LightForce USA

[leebo]

After about two months of talking with a company in Las Vegas I've scored myself a set of LightForce lights. They are a new brand out that takes the best of several different products and combines them into one KILLER light. I've talked about it some in the chat room, and some on the trails. Now I can't wait for them to get here. I got the 9.5" light that is matched with a 100watt Xenophot bulb. These bulbs are made to use less power than normal Halogen. They also run more like HID than most bulbs do. They are often compared to a H4 130watt bulb.

LightForce also is the first(and as far as I know only) company to use a Variable Focus reflecter. This allows the user to custom fit the beam of light anywhere from a spot light to a pencil beam. All by twisting the light. It works almost just like a Maglight would. They also offer the option of different lens. They snap on and redirrect the light into several different ways. They are made waterproof by using several o-rings. The lens are made of a material that is made to be unbroken, even when hit by the rocks that gets thrown up at the races. I can't wait to test that out with a trusty hammer.


They offer 3 different sizes of lights to be mounted. I'm hoping that with their mounting kit that the 9.5"(biggest they got) will be able to mount onto the stock bumper. I took a look and I'm guessing it will. I'll be sure to put up pics as well as another write-up as soon as they get here. For more info check out their website or email me. I'll do anything I can to help

www.lightforce.com
or email me
leebo@explorerforum.com

 

[mattadams]

damn thats a big light! Can't wait to see it. Next time I see ya, mind if I pull it apart and check out what makes it tick?

 

[leebo]

heck.....next time I see ya I wana see which shines brighter. A set of your Piaa 80's or one of mine.

Then we'll rip it apart. Besides......to change the bulb all ya need to do is keep twisting the light till the cover comes off.......then switch out the bulbs.

 

[FitzMatt]

That looks pretty cool!! Isn't it too big to put on the bumper...it will be bigger than the headlights!! Cant wait to see pics

Matt

 

[leebo]

I'm going to try the bumper rather than wasting money on a roof-rack simply for lights. If this doesn't work I'll end up making a custom pre-runner mount for them to bolt onto, but I think these will bolt up just fine. I'm going to put them more in the center so they won't get in the way of the headlights, and they are ONLY for off-road use. Or unless you pi$$ me off. Even though they are a deep light, they only measure 2" from the bolt to the rear most mounting point. Should be enough room to fit on the bumper.

 

[mattadams]

Leebo, what other sizes will they offer? That is just outrageously large. For perspective, the PIAA 80 Rally's are 8" wide, those are the big ones mounted near my headlights here. Adding another 2 inches... crap mine, might as well get a spotlight up there. I would also worry if they'll be mounted to the bumper that they will stick a good six inches in front of your bumper, if not more. I'd personally be concerned but hey whatever floats your boat .
I'd personally be a little concerned as well with the ease of removing the lens... will the bulbs go out that often that they need to be that easy to swap? Not that I hate easiness, and not that mine are difficult to do, but they require at least a phillips screwdriver so that theif has to work for it, LOL! but I'm not much for any joe schmoe being able to come along, twist off a lens that's gonna be able to cost me $50 or more to replace. I wonder if they'll implement some way of making it so you can twist it to a certain point then you have to have a special tool to remove it all the way or something? Just kinda worries me.
I'm not sure how they could effectively make one lens that is both fog and driving unless, like the maglight, its not the lens that changes with the twisting, but rather the reflector that aims the light.
Are they a dual mode or a single mode light? If they compare em to an H4 then they'd be a dual mode but it doesn't look that way (and by dual-mode I mean hi-beam/lo-beam)
Have you got any candlepower ratings or anything on these lights? I'd be curious to see how much they've got...
Not sure how you mean "more like HID then regular bulbs" because its either HID or not... some Xenon bulbs like those like to use the "like HID" advertisement, but a 30-watt HID bulb can produce 600,000 candlepower, while the highest bulb I've ever seen that WASN"T HID was 385,000 candlepower and it used 120 watts. Huge difference. Most of the "xenon" bulbs I've seen have been crap, no offense. They fill the bulb with xenon, tint the lens blue, and say its like HID.
Either way, can't wait to see em.
I'm always up for a competition, though comparing 6" lights to 10" lights would seem a little unfair .

 

[leebo]

Leebo, what other sizes will they offer?
They offer a 9.5", a 6.5", and a 5.6" light. I agree the 9.5" is a bit overkill, but I was able to get a deal on these. If they stick out over the bumper too much I also will upgrade to a pre-runner bumper.

I'd personally be a little concerned as well with the ease of removing the lens... will the bulbs go out that often that they need to be that easy to swap?
I'm not 100% thrilled about this either, but I'm not worried about theifs(knock on wood). But that's just me.

I'm not sure how they could effectively make one lens that is both fog and driving unless, like the maglight, its not the lens that changes with the twisting, but rather the reflector that aims the light.
You are correct. I'm sorry for this mistake. The lens isn't what changes the light pattern, it is changing the reflector. The way you change the reflector however is by turning the lens.

Are they a dual mode or a single mode light? If they compare em to an H4 then they'd be a dual mode but it doesn't look that way (and by dual-mode I mean hi-beam/lo-beam)
They are a single mode. The output is compared to a 130watt(most I've heard this powerful is a H4.)

Have you got any candlepower ratings or anything on these lights? I'd be curious to see how much they've got...
I'll look on the box, if that doesn't have them I'll ask the makers myself.

Not sure how you mean "more like HID then regular bulbs" because its either HID or not... some Xenon bulbs like those like to use the "like HID" advertisement, but a 30-watt HID bulb can produce 600,000 candlepower, while the highest bulb I've ever seen that WASN"T HID was 385,000 candlepower and it used 120 watts. Huge difference. Most of the "xenon" bulbs I've seen have been crap, no offense. They fill the bulb with xenon, tint the lens blue, and say its like HID.
I meant that they run cooler and produce a brighter light than most other bulbs. That's where I can tell they use the term..."more like Hid". I see what you are saying. These will not compare to Hids, but should be more powerful than most.

I'm always up for a competition, though comparing 6" lights to 10" lights would seem a little unfair .
WUSS

 

[Ryan1]

hey leebo, How much do those puppies cost apiece


Ryan

 

[leebo]

They are up there in cost though. They are sold in singles with one cover. They do NOT include the wires or the relay. You're on you own for that. I'm not too happy with this, but we'll see if the light makes up for it. I'll give you the prices for a set of two.

9.5"........$250
new covers.......$14.95

6.5"......$199
new covers.........$12.95

5.6".....$149
new covers.......$10.95

I'm hoping they come in before this weekend so I can get them on.....I'll post pics as soon as I get them.

 

[leebo]

Got them today. Will be putting them on ASAP!! Here's a few pics

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And those were taken after hitting them SEVERAL times with a screwdriver, and dropping them on the ground.

Now let's see how the light up the place.

 

[mattadams]

wow, those are big... though I'm not sure how accurate the drop test is, LOL. I dropped one of my PIAA's from about 7 feet up accidentally when I was installing it on the Explorer and didn't even chip it, even though it landed glass-side down. However, broke one in Moab when I landed it into a rock, I guess theres a difference between just dropping and placing several hundred pounds of pressure on it, LOL.

 

[leebo]

I've got them mostly on. Still need to tighten down the screws and replace the switch I've got now(man the box from Galls is giving me problems). Heres a few more pics.

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[tac0meat]

Whoa! those things are big! cant wait to hear how they perform

 

[Jefe]

Those are big. . they better be bright. They aren't the most beautiful thing I've seen, either

 

[Gopher]

Leebo

Those things are Bada$$. Have to keep us posted on the light range. Those would look awesome on a prerunner bumper. I've thought about trying to maybe fab up a light mount by the side mirrors. That way you could adjust them as you drive or as terrain changes.
Very awesome.

 

[leebo]

THESE RULE

Tried them out tonight. Went up the street and gave them the once over. I still need to tighten the bolts(can't get to them all the way) and aim them correctly, but my first impression was good. I was able to shine them at another off-roader that was on the other side of a canyon and I could see his truck clear as day. I will admit that their claim of no viberation was false. It could be due to not having the bolts clamped down as much as they can be though. I am also going to go back soon and order the wide angle lens. These are clearly a driving light, that can be made to a bit of a wider light, just not too much. You can spin the light around about 2 times before you expose the O-rings, in which I don't wana do. We'll see how much difference the lens will work.

Now onto the pics.
My camera isn't the best, so don't yell at me. The flash was not used either.

This first one is at about 100'. The stock headlights are on High-Beams in the lower left hand corner. The truck is parked above the hill abit, but not much. The lens are turned more towards a flood light for this.
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This second one was at about 500' from the truck. The headlights are once again on High and the truck is even with the hill. The lens are turned for a spot light here. You can see how much "whiter" and brighter they are over stock(like that's saying much) You also can see how unfocused they are. I had to walk up closer to the hill for the stock lights to even show up at all on the camera. They bairly reached this hill, thats why it is a bit "red".
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Awsome is the first word I could think of when I saw the distance these would shine. They almost go too far for their own good. I'm hoping the flood lens will help cure that problem. Can't wait till you can see them on the trials.

We now have the Real VEGAS!!!!
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[leebo]

Originally posted by mattadams
However, broke one in Moab when I landed it into a rock, I guess theres a difference between just dropping and placing several hundred pounds of pressure on it, LOL.

I'll call this one.

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Man I love these things.

Here's a write-up from off-road.com

http://www.off-road.com/projectjeep/lightforce/

 

[mattadams]

hey now, I can do that with my covers too . Do that with the light itself I'll be more impressed . Not to sound skeptical or anything, LOL

 

[leebo]

Originally posted by mattadams
hey now, I can do that with my covers too . Do that with the light itself I'll be more impressed . Not to sound skeptical or anything, LOL

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ps...in my defense the first two pics were taken about 10minutes after matt's post. The board went down and I wasn't able to post them.

pss...matt...I found a shirt, but it's the wrong size. I'm still looking.

 

[tac0meat]

very impressive and lightweight too! that offroad page said they were only 16ounces apiece, for the large ones