Need recommendations for aftermarket lighting

[OFC Ranger]

OME is bottom tier pleb suspension.

jk

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[AzScorpion]

OME is bottom tier pleb suspension.

jk

Now you went and done it.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Now you went and done it.

 

[Wes Siler]

The performance of lights can be quantified. ?

 

[1pt21gw]

The performance of lights can be quantified. ?

Sure Can... It is done be how many Jacksons, Hamiltons, and Franklins you have lost contact with.

 

[9zero1790]

Your lights should not be breaking. And the fact is, rigid (which survives primarily in military contracts) simply does not make competitive products. Their 6 inch rounds do 1 lux at 270 yds for $650. Compare that to the $450 strikers at 750 yds.

i wouldnt want the lightforce products now no matter how awesome they are or even at a better value. being talked into a new product is not a way to make solid sales. when i got too old and fat for a uniform i made a living selling. selling the same basic stuff as everyone else in the role. even having to sell against my own dang brand in the same zip code. i did well at it by attitude and service. my customers couldnt fart without my nose in the way. they stayed my customers until i left the job. rigid industries makes a quality product and they stand behind it. more than that they dont annoy the customer. mine havent broke or ever been broken. i simply had items not in the box. they squared that away fast. thats service. i cant drive fast enough off road to need 750 yards vs. 270. the performance difference for what i do makes no difference. as someone mentioned gun terms ill try this. what ever super modern rifle cartridge with fancy tech and design may be accurate for miles. great good for it. but i cant see that far, i dont shoot that far and damn sure dont hunt that far. is a 30 - 30 the best performing round in the world, of course not. but the damn thing will drop any animal on my continent at the range i might actually use it for (sub 200 yards). not to mention having plentiful options for ammo. its a tried and true design that worked then and works now. id pick it over whatever other rifle is out. the rigid may not be the best at whatever distance and i dont care. they work for me and are damn tough. i dont have a cookie to give lol. the op asked for recommendations i gave mine.

 

[D Fresh]

Lightforce lights are just a knock-off of ARB Intensity lights which, surprise, were designed by Rigid.?

 

[Wes Siler]

i wouldnt want the lightforce products now no matter how awesome they are or even at a better value. being talked into a new product is not a way to make solid sales. when i got too old and fat for a uniform i made a living selling. selling the same basic stuff as everyone else in the role. even having to sell against my own dang brand in the same zip code. i did well at it by attitude and service. my customers couldnt fart without my nose in the way. they stayed my customers until i left the job. rigid industries makes a quality product and they stand behind it. more than that they dont annoy the customer. mine havent broke or ever been broken. i simply had items not in the box. they squared that away fast. thats service. i cant drive fast enough off road to need 750 yards vs. 270. the performance difference for what i do makes no difference. as someone mentioned gun terms ill try this. what ever super modern rifle cartridge with fancy tech and design may be accurate for miles. great good for it. but i cant see that far, i dont shoot that far and damn sure dont hunt that far. is a 30 - 30 the best performing round in the world, of course not. but the damn thing will drop any animal on my continent at the range i might actually use it for (sub 200 yards). not to mention having plentiful options for ammo. its a tried and true design that worked then and works now. id pick it over whatever other rifle is out. the rigid may not be the best at whatever distance and i dont care. they work for me and are damn tough. i dont have a cookie to give lol. the op asked for recommendations i gave mine.

Im not a salesman. I have no affiliation with any of these brands whatsoever.

Two of my three closest calls in the last three years have been due to insufficient lighting. In the first, we were driving home from our wedding, were just south of Loreto after dark, and missed two horses standing in the middle of the highway by basically no margin at 65 mph. I had two 4 inch Rigid pods, and a 30 inch Rigid bar. They were just such a waste of space, time and effort. I'd been told (by Rigid) this setup was A+, but compared to the stuff I'd used in the rest of the world it was pretty much just mood lighting. That's what kicked off my little crusade here around addressing the lack of good information about lights.

You absolutely drive fast enough to benefit from better lighting. At 45 mph, those 270 yds lights are giving you 12 seconds of vision. For the same price, why not have 34 seconds (plus better peripheral vision)? Especially when shits slippery. All of us do 45 on dirt roads.

Here's a link to a speed/distance/time calculator:

https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/math/speed-distance-time-calculator.php

Simply enter the speed at which you drive, plus the distance at which a given set of lights can project 1 lux, and you'll get the best case reaction time (terrain, and atmospheric conditions can interfere) those lights will provide. Then just ask what the cheapest lights are that provide that distance, and you'll get your value proposition.

I don't give any shits which brand you choose, but I do think you'll see a correlation between performance and value around my recommendations.

Why wouldn't everyone be interested in potentially life saving information like this?

 

[Russd]

The problem I have is there are so many cars out at night now, I cannot benefit from even my bright lights. As soon as they come on another car is coming towards me.
I have used aftermarket lights on forest roads but that is usually much slower speeds.
I’ve hit one live elk, clipped a dead one, missed a couple dead ones and came up on one wounded one in the slow lane. I think only once would a better light have helped. This was driving a semi at night.

 

[Wes Siler]

so what your saying is you recommend light force to the op for his aux light needs.

You tell me. Run the math on ~$500 driving lights and tell us which ones perform best.

Incidentally, that same math should help everyone understand why silly little pod lights are so silly, no matter who makes them. I use a set of four inch pods for work lights mounted to my GFC, pointed to the side and angled down at 45 degrees. They're amazing for reading a house number painted on a curb or negotiating a really tight squeeze,. But I can't imagine using them for driving faster than I can walk. Have same on rear for reverse, which is again walking pace.

 

[9zero1790]

hopefully the op does not read this thread and think r5g is like tacoma world or camaro net all the time lol.

 

[AzScorpion]

Let's get back ON TOPIC and try and help the OP with his question .

I think we can all agree not everyone wants or has a ton of money to spend on high end lights. Both have there place and it's good to have choices.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Let's get back ON TOPIC and try and help the OP with his question .

I think we can all agree not everyone wants or has a ton of money to spend on high end lights. Both have there place and it's good to have choices.

Last point on the matter there was only one person this thread who felt the need to dismiss everyone else's opinions to the OP and proclaim authority on the matter.

Echo chambers excluded.

 

[OFC Ranger]

You tell me. Run the math on ~$500 driving lights and tell us which ones perform best.

This is nothing more than a half truth and when compared dollar to dollar out right false.

The half truth of the matter is this grossly over-generalized statement focuses on one aspect and one aspect only: the math. What it fails to take into account is the plethora of other variables according to the driver. Budget, purpose, speed, type of trails/off-roading they do, etc etc

Again, this is the appeal to authority fallacy.

You don't go to a purpose built rock crawler and proclaim they need high powered driving lamps because, "It has the best performance at 750 yards."

You also don't go to some dude who has a budget of $200 and tell him, "Buy these $500 lights, your price range sucks and and you are a fool not to buy these."


Our disagreements are all fun and games until you posted that mouth vomit a few pages back about, "Do you want to listen to me, or a bunch of people without any experience?" Which is just a flat out lie and was just beyond narcissistic nonsense. Yes, we all know what Wes Siler does for a living because Wes Siler can't miss any opportunity to tell us. However Wes Siler knows jack poop about anyone else's background or capabilities, but apparently whatever our backgrounds, it ain't jack to Wes Siler cause we are not Wes Siler.

Sorry @AzScorpion but this nonsense is just unreal.

 

[9zero1790]

aww my dead horses are gone lol. its ok. i should apologize for participation in shenanigans.

on the topic: I tried a few of the china brands with little luck. The NiLight branded ones didnt last a month. They were cheap so I was not surprised lol.
I have noticed some of the offerings from Auxbeam look like better quality control is taking place. The prices have gone up also, but they are still very affordable. I have an older Auxbeam light bar on the 4g ranger. it fogs some times but the light still works fine. I would avoid the older cheaper Auxbeam stuff.
a link to some of the newer products.
https://auxbeam.com/collections/led-light-bars

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