EugeneTheTJ
Tar Heel
Back when I was a young buck in high school, I was fortunate enough to be handed the keys to a nice, untouched Jeep Wrangler TJ. The Jeep was fantastic but was plagued by something that plagues every Jeep…terrible lighting. The sealed beam headlights were quickly replaced with some Xenon bulbs and a pair of KC Halogen Slimlites was added to the front bumper. It looked good and man – it made a difference! Make no mistake, it was bright…for that time. Many years later, that same pair of KCs eventually made it’s way onto the ARB fitted to the XJ. It was fine and all but then Trucklites happened and all of a sudden I could barely see the light coming from the KCs. Seriously – the LEDs outshined them literally and figuratively.
Fast forward to current day and LED auxiliary lighting has taken over the market with no signs of slowing. With the KCs essentially rendered useless, I knew it was time for a change. I got in touch with Rick at Quadratec and soon thereafter I was the owner of a nice new set of Quadratec 6″ Round LED lights. Full disclaimer: Quadratec is a sponsor of my organization and the lights were contributed at no cost. Second full disclaimer: I tell it how it is and this review is 100% honest.
The lights come individually boxed and the wiring harness is housed in it’s own separate bag.
The lights themselves are made up of 7 individual CREE LEDs each and emit a whopping 5,000 lumens per lamp. They are available in either a 10 degree spot pattern or a 30 degree flood/driving pattern. I opted for the driving pattern.
One thing I really like about the lights (and all of the lights Quadratec offers) is that they come with a OE-grade Deutsch-style connector. This ensures a positive wiring engagement and offers a factory-quality wiring appearance.
First things first, out with the old.
The wiring harness itself is very high quality – good connections and high grade components. One thing I really appreciate is the 12v switch harness provided. It is simply a bridge for the factory cigarette lighter with a jump to the switch power terminal. Makes the wiring as simple as can be and saves a lot of time for the installer.
I am not going to walk through the installation of the wiring. The instructions provided are ample for the average person to hook the lights up themselves and me showing you where to route wires on a XJ won’t help you on your JK, TJ, or whatever else you have.
With the harness routed, it is now time to mount the lights. The mounting bracket is very simple – one large bolt holds the bracket to the mounting surface and a smaller bolt holds the light to the bracket. Very easy to do. The smaller bolt on one of the lights did take some cranking on to get tight but I believe all is well. If it loosens I will just replace with a new bolt with some nylock nuts.
The one real gripe I have with the kit is that no dielectric grease was provided. Though not necessary, it helps ensure the connections remain water-tight and prevents corrosion. Not a big deal, I picked up a tube from the local auto parts store and liberally applied it to the inside of the Deutsch connector prior to assembly.
That is pretty much it! This set of lights was very simple to install and the difference in light output is, pun intended, night and day. The lights also are a great compliment to my Trucklite headlights and the roof mounted Quadratec 51″ Combo Lightbar. See below for what they look like on the Jeep:
And, finally, the output shots.
(1) Trucklite low beams
(2) Trucklite low beams, Quadratec 6″ LEDs
(3) Trucklite low beams, Quadratec 6″ LEDs, Quadratec 51″ Lightbar
(4) Quadratec 6″ LEDs only
As you can see, the lights are incredibly bright and very well constructed. I have no other auxiliary LED lights to compare them to, but I am confident that they would hold their own in a head-to-head matchup with any of the major brands. If you are in the market for a quality set of LED driving lights that won’t break the bank, be sure to check out the offerings from Quadratec. You won’t be disappointed.
Fast forward to current day and LED auxiliary lighting has taken over the market with no signs of slowing. With the KCs essentially rendered useless, I knew it was time for a change. I got in touch with Rick at Quadratec and soon thereafter I was the owner of a nice new set of Quadratec 6″ Round LED lights. Full disclaimer: Quadratec is a sponsor of my organization and the lights were contributed at no cost. Second full disclaimer: I tell it how it is and this review is 100% honest.
The lights come individually boxed and the wiring harness is housed in it’s own separate bag.
The lights themselves are made up of 7 individual CREE LEDs each and emit a whopping 5,000 lumens per lamp. They are available in either a 10 degree spot pattern or a 30 degree flood/driving pattern. I opted for the driving pattern.
One thing I really like about the lights (and all of the lights Quadratec offers) is that they come with a OE-grade Deutsch-style connector. This ensures a positive wiring engagement and offers a factory-quality wiring appearance.
First things first, out with the old.
The wiring harness itself is very high quality – good connections and high grade components. One thing I really appreciate is the 12v switch harness provided. It is simply a bridge for the factory cigarette lighter with a jump to the switch power terminal. Makes the wiring as simple as can be and saves a lot of time for the installer.
I am not going to walk through the installation of the wiring. The instructions provided are ample for the average person to hook the lights up themselves and me showing you where to route wires on a XJ won’t help you on your JK, TJ, or whatever else you have.
With the harness routed, it is now time to mount the lights. The mounting bracket is very simple – one large bolt holds the bracket to the mounting surface and a smaller bolt holds the light to the bracket. Very easy to do. The smaller bolt on one of the lights did take some cranking on to get tight but I believe all is well. If it loosens I will just replace with a new bolt with some nylock nuts.
The one real gripe I have with the kit is that no dielectric grease was provided. Though not necessary, it helps ensure the connections remain water-tight and prevents corrosion. Not a big deal, I picked up a tube from the local auto parts store and liberally applied it to the inside of the Deutsch connector prior to assembly.
That is pretty much it! This set of lights was very simple to install and the difference in light output is, pun intended, night and day. The lights also are a great compliment to my Trucklite headlights and the roof mounted Quadratec 51″ Combo Lightbar. See below for what they look like on the Jeep:
And, finally, the output shots.
(1) Trucklite low beams
(2) Trucklite low beams, Quadratec 6″ LEDs
(3) Trucklite low beams, Quadratec 6″ LEDs, Quadratec 51″ Lightbar
(4) Quadratec 6″ LEDs only
As you can see, the lights are incredibly bright and very well constructed. I have no other auxiliary LED lights to compare them to, but I am confident that they would hold their own in a head-to-head matchup with any of the major brands. If you are in the market for a quality set of LED driving lights that won’t break the bank, be sure to check out the offerings from Quadratec. You won’t be disappointed.
