LED driving lights, in my opinion have been one of the single best inventions for Australian four-wheel drivers. They are cheaper, brighter and let’s be honest, more visually exciting than driving lights of yesteryear. That’s why we wanted to update this list for 2024, and give you the info on what LED driving lights are out there.
LED lighting technology has changed the four-wheel drive world, and for the absolute best. LED driving lights run cooler, draw less energy, last longer and aren’t as fragile as halogen elements. There is no annoying warm-up time as with HIDs and no need for messy external ballasts, either.
What’s the story?
How do you know where to start when it comes to choosing and purchasing a set of your own LED driving lights? With so many manufacturers and importers selling (and re-badging) LED driving lights these days, it was about time we sat down and took a closer look at the range of lights available. Which set deserves pride of place on your bull bar?
WATERPROOF RATINGS
IP68… IP67… IP58, what does it all mean – and is it important? Yep, It certainly is! These codes highlight the extent of how water and dust proof your new LED driving lights will be. IP stands for Ingress Protection, and below is a breakdown of what these numbers actually mean. Take the first number of your IP rating from the solids section, and the second number from the liquids section to determine how protected your LED lights actually are. An IP68 rating for example would be water and dust proof.
Protection against solids
0) No Protection
1) Protects against object
greater than 50mm (a hand)
2) Protects against object
greater than 12.5mm (a finger)
3) Protects against object greater than 2.5mm (a piece of wire)
4) Protects against object
greater than 1.0mm
(a ball point pen point)
5) Dust resistant
– prevents ingress of dust
6) Dust tight – no ingress of dust
Protection against liquids
0) No Protection
1) Protected against water drops
2) Protected against water drops at a 15 degree angle
3) Protected against water spray at a 60 degree angle
4) Protected against water splashing from any angle
5) Protected against water jets from any angle
6) Protected against powerful water jets and heavy seas
7) Protected against temporary submersion in water (3 feet for 30 minutes)
8) Protected against permanent submersion in water (up to 13 feet)
9) Protected against high pressure high temperature water jets
LUMENS VS LUX
Think about the difference in heat between a blowtorch, and a space heater. The space heater won’t be anywhere near as intense, but will warm up further than the blowtorch could ever hope. In lighting land, that intensity of heat correlates loosely with a measurement called Lumens. It’s measured in either effective – which is when it’s actually measured. Or raw – which is worked out with a calculator and always FAR higher than the actual amount put out. Where possible we’ve listed effective lumens, but it’s worth doing your homework to ensure you’re getting what you’re thinking you are. Which I know you will. This is just a little guide to help point you in the right direction.
The other measurement, Lux, is generally used as measurement of distance. 1 Lux, equals 1 Lumen per square metre, and is where manufacturers basically draw the line on how far out their lights are useful to.
WIRING LOOMS
You might not think it, but the wiring looms supplied with LED driving lights are a major part of what actually helps to keep water and dust out. Many manufacturers will in fact void the light’s warranty if you decide to cut off the supplied connectors and install your own. Look for a light that incorporates Deutsch connectors that are water and dust proof. If not, moisture will find its way down the electrical cable, and directly inside your LED driving light, potentially destroying it.
MOUNTING BRACKETS
We know from the previous article on illegal 4X4 mods that you can’t mount an LED or any driving light on top of a bull bar. So how do you go about installing them? Luckily, many bull bars will have mounting tabs to secure a light fixture. If not, there are several light mounts that can be installed with a few basic tools. The most common variety is a tube-mount clamp that wraps around the top hoop of a bull bar pointing downwards, providing you with an adjustable mount that simply bolts on. No need to weld or fabricate new mounts, which also preserves the factory powder-coated finish the bull bar came with.
What LED driving lights should you buy?
ARB Intensity V2
ARB’s most popular driving light is the Intensity V2. Like most things in the ARB catalogue, you’re getting top quality kit at a price to match. ARB quote a raw figure of 20,000 Lumens per light which puts it right up there in terms of output. Each individual light will punch out one effective lumen out to 795m, while matching them in a pair will take that distance way out to a hair over 1300m, which let’s be honest, is more than enough for anything this side of Paris to Dakar. You’re looking at around $2000 for a set of the 9in AR32 offerings, with a smaller 7in AR21 available for people with space constraints.
Baja Designs LP9
One of the biggest names in off-road racing, Baja Designs are synonymous with going fast in the desert. Their new range of LED driving lights are modelled off their old school HID LaPaz designs, but jam packed with clever tech. Baja Designs tells us the housing was designed to provide exceptional heat dispersion by using Direct Ducted Cooling, which allows air to travel from the front of the housing to the rear. With a day-time running light, low, and high power mode.Baja Designs have no qualms giving a solid figure of 11,025 effective lumens per light, but are tight lipped on the actual distance figure unfortunately. Expect to pay top dollar for a set, but they’re something you’d hand down to your kids in 30 years.
Big Red
Still one of the best bang-for-buck LED driving light options out there, even in 2024. The 9in BRG from Big Red. Each light pushes out a claimed 9056 effective lumens for just $185 each, or you can pick up the starter kit that includes a plug-and-play harness for $395. They’re rated at IP68 for dust and ingress so if you’re planning on parking your driving lights under 1.5m of water for half an hour you can be confident they’ll hold up. They do suffer somewhat with a 1 Lux rating of 921m for a pair. But with a three-year warranty, it’s hard to complain.
Bushranger Night Hawk
One of the most unique range of lights in this years guide is the Night Hawk line-up from Bushranger. Made up of three different models in the Night Hawk, Bushranger Night Hawks give you so much control. With the choice between adjustable beam pattern, colour temperature, and total light output depending on what model you choose. To compare apples to apples we’ve put the VLI or Variable Light Intensity model here. But do yourself a favour an dhave a play on the Bushranger website, to see the differences between their lights. For $866 you’ll score two lamps and a wiring harness, a 5 year warranty, IP69K rating, and an impressive 27,400 effective lumens. Oh and a huge 1 Lux rating way out to 1486m.
Great White Attack 250
With prices online from Repco being quoted at $780 for each light, the Great Whites Attack 250 are positioning themselves up near the pointy end of the field. Looking at specs, they may not be enough to sway buyers their way. Sure, the 9in LED lights will give you an IP69K rating and a 3 year warranty. But things don’t seem so rosy when you look at output. Each light can push out 7200 effective lumens putting them well behind their competitors, and in a pair, you can expect to get 1 Lux at 1080m making it fall short of the mark again. Still, you can pick them up at your local parts store so that’s kinda neat. And they are a heavy duty product, you’ll see loads of trucks running Great White lights on their rigs.
Hardkorr
At $669 for a pair of 9in Hardkorr BZR-X driving lights, including a wiring loom, you’re spending mid-field money, and getting top-tier output. At least going by their claimed figures. Hardkorr boast that each pair of BZR-X lights put out a combined 34,196 effective lumens, and 1 Lux out to 1460m. We have tested these lights against their competitors to see if those numbers stack up, and they do. Hardkorr seem confident to back their product as well, they’re rated at IP68 for water and dust ingress, and come with a 3-year warranty. Worth a look, in this fiercely competitive price point.
Kings Laser 9″ Laser
Dubbed the 9′ Laser Driving Lights, these 9in lights boast laser technology that punches out maximum usable light out to a fairly insane claimed figure of 1729m. And 14,032 Lumens for the pair. The party trick is definitely the low price point, as the kit retails for $399 a pair. They are covered by a two-year warranty, with an IP68 water and IP69 dust rating. If you’re on a budget and want to try ou Laser tech combined with Osram LEDs, you know where to get them.
Lazer Lamps
Lazer Lamps have certainly put their best foot forward, not once have we heard anyone complain about the performance of these lights. They are a terrific quality product, with excellent illumination. At $830 per light, the Lazer Lamps Sentinel Elite is well up there in price, but do the specs make a convincing argument? The build quality on them is leaps and bounds ahead of the low end of the market, and it’s hard to argue against that modern design. They do push out 15,232 lumens per light. Combined in a pair you’ll get 1 Lux out past the kilometre mark making them more than enough for most realistic scenarios.
Lightforce BEAST
This is a brand new product from Lightforce, as in we only saw them for the first time last week! The main point of difference with the BEAST lights from Lightforce, is the three built-in operating modes. There’s Spot mode, which delivers the most distance. Flood mode, which provides more spread. And lastly, BEAST Mode – which as the name suggests, offers ALL the light. With the push of a button, you can quickly and simply change the light to suit the conditions you’re driving in. That’s pretty neat. Pricing is not cheap, as you’d expect for a high quality Aussie made product, but $1349 for the pair with loom doesn’t make them the most expensive set of lights on the market.
Narva Ultima 215 Mk2
This is the second generation Ultimate 215 from Narva, which have proven to be very solid performers. At a cost, sadly. Each single light will set you back $900 putting it at the spicy end of the field. In saying that, each light outputs a solid 15,410 effective lumens, and a 1 Lux rating out just under 1100m. That’s more output and distance than some competitors boast out of a pair. It’s not all sunshine and roses though. The IP rating is one of the lowest at IP67 (just don’t take your 4X4 swimming and you’ll be fine). You do get a massive 10 year warranty, which . Still, 15,410 effective lumens and 21,780 raw lumens per light is a lot to brag about.
Stedi Type-X Exo
Stedi are in a unique position in the market. With quality fit and finish, great packaging, and killer branding they’ve positioned themselves right up with the front runners on image, just behind them in terms of performance, and about mid-pack for price. It’s a combination that has seen them gain huge popularity for sheer bang for buck. At $858 for a pair of their top-dog Type-X Evo 8.5in lights which pack and impressive 11,920 tested lumens out of each light. The result is a light that not only looks cool, but will fit in tighter places thanks to the unique design.
Ultra Vision Nitro 180 Maxx
Saving the best to last? Maybe. We’ve actually just done this list by alphabetical order. The Nitro 180 Maxx from Ultra Vision might just be the heaviest hitter in the list though. From $1709 a pair they’re deep into the pointy end for price, but they’re also the only lights to punch out 1 lux past that 2 kay mark to a full 2200m. Sure, it might only come in handy when you’re on the Nullarbor, but it’s seriously impressive regardless. For usable light, you’ll get 23,065 effective lumens, as well as an IP68 ingress rating and a 5 year warranty. If distance is what you’re after, and you’ve got the coin to chase your dreams, you’ll struggle to find a light that’ll better fit the bill than the Ultra Vision.
Compare LED driving light Specs
| Light | Price | Size | IP Rating | Warranty | Claimed total output | Claimed distance |
| ARB Intensity V2 | $934 each | 9in | IP68 | 2yr | 40,000 Raw Lumens (pair) | 1 Lux @ 1310m |
| Baja Designs LP9 | $1062.1 each | 8in | IP69K | Lifetime | 11,025 Effective Lumens (single) | N/A |
| Big Red BRG | $185 each | 9in | IP68 | 3yr | 9056 Effective Lumens (single) | 1 Lux @ 921m |
| Bushranger Night Hawk VLI | $866 pair | 9in | IP69K | 5yr | 27,400 Effective Lumens (pair) | 1 Lux @ 1486m |
| Great Whites Attack 250 | $780 each | 9in | IP68/69K | 3yr | 7200 Lumens (single) | 1 Lux @ 1080m |
| Hardkorr BZR-X | $669 pair | 9in | IP68 | 3yr | 34,196 effective lumens (pair) | 1 Lux @ 1460m |
| Kings 9in Laser | $399 pair | 9in | IP68 | 2yr | 14,032 Lumens (pair) | 1 Lux @ 1779m |
| Lazer Lamps Sentinel Elite | $1669 pair w loom | 9in | IP68 | 5yr | 15,232 Raw Lumens (single) | 1 Lux @ 742m |
| Lightforce BEAST | $1349 pair | 9.2in | IP69K | 5yr | 10,275 Effective Lumens | 1 Lux @ 1497m |
| Narva Ultima 215 MK2 | $900 each | 9in | IP67 | 10yr | 15,410 Effective Lumens (single) | 1 Lux @ 1093m |
| Stedi Type-X Evo | $858 pair | 8.5in | IP68 | 5yr | 18,920 raw, 11,920 tested (single) | 1 Lux @ 1470m |
| Ultra Vision Nitro 180 Maxx | $1709 pair | 9in | IP68 | 5yr | 23,065 Effective Lumens (pair) | 1 Lux @ 2200m |
It would be good to get a comparison with Teralume’s ICON LED Driving Lights.
Thats a great comparison. Lots of detail and numbers of tests. My only concern with LED has been my experience of driving through 5 kilometers of unfenced scrub to my house at nights with LED. I find a pure white LED can wash out colors to an extent it can be difficult to differentiate between a roo feeding and a large lump of grass. both are washed out to the extent that the shape is just not obvious.
Since changing over to warmer color lights I find the different but subtle colors work a lot better. A very bright white LED also reflects of every cats eye on the road and countless red and white post reflectors. Too much light power can be a negative.
But hey thanks for the extensive info in these tests. I would jsut like to see some comment on the whiteness or otherwise of each light please.
Great info thanks, when will a similar comparison be made for light bars? -and including the specifics for Ranger electrics versus Hilux etc
A field test comparison, not just a list of marketing claims would be helpful.
The weak to all these lights are the brackets, when we did the CSR in 2018, all of these bracket designs cracked or broke.
Out of interest, how old is the photo of the FJ40? According to Service NSW the registration expired on 22 February 2017.
have you got a comparison of 7″ led lights to suit the new prado without affecting the radar assembly in the toyota emblem in the grille. concerned about masking or other interference with the radar cruise control.
Not a bad write up of some very good sounding lights, but holy crap they’re expensive! Unfortunately, lumen outputs and distance numbers are only the first two most basic aspects of light design and don’t really give you any idea what each light is like. There’s colour temperature, CRI, beam pattern, and more that are far more important to understanding how effective a light will be. It’d be awesome if respected e-mags like this could go give themselves a better education on this stuff and start really comparing spotlight properly. That will educate average Joe 4×4 owner, who will demand better products than the half arsed, over priced stuff we get today. Check out sites like 1lumen.com or budget light forum to get an idea of what I’m on about.
Thanks for the effort, but it’s high time we took this to the next level!