Which lights? LED vs HID vs Halogen

This is a big debate these days. The argument has really come up more now because of the proliferation of LED lightbars, and more recently LED spotlights. These have displaced the old-style halogen lights and the newer HID spotlight technology. But which one is right to get?

We always love this question because it means that you need to think about things yourself, but the best answer to the question of which lights are best for your 4WD is – it depends on how you use it. We’ll go through the main types here and give you an idea of the good and bad points of each.

Halogen Spotlights

Halogen spotlights use the same technology as standard vehicle headlights. The bulbs are normally relatively simple, easy to find and easy to replace. They give a decent amount of light (depending on the quality of the bulbs and the reflectors that the lights use) and have a pretty good life span.

The good bits:

• Simple construction and parts so replacing bulbs is one of the more simple things that you can do.
• Time-tested technology that we know works.
• Good light source that can be used as pencil beam or spread.

The bad bits:

• Doesn’t give as good a light as a HID system does.
• Older technology.
• Can be a little hard to find these days thanks to all of the alternatives that are now available.

HID Spotlights

HID stands for ‘High Intensity Discharge’, and that means what it should like. Using HID lights will give you a more powerful beam while using (at least a little bit) less power. They are still the undisputed winners for long-range vision.

The good bits:

• Powerful light for the same of less power draw as halogen.
• Best distance output of all options.
• Can be used as pencil beam or spread.
• Great for high-speed (legal of course!) travel because they give great forward vision.

The bad bits:

• HID bulbs can be more fragile than halogen.
• Extra ‘bits’ are needed (eg: ballast modules) making HID’s more complex the other options.
• Good HID spotlights are pretty large, so they can cause more drag depending on where they are mounted.

LED Lightbars

These days it’s hard to spot a 4WD in the wild without at least one LED lightbar strapped to it somewhere. They’ve become the defacto standard for adding lighting to your rig. These have become so popular because they are relatively inexpensive and give a pretty good result.

The good bits:

1. Low profile lighting system that normally produces less drag for the amount of light that’s generated.
2. LEDs have a longer expected lifespan then halogen or HID lights.
3. Lightbars can be some of the toughest gear out there (reputable brands at least)
4. Some of the best flood lighting available.

The bad bits:

• LED lightbars are all sealed, so if one (or more…) LEDs blow, it’s not an easy replacement.
• LED’s produce a greater spread light, but are not much use for long-distance vision.

LED Spotlights

LED spotlights are the latest trend, and have started to take over from halogen and HID spotlights. Why? The best reasons that we can see is that they are cheaper, and can be more durable.

The good bits:

• LED spotlights are normally a cheaper option, while still providing a decent light source.
• Can be more durable than halogen and HID bulbs.
• Great for low-speed vision.

The bad bits:

1. Although they are getting better, we still haven’t seen an LED spotlight that can light up the same distance as a good HID can.

So, what’s best?

In our opinion, the best thing that you can do is use a combination of all of these options. This will give you the best of all worlds.

The way that we have our rig set up shows this off the best. We have our standard (well, upgraded) halogen bulbs for our standard headlights, so low beam and high beam is well lit up, and gives you more than enough light for getting around the city, and other areas where you can’t or don’t want to use high beam. Adding to this we’ve got a good set of HID spotlights mounted on the bullbar. These are a standard mixed set, so one pencil beam and one spread beam. These two together gives some amazing long-distance vision, and fills in the sides of the tracks really well. Finally, we have an LED lightbar mounted to the roofrack (be aware that this may or may not be legal in your state so please check your own local regulations). This shines bright and wide, so shows illuminates pretty much everything near the car.

We’ve found that this is about the best set up for us, and a good amount of other travellers because it gives us each option for each type of terrain that we’re on. Around town, our standard halogens let us see what we need to without blinding people coming the other way. On the highways and the major outback roads the HID spotlights shine way ahead and give us plenty of time to see anything and everything that’s in our path. The LED lightbar fills in the blanks and lights up everything around us when we are in the bush and scrub and doing anything low-speeds, as well as giving some good peripheral lighting on the higher speed roads.

So what’s your set up? What do you like and why? Everyone is different, so leave us a comment below and let us know what you use and why you love it!