Lighting Shootout Results - TRR 2015

Given the great data I got last year, I wanted to do a follow up test this year.

Test Method
When it comes to measuring lighting, lux (lumens, or light output, per square meter) is by far the best way as it captures both light output as well as how well the light optics utilize that output.

From the great, impeccable reference source, Wikipedia (Lux - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia):

The lux (symbol: lx) is the SI unit of illuminance and luminous emittance, measuring luminous flux per unit area. It is equal to one lumen per square meter. In photometry, this is used as a measure of the intensity, as perceived by the human eye, of light that hits or passes through a surface.

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Each truck was aimed at the same point and then the lights were aimed to a single point (for individual lights), with two exceptions. One was the God Is Awesome trophy truck (KC Pods) – all of the lights were aimed for a specific pattern and they didn’t want to change that. The other was the truck with the VisionX HIDs – they were aimed for a specific trail system that this truck runs frequently. In both of these cases, I would expect a stronger showing if the lights were aimed differently, but I understand the time that goes into aiming individual lights and not wanting to change the setup. Each set of lights was measured with a lux meter at two distances: 50 and 100. At each distance, light output was also measured at 5, 10 and 15 yard offsets in order to measure the light spread. I had to eliminate the 150 yard distance and 20 yard offsets as the location I used last year was not available due to all of the standing water and mud from the rain.


Here are the results from last year:
http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f81/lighting-shootout-results-trr-2014-a-33574/

The Location
I decided to use a caliche backstop across the trail from the rifle range at Texana as it was flat and secluded from any light pollution.

Conditions
I started taking measurements at about 8:45 pm. There was a star light (that measured in between 0 and 1 lux) and a clear sky. No other light sources were visible.

Lights Tested
The lights tested are listed below. With the exception of the Whelens, all prices are from the websites given in the associated link. Note: some of the prices include mounts and wiring harnesses and some do not. All warranty information was taken from the manufacture's website (if available).


Apollo Optics - Apollo 4 10w Square Spot beam
$159.00 each
Apollo 4 | Apollo Optics, Inc. | Premium LED Off-Road Lighting
Includes mount and wiring harness
Warranty: 2 years

Apollo Optics - 30” Lightbar Combo beam
$649.00
30" Elite Double Row LED Bar | Apollo Optics, Inc. | Premium LED Off-Road Lighting
Includes mount and wiring harness
Warranty: 2 years

KC HiLites - Flex Array LED Light Bars
$577.97 per 10” segment
Offroad LED lights and LED light bars for UTV, ATV and Offroad Vehicles | KC HiLiTES
Includes lights, mounts and harness
Warranty: 23 years

KC HiLites - 10" Flex Array expandable segment
$560.63 per 10” segment
10" Flex Array expandable segment - Spot Beam - KC# 1273 - Flex LEDs - Lights
Does not include mounts and harness
Warranty: 23 years

KC HiLites – 6” Gravity bar with 8 lights
Note: This was a prototype setup and is not currently on the KC webpage
Here is the info for a pair of inserts (for a starting point for info):
$302.94 per pair
6" Gravity LED Drop-in Pair Pack System
Does not include mounts and harness
Warranty: 23 years

Rigid - E Series 40” Lightbar Combo beam
$1,299.99 each
E 40" - Combo | Rigid Industries
Warranty: Limited lifetime


Rigid - E Series 50” Lightbar Spot beam
$1,599.99 each
E 50" - Spot | Rigid Industries
Warranty: Limited lifetime


Rigid – Dually D2 Hyperspot Single
$149.99 each
D2 - Hyperspot - Single | Rigid Industries
Warranty: Limited lifetime

Rogue Racing – 40” Radius Lightbar
$899.99 each
Remaining info to follow

Venomous – 40” Lightbar, combo beam
I cannot seem to find any pricing info for this company
Here is a link to the distributor: LED Lighting | Houston, TX

VisionX - 6.7″ HID Light Spot beam
$349.00 ea
6.7" HID Light - Vision X Lighting
Warranty: Limited lifetime

Whelen – Pioneer Micro
$258.00 ea (as per WSI)
Pioneer Micro™ Series - Whelen Engineering Automotive
Mount included
Warranty: 5 years

Whelen – Pioneer Dual SlimLine 10”
$585.00 ea (as per WSI)
Pioneer SlimLine™ Series - Whelen Engineering Automotive
Mount included
Warranty: 5 years

Test Results


Overall impressions
The fact that optics make the light was again reinforced. Lights with larger reflectors outperform lights with smaller reflectors and lights with better engineered reflectors outperform those that skimped on the design.
A difference I noticed from this year compared to last year is that overall light output levels were lower (compare the 40” Rigid last year to this year). I used the same meter, but the location was different. My thinking is that there may have been more reflected light in the previous location and last year I know we spent more time aiming all of the lights, which was not done in all cases this time.

One thing I would do different in the future is to take pictures of the light output of each setup. I think that would give folks a better idea of beam pattern and color temp. I thought I had all of that lined up for this year, but do to juggling the schedule around due to the weather, it didn’t happen.

Thank Yous
I would like to thank all of those who came out to let me test their lights and a special thanks to @fostercd, who coordinated staging the trucks while I took measurements; Matt Parks (ranch manager) and Trey.

Am I reading this right? the Rogue Radius combo did the worst?

It was very dim at distance compared with other light bars.

Good information again and thank you for doing this, @KaiserM715 ! As clarification, our 30" LED Bar was behind the grill. Unfortunately we did not have one to test on the bumper as I would've liked to see the difference. If I am to assume the same loss as with the 40" bar last year, it would be a 50% reduction in lux output.

Jordan@Apollo-Optics said:

Good information again and thank you for doing this, @KaiserM715 ! As clarification, our 30" LED Bar was behind the grill.

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I hope folks find the info helpful. I updated the table clarifying the location of the 30" bar.

Was hoping to see Baja Designs.

I was unfortunately not able to make it out to the light shootout section. Got caught up in the pits, and didnt even know it was happening. I guess I missed it on the radio.

HAYNES OFFROAD said:

I was unfortunately not able to make it out to the light shootout section. Got caught up in the pits, and didnt even know it was happening. I guess I missed it on the radio.

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I was disappointed that you didn't make it out. I have been wanting to test some of the ONX lightbars. The announcement was made as part of dinner, but having a call made on the radio beforehand (which may have been done, I was using another channel) is a good idea.

We should have "borrowed" the 50 onx6 from the SDHQ truck and powered that bad boy up... and then mounted it on my truck and call it a day.

KaiserM715 said:

I was disappointed that you didn't make it out. I have been wanting to test some of the ONX lightbars. The announcement was made as part of dinner, but having a call made on the radio beforehand (which may have been done, I was using another channel) is a good idea.

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Yea I must of missed the announcement at dinner. :-( we will plan better next time.