ThatCherokeeGuy
Observer
AWESOME!! :sombrero:
Clone of ARB Intensity LED Driving Light/Light Force 250!
- Thread starter ThatCherokeeGuy
- Start date
AWESOME!! :sombrero:
adventr
Adventurer
Alrighty, so quick unboxing review.
First impression was that these are above and beyond the quality that you typically get with Chinese lights. I've purchased about 20x of the Chinese LED light bars over the past few years, and these blow them out of the water. From fitment of the hardware, to finish on the lights themselves.
The way that the hardware nuts drop into the light castings (housings) is very clever. Even more clever is the way that the plastic piece snaps in to hold the nuts in place. Very tight tolerances on the bolt holes in the stainless brackets (around 0.005" clearance). Was concerned that holes wouldn't line up and screws would be hard to get started, but they literally popped into the place, and the screws started by hand on the very first bit of clockwise rotation. It takes good quality tooling to make a casting like that. And good engineering to make those nuts line up perfectly with the holes after being powdercoated.
Anyway, pics:
Lights were packaged very well, in genuine fedex boxes. And did I mention 3 day shipping from China??
Lights were individually boxed within, and completely encased in foam that has been die cut for tight fitment. I give them a 10 on packaging.
First shot of the light. It's heavy. Like 7lbs with stainless mounting bracket installed. The mount is very solid though, so I don't expect any movement. Just know that you will need a solid place to mount these.
These do come with the polycarbonate lens covers as well. Very strong. Much thicker that the covers that came on my lightforce lights.
Stainless mounting brackets are nice. Looks like a 3B finish on them, and the edges look like they have been hand ground for a smooth edge that isn't "sharp" like it would be if it were straight off the laser.
Material is 11ga.
Optics look good. Definitely different than that of the typical light bar.
The rear of the housing is finned for heat dissipation. Again, solid die cast aluminum. Very stout.
Continued.
First impression was that these are above and beyond the quality that you typically get with Chinese lights. I've purchased about 20x of the Chinese LED light bars over the past few years, and these blow them out of the water. From fitment of the hardware, to finish on the lights themselves.
The way that the hardware nuts drop into the light castings (housings) is very clever. Even more clever is the way that the plastic piece snaps in to hold the nuts in place. Very tight tolerances on the bolt holes in the stainless brackets (around 0.005" clearance). Was concerned that holes wouldn't line up and screws would be hard to get started, but they literally popped into the place, and the screws started by hand on the very first bit of clockwise rotation. It takes good quality tooling to make a casting like that. And good engineering to make those nuts line up perfectly with the holes after being powdercoated.
Anyway, pics:
Lights were packaged very well, in genuine fedex boxes. And did I mention 3 day shipping from China??
Lights were individually boxed within, and completely encased in foam that has been die cut for tight fitment. I give them a 10 on packaging.
First shot of the light. It's heavy. Like 7lbs with stainless mounting bracket installed. The mount is very solid though, so I don't expect any movement. Just know that you will need a solid place to mount these.
These do come with the polycarbonate lens covers as well. Very strong. Much thicker that the covers that came on my lightforce lights.
Stainless mounting brackets are nice. Looks like a 3B finish on them, and the edges look like they have been hand ground for a smooth edge that isn't "sharp" like it would be if it were straight off the laser.
Material is 11ga.
Optics look good. Definitely different than that of the typical light bar.
The rear of the housing is finned for heat dissipation. Again, solid die cast aluminum. Very stout.
Continued.
adventr
Adventurer
Here is the detail on hardware fitment:
These recesses within the casting receive the 2x nuts for the mounting screws. The larger of the two is a nyloc nut as well.
You can see the hardware dropped into place. Fit is perfect, and no tweaking or adjusting of the nuts is necessary. Just drop them right in, and they're lined up.
Plastic piece then presses into the cavity, completely capturing the hardware. The plastic also serves as a washer to ride between the mounting bracket and the housing.
This shows the quality of the finish. It's a very durable textured powdercoat.
Stainless brackets are TIG welded. Looks to be done by hand as well, when you compare the differences between the four welds on both brackets.
And that's that. Lol
I have tested one out by jumping the wires directly to a car battery, and I can tell you that these will make great driving lights. Very bright, and more focused down the road than the typical light bar which just throws light everywhere. I'd compare the pattern to a Euro beam, rather than a spot beam. Again, should be a good driving pattern.
I'll try to get some pics tonight on one shining down a dark road.
These recesses within the casting receive the 2x nuts for the mounting screws. The larger of the two is a nyloc nut as well.
You can see the hardware dropped into place. Fit is perfect, and no tweaking or adjusting of the nuts is necessary. Just drop them right in, and they're lined up.
Plastic piece then presses into the cavity, completely capturing the hardware. The plastic also serves as a washer to ride between the mounting bracket and the housing.
This shows the quality of the finish. It's a very durable textured powdercoat.
Stainless brackets are TIG welded. Looks to be done by hand as well, when you compare the differences between the four welds on both brackets.
And that's that. Lol
I have tested one out by jumping the wires directly to a car battery, and I can tell you that these will make great driving lights. Very bright, and more focused down the road than the typical light bar which just throws light everywhere. I'd compare the pattern to a Euro beam, rather than a spot beam. Again, should be a good driving pattern.
I'll try to get some pics tonight on one shining down a dark road.
adventr
Adventurer
Here is the listing that I won. At that price, I feel they are a steal.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-Eyourlif...3OGB21sXgEMEO3WyAG7y8%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-Eyourlif...3OGB21sXgEMEO3WyAG7y8%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
Thank you! Can't wait to see them mounted. Thanks for all the detail pictures.
Did you also notice the 111W versions? They are going for about $400 a pair. I'm curious if the extra brightness is needed. Even at $400 they are still less than half the price of ONE ARB light.
Was wiring or a switch included and if not what will you use?
Here is a interesting read on LED lights:
http://www.unsealed4x4.com.au/issue005/#1
Here is a interesting read on LED lights:
http://www.unsealed4x4.com.au/issue005/#1
adventr
Adventurer
No wiring or switch included. Going to use a relay and tie into my factory fog light switch on my D2. Will be a clean way to control them.
And wow, that is a good article. Seems that the lightforce set was built upon the original ARB knockoff, and the set that I have is the last that they talked about.
They say that the ARBs are made here in the US by Rigid, but doesn't Rigid manufacture or at least partially manufacture over seas? Hmmm.
adventr
Adventurer
Just a few quick night pics. The lens I was using is really wide (11mm) so you can't get a good feel for the distance, but I can tell you that it's much better than the light bars for throw. These pics are with just ONE led light. It was sitting on my core support, so aim wasn't dead on or anything.
Marker lights only
Headlights only
Headlights plus the one led light
Then I cranked up the exposure to try and capture the beam shot of the led light. This shows it pretty well. You can see that it's a more focused beam than the bars output. Should be a much better "driving" light.
Beam shot with headlights on as well
Beam shot with led light only
Led light only
And this is my homemade bumper that will be housing the lights
Marker lights only
Headlights only
Headlights plus the one led light
Then I cranked up the exposure to try and capture the beam shot of the led light. This shows it pretty well. You can see that it's a more focused beam than the bars output. Should be a much better "driving" light.
Beam shot with headlights on as well
Beam shot with led light only
Led light only
And this is my homemade bumper that will be housing the lights
