I was like a kid at Christmas when I went to pick up my Cruiser from the team at Townsville TJM. Not only did I have the new X-Ray HID spotlights and HID Heavy Duty headlight conversion kit fitted, but I also opted to fit a new TJM Bull Bar as well.
Like most people I guess, I was under the (false) impression that driving lights, or spotlights were pretty much all the same. I took the time to talk to the team at Britax earlier this week and I can tell you that there is quite a bit of difference between some of the leading brands.
To put it into basic terms, there are three main aspects to consider with lights.
Firstly, the bulbs which are usually either QH (Quartz Halogen) or HID (High Intensity Discharge). Obviously, the HID provide a ‘better’ light.
Ready to roll with the new bar and lights. I opted for one spread and one spot beam on the lights.
Secondly is the reflector. A high quality reflector will give a good light.
Thirdly is the lens. A quality optics free lens is the best.
What some leading brands have done with their lights is to build the light refraction into the lens which isn’t a bad idea. In short they use optics in the lens to re-correct and spread the light pattern. An example of this can be found in some of the lights in the Hella range.
Some other brands actually use a ‘clip on’ filter to achieve a similar result, however a filter will actually block some of the actual light. An example of this can be found with the LightForce brand.
What Britax do with their lights is build the refraction into their reflector (free form reflectors) and then couple this with an optics free quarts glass lens. By doing this, the light from the globe (either QH or HID) is being used in the most efficient way possible (by use of the reflectors) and then travels through a clear, free lens which allows for no distortion of the light.
This description above is really in its most basic form and to really appreciate how much of a difference it really makes, you have to view these lights side by side. By viewing them, I mean get them working side by side with exactly the same components. Ie: bulbs, power input, etc.
I took a night out earlier this year (2009) and attended a talk that the team at Britax did with the Townsville TJM staff and after hearing how it all worked, we were then shown what it all looked like. The difference cannot be explained in words other than bloody amazing.
After driving home that night and seeing what my current lights (Lightforce) were doing and knowing how much of a difference the new X-Ray lights would make, I booked my Cruiser in for a new set and figured that while I was at it, I would also put the HID upgrade kit in my headlights as well. Because of the amount of off-road driving I do, I went for the Heavy Duty kit.
I will be testing these lights out while driving Cape York and will keep you updated on how well they perform. I am sure they will ’shine bright’.
Take it from me, I am not an expert when it comes to lights but if you are thinking of getting a set of driving lights, then check out all the brands and put them up side by side in an equal environment and the proof will be staring you in the face.