Awesome, I’m so excited!
Richard, I don’t expect you to have these IP rated or anything, but do you have any testaments of what kind of water intrusion they’ll resist? I assume driving at highway speeds is no problem, how about water crossings, or a high pressure car wash?
…or a boat? 
They'll resist any normal use. We test them with medium pressure water, and those in testing have been through dozens of car washes and pressure washes (but you must keep the nozzle several inches away---this goes for any seal). Remember, they've been through thousands of hours of real-world testing, and people wash their stuff and drive through rain.
Awesome, thanks, that’s what I was looking for!
Congratulations, look forward to you posting at least a few pictures and videos. Completely surprised by the Nichia 5000K, I was thinking XP-G or XM-L’s the whole time. No 12,000K Glare Masters here.
I've tested lots of different LEDs---practically all that I have in my possession (you know that's a lot) and have tested them with different optics for lumens and throw. Overall, the Nichia 219C comes out the winner in this application IMO. The blend of overall output, throw, and tint make for a winning combination.
Those lumen numbers looks impressive. The ones I’m personally looking at are the 6” and 12”. So many good spots for little lights.
So, would a 50” light bar look out of place on the top of my 2017 Toyota Camry, like right over the windshield? Would a second one under the rear bumper be such a bad thing, you know, for those folks that feel like they just HAVE to tailgate?
For the tailgaters, I’m not inclined to be so nice. I’d put spot lights in the back window and point them right at the driver’s face! :rage:
If you've been paying attention to some of the trends, it's cool to put about 6 light bars on the front of your car now. :-)
What about 700+ Watts of incandescent lights?
Wow these looks nice! Richard do you have plans to release a super far throwing version, maybe using HI emitters? I just compared the mtnlitebar to some of the famous expensive ones in the market and the mtn wins hands down in terms of power and output, but some light bars from rigid industries claim 1Mcd+ in their hyper-spot version.
Anyways I wish I had a car in which I could install these, my CUV and sport coupe aren’t candidates.
That CRI tho…
LOL, true. Although now the 90+ CRI 219C is out……
We did a few more installs yesterday:
This guy has had Rigid and Vision X lights on before, but said he couldn't see far enough---now he can! More lumens, more throw, modes, and battery protection.
Just quick shots with my phone with the 12” bar after getting it installed tonight. Cameras can’t do it justice at all. I knew it would be bright, but WOW.
Headlights:
High power:
Glad you got it and that you like it! What do you think about the beam pattern? I have had a really hard time really capturing it on camera.
How did the install go? Hopefully it was pretty much plug and play.
Of course I'm always working on brighter/throwier prototypes, but right now what I've got in the real world works out pretty well---only on an extremely clear night could you really use much more throw.
On the subject of Rigid and their intensity numbers...I don't know what they're smoking but I have measured a few of their products and the intensity is FAR lower than what they state on their site. I can't say this applies across the board, but one of their products says it's 321,000...I measure it at closer to 111,000. On the same night, same distance, same meter, my 18" 80+ CRI was 206,000. There are variances in measuring equipment...but when the output is 30%-50% of stated specs. either their readings are way high, or mine are way low....but in that case my bars are still way higher (not to mention the lumen and CRI advantage...where the 30A 80+ CRI 18" has a 10,000+ lumen advantage over the RDS 30").
I don’t like it, I love it. I think it’s easily the most fun mod I’ve added to my truck! The beam pattern is great, IMO. For everyone reading along, I opted for a couple of the shallower reflectors, to add a bit more peripheral light. I drive like a grandpa in my truck, and was more concerned about spotting wildlife popping out of the woods. It lights up everything, awesome spill, and tons of light down the road.
I wasn’t sure where to aim the bar. I initially tried perpendicular to the ground, but the beam pattern seemed to put the hotspot about 10’ in front of the truck, which was horrible. I don’t even think it was actually the hotspot, it was probably just the lower part of the corona, but it’s so stinkin’ bright it was still blinding at night. I now have it aimed slightly upwards, with the hotspot a bit above where my headlight cutoff is. I’m not sure if I’ll keep it there, but it seems to work for now. I don’t think I’m getting optimal throw down the road because of it, but I’ll have to tinker more later.
I didn’t believe people when they said “it’s like daylight inside 100 yards.” It’s true.
I plan to write a more comprehensive review once I get some decent night pics. It might not be until the weekend; the semester is in, and I’m in a real shortage of time.
The install was pretty much plug and play. I have helped friends with several engine swaps, and do most of my own maintenance, so I’m no stranger to this sort of thing, but it went pleasantly as expected.
My upgraded alternator still hasn’t come in yet, and I have to keep it at high idle with it on full power if I’m sitting still. 30A draw is no joke to a tired old alternator, and I’ll suck my voltage down on my second battery in no time. Fortunately low is still plenty of light when not moving.
Comparison beamshot (click for full size):
