KlarmannExpert Light Installations

Light up your world with advice and installation on 4×4 LED lights

Finding the right light for your setup whether it is mining, construction, off-road driving, Overlanding, trucking or camping can be confusing, time-consuming and expensive. You do not always need the most expensive lights available to achieve your desired light output. We will listen to you and supply you with different options in performance and price. All our lights have been tested in previous installations and are always backed up by a local warranty through us and our supplier network, some up to 7 years!

How to choose the correct 4×4 lights

When it comes to lights it is important to understand the different options that are available.

LED lights are a great option for a lot of different reasons. They have a very low current draw and a very high light output compared to a standard halogen globe. They usually come in a very rugged waterproof housing and things like changing a globe are a thing of the past. But they have the same requirements for well-engineered optics to be able to use the light the way you intend to. You can generally choose
between very narrow (small angle) beam patterns for long-distance lights, broad beam patterns (large angle) for short-range and evenly lit areas or a combination of both.

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HID lights for 4x4s

HID lights are great for long distance pencil beam lights. Instead of using a number of lights (like LEDs do) they can focus the full wattage of the light in a single very bright beam and are relatively simple to build great optics. The current draw and light output are a lot better than standard globes. The optics for HID lights are very similar to lights with halogen globes. In a HID light you can have to change the globe but the globes last a lot longer than normal halogen globes.

Halogen: some downsides for 4×4 users

Halogen globes are very rarely used anymore. Reasons being large current draws for relatively small light output. Globes fail after a while and have to be replaced. These lights still perform well when the wattage of the light is large enough and paired with good optics. The only downsides are maintenance and large current draw. The single most advantage these lights have over HID and LED is the light colour.

Light Colour determines how strongly street signs reflect the light when you are driving. Most LED lights have 6000K (the light colour is measured in Kelvin). 6000K is a very white light that is very close to daylight. It can be tiring on the eyes and reflects from street signs a lot. On the other hand it will give you very good sight that is close to daylight with a lot of detail. Great for out bush or country driving if the occasional sign does not bother you. The same is true for HID lights.

Most halogen globes have a lower light colour temperature around 5000K (more orange light). This is a lot easier on the eyes and reflects less from road signs. In our opinion you slightly loose detail from the orange light. Recently LED light manufacturers have started to produce lights with lower colour temperature too. This way you can now get all the advantages of LED technology paired with the single most advantage of the old halogen globes.

Final consideration for 4×4 lights: beam pattern

Beam patterns are very important. For driving lights you generally want a combination of very narrow pencil beams for long distance lighting combined with wide angle work/spread beam lights to give you an evenly lit short range area in front of you. Here a combination of all of the above technologies is possible. For work/camp lights you generally want a low current draw and a very wide beam pattern. That way the light puts least stress on your battery and will give you an evenly lit up work/camp area with almost equal light intensity in the lit up area.

Still got questions about LEDs or other lights for your 4×4? Get in touch for a free consultation.

If you have any questions about light choices, or about any of the other services we offer, get in touch using the button below. We’d love to hear from you.

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