The vast expanses of the Outback can easily become an inhospitable and hostile environment for anyone unprepared. Besides the essentials like water, fuel and food, you’ll want a decently capable 4WD or ute fitted with extras like spare tyres, jerry cans and recovery gear, and when dusk sets in a capable lighting array also comes in handy. Beyond city limits, low visibility on rural and bush roads is punishing, raising fatigue levels and making any journey a safety trap.
Consider the wide selection of LED automotive lighting to circumvent surprises and obstacles, prevent vehicle damage from animal strikes, and get to your destination safe and sound. This encompasses driving lights to augment the brightness coming out of the stock headlights, light bars to disperse light further out, and focused camping and work lights when setting up camp or repairing the vehicle.
Why Have Driving Lights?
Despite factory headlights getting brighter and capable of projecting beams to illuminate more of the road, any adventure off the tarmac requires a decent set of driving lights. These are larger, usually round lights fitted within their durable housings and supplied with mounting brackets of the same quality to mount them to bull bars, grilles or roof racks. New versions come in selectable low and high beams, extremely powerful LED chips and brightness levels exceeding 20000+ effective lumens to illuminate up to 1500 metres out.
Compared to outdated halogens and HIDs, LED driving lights consume considerably less power, withstand heat, dust and water in typical Outback settings, last up to 50000 hours of continual use, and can be calibrated in colour temperatures that are easier on the eyes. A game-changing benefit is the instant start-up times for improved safety and leeway to make necessary steering adjustments in tight spots.
Adding Light Bars to the Mix
Light bars are long, rectangular and sit higher up, usually along roof racks, or on ute canopies. Like driving lights, they’re packed with dozens of separate LEDs to spread more light to the sides of the vehicle for improved peripheral visibility. This significantly reduces the risks of animal strikes, possible accidents and damage to your rig from inconspicuous obstacles not picked up by head or driving lights.
Choose automotive LED lighting bar in the right size (ranges are from 15 to 125cm in overall length), in a single, dual or quad lighting setup (when mounting them in the desired location), in spot or flood beams. The choice depends on how and where you drive, and the brightness levels you require to get all-round visibility.
The Need for Work Lights
Work, spot and camping lights assume smaller dimensions, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get bright. They can be used on roof racks, caravans, canopies and sports bars, often as a companion or replacement for light bars to illuminate wider areas to the side and back of the vehicle. They’re the standard choice in campsites, roadworks and any application where consistent and bright light is required.
These lighting accessories come in either ultra-flood beams with light projected over 25 metres to either left and right sides of the source, and 40 metres in the distance when set to the brightest settings. They can also be standard floodlights, shining to distances of 100 metres but with a narrower spread.
Choosing LED Automotive Lighting for Your Needs
To get auto LED lights that just work and last, consider these buying factors:
- Durable builds and materials – dust, mud, rain, and obstacles springing out from every corner mean auxiliary LEDs need to be built tough. Look for metal outer housings. thick polycarbonate lens covers, sealed wiring and quality mounting hardware. IP ratings are a must for impact and water ingress, while metals prevent radiant heat and higher temperatures from messing with the internal LED chips.
- Brightness – look to effective or rated lumens, or the rated brightness of LEDs after being on for 30 minutes. This takes into account outside temperatures, moisture and the effectiveness of sealing (and other build considerations). Brightness can also be stated as a LUX rating, or the amount of lumens at a given distance. Driving lights and bars with 10 to 15 thousand lumens or 1 LUX at 1000 metres will provide more than enough light for any off-roading driving scenario.
- Beam patterns – this is how wide or far light is projected. Flood beams are needed to illuminate a wider area, such as a campsite, while spot beams push light further out but in narrower beams. Many lights have selectable beam patterns, good if you’re tight on space or working with a smaller budget.
- LED chips – overall brightness, light consistency and factors like colour temperatures (ranging from warm, to natural or cool) all depend on the quality of the LED chips. Look for established chip maker brands to ensure your auxiliary lights work as advertised and last long.
- Provided Wiring and Mounting Hardware – sealed wiring harnesses with plug-and-play compatibility allow for easy installation while preventing dust, heat or moisture from causing electrical issues. Coated metal brackets, fasteners and other hardware keep lights steady on rough terrain and prevent rusting or loosening.