LED light bar VS Off-Road Lights

hey guys. Im looking into lighting for my tacoma. i just want to see further when on the highway and clearer on night trails. which is more suitable for me? ive heard good things about LightForce 240's. but i like how led light bars dont take up much room, and are sleek. i understand that led light bars do not have the same distance of incandescent lights such as 240's. what would be better overall for great distance, and width as well? i would definitely consider an LED light bar for the rear, as i do not need to see far in reverse, just need to light it up more.

Pros of LED light bar:
Uses low voltage(correct?)
Good output
Nice white light

Cons of LED light bar:
Lack of distance

Pros of LightForce 240:
Good distance

Cons of Lightforce 240:
Uses more power than LED's
less concentrated, intense light

any input? maybe get both?

 

In a few words
LED's are best for low power draw
HID's will throw more light.

That is what Alan Roach, owner and engineer of Baja Designs, told me.

How you set up your lights depend on what you will be using them for.

I ran 7 HIDs when I used to chase in Baja. Since my truck was not a Trophy truck and I was not concerned with driving beyond my lights, I only ran 2 spots. Floods and driving were more usefull.

I used LED's for surround lighting.

 

Get Both

 

Best to get both

 

The LED's will be much more expensive, but from what I've seen they provide much better lighting to see on night runs.

 

i do a lot of night driving as well. i just looked at rigid industries lights. god damn they cost a lot but they seem to actually have really good distance, if you pay enough. i like to light up the road, AND the ditches. lots of animals where im driving.

 

i have a combo of hid and led and really am happy

 

Both seems to be the concensus. Rigid lights are amazing.

 

My ProComps light up the road better than the high $ KC's that were on my old Jeep. They definetly can not be used with on coming traffic though. No experience with LED's.

 

LED Pros:
Low current draw
Very long life “bulb”
Instant on/off, no warm up time at all
Beam color is excellent
Low profile and/or compact housings available
Easy to choose driving beam, wide beam, diffuse. Mix and match as desired.
Versatile mounting options

 

i want the LED light bar because from what i've seen they do have a great light out put with little power and are small.

but my only problem is that they are just so expensive, you can get several Hid lights for prob cheaper

 

I wouldn't get HID if you have to keep turning them on/off because of traffic.

I've got 4 PIAA lights up front and they make my high beams obsolete (Lightforce is supposed to have even better light output than the PIAA's also). If electrical load isn't a concern, I'd go with the Lightforces and decide on HID vs. halogen based on useage. The stock electrical system will handle the lightforce lights just fine, not sure what else you'll be running when you have them turned on though.

 

From the race truck prep people: LED is bad in dusty conditions (like racing or on runs with others) as the light reflects back off the dust particles. HIDs or Halogen will penetrate better with less reflection back into your eyes.

LEDs are very expensive still.

Here is my 'cheap' Baja lighting set up (Baja Designs is a great company... I recommend them if you are in the market for new lights).



Two Hella 4000 Pencil Beams converted to HID 35 watt, 5000ºK. Two Kragen HID 'Euro' (Driving) Beams. The Kragen HIDs were bought in 2008 because the were crazy cheap.. the plastic bodies broke on the first long Baja trip. The Hella metal lamps were a gift and I had them converted to HID later. The Kragens were repaired with fiberglass and my light bar was modified to hold all 4.

Pencil beams for distance and Driving beams to illuminate more in front of the truck, like headlights... but much whiter light.

 

I sure hope he is talking about off road use only (as he seemed to indicate)... !

 

OP mentioned using them in highway.

 

Highway and offroad. Not high speed offroad though.

 

You have plans to cause an accident or get a ticket?
Way too much light for highway use!

 

Not worried about that. Jut don't flash a cop.

 

Glad I don't live in Canada if you have the "I don't care about other people, as long as a cop doesn't see it" attitude.

 

If there are no other cars on the highway, why the hell not? You are just as likely to encounter animals on the highway.