LED Light Bars; Post Up Pics

[Patrollife]

Anyone using round LED lights instead of the bars?

On the Patrol GQ I'm currently running PIAA LP570s. I was also looking at the hella rallye 4000 led. I thought the PIAAs were going to be more impressive then they are, considering the great reviews they got from Overland Journal; don't get me wrong, still a great light but I was just expecting a little more. To supplement the PIAAs, I am looking into ordering the Baja Design Squadron Pros to use as A-pillar lights. I like light bars on other rigs but not on mine. If I could have afforded it, or better yet, stomached the ridiculously insane price of them, I would have gone with the ARB Intensity LEDs. I also like VisionX. On the contrary to my statement on preferring round LEDs, I did order some cheapo Dually Flush Mount Cree LED Dually D2 for the rear bumper of the GQ and also run the Rigid SRQ2 diffused on my FJ (been happy with the light output).

 

[Tyrant 66]

Rigid


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[uscg2008]

Got some mounted on my trailer today.

 

[WagoneerSX4]

Just make sure you order "warm white" LED's then.

 

[4x4junkie]

Just make sure you order "warm white" LED's then.

From who???

Except for amber, I've yet to see anyone offer something besides bluish cold white LEDs in an offroad light.

 

[uscg2008]

They make "warm white" LEDs for interior lighting fixtures

 

[Regcabguy]

E-Bay's got this one.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/351176325512

 

[WagoneerSX4]

Yeah I guess in the high powered lightbars and off road lights you only have cool white as an option. Most of the smaller flood lights and replacement bulbs come in warm white though.

Anyone know why they don't make light bars in warm white? Wouldn't a warmer colour temp produce more lumens? Or do the warmer temp LED's run hotter?

 

[noahski]

 

[4x4junkie]

Yeah I guess in the high powered lightbars and off road lights you only have cool white as an option. Most of the smaller flood lights and replacement bulbs come in warm white though.

Anyone know why they don't make light bars in warm white? Wouldn't a warmer colour temp produce more lumens? Or do the warmer temp LED's run hotter?

Most likely it's because warmer white LEDs tend to be rated at very slightly less lumens (maybe 5-7% or so) by chip manufacturers than otherwise-similar cold-white LEDs would be (heat output is the same).
Unfortunately offroad light manufacturers appear to be so caught up in their quest to claim the absolute highest lumens they can for their light bars that the very last thing any one of them wants to do is deflate their numbers slightly by using warm (or neutral)-white LEDs to have a better quality light output. Numbers & marketing gimmicks (such as calling it "daylight white", "super white", etc.) are what sell to the masses these days, not quality, so cold-white LEDs are where it's at.

 

[kojackJKU]

Most likely it's because warmer white LEDs tend to be rated at very slightly less lumens (maybe 5-7% or so) by chip manufacturers than otherwise-similar cold-white LEDs would be (heat output is the same).
Unfortunately offroad light manufacturers appear to be so caught up in their quest to claim the absolute highest lumens they can for their light bars that the very last thing any one of them wants to do is deflate their numbers slightly by using warm (or neutral)-white LEDs to have a better quality light output. Numbers & marketing gimmicks (such as calling it "daylight white", "super white", etc.) are what sell to the masses these days, not quality, so cold-white LEDs are where it's at.

Yep, exactly, They rate the lumens right at the bar. So, your light bar that supposedly puts out 20,000 lumens, does, when you look at it or like 1m away. But 500m away, it probably can only do 1500 or less. Compared to an HID driving light that is rated at around 5000lm at 1m, still puts 3 or more out at 500m. And puts more that 1500 lumens at 1000m.

Lumens ratings are a marketing gimmick as you stated. Side by side comparisons prove this all the time.

 

[Globatrol]

40" light bars, does it get any better!!

 

[4x4junkie]

Yep, exactly, They rate the lumens right at the bar. So, your light bar that supposedly puts out 20,000 lumens, does, when you look at it or like 1m away. But 500m away, it probably can only do 1500 or less. Compared to an HID driving light that is rated at around 5000lm at 1m, still puts 3 or more out at 500m. And puts more that 1500 lumens at 1000m.

Lumens ratings are a marketing gimmick as you stated. Side by side comparisons prove this all the time.

I think you're confusing lumens with "lux".

Lux is a measure of luminous intensity against a surface or object (and decreases with distance).
Lumens is a measure of total light output emitted.

Offroad light manufacturers do use the lumen ratings of the LED emitters themselves to rate their lights, which fails to take into account losses in the lamp's optics, and is part of what fuels this race for the greatest claimed lumens at a cost of spectral uniformity (for the most part it extends over to LED flashlights as well).

Poor spectral uniformity is reason why LED lights appear so intensely (glaringly) bright up close, while having marginal penetrating power into deep darkness: most of the light energy is concentrated deep within the blue region of the light spectrum (around ~450nm). Our eyes cannot discern distant reflections well in the blue region like they can in the yellow-green region, especially if there is a large amount of blue light present in the foreground. Warm or neutral white LEDs (3500-4000°K CCT) greatly increases the amount of yellow-green light emitted relative to blue light emitted (way more than making up for their slightly lower rated lumens).
This is why I stated in a post earlier... until offroad light manufacturers can learn to cool it down a bit on color temperatures, those worried about glare or the bluish light color should forget LEDs altogether and stick with halogen or HID lights. Halogen lights have exceptionally good spectral uniformity, and is why they are so adept at piercing very deep into darkness.

 

[Mexicant]

Ahhh, that would explain the poor light quality and output. Can you try to get one with a good camera, might make a world of difference. Even though, a bright white hood is brutal lit up anyways. You should look at getting a light deflector for the bottom of your bar. You would see better, and safer then!

Tried to get some decent shots but it still doesn't do the light output justice. I need a better spot where I can measure distance out.

12" on bumper

30" roof mounted

 

[DefconBrix]

The OP seems to not be fond of Rigid for some reason which is totally ok but having the correct information before making a judgement is another thing. When compared no other brand goes through the same quality testing, torture testing and backs everything they produce like Rigid does. There is a reason all these other brands feel the need to always compare to Rigid — Rigid is the best on the market. Its not just about being bright either — Rigids last longer and stay cooler.

Just my two cents on why I have been running Rigid's for the past few years. At first I was like some though and didn't want to spend a lot of money but I didn't want the bitterness of poor quality to remain long after the sweetness of a low price.

40" SR Series under the roof rack and 20" SR Series in the Rigid Grille Kit.

Rigid 6 Rock Light Kit