my rims were the culprits...although my stock tires had small if no weights per wheel. So far I have spent an extra $50+ at other shops getting them re-balanced (3 months later I was getting vibrations after a perfect summer). When right the ride is great, quieter than stock, better handling, good in rain, decent to good in snow (I plowed through 10+ inches and many snow banks without any problem, so maybe they are better than I think).

    The jury is out, when they are on, they are on. Next time I will probably get the BFG All Terrain KO's. They are rated as a snow tire too. I stayed away from those because of rain/highway travel (they lack a water channel that runs the legnth of the tire)? I read some reviews about hydro-planing, and since I am on the highway more than off-road...I went with the Bridgestones. Sorry if I can't give you a more definitive opinion.
  • sbcookesbcooke Member Posts: 2,297
    If you get new tires, and go up in size...negotiate...I got the tire place to match what the out the door cost would be if I bought them at tirerack and had them shipped in and installed.

    I also got $71 credit on my old spare towards a new tire...so I have a 265/70 spare as well, for a good price.
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    The Firestone tire dealer has offered $25 off retail per tire which makes their price about the same as TireRack without shipping cost.
    ..
    The LT265/75/16 load range C have 16/32 tread depth and much stiffer sidewalls than the P265/70/16 which have only 13/32. I can easily compress the P tire with one hand pushing down on top of an unmounted tire while the LT tire takes both hands and leaning into it to compress the sidewalls. This test I did with two Dueler tires niether was the Revo type I am interested in. The Revo on line description says they designed it strong "while reducing weight". I have not yet found out the actual weights of the different sizes. I described the two sizes to my wife, to my suprize she says go with the LTs! I will find out the weight difference before I decide.
    ..
    Revos have many more sipes than other AT rated tires, so I am hoping that they will be good in snow. Edmunds customer survey rates Revos a 9.5 in snow traction, Revo is top in the AT catagory, but has few reported miles.
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/orat.jsp


    Is that too few miles to go buy?

  • savvas_esavvas_e Member Posts: 347
    The RS9000X is the same as the RS9000 with an additional 4 intermediate settings between each of the RS9000's existing 5 settings. There is no difference between the RS9000 and RS9000X if you use the in-cab controller,as the adjustment then becomes stepless and the range of adjustment is the same.

    That information was provided by Auto Alliance, the Australian importer of Rancho shocks.
  • mkayemkaye Member Posts: 184
    That's what I thought, especially since Rancho has NO information other than a quickie flash animation on their website.
    I do have the in cab controller.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Side note, you can't get the 9000s anymore. And since the ranchos have a lifetime guarantee, if your 9000s go they replace them with 9000x models.

    -mike
  • boxtrooperboxtrooper Member Posts: 843
    LT245/75R16C is same tread width as the P255/70.
    LT245/75R16C is same diameter as P265/70.
    LT245/75R16C weighs 40lb, 16/32.

    LT265/75R16C weighs 48lb, 16/32.
    P265/70R16 weighs 39lb, 13/32.
    P245/70R16 weighs 36lb, 13/32.
    ..
    I'll post later this winter on how well these tires do in snow and road handling and noise. BTW the price for four installed with lifetime free ratation service is around $500, I have yet to make the deal for trade in value of my original unused spare and four used tires, I expect to get the 5th tire for just a little more than the trade in amount. I want the 5th tire so it looks right with the soft cover off and the bike carrier on.
    Thank You BoxTrooper
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