Well, i got my HID lights installed on Sunday, WOW….im very impressed with them so far. About the only real hiccup that i would suggest you watch out for is that the bulbs that i got were a fair bit longer at the back of the lense, so they hit the light housing and stopped the lense being screwed back in. Ill post a couple pics so you know what i mean.

Heres the difference between a normal halogen 100W bulb and a 55w HID

Heres the hole i had to drill into the back of the housing for the bulb to fit.

I then just plugged the hole with the plastic cup that came with the kit, glue it in and painted it black.

Theres some more pics of the install, etc HERE

Heres a few photos taken of the Monster 4×4 rig from the Queensland Winch Challenge, Rnd 3 last year. photos were taken by Samantha (her website is http://svphoto.com.au)

Went upto LandCruiser Mountain park on the weekend to watch Rd 1 of the XWC.

Was a good weekend, the rain made the tracks ‘very’ tricky on some stages, which made it all the more entertaining for us spectators!

Anyway, heres the results for the weekend. – The Monster 4×4 rig, came 7th!!

9 Lawrie Sternbeck / Peter Sternbeck Toyota Hilux 738
35 Allan McMullen / Kevy Nott Jeep Wrangler TJ 722
16 Scott Purkis / Josh Foster Nissan GQ Ute 628
5 Derek Priestly / Paul Espig Nissan GQ Ute 616
23 Michael Ranson / Brian Gregg Nissan GQ Ute 606
3 Rob Marshall / Joel Jeffrey Nissan GQ Ute 583
14 Michael Camac / Wil Nielson Nissan GQ Ute 581
2 Bob Dunsmore / Damien Henningsen Nissan GQ Ute 576
19 Rodney Rathbone / Russell Rathbone Toyota 40 Series 568
1 Jason Wotherspoon / Errold Misso Nissan GQ Ute 552
6 Rod McCraw / Ashley McCraw Nissan GQ Ute 543
32 Shawn Swaffield / Adrian Turner Nissan GQ SWB Ute 536
4 Dave Kahl / Robbie Weller Nissan GQ Ute 496
18 Colin Warneken / Darren Blackburn Nissan GQ Ute 494
24 Jason St John / Greg Ward Toyota 75 Series 490
29 Dave Burrows / Howard Crossley Toyota Farm Truck 474
10 Lynda O’Rielly / Arron Ward Nissan Nissan GQ Ute 470
21 David Buttigeg / Chris Lamb Nissan GU Ute 468
36 Riley Lee / Jason Osbourne Nissan GU Ute 420
28 Ashley Enright / Michael Bowcock Nissan GQ Ute 414
8 John Butler / Steve Hudy Toyota MWB 403
7 Brad Dukes / Vince Morrice Nissan GQ Ute 400
17 Darren Blackburn / Mark Bielz Nissan Navara 397
22 Alan Reynolds / Scott Gallaher Nissan GQ Ute 396
38 Kevin McCord / Glen McDougall Nissan GQ Ute 394
13 Andrew Stark / Craig Linane Nissan GU Ute 390
34 Glen Brotherton / Chris Pisani Nissan GQ Ute 388
26 Cameron Johnson / Nathan Armstrong Hilux Ute 373
15 Troy Callinan / Ryan Thomas Touota 80 Series Ute 363
30 Andrew Smith / Phil Jones Nissan GQ Dual Cab Ute 362
20 Billy Geddes / Phil Benson Toyota 75 Series 349
33 Cameron Nixon / Ashley Nissan GU Ute 234
25 Matt Moore / Don Phillip Nissan GQ Ute 231
39 Kym Bolton / Robert Marks Nissan GU Ute 179
27 Graeme Filer / Jeff Winter Land Rover 61
37 Jason Braithwaite / Paul Giesen Nissan GQ Ute 10
12 Mark Thomas / Zac Hughes Nissan GQ Ute 10

I also finally was able to get a high mount overhaul kit off a mate of mine on the weekend. This will enable me now to repalce all the bushes, seals and bearings in the winch.

Well, theres been a ton of talk about the cheap HID kits from ebay latley, so i thought i would get myself a set and see how they go.

I picked them up last night, and my first impressions are pretty darn good. I got the H1 6000K 55watt set.

They are very well packed, and the ballasts seem to be of a good enough quality, i quickly set one up of a car battery last night, and DAM are they bright.

EDIT: Just incase your wondering, these bulbs will be retrofitted to a set of Hella Rallye 2000 Spotties.

More Photos HERE also

Sorry for the delay of the photos, been flat out latley and havent had a chance to do much to the ute, or the high mount i bought a while ago..

Anyway, heres the photos of the 7.8HP winch motor i took this morning..

If you want some more detailed photos of inside or the amature let me know, i just didnt feel like fiddling with brushes this morning.

More photos HERE

I should also mention that while i was in NZ, i picked myself up a 7.8HP winch motor for the high mount i am building up. The armature looks very nice, with strong silver soldering etc holding everything together.

Ill take some quick pics and post them this afternoon.

BTW, if you are chasing a 7.8 HP Motor for your own High mount, Monster 4×4 is now able to sell these to the public.

If you are interested, feel free to email me at glenh@monster4x4.com.au for pricing

Went out to Condamine Gorge on Sat with a few of lads from the AUS4wd forum, althought it didnt have much 4x4ing, it was a very enjoyable trip… Queen Mary Falls were as big as i have every seen them, actullay more that just the trickle that they have been for the last couple years…

And geez the waters crossing on the head rd were huge!, well over waist deep, we couldnt complete the road thou, because a fairly large portion of if had been completly washed away from all the rain up there!

I would definatly recommend the trip while its still nice and green up that way.