4x4 LED Lights: Illuminate Your Way Through the Bush

 One of the most compelling shifts in the automotive world has taken by storm the offer most manufacturers have on their lowest trim levels. Car lights have never been talked about as much as nowadays thanks to one technological advancement known as LED.

Light-emitting diodes are the core of what most new car headlights come equipped with. LED lights not just at the front but also at the back and inside your vehicle are becoming the norm even with more affordable vehicles. The same can be done with an older, more rugged vehicle.

Advantages of LED Lights

source: bajadesigns.com

Powerful

A pair of LED lights can make such a big difference especially when you need to make your way through misty conditions. That's because they are quite powerful and can make for an extremely bright beam. With 4x4 automotive LED lights, you are much safer and able to see much better even in pitch-dark conditions.

Efficient

Despite being so powerful, LED automotive lighting doesn't experience as much as power loss as other types of lighting technologies. It's actually the most efficient type of illumination you can have on a four-wheeler. No matter if your car's powered by a fossil fuel, hybrid or fully electric powertrain you can rely on LED lights to not spend a Watt more than they have to.

Lifespan

Another great benefit of automotive LED lighting is that it lasts quite a long time and I'm not just talking through adverse weather conditions. LED lights have a high number of light hours which can go up to 50,000. There is no other type of lighting technology that offers this, at least not one that is as versatile.

Colour

LED lights can be made to illuminate in different colours and some allow you to change that on the go. Of course, this racks up their price quite a bit but if you want such a feature know that it's only available with LED lights. Other types of lighting solutions can be made to illuminate in different colours but you can't change the colour temperature like you can with an LED light.

Eco-Friendly

Something that isn't mentioned enough when it comes to LED automotive lighting solutions is their eco-friendly nature. How is that the case? Well, that's mainly because LED lights of any kind are energy efficient and are not made from toxic materials like mercury.

What to Look for in LED Lights

Beam

4x4 automotive LED lights come available with different types of beam patterns. For instance, there is a spot beam pattern that allows you to see further ahead but only with a narrower angle. Others have a flood beam pattern which has a much wider beam angle and can illuminate better what's closer to you. You also have 4x4 LED lights with a combination pattern that allows you to switch between a spot and a flood pattern which makes for a more versatile solution.

Brightness

The brightness of LED lights or any automotive lights for that matter depends on its power consumption but also the number of lumens it can produce. The higher those two numbers are the better as it means you have a more powerful pair of lights. 

Temperature

Colour temperature is represented in K or kelvin and it represents how warm or cold the light is going to be or how amber or blue it's going to get. The higher the number of kelvin a light has the more blue its tint is and the less it has the more yellowish it gets. 

Cooling

Although LED lights may not experience much power loss, if you need extremely powerful ones you'll need to have adequate cooling for them. If you choose to go with passive cooling you will get lights with fins and heat sinks that absorb the heat and then allow it to dissipate much quicker from the assembly. Active cooling is made of external coolers and fans that keep LED automotive lighting cool by working constantly no matter how bright they get or what beam pattern they're on.

Shape

The shape of 4x4 LED lights can be either circular or in the form of a bar. Circular or the standard way to go when it comes to the shape of automotive LED lighting solutions is made more to help the headlights and they are not the best when it comes to off-roading at night.

If you want to explore the bush at night then you are far better off with light bars which can be mounted on the bumper, bonnet or even the roof of your car. They are larger and illuminate much more than what both headlights and circular 4x4 lights can do together. The latter is also more expensive and more difficult to install but it can be a game changer if you want to venture into the unknown on a regular basis.