I'd like to see comparisons of off road lights. I don't simply mean for everyone to post their pictures of left vendor light vs. right vendor light (which you can), but more about hard data, watts, current draw, and personal experiences of what is actually brighter per their application.

I currently run the Lightforce 170 Strikers (100 Watts) on my windshield. That's a lot of Watts compared to Rigid's Dually's (at 15 Watts). The current draw between the two is much different.

I love my LF 170's but I see that Rigid's Dually's puts less current draw on my electrical system. But, are the Dually's much brighter?I'm confused as they use different measurements:

LF 170's: LIGHT OUTPUT (12V), 350 000 candela, 1 lux @ 650 m

Rigid Dually: 1300 raw lumens, 10 lux @ 150 m

I'm not an electrical guy, nor a brightness/intensity guy. Can someone interpret?

So far, I've been more impressed with my LF 170's over IPF, KC and Warn. I've just never seen anyone with Rigid, that I can recall.

(Hope I'm not recreating an existing thread, but figured I'd get this going. I have a specific question, but left the title of the thread open for other comparisons.)

 

I have the Warn 650's and 350's and they have been great. Lots of light for price.

 

Watts? Lumens? Anything more specific?

We could Install the Pharos of Alexandria on our front bumpers, but knowing how far the light reaches and how much it draws from our electrical systems is key. I've thought about putting a document together and posting it up here, much like the bumper comparison thread.

But before I can do that, I'd kind of like a subject matter expert to define the whole lumen/candela thing, just so it can be converted into a level playing field. Thus allowing the group to see just how powerful each type of light is.

 

The Rigids do consume far less power and are bright, but the Lightforce will absolutely own them in light output if you are comparing a dually to a 170

 

I have a 31" Pro comp LED bar. Bloody bright, nice all around light, however I am adding two 4" led lights to the windshield tomorrow to throw more light into the ditch. I took the 31" off my 11 Super duty and am putting on a 20" Rigid E-series instead onto the super duty. I would definitely go with Rigid here on out, the beam pattern is not so focused down road but has great coverage allaround.

As far as specs on the Procomp I have no idea, its brighter and pulls a lot less power that the 6 - 100watt halogens I had on before.

 

I have two PIAA 520 ATP housings modified for 55w HID, at 4300 lumen a piece/so 8600 lumen total. Insanely bright.

Unless you are in the absolute middle of nowhere, that is WAY too much light in a directed housing.

When I had my TJ, I had two 150w halogen Eagle Eye off road lamps (less directed). They were very bright, but I still didn't hesitate to turn them on in the city in bad weather if I felt I wouldn't come across anyone.

Now in my JK, they stay dark - all the time. They are so bright I don't want to chance even a second of light running across an unsuspecting motorist.

You want absolute bright for real off road, there exist 100w HID that you can retrofit into great housings. Those would light up the darkest night to day. There would be no comparison - it would be equivalent to 3-400 watt halogen, or 6-8 ultrabright halogen, 12-16 standard halogen off road lamps for a pair.

There does exist too much light however.

Don't make the mistake I did, first determine your pattern needs - THEN determine your power needs.

 

I have 4 Rigid Dually D2s, 10,400 Lumens. Plus another 3,800 Lumens from my JW Speaker headlights. Best part, total draw for everything is only 12.6 Amps. A single LF 170 requires 8.3 Amps.

 

I have HID headlights, which I will get rid of later.

I run a 300 buck pair of HIDX 7" lights and they put out about 7000 lumens in a nice wide beam pattern. My old Eagle Eye lights that rusted up put out light further but it was a really narrow beam.

 

Not really a Guru. But I have been around the block a time or two.

1st) Rated Current - Wattage "is what it is". If you have a 100 watt load. At 12 volts this equals 8.33 amps ( always ). Doesnt matter if it is HID, LED or INCD.

2nd) Output - You would just about have to do this one yourself in a controlled environment. And using the same measurement device and the same engineering nomenclature every time. Plus you would have to set up different categories for the different beam patterns.

3rd) Performance - The type of beam pattern and the mounting position is the key to success. Just as a rule of thumb ; Long range lights work better up high. And short range lights work better down low. HID's will always be the best on performance because they can burn at higher temperatures. LED's have come a long way. But they still have issues with narrow beam patterns. Most of their output is focused directly ahead. Output falls of quickly as you move away from center. INCD,s generate a good beam pattern ( like HID's ) but draw more current than the rest.

 

Some lights are not 100 watts. Could any have the possibility of being brighter to just as bright with less wattage? That is the comparison I'm seeking. Perceived luminosity is what I'm trying to avoid in this thread. Scientifically measured luminosity is what i was seeking. So collecting a listing of the kinds of lights, their lumens and their current draw is the purpose here. Therefore creating a more global tool for the forum to see which lights may suit their needs, other than a "those lights look awesome!" description.

Example: on the Front bumper comparison thread, they have Make/Size/ Weight/ features. Perhaps that is how I should have begun this thread.