LED Off Road Lights
#1
10-20-2011, 01:47 PM
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LED Off Road Lights
Does anyone have any experience with high power LED lights? I posted this a week ago in the aftermarket products forum and didn't get any replies.
Rigid LED lights are nice, but seem too pricey.
Found Motorcycle LED Lights - High Power Motorcycle LED Light & Strobe Light | XKGlow.com on amazon. They have a dual 35W kit for $230, any thoughts? I think I will buy one of their 18W units and if I like it buy 2 35W units for the front and move the 18W to the back.
I assume they are using 3W CREE LED modules, Most of their setups seem to power each LED at 2W.
35W 2800lm
18W 1500lm
There are a lot of Chinese knockoffs that look like these. Anyone ever try any high power LED lights before?
Rigid LED lights are nice, but seem too pricey.
Found Motorcycle LED Lights - High Power Motorcycle LED Light & Strobe Light | XKGlow.com on amazon. They have a dual 35W kit for $230, any thoughts? I think I will buy one of their 18W units and if I like it buy 2 35W units for the front and move the 18W to the back.
I assume they are using 3W CREE LED modules, Most of their setups seem to power each LED at 2W.
35W 2800lm
18W 1500lm
There are a lot of Chinese knockoffs that look like these. Anyone ever try any high power LED lights before?
#4
10-20-2011, 06:18 PM
A friend had a rally nice Baja Designs off road light. IMPRESSIVE amount of light output for the wattage it consumed, and LED's have a bright future (sorry about the pun....).
My only dislike was the light "quality". It was a rather cold and bluish light - like the early HID's. Perfect for the ricers.... but not so good for actually illuminating things. Also, LED's (by their nature) are rather monochromatic, emitting only one wavelength of light. That is not so ideal for the way the light receptors in our eyes work. Then again, I am in my 40's and that is a factor.
All in all, it throws out a LOT of light, but I actually found it harder to see things.... Kinda hard to describe. Before investing the big bucks, I suggest getting your hands on a nice LED flashlight with a high end 3 watt Cree LED and compare it side to side with a 5 cell halogen Maglite so you can see how LED light quality works for YOUR eyes.
They are getting better and better. They are starting to mix various wavelength LED's within a common element and are able to make warmer and warmer colors. I have converted most of the house lights in my RV to "warm white" LED's and they look almost as good as incandescent but use less than 1/4 of the power per lumen.
But I have not yet seen a warm white in the high power (1 watt plus) LED's. Soon, I hope. I would love to put about 70 watts of LED sun on my dirt bike for late night desert runs....
My only dislike was the light "quality". It was a rather cold and bluish light - like the early HID's. Perfect for the ricers.... but not so good for actually illuminating things. Also, LED's (by their nature) are rather monochromatic, emitting only one wavelength of light. That is not so ideal for the way the light receptors in our eyes work. Then again, I am in my 40's and that is a factor.
All in all, it throws out a LOT of light, but I actually found it harder to see things.... Kinda hard to describe. Before investing the big bucks, I suggest getting your hands on a nice LED flashlight with a high end 3 watt Cree LED and compare it side to side with a 5 cell halogen Maglite so you can see how LED light quality works for YOUR eyes.
They are getting better and better. They are starting to mix various wavelength LED's within a common element and are able to make warmer and warmer colors. I have converted most of the house lights in my RV to "warm white" LED's and they look almost as good as incandescent but use less than 1/4 of the power per lumen.
But I have not yet seen a warm white in the high power (1 watt plus) LED's. Soon, I hope. I would love to put about 70 watts of LED sun on my dirt bike for late night desert runs....
#5
10-20-2011, 06:23 PM
Also, keep in mind that getting these 1+ watt LED's to last as long as they should requires very good heat management on the back of the LED! Massive heat sinking and even forced air is very critical for life. Cheap high power LED's are a very bad idea.
May be more technical than you need right now, but worth a scan for your understanding!
http://www.cree.com/products/pdf/XLa...Management.pdf
May be more technical than you need right now, but worth a scan for your understanding!
http://www.cree.com/products/pdf/XLa...Management.pdf
#6
10-20-2011, 07:06 PM
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We have a lot of experience with LED lighting. JW Speaker has a set of DOT approved headlamp replacements that we have and love. Similarly a number of upper end manufactureres have LED options. None worth owning are cheap, but they draw less and throw lots of light. LED was the story at NTEA. As a general rule if it looks too good to be true.......
#7
10-20-2011, 07:33 PM
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10-21-2011, 05:41 AM
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10-25-2011, 07:29 PM
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10-25-2011, 11:28 PM
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10-26-2011, 07:03 AM
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4 of the 35W (16x 3W LED) for ~$275,
2 Rigid Dually D2 for $375(amazon) $340(eBay)
2 Rigid Dually for $190 (Pretty much everywhere)
The 4 bigger lights will look better, or at least less awkward on the truck, and are in the middle price point for me. Not to expensive and not cheap either.
2 Rigid Dually D2 for $375(amazon) $340(eBay)
2 Rigid Dually for $190 (Pretty much everywhere)
The 4 bigger lights will look better, or at least less awkward on the truck, and are in the middle price point for me. Not to expensive and not cheap either.