LED Driving Lights & Spotlights

LED Driving Lights for Cars and Trucks

The is quite a lot to learn when want to buy led driving lights. The five main issues you will want to look at first are, what size can you fit on the bar? do you have any power limit issues? (are there limits of what current you can draw from the battery), what beam type are you looking for? (spot beam, driving beam/combination beam, or flood beam), and what weight can you put on your bar? (is it a small plastic bar etc…), and what is your budget?

Why Should I Buy LED Driving Lights instead of HID or Halogen?

The advantages of buying LED driving lights instead of halogen and HID is that LED Driving Lights will last 1000 Times longer than halogen, and produce a much brighter, whiter light, which gives the driver better clarity of vision. Halogen driving light bulbs have filaments in them which can break when going over potholes or corrugated roads, whereas LED driving Lights are much more robust and don’t have filaments in them to break down. In regards to HID, an LED driving light is much easier to maintain, and will last 100 times longer. The other advantage LED Driving Lights have over HID Driving Lights is that there are less maintenance issues. HID Driving Lights have an HID Ballast and an HID Bulb, when these fail you either need to buy a new bulb, or a new ballast, and usually after around 3500hrs of use, but once you put LED Driving Lights on your vehicle it is likely to last anywhere form 30,000hrs to 50,000hrs, and even up to 100,000hrs for some of our lights.

What Size Will Fit On my Bar.

There are a couple of things to check before you choose your led driving light in regards to size. The first is, the room you have between the grill, (if applicable), and the middle of the mounting bolt on the light. A lot of times, I have had clients buy a light without checking this first, and then realize that the bar they have is too small to fit the light that they wanted. Always check the lights distance from the middle of your mounting holes to the back of the light. In other words, check the distance between the back of the light to the grill of the vehicle. Some clients are happy to modify or build a mounting bracket to accommodate your lights preferred seating position, so keep this in mind too. You can get your local fitter and turner to create good solid bar mounts, which can be welded or bolted to the inner chassis of the car, sometimes through the grill, and sometimes from other mounting areas, depending on where you want to fit the light.

Another issue with choosing the right led driving light is figuring out if the shape and height of the light is compatible with the type of bar you mount them on. Some bars have a curvature on each end, so you should to check to see if the curvature of the bar is going to restrict the size of the light you buy. Make sure you get the supplier to provide you with details on the height of the light from where it sits flush on the bar, to the absolute top of the light, also, check the "taper" on the back of the light, sometimes you can get away with putting a bigger light on the bar if it tapers backwards enough so that the light fits on anyway.

Power Ratings - What power should I get for LED Driving Lights:

We have created a medium range, medium to long, and long range system for clients to try and judge best what power rating is best suited for their application. It is not easy, as the beam type (spot, flood etc..), and size restrictions play a huge roll in what is best suited for you. In a nutshell, for general "driving lights" around 30 degree beam angles you can use the following recomendations as a guide. Some 4x4 drivers have, for example, already have spot lights on their vehicle and they want more light in-between the cars headlights and the spot lights, so depending on the light type and size, you can fill that area with anything from the 6" 40w, to the 5" 80w. The 40w are a 6x2" light with high quality reflectors, so to get that little bit extra distance than your standard headlights these are fine. Another equivalent light would be the 80w 5", or the 7" 135w. If you want absolute maximum distance, and have no height or size restrictions, the 9" 370w are an exceptional light, and the new 320w 9" are similar but with parabolic reflectors. Keep in mind, brighter or more powerful does not always mean better, each application is different, and each beam pattern and light size is different. In general, the high powered 370w will give you 600mtrs of usable "driving beam" style light, the 7" 135w will give you a pencil beam of up to 800mtrs. The 80w 5" will give you 400mtrs of "driving beam", which is generally enough extra light while driving on the road to add that extra punch over your normal headlights, and it is compact so it fits in smaller areas.

What is the Current Draw, or Power Consumption of The Best LED Driving Lights?

For general motoring, most cars can easily handle a couple of led driving lights, even if the lights are very powerful, such as our 370w led driving light. If you are going to have multiple lights, you should get an auto electrician to run the math and figure out the wire size and rating, the relays power rating, and even the switches power rating. Just because an led driving light has a theoretical power rating of 370 Watts, this does not necessarily mean when you do the math it will draw the same relative amperage. Most amp ratings are significantly lower than the theoretical power output of the light. Here is some quick math to help you figure out the theoretical amperage, or current draw of the light. If a light has a theoretical power rating of 370w, and your battery system is 12 volts, it works like this Wattage/Voltage=Amperage. This means a 370w light running on a 12v system will have a theoretical current draw of around 30Amps. But, very few led driving lights, (none that I have seen yet), will draw that max current. The reason is that LED's should not be over-driven, and good thermal management systems in lights can run them from anywhere between 60% to 80% of their capacity. This means a 370w light only draws around 20-25amps.

What is the Best Beam Type for LED Driving Light, Spot beam?, Euro Beam? Flood Beam?

Beam patterns and distances are what everyone cares about most, and every application is different. A lot will determine the size and power output of the light, and the type of lens or reflector the light uses. In the old days, people were limited to either Spot Beam (Pencil Beam), or Flood Beam (Wide Beam), and only a few different sized lights. These days lighting technology has become much more complex, the old spot lights were simply a cone shaped reflector of various widths and depths, and the flood lens was usually a corrugated glass lens that would scatter the beam wider. Now we have varying types of Spot Beams and Wide Beams. The most common are spot, euro, and flood, but the variances can now depend on reflectors and lenses in a much more complex way. For example, we now have 3", 4", 5", 6", 7", 9", and 10" size lights, and a few in-between. Not only that, just in a spot beam it can vary from 5°, 10°, 15°, and up to 20°, also they vary depending upon the reflector style, depth, and the way the LED is manufactured, and seated in the light. A deeper dish can give a tighter beam, and now they have various optical lenses, and parabolic lenses.

The optical lenses are a curved fish eye type lens that work like a magnifying glass whereas a dish type reflector, or parabolic type reflector, use the raw light of the led and reflect it forward.

Here's Wikipedia’s take on it ->

Optical lenses: Summery: Optical Lenses are optical components designed to focus or diverge light. Optical Lenses, which may consist of a single or multiple elements, are used in a wide variety of applications from microscopy to laser processing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_(optics)

Parabolic lenses: Summery: A parabolic (or paraboloid or paraboloidal) reflector (or dish or mirror) is a reflective surface used to collect or project energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Its shape is part of a circular paraboloid, that is, the surface generated by a parabola revolving around its axis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parabolic_reflector

In a nutshell, optical lenses tend to get better cut-off points at the edge of the light, and parabolic lenses tend to give you a more spread of light and are generally brighter. But the technologies are now merging, so it is harder to put it simply.

And we haven't even gotten into Flood lenses and euro lenses yet!

Euro lenses are a reflector style lens and instead of giving you a "flood beam, or square wide pattern", the give you a combination of a bit of distance, and a bit of width. The euro beam conforms to a European Standard for headlights and the beam looks more like a kind of a quarter moon shape. A lot of standard headlights have adopted this shape and can also be classed as a driving beam, or driving light. The euro beam pattern is generally around 20° to 35° in width.

Flood beam lenses and wide beam lenses for led driving lights are usually either corrugated glass lenses or corrugated polycarbonate lens covers. The beam pattern again can vary, but is usually rectangular or square shaped. The flood beam pattern is usually between 45° to 60°.

So, which beam type do use? Good question, horses for courses as the saying goes. I don't think there is a definite answer, it will be determined on the buyers personal preferences and likes, the quality of the lights manufacturing capabilities, the size and style you can fit on the bar, and the application requirements.

If you’re on a highway, and you don't need to see 1km down the road, a couple of led driving lights, in a euro beam or driving beam are the best way to go. You get a bit of distance and a bit of width. If you are ok with the beam width of the lights you already have and just want to punch as far as you can down the road then spot beam is the obvious choice. If you’re on a work vehicle or a boat flood beam might be the best choice.

Round, Square, and Rectangular LED Driving Lights.

These choices can have as much to do with styling, as it does with the beam type. Generally, a “round” light, will give you more of a “round” beam, square a square beam, and rectangular, a broader rectangular beam, but reflectors and the way they are relating to the lights and lenses will also add different factors into it. Obviously, a rectangular light with a deep smooth dish reflector is still going to give you a spot beam type light, but it will have a wider and squarer slant to it. Another reason you may prefer a rectangular light over a “round” light is that they have a lower profile, this can be helpful if air intake to the radiator is important. Some large round lights may impede airflow to the radiator and cause the vehicles radiator to not cool the vehicle as efficiently.

The Best Waterproof LED driving Light - Weather and Dustproofing.

In general, an IP67 or IP68 light is both waterproof and dustproof. Have a look at the Ingress rating chart for more detailed information HERE -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code

In short, an IP67 rating is good for up to a metre of submersion in water and an IP68 rated light is good for over a metre of water. The reason you want an Ingress rating of at least IP67 is so that when you hose them down with a powerful water jet, you won't want them to get water in them. These ratings are also good for creek crossings or heavy rain downpours.

Dustproofing is important when you’re out in the outback and you have that fine sediment that gets into everything, so making sure you have a good IP67 dustproof rating to prevent fine dust and dirt particles getting into the light and creating problems from build-up of dirt in the components of the light.

Relays for LED Driving Lights - What is the best Power rating, 30amp, 50amp?

Most vehicles using standard driving lights use a general 30amp relay, for more powerful lights, a 40amp or 50amp relay is the best. Check the current draw for each light and select a relay that best suits each light. For example; If you have 2x 370w led driving lights, it means each light will draw over 20amps per light, so you will need either a good 50amp relay or set up a "Dual" relay system. You can get a 4pin open contact relay or a 5pin open contact relay, the difference being a 4pin relay has one terminal for the power to the Light (87), and a 5pin relay will have two terminals, one for each light, (87 and 87A). For some vehicles, you may need a "changeover" relay to change the polarity if your vehicle is negatively switched as most led driving lights are polarity sensitive, and if your using cabling that you already have for running old halogen driving lights the vehicle may need to be re-wired to suit the new lights.

Choosing a good Rocker or Toggle switch for LED Driving Lights.

There are plenty of different switches and switch boxes on the market that can be used for led driving lights, and they are generally a 10amp, 15amp, or 20amp switch. This is usually plenty of current to handle switching, sometimes if the system operates a little differently than most, an auto electrician may have to set it up for you so that it works correctly. I have seen anomalies happen with switches, such as one light coming on, and the other not, so it is important when buying high powered led driving lights to make sure you understand the current and its polarity for certain types of lighting systems. Switches can come in toggle types, oval rockers, and rectangular style rockers, it depends on where and how you want to mount the switch which will determine which one suits you best. A lot of cars and 4WD's have cut-outs that are ready for use for accessories, and the main thing to know is what size rocker will fit your accessory socket.

Relay Harnesses for LED Driving Lights.

Most driving lights come with their own relay harness so it is generally best to use them, but you can always get your auto electrician to make up your own if you want to, (this is my personal preference). Again, you need to know your vehicles electrical system and the current draw of the lights so you can do the math and figure out your gauge of wire for each part. Generally, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, or 6mm cable is used for your main power wire, and this will be determined by the current draw of your lights.

What does Negative Switching mean?

Some old Toyota like Hilux and some Land cruisers and other vehicles use a different electrical system whereby instead of have direct current flowing from a positive feed, the circuit is completed via an Earth. In these cases, you will need your auto electrician to use a changeover relay to set up some led driving lights which are polarity sensitive.

How do I buy High Quality Driving Lights on a Budget?

With so many products coming out of Asia that "look the same", it's hard to distinguish if there is any actual difference. In China, a ot of the moulds are free, (being communist), so you may have a hundred companies making a light that looks the same, but in fact the components can vary greatly. From the chemicals used in the construction of the housing, to the led's, electronics, and optical engineering, it is hard to see what quality of lights you are getting. Some of the keys are "price", and how long the company has been around. Factories that have been around a long time generally have already weeded out factories that have come and gone, but on the other hand, some small companies that have only just started up, may in fact produce something better than a large factory. Buy from an Australian company! If your willing to make a hit-or-miss choice, buy off EBay direct from China, but if you want better security than taking a risk that the lights you buy won't fail after 6 months, then buy off a professional lighting company like us, Pro-Vision Lighting & Electrical, (Arco Imports Pty Ltd), has been in business for over 20yrs. Unless you buy Hella, or one of the other leading manufacturers, you will most likely be buying Chinese products, and in a lot of cases, most of their lights are manufactured in China anyway, we know which companies are making lights in China for the big boys. Don't get me wrong, buying from Chinese factories has now come a long way, and there are some A Class factories such as JG and Oledone who make some of the best LED riving Lights in the world today, and some small lesser known factories in China who are very innovative and have good Quality Control.

Which are The Best LED Driving Lights and LED Spot Lights for Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles, Boats, Mining Machines, and Agricultural Machines.

This question is not easy to answer, as there are "horses for courses". In a nutshell, the old adage, “you get what you pay for” rings true, but if you understand your needs, you can get a good quality driving light that won’t break the bank, or your heart. Some of the name brands are obviously very good quality, but un-known brands can be just as good, and in some cases, better.

A few properties of the best LED driving lights are, anti-corrosive properties such as Stainless steel fasteners, UV/MAR resistant powder-coating and paint properties, and salt/sea mist resistant properties. Heavy Duty brackets and mounts will help with high vibratory situations such as corrugated roads, potholes, and are best for the agricultural industry and mining industries. IP67-IP68 Ingress Protection Rated LED Driving Lights will protect the lights internal electronics and lenses form getting water and dust in them and give them a much longer life, especially for headers on farms and excavators and trucks on mine sites. High quality thermal management systems for LED Driving Lights is also a major engineering requirement that high end lights will have. They will regulate the temperature of the LED’s efficiently and will prolong the life of the light. Optical technology is critical in high quality LED Driving Lights and Spot Lights.  Cheaper lights will not have good even beam patterns, and will not have the technology to emit light forward or to the sides effectively or evenly, this leaves dark patches in the visual area in front of you and can be distracting, dangerous, and simply outright annoying.

Working with a specialist like Pro-Vision Lighting & Electrical can be more advantageous then working with a simple distribution company. There are a lot of un-known companies taking what is out there, in regards to technological advances, and designing their own lights to make them better than what is currently on the market. This is what we specialize in, testing new products that come onto the market. Once they pass our own strict criteria, if we think they will benefit the market, we put them out there for consumers to buy.

LED Driving Light Sizes:

You can get a lot of different sized led driving lights, 5”, 6”, 7”, and 9". The best for driving lights on a vehicle are generally the 5 inch, 7 inch, and 9 inch. Some of these sizes don’t take in the height of the mounting blocks, so don’t forget to take this into account when choosing your light. When it comes to which is better to get the most light out the front and side of a vehicle, the bigger the better is a good general rule, but producing more light does not always mean the most distance. The size of the light and quantity of LED’s will obviously give you more light, but the optical design and quality of led’s and manufacture, is a major factor.

Beam Distances for LED Driving Lights:

This is the question everyone wants to know, but the thing is, do we really need to see 1km down the road? Don’t get me wrong, a lot of professional drivers say “more light is better”, but you also should consider the size of the bar or where you are going to mount it, and also the power consumption that is allowable by your system.

Any of the 5”, 7”, and 9” in a “driving beam” will give you anywhere between 800mtrs to 800mtrs of good usable light, keep in mind that suppliers, re-sellers, and traders lie about the distances their lights will achieve, (except us of course ;). Our 370w light with the hybrid lenses “technically” can be seen on a large road sign 1.2km away, but in reality, the best usable light is up to 600mtrs, so be wary of what sellers say.

Which is the Best Colour Temperature for LED Driving Lights:

There are a lot of differing opinions on colour temperatures for lights so I will try to break it down for you. Scientists tell us that our eyes have evolved to see the contrast of most objects best at around midday sunlight which is about 5770 kelvin, so any light between 5500k-6500k is technically the best. Further forward from 5770k goes into the blue, (8000k), right up to the darker colours like purple and you will lose light depth less when you start to go less than 4000k and above 7000k, You can check out more details here -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature

Fog Lights: Some people believe a warmer 4300k colour temperature is better for fog, this has basically been defunct by modern science, see Rayleigh’s law and the myth of light through water vapour -> Myths About Fog Lights and Colour Temperatures for LED Driving Lights

To put it bluntly, it does not make a difference in terms of light penetration. Warmer colour temperatures (4000k) can however seem to reduce the glaring effect from the 6000k colour temperatures of around midday sunlight. In my experience between 5500k and 6500k is still better for seeing at night, whether through rain, or a clear night. I have noticed older people who have been driving around all their lives with 3000k old halogen bulbs find it more intrusive when they see the “pure white” light. Younger people love the clear white light. Warmer colours can also be less glary in high dust areas. We sell all our lights as standard 5500k-6500k, but we can get different colour temperatures if you need them.

What’s the Best Type of LED? CREE? Osram?, or Philips for LED Driving Lights.

Most led driving lights use 3w, 5w, or 10w led’s. Regarding the Brand, USA Made CREE or the German Osram LED’s, it is the way they are built as much to do with how they interact with different lenses that is important. Most driving lights use 5w or 10w CREE and 3w or 5w Osram, but other lights may use other brands like the Philips 3w or 5w LED’s. The reason we use the CREE, Osram, and Philips, is mainly because the engineering in the LED’s are specifically catering for high power and are used for directional applications.

CREE LED’s – XM-L2 – 10 Watt

For example, the 10w CREE XM-L2, (used in our 9” 320w  led driving light ), give you 170lm/w (lumens per watt), and 1052 lm per led. See the led technical information Here -> CREE XM-L2 Technical Data The CREE XM-L2 are great for lenses that are promoting distance+width but which are using less led’s.

CREE LED’s – XP-G2 – 5 Watt

The CREE 5w XP-G2 (used in our 9” 320w led driving light ), give you 176lm/w (lumens per watt), 586lm per led, and a viewing angle of 125°. See the led technical information here -> CREE XP-G2 LED Technical Data The CREE XP-G2 are great for lenses that are promoting distance+width and usually use more led’s per light and have a degree anbgle of 115°.

Luminus USA Made 15 Watt LED's

The Luminus 15W led's used in our 7" 135w are powerful and seated in a deep dish reflector for maximum distance. There is nothing better in a Spot Light/Driving Light for a light that only uses 15w of power.

All the  Luminus LED’s are used for “directional” applications so are prefect for driving lights or spot lights.

Which LED Driving Light Fits an ARB Bull Bar?

There are a few different types of ARB bars that are generally using either the 7” or 9” lights, they are also suitable for the larger 10” lights if they are the bigger sized bars. It’s best to check the main points about the height to the cross-member of the bar, and the space you have between the bolt hole to the grill of the vehicle, this way you can be assured that the LED driving  light you choose will fit easily with the ARB bar fitted to your vehicle.

Protective Covers for LED driving Lights.

Most of the LED Driving lights we sell come with protective covers, and/or flood lens covers for some of the lights. You can also buy covers from us, the main criteria are to tell us the size of the light in detail so we can advise you on which product will suit you best. Some of the LED Driving lights have different coloured lenses, (such as amber or blue), and some are available as a clear cover or a corrugated flood type lens cover. Call us or mail use for more detailed information.

What Vehicle Models Do Your Driving Lights Fit?

Below is a list of some of the main vehicles, models, and types, that people buy LED Driving Lights for. For smaller SUV’s, depending on the size of the bar, anywhere from 4”,5”,6”, and 7” are the best. Toyota RAV 4, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Utes like Ford Ranger, Mazda BT50, Isuzu D-Max, Volkswagen Amarok, Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton, and other small to medium size models are what most people buy these sized lights for. Motorcycles, ATV’s, Forklifts, mini excavators, small boats, and other smaller machines also generally use the smaller lights. For 4x4, 4WD, off-road, rally, and other heavier duty or harsh environments, you want to step up to the 6”, 7”, 8”, 9”, or 10” LED Driving Lights. Toyota LandCruiser, Prado, Mazda, Ford, Holden, Mitsubishi Pajero, Triton, Landrover Discovery, Jeep Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, Range Rover Vogue, Nissan Navara, and Holden Colorado are usually able to fit these sized lights on.

LED Driving Lights for Trucks.

For trucks, depending on the size, 7”, 9”, and 10” are best. For a lot of professionals who are doing long hauls and night driving, you need to get the best and the brightest, IP67-IP68, and high vibratory products are best suited. Some truck drivers fit four LED Driving lights or more to gain maximum distance and width. The advantages of buying LED driving Lights for trucks, is that high quality products have low maintenance advantages and a long life, anywhere from 30,000 Hours, to 50,000 Hours, and up to 100,000 hours for some of our best LED Driving Lights.

LED Driving Lights and Spot Lights for Boats.

When buying lights for boats and the marine industry it is best to make sure that they are IP68 water tight and have all stainless-steel fasteners to reduce rust and corrosion. Some of our highest quality lights have special powder-coating and rust and corrosion inhibitors that protect the lights and working parts. UV and radiation is another corrosive property that our high-end lights will endure because of their special paint and finish which is specifically designed for the marine industry.

LED Driving Lights and Spot Lights for the Farming and Mining Industry.

For headers, tractors, excavators, bulldozers, and other agricultural and mining machines you want to get lights that can withstand the harsh environments and dust and vibration. Ingress rating protections of at least IP67 and IP68 will give you that protection from dust and high pressure hoses or heavy rain, creek crossings etc… High vibratory resistant properties include heavy duty brackets and bodies that will withstand long periods of shock and shaking, and is important in the circuit boards and other parts of the lights too. Most of our lights are 15Grms 24-2000hz, Shock: 12G-8hrs, and p to 60G Shock for some of the lights. Voltages can be important if machines are using 2 batteries or more. Most of our lights are 9-32v DC, and some are 10-48v DC or 10-60v DC, this gives you a wide range of options for what vehicles you are fitting the lights to. Terminations, (connectors) can be an issue, most of the lights we sell have Deutsch connectors, or waterproof plugs, this makes sure that water does not get into the terminals and create corrosion and inhibit the lights functions.