I need tons of throw. Minimum 300k candela, but 500k or more would be even better.
My application is running lonely back roads and 2 track at higher speeds, plus paved roads in the less populated parts of Colorado.
Most everybody that travels alot at night in my neck of the woods has some sort of auxiliary light whether it be a bar or a kc type light, simply to be able to see deer and elk before you hit them. We have massive resident elk herds that hangnout next to the roads because of warmth and feed.
Legalities aside, that is the reality. I personally have mine wired to the high beam switch with another switch to be able to turn it off separate of the high beam switch. I dont use it when other vehicles are on the road, same as my high beams. Most other people around here are respectful about that as well.
I say both. 270 degree for the corners and throw in the middle.
And as we are blf it’s not necessary to be cheap, only to be reasonable. There are many outside who can afford a little more if it’s worth.
For the legal side: a good cover when not in use would be fine…
I had 2 paltry 55W H1s in driving lights that could put out a far far far-reaching semi-elliptical pencil-beam like an L2. Pain in the ass to aim properly, but I could run with them all night and never get flashed.
A good LED+TIR combo would equal if not surpass that easily, and at about ¼ the power.
That could be the main set. Then, you could have a secondary set of ellipticals for close-in lighting.
Ive found, from playing with some of my better throwers while driving, that a couple of good throwers by themselves offers nearly all the additional light I need. Its almost always long distsnces that I need additional light for, not massive up close flood. Just a few smaller thower leds with tight beams for side lighting is enough for a jeep ir pickup type vehicle.
Now a 4 wheeler or side by side, that would probably need more side flood on twisty terrain. Would be nice to have both options, and choose one or both with a switch.
I have a set of cheap Aux brand 3”x3” amber leds that I bough off Amazon I was hoping to modify to use as fog-ish lights, but haven’t opened them up yet.
I have wiring and space in the bumper for another set of 4’ x 4” pods that I would really like to get some ~4k CCT and high CRI leds. My plan was to just get some mid range 5k CCT leds and add some film to knock some of the blue down.
I’d go for either. But I assumed as lightbars seem to be trendy right now, that there would be more scope of getting something done. But I have no objections if it was spotlight design. The question would be what to people consider a ‘spot light’ would it be round or square? One LED or many? Type of thing.
The thought really came from the fact I’d like to buy some lights to put on my Suzuki Jimny. ARB are meant to be good quality, but they are hugely expensive and when I look the specs up they are 6500k, which really detracts. And of course all the marketing pictures/videos will use auto whitebalance, so it isn’t evident how coolwhite the light will be.
A bit of searching showed up Lazer who claim to be in the UK. They also claim 5000k but they want £1000 ($1400) for a lightbar. I struggle to grasp how such a price can be justified, knowing that their lightbars probably cost almost the same to make as one selling for $140.
Thus far I have failed to find anything I’d actually like to buy.
I’m not sure there is such a difference. And for a first attempt you don’t need to cover all places in the marketplace. I’d imagine a well designed unit would offer a good mix of flood and throw too.
Why look at LED only? On a flashlight or headlamp, I want LEDs because I have to carry the battery weight for the output that I want. On a car, I don’t care. I have recently been looking into some driving lights, since I totalled a car a couple years back after running into caribou. At the top of my list, after a bit of research, is the Lightforce Striker. Halogen, 100 CRI, 100 R9, 3300K, filters for spot, wide or combo, and only $250 USD for the pair. I thought of them because I see their lights on a lot of vehicles (in Alaska, at least). I also read a review where someone specifically commented on how well and relaxing they could see due to the 3300K color temperature compared to a higher CT light that they had tried earlier.
I’m wondering about these… cheap enough to be very tempting and the beam shots seem to show good beam patterns (glare conscious flood). I think a simple emitter swap in these would make a nice light for the price. Very curious to see how they “regulate” current.
I’ve had those on my Forester when I lived in the Yukon and can only recommend them, especially if you’re looking to light up looong, empty roads. A little tedious to get them aimed right but once it’s done it’s done! Had them wired to my high beams, with a switch in series to choose beetween just regular high beams and high beams + Strikers. Imho the most sensible solution if you’re going to use them on-road.
They might not be cheaper than low-end lightbars, but are great quality with lots of available accessories.
I’ve never had trouble with them while owning that car. Kinda miss it…
In middle of nowhere Yukon (at night in mid-January a couple years ago) was where the caribou collision I mentioned happened. I was able to nurse my Prius home to Alaska, but it got totaled out by insurance (they took good care of me with the payout). Thanks for the feedback on the Strikers. I’ll probably put them on one of my Subie Legacies at some point.
This is more the size of what I’d go with. 6-XHP50’s well made with TIR’s. High/low/off as 10,000 lumens/ 2000 lumen at 5000K. Then mount as many as you need.
LEDs can be all that. Well, we’d probably have to settle at ~CRI90-95 and R9 as we’re on a budget. 100W halogens burn hot and therefore have a short lifetime, also the luminosity is low. There isn’t a tangible reason the BLF bar couldn’t use 3000k LEDs and 100W of quality diodes would produce >10k lumen. The only advantage of halogens and other bulbs is the (more focused) single point of light, which is per definition easier to control with a reflector.
Since ive been slowly working on an electric streetfighter styled bike build, ive kinda been thinking more and more about this, and ive been looking at this one specifically and wondering how hard it would be to convert from 6500k to 4000k and re wire it, so i can get flood on the bottom for DRL or low beam, and then the spots mayhapse at a lower power for regular headlights, and then a more amps the spot for high beams. Im not sure.
