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I have found LED Bulbs installed in OEM Housings don't always work well... yes they put out decent lights but the projection of the light isn't the best. I'm guessing the Reflector isn't made for the LEDs but that is why I will be buying new LED Fogs, projectors maybe but some sort of full-on aftermarket LED Fogs Lights.
The Flat LED Fog Lights I have are bright, they include a single strip of amber LEDs which can be used as directionals, I like that, but they only have the power of the large amount of LEDs to give the light, again no projection. Rangers need a fill light between the front of the truck to the beginning of the headlight position.
I'm going to try these flat LED Fogs first and see what they do on the truck.
We do quite a bit in lighting, LED conversions as well as the cliche states, mild to wild of lighting setups. As for the LED headlights, it depends on how far back you go in vehicles and the type of LED's used too. Some of the issues are the new bulb itself in combination with an outdated housing.
We do recommend if you're of the type of people that like to drive with all your lights on all the time, or that person who will drive with your fog/driving lights on hours before its dark, consider looking for a set of SAE Fog or driving lights. Many people have really no idea that there are lighting patterns let alone that there is approximately about 7-8 patterns and functions of lights.
Not all lighting is created or designed equally. [Without getting into a full on debate, most people equate a vehicle that can easily spin the tires as a fast or faster vehicle. This isn't always the case as a hard launch with that vehicle spinning the tires is losing/wasting time because of the lack of traction if we're counting on competitive terms. Sure it has a lot of "power", but if its a 110hp or 750hp, if you cant get it to the ground and make use of it, it means nothing.]*
Baja Designs offers two really well thought out charts; Zones and light patterns their lenses and outputs they've created.
The SAE lights are designed with specifically lenses designed as a specific zone low and in front of a vehicle and of a slightly lesser wattage/Lumens. We've over the years have had to change some minds in showing proper lenses meant for specific expectations go farther than expecting your fog/driving lights to make up for the dingy headlights. We really should do a article on our blog about this, it would touch more people than a mild post here and there.
For those who may not know, SAE lighting is generally between 26-35watts vs the typical thoughts of swapping in the brightest 55watt replacement bulb one could find off the shelf at the local parts store. Further, in the days where you had separate sealed beams like Sealed Beam Headlight Image the low beam headlight was 55w, the separate high-beam was 75w; so a 55w driving light upgrade is insanely bright and often cause other issues like heat and wire damage due to the extra amperage draw on the circuit that the wiring wasn't intended for.
If you find a set of lights as you described with "no projection" those could be just a marker light or they could be interpreted as DRL's for just visibility or to be seen via attention more than projection.
A set of wide cornering lights, or a "true" driving/fog light will fill the gap between the bumper and the shadow lighting that starts the low beam head light pattern. Keep in mind bulbs and lenses can individually and in combination alter a thrown light pattern. Often we see this with the older 9004+ bulb housings where the light has poor projection, but when followed back to the housing, the refracted light looks like the Chernobyl reactor crack.
We deal in middle of the road to middle upper end gear and some items above. In terms of lighting, we have lights for fast vehicles, and for slow vehicles. If you're just trail running at night at slower speeds, you will not need a light with a pencil beam that you will never catch because its 2 miles away, that's a waste of money because the expectation doesn't meet the demand. Same as a set of brighter fog/driving lights isn't really going to assist you running deeper brush or desert floors at high speeds. You won't see anything fast enough to take action to miss obstacles or changes in the trail no matter how well you know it as at night the landscape will look very different.
We try to first match expectations and or use first, and secondly within a budget that makes sense. Doing it the opposite way has proved countless times the old adage of you get what you pay for, and a happy customer is not one of them.
Taking the time to slow a customer down, listen to their expectations, KNOW your product lines, and be able to show features and benefits that are a value to your customers needs. Often the hardest part is slowing the customer down enough to make a good decision based upon good information. Sometimes the customers expectations and their budgets are pretty far apart. Providing them with good information to consider is key to a successful sale vs a customer just tucking a box under their arm and not knowing any better or feeling like they wasted money/want a return.
Sometimes we look like hero's when we provide a solution that meets or beats a customers expectations and far less than they expected to pay for it. I personally like that better than a great sale that seems to go way to easy.. There's always a hiccup in those transactions it seems. lol
We offer a lot of options, FOR every option:
- Baja Designs
- GG Lighting
- Zroadz
- Front Runner Outfitters
- AlphaRex Headlights
- KC Hi-Lites
Special Order
- Rigid Industries
- Morimoto
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North Industries
Las Vegas, Nevada 89118
Web http://www.12degnorth.com
