KC vs. the rest

I have only known KC lights, and thats what I use. I love the lights, rugged and bright. How do they compare to PIAA and Hella's? Have I been missing out on much?

 

[mattadams]

some people swear by KC's... I myself have little experience with them. They seem like an OK light... I know their brightest light has less candlepower then PIAA's brightest light (well HID aside, those don't count) and uses a lot more wattage if that tells you anything... I know they don't have a lifetime warranty like the PIAA's do... Hella's... don't get me started on Hella's...

 

[GJarrett]

hey matt.....

HELLA !

sorry, couldn't resist......

 

[leebo]

hey jarrett

Has a pain in the butt install for a light that is half the power of others

 

[kubben]

Matt is forming a little dictatorship over lights here it seems, letting his little 'deal' go to his head.
I've seen PIAA's, Hella's, and KC in action.
KC's are very tough and very powerful and cheap also. My friend has some on his Jeep and has taken them thru thick and thin and they still work fine.

After my body lift my next purchase is lights so it's between KC's and Warn.

 

[mattadams]

dictatorship? LOL, thats part of it... most of it is just preference and knowing what is good in lights. I'm not the only one with PIAA's and everyone that has them speaks very highly of them. I only know one person with KC's so like I said, I don't have much experience with them. I know stats on all the lights which is why I know that the PIAA's are more powerful with a less wattage. And yes, I do know a lot about lights. If you've got PIAA's I can tell you by looking at them what model number they are, and even if they aren't PIAA's I can usually tell what brand, and often what model they are without looking too closely... unless there a "CATZ" brand light or "IPF" light, neither of which I'm too familiar with. I have personal experience on my own vehicles with only PIAA's and Hella's... hence my poor opinion of Hellas. Plus lots of people that have them tell me how sick of them they are, constantly blowing fuses, relays, frying wiring, burned out headlights, cracked lenses and leaky seals, not to mension bolts that refuse to truly tighten down the light. So yes, I know what I'm talking about... you and Sinjin constantly pester me but I do know what I'm talking about and it's more then just a preference or "sponsorship" with PIAA. I know what's good, and I know what isn't. I am alway shonest with lights, I'll say heck yeah PIAA's are more expensive then Hellas, and there more expensive then KC's, and there more expensive then CATZ and IPF, and there more expensive then Warn lights. Because you get what you pay for, always. If you want to buy Hella's or KC's thats fine, thats your opinion, I have no negative feelings towards you for wanting to do so. My honest opinion is that PIAA makes the best lights and I've got stats to prove it, as well as feedback from other people, plus the fact that no other light manufacturer has a lifetime warranty. Heck ya Im partial!

Excuse my ranting but I hate it when people criticize my for liking the lights I like simply because they aren't the lights they like.

 

[leebo]

now you did it...you made him angry. I myself run Hella's and I'm also one of them how speak out openly against them. They are a nice light don't get me wrong but every set I've used(the 550 on mine and the 4000 on a friends) haven't been what I thought they would be. The 550 on mine not only were a pain the the butt to install but just aren't built worth a dang. I knew that going into the purchase, but cost paid a price in that buy. I don't like the plastic case, the wires that can't hold any more power than the 55watt bulb, the relays I blow when I turn them on. As for the 4000, these are a very nice light. The install is eaiser, but they're the same wires, relays, fuses, and so forth. Why don't the use thouse harnesses in the other ones too like everybody else I know of. Even the cheap a## Baja's I have came with everything ready to go. For a extra few bucks I could of got the piaa 40's and saved myself a huge headache and after the fact I wish I would of.

As for warn and kc...I never even seen kc up close or in action so I can't speak. I do love the warn lights though and I was one of the first to start talking about them. They are built to last, have high output watt wise, and aren't that bad in price. The harness on them is awsome. They make them easy to install and the ends are waterproof from the getgo. I just wish I could see them in action. Never seen the actual light that it puts out in person. I myself am looking in Warn lights as I've said in the past, however right now I'm leaning towards the Piaa's. If somebody can show me the Warn light I might change my mind

 

[kubben]

KC 6 inches produce 385,000 candle power and use 150 watts.
Pro 80 XT series run 120 watts but I cannot find the candle power. What is it? 1,000,000,000?

I know your Mr. Lights but when you said KC's were OK lights and you have no experience with them, doesn't make any sense. I know loads of people who swear by them, and some of my friends in real life have them so I do have experience and they are terrific lights.

So I don't want people to be scared off from buying non-PIAA lights from you saying everything else is just OK.

[Edited by kubben on 09-25-2000 at 02:14 PM]

 

[mattadams]

The PIAA 6 inch 80 XT with superwhite bulbs runs 385,000 candlepower at 85 watts.

The person I spoke with that had KC's on his was impartial too them, didn't like them and didn't dislike them... looking at them they didn't look super-great or bad at all. If that makes any sense.

 

[Sinjin]

Maybe Matt and Leebo should get there own Forum for PIAA's.
lol, jk

 

[kubben]

Yea and we should be banned from posting so we don't pester anyone. =)

 

[leebo]

that would be great....but there's one problem. I've only installed piaa's. I don't have them. I run Hella's too for now. I'm looking into another set of lights after vacation and I'm not sure what brand I'm getting.

But I do like the Piaa forum.....dibs on being the mod.

 

[mattadams]

LOL it's allready "performance lighting". TO me that means PIAA lighting already . J/K.

 

[Tank]

ok so lets talk apples to apples

ok now .....im looking for really good off road lights... aside from HID... i have seen PIIA 6" lights but say driving lights on the packadge .... what model or info is a direct comparison with KC,PIIA,and WARN ?

i was on my way to pepboys to buy KC lights till i read this post ....still a strong possibility...just want to be sure im making the right choice

 

[mattadams]

ok, I would consider the KC Daylighter 6" light a direct comparison to the PIAA 80 XT driving light, if that's the type you are looking for. The 80 XT comes in fog, driving, and pencil beam. The 80 XT's aren't always marked on the package as to what they are but you can tell by the lens. The fog lens is "fluted" (the whole lens has vertical lines across it), the driving light has a few flutes in the center (to spread a bit, but not much) and the pencil beam is basically no flutes, the pencil beam would probably be the closest to the KC. I hope thats what your looking for.

 

[Tank]

ok well .... on the piias what is the difference in candle power between the 3 types ? and is the driving beam actually for onroad use or is it just the wide beam rather than the pencil ?

 

[rpenner54]

Well I can't stand here and read this without opening my big old mouth! Heres my thoughts on lights. PIAA's currently are the best ones out there. KC's were the only choice for a long long long time for aftermarket lighting. I still remember all the rigs all through the 80's that had those and thats all that were good. So I would say that KC's are good lights. The one thing I do like about them is their metal covers/housings. To me that is just cool. I would say as far as reliability goes they probably are very reliable considering most of them that I see are still standing. Now I don't know anything about their wiring so I can't say anything about that though.

Matt also is not against Hela like he said. He is just trying to keep people from going through the same frustrations that both he and I went through with those POS lights. I have a set of Hella 550's myself. You know where they are? They are sitting in my parts bucket! You want to know why? Cause I blew all the relays I wanted to mess with on them. Cause all the switches I had for them eventually stopped working. So I ripped them out one day. Like everything else in the world you get what you pay for.

Everyone needs to stop busting Matts chops about running PIAA's and just ask their questions. He is always gonna recomend the best product for the job and thats just the way it goes.

Okay I wrote a lot...

 

[mattadams]

Candlepower is as follows
fog - 150,000
driving - 385,000
pencil - 350,000

The driving is NOT for on-road use... well you can use it but everyone will be flashing you . The pencils main goal is to shoot light as far down the trail as possible, they aren't designed ot light up the area around your vehicle very much, just down the road. The driving's sacrifice a bit of distance to give you more light closer to your vehicle.

Thanks for your support Ryan .

 

[Tank]

well then one more question

i am putting 2 lights on my brushguard ... later i will be putting (up to) 4 on a roof rack that i dont have yet ..........

so the question is ...... what is the optimal position for pencil beams and flood beams ? or more directly ...since i am only doing the brush guard lights now ...... should i do pencil or flood ?

 

[leebo]

See...i'm not the only one who likes to tear up Hella lights....

I did a little bit of harm to mine once I tried to upgrade the bulbs in them once.....blew 2 relays, one fuse, and about 3 feet of the wire. They worked for about 2 minutes with the Piaa bulbs in them. Then the smoke hit....