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New Led Headlights, looking for opinions

12K views 70 replies 24 participants last post by  TerryC6 
#1 ·
So NTD Limited Just contacted me and they are offering me a set of these to try and test out. They previously sent me 1 to test out in a Harley and it was only made for a Harley and was adaptive meaning it turned with the Harley. I gave it to my Father in Law to test out and he absolutely loved it. It was nice. Now they have made them for jeeps and have put the turn signal option in it. Just thought I'd share and see some of your thoughts on them. They sent me a video as well and from what I could see, Ann these things look like the have a nice cutoff, maybe better than what I'm running now

https://goo.gl/photos/i1CSdaQr8WRDGvqU9

I'm not sure it that link will be viewable or not but that's the video I got sent. Here are some pictures of the headlights. I know they are a knock-off of the JW Speaker ones so please don't comment saying that or anything, I'm not looking to get flamed here, just looking for opinions on looks and beam pattern.





That's the two color options, of course I'll.be getting the black ones
 
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#5 ·
I did opar from Amazon with trucklite anti flicker harness and have been very happy with them.
 
#10 ·
From my past experience with Headlights, which if you have read any of my other stuff you will know its pretty extensive, no matter how close you are to something, if the cutoff is crap it's crap. If it looks pretty decent from 4 or 5 feet then it will remain that way as you back up. Now I'm guessing like you said 8 to 10 feet on that one and the low beam has a straight line cutoff that appears to not be bleeding any light or have artifacts in them.

I have saw crappy cutoff lights compared to lights with a decent cutoff. They look the same from 5 feet as they do from 20 feet shined on a wall or ceiling. Here is a example. These particular headlights look exactly the same but one has a significantly different cutoff than the other and they appeared that way no matter how close to the wall you got. Well actually it was worse the closer you got and got a little better the more you backed up.

I'll label these one and two and then I'll throw in a third option after these two just to show how the same looking headlights can have three different beam patterns the first two were done at about 5 feet first and then 20 feet second.

1.


2.


Those are two different headlights from two different companies. Notice #1 has no DOT on it and #2 has the DOT on it at the top of the headlights.

#1 about 5 feet away


#2 about 5 feet away


#1 about 20 feet away


#2 about 20 feet away


OK so you obviously see no matter how close the cutoff was the same, one crappy and one not. Also this shows that you have to watch out buying the $100 so called good deals on eBay and Amazon because most of the time the #1 is what your going to get. There is normally a reason they are that cheap. Now here is a third option that has a even worse beam pattern. Same looking headlights though from a third company.

#3


#3 from about 20 feet away


#3 I received before #1 and #2 so I had nothing to compare them to other than these



Which those last ones above probably have the worst beam pattern of any I have ever received. I can't believe people still put them on their rigs. Here is a shot of the beam pattern on those

 
#8 ·
We have a set of Chinese knock off's in our JK, and Speaker's in my son's JKUWW.
They both look and light pretty much the same. Being in upstate NY, if I knew then, what I know now, I would have got the Truck-Lite's with the heated lenses. The others ice up in a snow storm.
 
#14 ·
Bluebrusier10,
Do you remember if the last light you have (the one with the worst output) was not labeled with DOT? Do you think the the ones labeled with DOT may have better output and cutoff?

I am really interested in that style of light but the pics you posted of the output are making me reconsider...i definitely dont want to blind people and have crappy light output.

I was looking at these:
https://www.amazon.com/Funlove-Phil...18&sr=8-8&keywords=jeep+dot+led+headlight#Ask

Or similar ones on Ebay that are labeled DOT approved.

Thanks
 
#15 ·
Bluebrusier10,
Do you remember if the last light you have (the one with the worst output) was not labeled with DOT? Do you think the the ones labeled with DOT may have better output and cutoff?

I am really interested in that style of light but the pics you posted of the output are making me reconsider...i definitely dont want to blind people and have crappy light output.

I was looking at these:
https://www.amazon.com/Funlove-Philips-Headlight-Wrangler-Davidson/dp/B01CTZO324/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1487166818&sr=8-8&keywords=jeep+dot+led+headlight#Ask

Or similar ones on Ebay that are labeled DOT approved.

Thanks
I've had a set with the DOT on it as well and they all have the same beam pattern. These lights are just stamped DOT because the companies making them put it on there to make them more appealing but they are actually not certified DOT. Even the 105 watt ones give off the same aweful beam pattern. Those lights were originally intended to be spot lights or off road lights when they were first introduced to the market. Then someone in China thought it would be cool to put a set in a 7" round bucket on a vehicle and then started the trend. I personally think they should be banned from a jeep or any vehicle, of any I have ran they were the worst ones out of any bulb or full housing replacement which is about 15 different setups now.
 
#17 ·
They are all the same just different sellers. They may be getting them from different companies now. There are about 5 main manufacturers in China that actually manufacturer the lights and then other distributors in China buy them from those manufacturers and then they distribute them to these companies like inspire, lantsun, nightsun. I deal in them so I have had the opportunity to test out quite a few from the different manufacturers. If anyone don't believe the deal on them just stamping them, here is a piece of a conversation via email I had recently with one of the manufacturers where I asked about the DOT and you can read the response. Having DOT on the lens means very little to me. It will only help in the inspection process. You have to actually get these lights and test them to see if they actually are going to provide the right light output. Just because they look the same doesn't always mean your going to get the same results.

As far as the bugged eyed looking ones, the results may vary slightly between manufacturers but not a whole lot. The beam pattern is going to be pretty close to the same with any you buy.


 
#18 ·
Blue bruiser
I also ride in addition to having a JKU. Your comment about adaptive turning with the Harley headlight is intriguing. Do you know the concept they use? I have an ultra and my fairing with light turns with the handlebars. But you normally countersteer in a corner so an adaptive headlight would be nice. Just curious how it works. Feel free to take this offline because it's not Jeep related. I don't want to break the rules.
 
#19 ·
I'll have a set of them next week to install on a jeep and a Harley. I'll have some better info for you then on how well they perform. I'm putting one of them on my father in law's Harley and the other one on my Jeep. The jeep ones are not adaptive but the Harley ones are supposed to be. I'll post a full review of both of them and link you to it once I get them in hand.
 
#24 ·
^ thanks for the suggestions and pics,
I was still on the fence after seeing your first set of pictures of the cheap 'spider eye' lights but after seeing the last 2 I think I will pass on them...
I was planning to get a set of LED foglight bulbs however and as for budget I was just trying to keep it under $200.

Is there any particular set of projector headlights you recommend thats decent? Browsing on Amazon and Ebay i pretty much just see the same couple of lights with various brandings.
 
#28 ·
Quadratec has a nice set of led Fogs for 135 and I have the KC Gravity. Do it right. Wasted money on crap adds up. Buy once, cry once is the best advice on here yet. Nothing wrong with budget, but don't go cheap. Factory fogs aren't that bad.
 
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#36 ·
Um, WTH did I miss? I was just replying to the one poster about the lights I recently installed as they showed interest. IDGAF about drama and internet forum politics. I contacted blue bruiser about the lights, he had access to them, I bought them. Had to mod for install, but these arent the only lights out there needing to mod to install. Took longer to install than I wanted, but the lights are great and I like the end results. Further more he helped me out promptly via email with questions, other light options, and some install questions. I didn't get any sense of being pedaled.

Not sure about all the drama, leave my name out of it folks. Wow.
 
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#39 ·
Not sure what your trying to prove here, I guess what people already know that bluebrusier10 is Jamie, I already told you that it's no secret. People address him by name on the forum sometimes when he post. I already acknowledged that I sent people his way as well as you did also, or you stated that you did in another thread in a post. Sure people have contacted me and asked me for his info and I'm sure they have contacted others and asked for his info. I think you got way to much time on your hands

Like I stated I don't sell the lights, if people ask me where to get them sure I'm going to tell them same as you stated.

I

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
 
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#46 ·
I'm really not skippy with knockoffs.
....I think everybody knows that by now. ;)

It was another company that invented this type of light, another company that sells them through Harley dealers, another company that worked with MOPAR to make lights for Jeeps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9DN3WacGaM
 
#47 ·
I would argue that JW Speaker did not invent adaptive headlight technology as they claim in the video. At around 2010 Audi had production vehicles with adaptive headlights including beam steering, dynamic leveling, and auto-dimming. They rely on an array of different types of sensors and software algorithms. Trying to throw some aftermarket "adaptive" headlights on a Jeep is pointless without these sensors and understanding the specific vehicle dynamics. The simplest sensors needed are vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. For these aftermarket products it's just a marketing buzzword to try to sell more expensive products to uninformed consumers.

Here's a primer on some of the Audi technology from 2013:
https://www.audiusa.com/newsroom/news/press-releases/2013/01/audi-leading-brand-lighting-technology
 
#48 ·
Adaptive headlighting was around long before that too.
JWS isn't claiming that they invented adaptive headlights. They invented this kind of adaptive headlight.
 
#57 ·
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/09/who-invented-the-new-lightbulb/379905/

Anyone remember when GE came out with the 1st home LED light bulbs to replace our home incadescent and florescent bulbs and they cost over $100 each? Or an LED that cost $260 each as the link above explains?

Apparently Mr. Hilldweller only uses $100 GE LED bulbs in each of the light sockets in his home because anything that came out later that looks similar and cost less is a knock off and is apparently automatically classified as a safety hazard.

Alls I know is that I could never really jusify paying $100 for a light bulb or to replace one WHEN it burned out when I could get incadescents at less than $1 each but now that I can go to any retail store and pick up a LED light bulb for my home at less than $2 each which looks and performs very similar to the $100 GEs I'm happy to be using that technology and so far my home hasn't spontaneously combusted when using them.

I'ld however be really interested in seeing all those $100 GE bulbs lighting up his home to see how they compare to my current $2 Walmart LED bulbs. I would have to think anything else besides those original $100 GEs would be kind of hypocritical on his part. So I'm certain that has to be what he's using.
 
#64 ·
Again gibberish. The reason GE got away with that is for 20 years they held the patent for LED's period. Well its been almost 40 years now since that patent expired. Everyone and there brother are developing better and more efficient LEDs. And as usual we have people copy other peoples work. This one area probably accounts for more patent lawsuit than any other technology out there.
 
#62 ·
Can't believe I was going to see the day where led headlights discussions were going to be more heated than "Best motor oil" ones, and my God ,damn detective work in this one is astonishing, where was Dirt Boy when Killary was being investigated for her email server... ?? My gaaaawd this boy has to work for the FBI.. damn.
 
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#63 ·
They never asked. No I don't, but did stay at a Holiday Inn express.

Forgot about Motor Oil threads. Have to love the Dino vs Fake stuff threads are awesome.
 
#71 ·
Only because it was but up during our debate. And if you think about it if the US ever finally does allow Audi to bring there tech to shore we could have a company like JW Speaker build adaptive headlight tech into our Jeeps. And hell if laser light is ever allowed think what a storm that will bring to the boards.
 
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