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LEDs excel in lower currant draw, have no warm up time, have a massive (many say more than 50,000 hours) life expectancy and therefore no need to replace globes. I’ve also tried driving with just the LEDs (HIDs turned off) and other than that outright reach of light, I was perfectly happy around town and the back blocks, although a larger bar (higher lumen output) would be preferable. It’s given me a much wider and more evenly lit field of view when all four lights are on. Not as a replacement to the HID, but as an addition. But believe me, you’d be surprisingly happy travelling about rural roads with some of the later types of medium length LED bars.Īs mentioned, I’ve been lucky enough to have driven thousands of kilometres with HIDs, but have also been graced with two medium LED light bars for the last two years. Compared to the long-casting HID systems, that was pretty much the summery of LEDs – wide not far. Rather, they have mostly been regarded as a wide-beam-only lighting system. Indeed the earliest LED driving lights were pretty crap compared to those available on the market today, and most of them didn’t cast much light along the road. LED: Given the relative ‘newness’ of using LED lights on front facing driving, there are many detractors. Having driven with HIDs for around seven years, the reflection of road side signs is so great that I frequently dip the lights while passing them. Possibly of most concern is the blinding glare from the lights for both oncoming traffic and the driver. That being said, the latest ballasts have less initial warm up time, followed by (practically) none once your lights have been dipped for oncoming traffic, then switched on again. One of the drawbacks that detractors always cling to is the ‘warm up’ time: there can be (depending on type of ballast) five to 10 seconds until the bulbs reach their maximum intensity. The HIDs lower current draw is also significant, given they are driven by 35 or 50 watt systems. The next big improvement is the bulb life expectancy of over 7000 hours however, it’s not unheard of for them to blow with much less use than that.
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While prices have plummeted since their introduction (from thousands per light to hundreds per pair of lights) they are still significantly dearer than halogen lights. HID: The step up in cost and outright light brilliance are the major factors with HID lights. It’s also easy to up the wattage to 130 or even 150 (provided your casing, lens, reflector, alternator and wiring are all up to the task), or try playing with different coloured bulbs or covers for a bluish appearance if you must. Given their shortcomings, halogen lights can still cast a decent length and width of beam. I spent close to 20 years ‘putting up with’ halogens and that included a stint around Australia for 24 months in which I replaced the bulbs (with the cheapest ones I could find at the time) only a hand full of times. Many travellers have lapped Australia and had to endure the occasional blown bulb (which is easily and cheaply replaced), put up with the yellowish light output and make sure they don’t exceed the alternator output. While they are the lowest price, don’t discount their superiority over OEM headlights. Halogen: Being the oldest form of forward driving lights (readily available), you don’t need to look any further if you’re looking at doing the least damage to your bank balance. To increase the brain strain, add the need to choose between old school halogen (quartz halogen is simply a quartz glass bulb with halogen gas inside) beams, high intensity discharge (HID, or known as Xenon by some it’s still a quartz glob but filled with Xenon gas), or the latest type – light emitting diode (LED). If you ticked the pencil beam box, how far do you really want to see ahead 500 metres, 800 metres or is it really necessary to see 2000 metres down the track? Mind-boggling stuff and pretty much anything is available, depending on how deep your pockets are. You still get to choose pencil or spread beams, but how much of each do you need or want 10 degrees, 20 degrees or up to (almost) 180 degrees of light throw. Nowadays, there’s endless choice on offer in the lighting scene.
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This article was originally published in the August 2014 issue of 4x4 Australia. Sure, you got to wrack your brain deciding on a pencil or spread beam and whether to ‘up’ the bulbs from 100 to 130 watt in some brands. Not so long ago, when looking for driving lights, the only choice you had were halogen lights.