LED vs HID - Driving Lights

[Ryzz Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ryzz]

I know everyone seems to ask this a lot, but it would appear information/feedback on this is very limited. Im about to head on a long drive through the night and to have the brightest and longest throwing beam of light, is going to be of great benefit. I'm looking at the LED Light bars and comparing them to HID Pin Spots. I like the LED as the use less power, have no heat issues and are instant (no warm up). However feedback on what they are like for long distance lighting is very limited.

HID is obviously extremely effective here, I already have HID lo/hi beams, however im looking a a set of pin spots to finish off the setup.

So questions re LED:
* Can the light bars provide equal distance as their HID Counterparts?
* Are the 'Lightbars' more effective than a traditional round spot light
* Has anyone replaced/substituted a LED Setup in place of a conventional/HID pin spot and had satisfactory results

At the end of the day, compared with a pair of 50w HID Driving lights from Lightforce costing nearly $1400, a light bar/LED system isnt that expensive comparability. However the killer question here is 'do they perform as well/better than a conventional HID Spotlight.

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: LED vs HID - Driving Lights

There was a comparo of driving lights which covered Halogen, HID and LED in a recent 4wd action (Issue 161). What I took from it is if you are after distance then HID are the go. The LED lights are really for limited distance illumination.

Some examples of their results for are (spot only):
Halogen
IPF 900 19 lux @ 100m
IPF 900 5 lux @ 200m
IPF 900 2 lux @ 300m
IPF 900 1 lux @ 400m

Lightforce 240 XGT 40 lux @ 100m
Lightforce 240 XGT 6 lux @ 200m
Lightforce 240 XGT 4 lux @ 300m
Lightforce 240 XGT 1 lux @ 400m

HID
IPF 900 HID 53 lux @ 100m
IPF 900 HID 16 lux @ 200m
IPF 900 HID 7 lux @ 300m
IPF 900 HID 5 lux @ 400m
...
IPF 900 HID 1 lux @ 700m

Lightforce 240 XGT HID 193 lux @ 100m
Lightforce 240 XGT HID 53 lux @ 200m
Lightforce 240 XGT HID 21 lux @ 300m
Lightforce 240 XGT HID 10 lux @ 400m
...
Lightforce 240 XGT HID 1 lux @ 900m

LED
Baja Design Stealth 20" LED 5 lux @ 100m
Baja Design Stealth 20" LED 1 lux @ 200m

Rigid Industries E series 20" LED 4 lux @ 100m
Rigid Industries E series 20" LED 1 lux @ 200m

The majority of the LED bars reviewed where spread only and illuminated to a max distance of around 15-20 meters. There were only 2 (I think) spot LED bars and they fadded away around 200m. Compare that the HID that will give 700-900 meters and it is pretty obvious really. If you need a copy of the article then PM me.

[xlr8_87 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close xlr8_87]

Re: LED vs HID - Driving Lights

Yep a mentioned above, even the spot LED lights don't do great with distance.

Go with an HID setup, one spot, one spread and you'll never look back!

Ultimate setup though would be LED bar for spread couple with 2x HID spot lights for distance. Problem is you're looking at well over $2k for that!

[Leethal Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Leethal]

Re: LED vs HID - Driving Lights

"Im about to head on a long drive through the night and to have the brightest and longest throwing beam of light, is going to be of great benefit."

I'm not sure where your going but I don't think that is really the best option. Brightest .. yes sounds okay but longest throwing ?
In my opinion your better off having a good spread of light out to about 500 - 600 m, if you need further than that how fast are you going ?
Plus I would rather see whats on the road side as opposed to some reflection 1000+ m down the road, thats assuming the road is straight for that distance and there is no oncoming traffic which will require you to dip your lights anyway.

All tests and reports tend to indicate LED lights offer great depth of coverage and spread out to maybe 100 m at most. HID's will offer greater range and spread down the road/track plus you will find after the initial start up delay the HID's attain full output almost immediately after dipping unless they have been off for a while which usually means a fair amount of traffic anyway.

I run a pair of IPF 900 XS fitted with 50 watt hid kits ($200 second hand plus $180for the HID kits), both are spread beams and they give great coverage with a reflective distance out past 1000 m, trouble is my eyes can't see that far anyway :lol: My recommendation would be to go for a pair of either Hella or Lighforce halogens, or upgrade most any quality lights with HID kits, both in a spread beam unless you really need a spot way down the road.

Lee

[croozza Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close croozza]

The retro fit HID kits are ok, but you will never get the same light output as original fitment HID.
Another negative of retro fit is the heat up / cool down time, they take longer to heat up for full light output, but cool down very quickly, so if you come accross a couple of cars coming from the other way, by the time they pass the ballist has cooled down, and you have to go through the heat up process again, Original fitment HID (like my Narva 225 HID), heat up in 2 seconds, and during that heatup period you still have ample light (blueish till they go full white).
One thing to keep in mind with HID is, it is imperative to have them alligned correctly, otherwise you blind yourself with the reflection coming back from road signs.
LED lights are only good for short and wide distances, so they would be perfect for the rear of vehicle, and even on the side of the vehicle, like on a roof rack, it wouldn't hurt to put one on the front if you do alot of night time 4wding.

[krypto Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close krypto]

I fitted Phillips 35W HID kits. Light output is awesome, better than on my other car with OEM HID.

Warm-up time is 2-3 seconds, why is OEM quicker?

[croozza Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close croozza]

I fitted Phillips 35W HID kits. Light output is awesome, better than on my other car with OEM HID.

Warm-up time is 2-3 seconds, why is OEM quicker?

Better ballists on original fitment HID.

[Eecee Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Eecee]

Where do I find the HID kits?

[craigm Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close craigm]

Google will come up with a number of sellers, some of which are on fleabay. I bought mine through a seller on the Patrol forum who is very reasonably priced and received great service. PM me if you want this guys contact details

[Gunnell Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gunnell]

The rigid industries led units can be ordered in the configuration you want in about 4 inch modules. The standard units have about 8 inches of spread beam each side and the centre section being more spot focussed.

For those who have never seen the lightbars in action dont be too quick to knock them. I have a pair of 240Xgt hids and two lightbars and if i had to have one or the other i would take the lightbars without question. Massive improvement to the night driving experience, less eye strain and even spread lighting right accross th road, out the sides and up into the trees. In fact i would go as far as saying i now prefer driving at night.

I would be happy to meet up with any Adelaide folk one evening and go for a spin if your interested.

Cheers,

[KAKADAZ Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close KAKADAZ]

RYZZ my BritaX Hid's take about 4-5seconds to warm up and throw full light after their warm then it's pretty much straight away after that. I have never felt any heat after having them on for a length of time either. With one spot and one beam the light they throw is ridiculously good.

[ondaboat Coopers Pale Ale Find all posts View Profile Close ondaboat]

For those who have never seen the lightbars in action dont be too quick to knock them.
Cheers,

You know how the sun rises in the east, well when Gunnell turned up to Redcliffs (SA PP trip) from the west I thought something had gone wrong in the world. Trust me those things he has are F*%^$ bright.

[Lazy Eye'd Mike Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Lazy Eye'd Mike]

The retro fit HID kits are ok, but you will never get the same light output as original fitment HID.
.

Can't agree with you there mate, same bulbs, same ballasts, same current draw, same reflectors, same great white light, just at a reduced price. Often times aftermarket is better, think Fatboy globes in your headlights.

[craigm Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close craigm]

I have a pair of 240Xgt hids and two lightbars and if i had to have one or the other i would take the lightbars without question.

Cheers,

Hi Gunnell
I am yet to see a Prado running LED Bars. Care to share with some Pics please?


Craig.

[Moz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Moz]

Digging up an old thread i know... but i've decided against making my own...

Found a guy up here that has been bringing in these 3W Cree LED light bars... originally he was a source for some HID kits, that i was going to use to upgrade my lightforce 240XGT's... but after playing around with a heap of these with him out in a paddock last night... i had to give one a shot... i'm soon to be driving from darwin to perth, so i'm probably going to miss the distance i get out of the XGT's (there is no room on the car to run both as i'm without a roofrack for the moment)....
Apparently the popular choice for most guys is to run either a 42 or 50" bar (in single or dual, honestly, after playing with them myself, at that size, there wasn't as much difference as you'd think) across the roof... then either retain a set of HID spotties on the bullbar... or use a ~20" lightbar on the bullbar, to "fill" in the 15-18M of light you loose around the front of the car because of the roof (obviously dependant on how far forward you can mount it)

I got one of these;

As I said, the 20ish inch bars are normally the choice to run on the bullbar... he actually didn't have any... so looked at the 32, looked at my bullbar a couple of times... and...

BAM! it just fits in... ever so snug...

I just went out for a drive around... without going too far from town... to give it a go... i knew that i was going to be sacrificing alot of distance in switching spotlights (especially the xgt's - noting that i have both spot and combo covers that i swapped around a bit) for a LED bar... but after playing with them last night in a field... and in his truck... decided that i was happy to sacrifice that distance for so much better "spread" around the car... the jury is still out... but i have a 4000km drive to perth coming up this week, don't plan on alot of night driving... but will just to give the new bar a good workout