Led lights (flashlights)

S

Silly Rabbit

Member
So just posting to chat, but also get some movement on the forum, the sister site gets more traffic, but everyone can give a nudge here too. :)
So some years ago I was noticing the LED gains in lighting. I have a car that has been with me for many many moons. Did a few upgrades as many car folks do. But when it came to headlights any of the changes I did were still not great. Better than what stock/equivalant is, but still mot great. Now most of us grew up on terrible headlights, thats what it was, and we didn`t know any better. My pinnicale was Sylvania Silverstars, alot of people jumped on them as they came out, and they were kinda nice. Just burnt out every year or two.
With more and more modern cars coming with factory LED lights the differences are huge. Well when LED started improving and some cars started coming factory I started looking. Saw some Headlight Revolution videos on youtube, which I will say were pretty well done.
Anyway, I went to a local trucking center and bought a set of 5X7 sealed housings, Trucklite LED. And this became my steps into that hobby/interest. The Trucklites are simply a massive step up from anything that I had ever seen offered, just crazy good. It came bewteen them and JW Speaker. I saw some discussions on different forums and came down to the JW`s are probably one of the best LED lights in the business, but Trucklite was so close behind that the price difference wasn`t worth it, so I went Trucklite. Well it`s amazing we all drove for so many years with lights as bad as they were when you see what is out there today - pun intended.

Fast forward a few years, I have a Ram 1500 and am shocked how bad the headlights are, with what is out there today. I always say they have the lights of a 1980 GMC pickup, no progress in light tech. Lol. Being like on here, I join forums with my interests. One day I discover a thread right when I am searching for a lighting upgrade, which pushed me deeper into the LED aftermarket search for products. A big company some of you know, Morimoto was coming out with custom housings. Well I ended up on the pre-order, waited 9 months but was probably the first person in Canada to get the XB LED headlights for 4th gen Rams. Absolutely amazing upgrade. I bought the XB foglights as well, very nice. And a company called Diode Dynamics have a kit I bought from them, SS6 light bar kit. Talk about a wall of light. And everything is aimed down so no oncoming traffic gets bothered, but under that line is VISION!!

I since upgraded the XB fogs to Diode Dynamics SS3 fog kit, just a bonkers upgrade. I still love Morimoto, but havd become a Diode fanguy. Love their stuff. Morimoto has grown leaps the last few years, buying up everything and becoming a corporation, Morimoto, the Retrofit Source, Headlight Revolution GTR Lighting, and a few others. Their XB ljne has grown massive in vehicles they offer to.
And now Diode have entered the headlight housing game recently, unveiling at SEMA.
So many of these companies offer amazing lighting, Rigid (who own Trucklite now I believe), Diode, Morimoto, Baja Designs, VisionX, etc.

And on a handheld flashlight take, a number of amazing companies out there. I ended up keeping it simple and went Fenix. A person could spend $$$$$ diving into that hobby, as proof from over at `candle power` forum. Like here, found out about the huge number of companies and offerings.

So just wondering if anyone else jumped into the LED light interest??
 
I have a Fenix UC35. It`s rechargeable, 960 lumens, has a clip, and separate buttons to turn on/off and adjust brightness. And the strobe doesn`t ever go on unless you want it to. I hate that some flashlights have to cycle through the strobe when you`re adjusting brightness. Other than the fact that there are some brighter lights out there, i`m very happy with it.
 
I now have a few Fenix lights, not the UC35 though. I agree, I do like the feature to go straight the strobe if wanted, very handy. Iam surprised at how BRIGHT these lights are, how bright they have become, in the tech.
I have 2 of their small keychain lights, I mean for the tiny size of them, they punch out impressive light. I talked to the place where I bought some, they sell many brands. All good stuff, but they said it`s hard to beat Fenix for their quality control, warranty (if ever needed, but it`s rare), performance, price factors. Biggest reason I leaned into Fenix, words from the experienced.
Kinda like on here for detailing, why I have some PA products!!! :) ahhhh shameless plug:ra
 
Was going to do Morimoto HL on Mustang when I owned it. The mustang had LEDs but the morimoto’s just looked so good.

Familiar with Diode dynamics as I use there demon eye kit on the Mustang and their side markers.

Ordered same on Camaro.

Yeah couldn’t find the Diode dynamics HL. What vehicles do they make them for?


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They literally just started on the headlights, revealed at Sema. So far they just have 20+ F10 and Jeep Wrangler. They have plans to start coming out with more and more vehicles.
 
I like plastic flashlights, in the past year or two I have tried a Streamlight Dualie and Nightstick single and dual, and a couple versions of the Bright Star Razor. These are more of the intrinsically safe variety, rather than the tactical lights; all 3 AA. I used to keep a big Maglite in the car, but these are all smaller, lighter, and brighter.
 
I guess progress is progress, but it`s still smile enducing to see how bright flashlights have gotten. I mean look at how bright the flashlight is on a person`s cellphone. Yes it won`t light up the entire room, but for what it is, it sure is bright. Same goes for a handheld, how much brighter than lights of the past we used.
Maglite also makes really great stuff, very respected brand.
 
The thing about the Maglites, is they look all nice until you drop one on the pavement or the basement/garage floor, and scrape up the anodize, etc. Maybe I`m the only one that drops them.
 
65chevy said:
my granddaughter is` looking for new brighter headlights for her 2022 jeep wrangler
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Have her look at the new Diode Dynamics headlight for that model. And with Christmas and Boxing day she can take advantage of the sales.
Others she can look at would be JW Speaker and Trucklite.

I am really liking Diode`s new headlight they are calling elite series. You can choose an option so if your off road or at night all alone on a dark road to switch on extra lights on the headlights, kinda like mini light bars I assume?? Sounds pretty interesting.

Buy LED Light Bulb Replacements for Your Vehicle
 
I`ve thought about upgrading a few of the vehicles to LEDs, but AFAIK that`d impact my flash-to-pass ability as the ones I`ve seen don`t light up instantly.

Of our countless flashlights, Accumulatorette and I both use our First Light Tomahawks (LEDs/NV/etc.) the most. Like...every evening when we`re out with the dogs.
 
Accumulator said:
I`ve thought about upgrading a few of the vehicles to LEDs, but AFAIK that`d impact my flash-to-pass ability as the ones I`ve seen don`t light up instantly.

Of our countless flashlights, Accumulatorette and I both use our First Light Tomahawks (LEDs/NV/etc.) the most. Like...every evening when we`re out with the dogs.
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The progress in LED`s the last few years has been amazing. They have surpassed halogen now and are just as good, or better now in some cases, as HID. Just stay away from the cheap long river company products. As with everything, you definetly get what you pay for. With any of the names mentioned in above posts they are quality products with alot of R&D. My LED housings are instant flashers, and I also got the option to have them sequential, which I really like the look of. And any vehicles I switched to LED bulbs, they are instant as well. Side by side with a bulb (1 bulb, 1 led) as I was changing them, the led was barely slower, barely even a heartbeat slower than the bulb side.
A side note, on older vehicles because of the lower power draw you may need to add a resistor for the turn signals.

Those Tomahawks are super helpful for you and the wife, to where if you forgot it going out the door you`dd go back.
I just bought some of those Fenix lights BF sale. The keychain lights are very impressive for the size, and handy..... when you have them.
I was leaving work last week and just caught something out of the corner of my eye, it was about 11pm and streetlights only light so much. It was a dog walking all alone. Well, there is no way I was gonna leave him and just head home. I don`t want to see any animal hit by a car, and I always feel bad when I see `lost dog` posters. So I headed off to get him down some side streets... all the while thinking how good it would have been to have one of those LED flashlights I just bought on me:rolleyes:
I did get him, and thankfully he had a phone # on his collar. He got to sleep in his own bed that night.
 
65chevy said:
my granddaughter is` looking for new brighter headlights for her 2022 jeep wrangler
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When I owned a jeep I settled on truck lites. But now with JW speakers coming down and only 2-300 more a set I would buy those although just for name. The Rigid truck lites seem to do well.

If not wanting to spend that much i got the Phillips LED 7” rounds on my chevelle and they are bright.

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In the Amazon pick the lowered portion looks yellow but it’s not

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Silly Rabbit said:
... And any vehicles I switched to LED bulbs, they are instant as well. Side by side with a bulb (1 bulb, 1 led) as I was changing them, the led was barely slower, barely even a heartbeat slower than the bulb side.
A side note, on older vehicles because of the lower power draw you may need to add a resistor for the turn signals.
...
Click to expand...

One thing that drives me batty with folks putting LEDs in cars not made for them are the cars equipped with Bulb Monitoring that cause the LED`s (that aren`t currently on) to strobe each time the computer runs the bulb check. Since the LED`s require so little power to run, when the computer fires that trace voltage in the bulb circuit to make sure someone`s home, it lights the light at full intensity.

This is a separate issue from the things that they sell that plug in inline (or LED`s equipped with the circuitry) to trick the bulb warning into not setting a bulb out warning to the driver.

The result is those cars you follow driving down the road where all of a sudden their reverse lights start strobing at you, or whatever various light it may be (I see it all the time on daytime running lights on cars that come into the shop).

As technology progresses, I think I`ve finally seen things offered to combat that (I`m guessing it`s just a capacitor to suck up that little voltage flicker, paired with the resistor to fool the bulb check filament test), but the vast majority of folks are just buying that long river junk you mention.

Sorry, I`ll get off my soap box. :wacko:

Flashlight wise, I`ve gone through a lot of offerings from the tool truck offerings - I`ve had a pile of different Streamlight, Coast, and LED Lenser options. I`m always looking for a good option that has strong output but still is shirt-front-pocketable.

My current daily driver is a pair of Streamlight MicroStream USB. I rotate them always having one on the charger - I`m probably actively using a flashlight at work in time measured by hours. 250 lumens, simple high/low operation. 2 lights also offers a back up if one has an issue. Been a good solid light.

One of the favorite lights I`ve had was an LED Lenser M3R - 220 lumens, focusable lens, < 4" long and 3/4" diameter at the thickest. Unfortunately I don`t think it was made for production use, so gradually the 2 I had quit working due to poor contacts inside (I had several batteries that would charge externally).
I`ve debated joining the candlepower forum mentioned above to find someone to hire to go through them and see if they could be brought back to service...
 
Oneheadlite said:
One thing that drives me batty with folks putting LEDs in cars not made for them are the cars equipped with Bulb Monitoring that cause the LED`s (that aren`t currently on) to strobe each time the computer runs the bulb check. Since the LED`s require so little power to run, when the computer fires that trace voltage in the bulb circuit to make sure someone`s home, it lights the light at full intensity.

This is a separate issue from the things that they sell that plug in inline (or LED`s equipped with the circuitry) to trick the bulb warning into not setting a bulb out warning to the driver.

The result is those cars you follow driving down the road where all of a sudden their reverse lights start strobing at you, or whatever various light it may be (I see it all the time on daytime running lights on cars that come into the shop).

As technology progresses, I think I`ve finally seen things offered to combat that (I`m guessing it`s just a capacitor to suck up that little voltage flicker, paired with the resistor to fool the bulb check filament test), but the vast majority of folks are just buying that long river junk you mention.

Sorry, I`ll get off my soap box. :wacko:

Flashlight wise, I`ve gone through a lot of offerings from the tool truck offerings - I`ve had a pile of different Streamlight, Coast, and LED Lenser options. I`m always looking for a good option that has strong output but still is shirt-front-pocketable.

My current daily driver is a pair of Streamlight MicroStream USB. I rotate them always having one on the charger - I`m probably actively using a flashlight at work in time measured by hours. 250 lumens, simple high/low operation. 2 lights also offers a back up if one has an issue. Been a good solid light.

One of the favorite lights I`ve had was an LED Lenser M3R - 220 lumens, focusable lens, < 4" long and 3/4" diameter at the thickest. Unfortunately I don`t think it was made for production use, so gradually the 2 I had quit working due to poor contacts inside (I had several batteries that would charge externally).
I`ve debated joining the candlepower forum mentioned above to find someone to hire to go through them and see if they could be brought back to service...
Click to expand...

I joined the candle forum this year. I can assure you there are a number of folks on there that can either steer you how to fix any light you have, or do it for you. Much like every enthusiast forum of topic, alot of A+ knowledge members.

I do know what you talk about on the LED cons retrofitting some cars, thats why the bigger trusted brands are the go-to, they have it figured out way before hand. And in most cases a resistor in line does fix things, adds the lost resistance the low draw led`s give. I put them into an 80`s car, so there wasn`t a worry about all kinds of computer kinks, lol. I just needed the resistors to get my turn signals to actually blink properly. Interior led`s made a very nice modern look upgrade for sure.
 
Silly Rabbit- Hey, I really enjoyed reading how you helped that lost dog out! Good on you for that.

And yes indeed, we *would* go back to grab `em if we forgot our Tomahawks :D Even with the little ones we just leave in the coat pockets.
 
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