I want to mount 6" round lights on the front of my truck

[D Fresh]

The furthest distance BD is quoting for any laser light is 627 feet, for the OnX6+ 10in Hybrid laser. That product costs $1,187.

You are stuck on that ELS aren't you. For something you called marketing gibberish you sure seem to love it.

The ELS number does not necessarily mean the limit of usable light. It is simply where they got their 10 lux delta.

If you think a BD laser light only allows one to see 600 feet you've never seen one in action.

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[Danager]

Are we lighting up these big boys and driving down the highway with them? Anybody on this forum driving 65 off road in the dark?
Good points though about not really being able to compare or even trust the posted numbers.
My wish list for a light is - look good, outperform the Walmart brands, and cost less than 4x a Harvard tuition.

 

[Wes Siler]

Are we lighting up these big boys and driving down the highway with them? Anybody on this forum driving 65 off road in the dark?
Good points though about not really being able to compare or even trust the posted numbers.
My wish list for a light is - look good, outperform the Walmart brands, and cost less than 4x a Harvard tuition.

I use my lights every night.

 

[Danager]

I use my lights every night.

You use which lights at night? Driving where?

 

[Wes Siler]

You use which lights at night? Driving where?

The big round lights mounted to the bumpers on my trucks. I have them wired up to an enable/disable switch, then they fire on the high beam stalk when enabled. That's the legal requirement in Oz, and it makes it much easier to avoid blinding other drivers.

I live in southwest Montana, and we have a second home in a very remote part of northern Montana. I use the lights on the road, on dirt roads, and off-road. Literally every time I drive at night.

The commute to our place up north is 300 miles on the nose. The lights make that an easy, safe, relaxing drive after dark, even when the weather is gnar.

I get that not everyone lives in Montana, but if you're putting lights on your truck, you're probably using said truck to do something more exciting than sit in traffic. Lights are a safety feature when you're doing that more exciting stuff.

 

[ICE 27]

Light bar mount for ranger.

 

[LookARE]

From an outside perspective I’d just like to see unbiased real testing between US vs AU lights. I’ve always been a bit confused about light force because from all I’ve heard they’re the best US option but no one uses them? I also read the article and the argument about why Trophy truck racers use BD even though they‘re garbage according to the article is interesting. Sure, they have gps and have pre-driven the course but we are talking about 1000 miles of terrain would these teams really take such a competitive advantage if there’s a monumentally better option out there? Also regardless of racers prerunner enthusiasts swear by Baja designs just look at the builds on the Terra Crew YT channel 9 out of 10 of these guys are running BD. They’re also in environments that are much more challenging than what we experience in our rangers especially at speed. Another interesting point to consider is that AU lighting prioritizes seeing animals coming onto the road since its a more common hazard there. Versus BDs article they seem to prioritize legibility of obstacles.

I think the problem is you are either taking someones word for it or watching a video that isn’t representative of the experience or usability of the lights.

Anyways, from my brief research into AU light brands UltraVision seems like the standard over there in comparison to what ARB and BD they also use 10 lux measurement and 1 lux. Here’s a chart from there website for there top end light which is $1700 not sure if thats AUD or USD. Which shows about 700m at 10 lux. thoughts?

https://ultra-vision.com.au/product/nitro-180-maxx-led-driving-light/

I also think power isn’t everything and that optics are just as important which can be seen in this video Comparing cheap vs expensive light bars.

 

[Danager]

The big round lights mounted to the bumpers on my trucks. I have them wired up to an enable/disable switch, then they fire on the high beam stalk when enabled. That's the legal requirement in Oz, and it makes it much easier to avoid blinding other drivers.

I live in southwest Montana, and we have a second home in a very remote part of northern Montana. I use the lights on the road, on dirt roads, and off-road. Literally every time I drive at night.

The commute to our place up north is 300 miles on the nose. The lights make that an easy, safe, relaxing drive after dark, even when the weather is gnar.

I get that not everyone lives in Montana, but if you're putting lights on your truck, you're probably using said truck to do something more exciting than sit in traffic. Lights are a safety feature when you're doing that more exciting stuff.

I get it. You are one of those guys using the Luxor lamp on the highways at night. But that thing you did with the switch, which is legal in a different country, means you do not blind oncoming traffic. And how dare you say sitting in traffic isn’t exciting? I know of a few intersections in Detroit that would get your heart rate up.

 

[Bdog]

The furthest distance BD is quoting for any laser light is 627 feet, for the OnX6+ 10in Hybrid laser. That product costs $1,187.

Have you ever used any of BD's products? I think you're a bit confused when it comes to their new standard of lighting ELS. If the light is only rated at 627 feet that's a measurement of usable light. The light itself will shine far beyond this measurement but is almost useless when driving at high speeds. This is the reason they are changing the way they measure their lights. It is one thing to have a light that shines miles long but what's the benefit of that if I can't see what's right in front of me? Your biggest selling point on ARB light is that it outperforms the competitor BD that you are referencing which I believe that to be simply inaccurate. Instead of sitting behind the computer how about you purchase both lights and do an in-depth comparison of each light and consider the two without a biased opinion? I'm sure if you had a " few beers" with the guys from BD, you would also love their lights.

 

[Wes Siler]

From an outside perspective I’d just like to see unbiased real testing between US vs AU lights. I’ve always been a bit confused about light force because from all I’ve heard they’re the best US option but no one uses them? I also read the article and the argument about why Trophy truck racers use BD even though they‘re garbage according to the article is interesting. Sure, they have gps and have pre-driven the course but we are talking about 1000 miles of terrain would these teams really take such a competitive advantage if there’s a monumentally better option out there? Also regardless of racers prerunner enthusiasts swear by Baja designs just look at the builds on the Terra Crew YT channel 9 out of 10 of these guys are running BD. They’re also in environments that are much more challenging than what we experience in our rangers especially at speed. Another interesting point to consider is that AU lighting prioritizes seeing animals coming onto the road since its a more common hazard there. Versus BDs article they seem to prioritize legibility of obstacles.

I think the problem is you are either taking someones word for it or watching a video that isn’t representative of the experience or usability of the lights.

Anyways, from my brief research into AU light brands UltraVision seems like the standard over there in comparison to what ARB and BD they also use 10 lux measurement and 1 lux. Here’s a chart from there website for there top end light which is $1700 not sure if thats AUD or USD. Which shows about 700m at 10 lux. thoughts?

https://ultra-vision.com.au/product/nitro-180-maxx-led-driving-light/

I also think power isn’t everything and that optics are just as important which can be seen in this video Comparing cheap vs expensive light bars.

Lightforce is one of the bigger/well regarded Australian brands. They're what I run. The HTX2s on the Land Cruiser are the most powerful lights you can buy in this country.

Ultravision (smaller/newer Aussie brand) looks really interesting, and that 1 lux @2200 meters performance is insane. I'm not sure a Ranger's alternator could safely run them though. I might bring over a pair if I buy a new Super Duty next year. No experience with their products so far though, and they aren't answering my emails, which is never a great sign.

BD popularity: There's no accounting for taste. The Tacoma outsells the Ranger, even though it ships with the wrong final drive ratio, drum rear brakes, a payload so low its unsafe to carry 4 adults, and a frame notorious for cracking in half...49.9 percent of the population has below average intelligence.

Seeing animals: You're talking about color temp. 5k to 6K is ideal.

Donut Media: gross.

 

[Wes Siler]

I get it. You are one of those guys using the Luxor lamp on the highways at night. But that thing you did with the switch, which is legal in a different country, means you do not blind oncoming traffic. And how dare you say sitting in traffic isn’t exciting? I know of a few intersections in Detroit that would get your heart rate up.

Like with anything, lights are as safe and responsible as you choose to make them. Wiring them up correctly does help making being safe and responsible a little easier.

 

[Wes Siler]

Have you ever used any of BD's products? I think you're a bit confused when it comes to their new standard of lighting ELS. If the light is only rated at 627 feet that's a measurement of usable light. The light itself will shine far beyond this measurement but is almost useless when driving at high speeds. This is the reason they are changing the way they measure their lights. It is one thing to have a light that shines miles long but what's the benefit of that if I can't see what's right in front of me? Your biggest selling point on ARB light is that it outperforms the competitor BD that you are referencing which I believe that to be simply inaccurate. Instead of sitting behind the computer how about you purchase both lights and do an in-depth comparison of each light and consider the two without a biased opinion? I'm sure if you had a " few beers" with the guys from BD, you would also love their lights.

Yeah man, I get to drive a lot of different vehicles, in a lot of different parts of the world. Experiencing their limited performance after getting used to better options in Australia is what made me realize BD wasn't making competitive products.

I think you're confused about lux distance. It's an objective number created specifically to give lights a metric by which to be compared. I'd agree that 10 lux is a little arbitrary, and the 1 lux standard used by literally every quality light brand is a better representation. It really doesn't matter what number you use since you're just choosing an arbitrary point along the beam of light. BD's lights are as badly outclassed at 1 lux as they are at 10, or 6.75, or 82, or whatever you want to use.

I get to hang out with designers and whatnot from loads of brands. That's a big part of learning about all these worlds, and why I'm able to help readers learn to understand them too. The job is relationships.

 

[Msfitoy]

a payload so low its unsafe to carry 4 adults

?

 

[Baja Designs]

Light distance should be based on minimum amount of light a driver needs to see a rock, hole, stopped vehicle, or vegetation in or on the trail. Measuring light distance to 10 lux or the amount of light your eye sees at twilight, means that there is sufficient light for you to safely drive off at the maximum measured distance of a light. In off-road lighting measuring light distance to 1 lux, or the amount of light your eye sees on a full moon, is as arbitrary as any other illuminance over a given area because it is dimmer than the minimum amount of light most people can use for driving at any speed. Why continue measuring distance to a lux that has no practical application to the light’s user?



All Baja Designs lights and competitors lights tested for ELS are measured to 10 lux and any of these values can be converted to 1 lux, if so desired, using the formulas provided in the ELS white paper. These specifications are intended to provide better, more usable information to off-road lighting users. For more detail see ELS site and white paper links below.



Baja Designs ELS

ELS White Paper

Best,
Brahian Herrera

 

[OFC Ranger]

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