One big upside to the LED pods that run hotter (at least the SSC3 Pros) is that they can melt snow/ice. Other LEDs that are more thermally-efficient and do not heat up may get covered up and obscured in certain snowy conditions.
Great video, and I appreciate it. for me, I use these lights on my lawnmower so I can mow after dark when the 105* heat cools off to 70* +, even 85* feels cool compared to 105*. so, the lower temperature lamps will be my choice, to continue to hold the same brightness after 2 or 3 hours of run time.
Just outfitted my new truck based on a lot of your content. I’m not brand loyal, I’m performance based. So I have 2 different brands between the bumper, A pillar, perimeter and backup lighting areas based on specific needs. Thank you, my setup is perfect.
Love these tests! Thanks for all the hard work! It would be really cool to see a similar test done with the larger pods in spot pattern: Morimoto big banger HXB and NCS Spot, vs Diode Dynamics SS5 Pro and Sport Spot, Baja Designs LP6 Pro Spot, Rigid Q series hyper spot, Vision X 6.7" CG2 single chip light cannon and 6.7" ADV light cannon. Maybe even the Diode Dynamics SS5 Max laser when it comes out. It would be really interesting to see what kind of crazy lux numbers you get at 1 minute and which one holds the best at 60 minutes.
Take the test with a grain of salt. These would be stationary temperatures not accounting for the outside temperature (cold winters) and they would be cooled down somewhat at speed as well.
@@Seasniffer69 Yeah I understand that, but in certain situations when it's 30°C to 40°C and in a flush mount location, where the majority of the air is blocked by a bumper then this is extremely relevant. When it's December and -30°C or -40°C then it's likely to be dimmer on initial startup until they warm up a bit and then they should remain fairly cool but even then the junction temperature at the Diode can still get quite high when they're pushing 10w+ through a chip with a surface area of 2 or 3mm². So it's still a relevant test, none the less. Even at -25°C I've seen Baja Designs LP9 Pro's dim with air flow through their Direct Ducted heat sink design. They cut the output by probably 15% to 20% after 30 or so minutes. LED's can get quite hot, even at cold temperatures. You probably only see max luminous intensity for a brief second or 2 before output is cut due to heat when using these high intensity chips.
Thank you for this informative video and appreciate the thorough report you included. I really wish you included the beamshots and overhead shots in the report as it gives us a look at the beam pattern and overall brightness. That said the Morimoto and DD max are visibily brighter than the rest. Lux are a great measurement of brightness and how far down the road the lights will shine but it doesn't measure total light output (lumens) which is considerably more difficult to measure are requires a lumen integrating sphere. So just because a light is brighter at a single point doesn't mean it is putting out more light overall. Another bulb could have a more uniform spread of light instead of concentrated hot spot or whatever beam shape it is and be putting out more light fhm the lux measurement indicates. The reason I'm saying this is because including the beamshots would of been very helpful. The Morimoto has the highest brightness but the DD lights that were tested were the wide beam. Of course a wide floody style light is not going to have the highest lux measurements. Mentioning the different types of beam patterns that the lights are available in would be helpful. If you tested the spotlight version of DD I bet it would be at least double the brightness of the version tested. I will say that it is excellent that you test the light output after an extended period of time. I would love to see this method tested on the headlight bulb comparison videos you put out. I would esp. like to see the GTR lighting and SV4 bulbs brightness after running for 30 minutes or more. Higher output lights creates more heat. I know that all of these lights have "state of the art" fans that keep them cool and prevent the Leds from frying themselves but I would love to see the numbers after running headlight bulbs after extended time frame.
Hello guys, I would like to thank you for all your videos. I am selling led headlight bulbs since one year. Yours videos have gave me great insight about leds. Thanks alot
I think it would be nice to see how air moving over it changes the temp/output. Like, does cruising at 30mpg on a gravel road provide enough cooling to minimize performance loss?
Good video and information. I have some "no name" off road lighting on my truck and am thinking about upgrading. If you are looking at brightness, you go for the number one light. However, to me, the best "bang for your buck" is the Morimoto NCS 4Banger and possibly the Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro. The cost is about $300.00 per set and you still get decent brightness that doesn't break your wallet. Yes, we want a bright light to be able to see; however, we want to still see some money in our wallet after we buy them. 😀😀😀
So, I get the test and I believe it's valid for what it is. However, I was waiting for a comment about the lights being typically mounted to vehicles and typically those vehicles are in motion while using their lights, which would aid on some level to cooling them die to the airflow around them. Would love to see a follow up test of preformance with a measured airflow on the lights while in use over the same period of time. I feel like the best bag for the buck based on this test is the lower power 4 banger.... but is it really? Not sure based on this test alone.
Good vodeo for sure as I am looking into adding one of these as fog lights on my new grand cherokee since the headlights on this generation are ok but not great and there is no aftermarket headlight solution yet. Heat on all these tested will not be a big issue in real world useage though since you will have constant airflow aiding in heat disapation at all times. But yes if you could get morimoto and other manufactures to come out with after market headlights for ther 2022 and up new Cherokee that would be awesome !!!!! Keep up the good work you all do.
I was shopping between the Diode Dynamics SS3 Sport and Pro. After watching this, it looks like it may be better to save my money and go with the Sport if I’m just using them as fog lights.
Certainly Sport is better than Pro, more like, Pro is not safe as fog lamp, shall not be called SAE fog at all. Pro has nowhere near SAE compliant beam, it can't be aimed based on cutoff line ( too much scatter). For Pro to avoid SAE defined glare level, it must be aimed as low as 6.5 degree, at that point, vast majority of the beam won't be visible from driver view point. If available for your model, DD's Elite fog is more suitable choice for on-road fog usage, they will be F3 ( more strict fog regulation ) class actual fog lamp, shoot beam like fog lamp. If you like Pod look, Sport is better choice( I don't know if it's truly complainant or not tho,, but better chance to be so than Pro or Max) than Pro or Max. 4 Banger NCS performs performs stronger as on-road fog lamp from even smaller package than Sport Check available bracket, make sure you can aim lamp properly. Sport aim is likely 3.5~4 degree down, 4B NCS is 3.5 degree down required.
@@alexbergevin1447 Max did not satisfy SAE J583 gradient requirement, therefore, it's not SAE compliant fog lamp. Not suitable for on-road usage. Gradient had issue and considered as lamp can't be aimed per regulation definition. Basically, cutoff was not distinct enough SAE J583 defined by maximum gradient to be set at 0.75D, if cutoff isn't detectable, then can't run the test. He is planning to use as fog light, best to suggest Elite (if he has choice)
@@yoshiishida6577 is the blade fin heat sink design on the 4 banger and BigBanger more efficient than the pin fin design on the SS3 and SS5 lights? You would think the pin fin would be more costly to produce, but I could be wrong. Any reason to go with one over the other? What was the reason behind going with a pigtail with a deutsch connector on the end on the 4 banger but just a DT-04 connector coming straight out the back of the BigBanger, 1 banger and 2 banger? Is one way better than the other for any reason? They all meet IP69K so I'm guessing ingress isn't a reason. The connector might be cheaper and slightly more efficient as the pins in the DT-04 are basically directly soldered to the circuit board correct? Do you have isolux plots of the BigBanger HXB spot and combo? Or specifics on the beam pattern width and height? I'm just trying to compare it to the Diode Dynamics SS5 sport spot with a 15° spot pattern, SS5 Pro spot with a 20° spot pattern and the SS5 driving with a 30° wide by 20° tall pattern. Thanks!
In my opinion for fog lights diodedynamics elite series is the best beam pattern. Pod lights should be used a auxiliary high beams or ditch lights, Because moving air around the light will make a lot of difference. If some does spirited driving then the higher power Max, Pro or HXB pods makes sense in Driving beam pattern. For slow offroading like with combination of flood beam as ditch lights go for Baja designs S2 sport or S1
That max temperature is concerning… that said, I have a 20” rigid bar and 2 of their XL’s driving diffused (12leds not the 9’s). I’ve driven home multiple times where I’m using them as much as I can. When I get home they are warm, not hot. 220°f is 104°c. I’d say mine are around the 30-40°c mark. However there’s 1 thing that I have issue with in this test. The lights are in a room with no passing air to help cool them. In the real world they would be on a vehicle that is moving, with air passing over the heat sinks . This test doesn’t represent real world conditions, which has a knock on effect which impacts the results (with heat increasing, the light output reduces).
See my other response here, 4 Banger HXB can retain -7% ( to initial brightness) output volume when there is steady above 5mph airflow. System also handle without active airflow, when lamp are installed in fog lamp bracket for example, very small amount of airflow is expected. Lamp are designed to handle in any regular usage scenario. 4B vehicle specific brackets are also given small airflow passage design. Both 4B HXB is tested in 85C~90C heated oven for 100h total, and at those high temp operations, it regulate output volume to retain system below thermal degrade threshold temperature. real world condition not always with ample airflow, that's only happen when mounted externally float like A-pillar mount. Test in no active airflow is standard observation method. SS3 also has same thermal feedback logic, but their heatsink capacity is less than 4B heatsink despite larger unit size. 4B heatsink is designed with both active and passive airflow case study. Thermal feedback threshold is configured at 115C at emitter case, 135C at estimated junction.
They temporarily lose brightness until they cool down. It's thermal regulation which is good. Cheap lights won't do that and they will burn themselves up.
Can you test these in a real life situation as in driving down the highway in the snow to see if they will stay hot enough to keep the snow and ice melted off the surface.
ONLY thing I didn't care for about the heat numbers and lumen loss is the fact that they are being tested stationary vs on a moving vehicle which will be allowing them to cool and not react to the heat and experience lumen loss.
That is true, but in this case we're just testing brightness over a period of time and how heat would affect these pod lights if used for long amounts of time. It's pretty normal for LED pod lights to have an initial brightness versus a warmed-up brightness - however, many companies only share the first set of #s because they're higher. Sometimes it's good to know facts from the other side!
How do AliExpress spot lights stack up against the much more expensive brand name spotlight, and are the AliExpress spotlights really rubbish for the price?
5:08 Obviously a basied review being given here; The pod displayed is the SAE version and not the Baja Designs Pro. Show these lights in action and prove it ...BD FTW
something to think about... If I am driving down the highway at 60-70 mph how much does that air flowing over the lights impact the cooling? Hmmm
You should also do the same comparison with the amber colors. I think they use a different chip with them to get lower true temperatures.
One of the most informative vids on supplemental lighting in a long while
🙏
One big upside to the LED pods that run hotter (at least the SSC3 Pros) is that they can melt snow/ice.
Other LEDs that are more thermally-efficient and do not heat up may get covered up and obscured in certain snowy conditions.
This is why I love this channel!
Great video, and I appreciate it. for me, I use these lights on my lawnmower so I can mow after dark when the 105* heat cools off to 70* +, even 85* feels cool compared to 105*. so, the lower temperature lamps will be my choice, to continue to hold the same brightness after 2 or 3 hours of run time.
Stop making me buy lights I don't need! Wife is getting mad 😛
Sounds like you need to get better at thinking of reasons to need more lights...😅
Just outfitted my new truck based on a lot of your content. I’m not brand loyal, I’m performance based. So I have 2 different brands between the bumper, A pillar, perimeter and backup lighting areas based on specific needs. Thank you, my setup is perfect.
Sounds great!
Love these tests! Thanks for all the hard work! It would be really cool to see a similar test done with the larger pods in spot pattern:
Morimoto big banger HXB and NCS Spot, vs Diode Dynamics SS5 Pro and Sport Spot, Baja Designs LP6 Pro Spot, Rigid Q series hyper spot, Vision X 6.7" CG2 single chip light cannon and 6.7" ADV light cannon. Maybe even the Diode Dynamics SS5 Max laser when it comes out. It would be really interesting to see what kind of crazy lux numbers you get at 1 minute and which one holds the best at 60 minutes.
For sure!
Thanks for checking out our video!
Take the test with a grain of salt. These would be stationary temperatures not accounting for the outside temperature (cold winters) and they would be cooled down somewhat at speed as well.
@@Seasniffer69 Yeah I understand that, but in certain situations when it's 30°C to 40°C and in a flush mount location, where the majority of the air is blocked by a bumper then this is extremely relevant. When it's December and -30°C or -40°C then it's likely to be dimmer on initial startup until they warm up a bit and then they should remain fairly cool but even then the junction temperature at the Diode can still get quite high when they're pushing 10w+ through a chip with a surface area of 2 or 3mm². So it's still a relevant test, none the less.
Even at -25°C I've seen Baja Designs LP9 Pro's dim with air flow through their Direct Ducted heat sink design. They cut the output by probably 15% to 20% after 30 or so minutes. LED's can get quite hot, even at cold temperatures. You probably only see max luminous intensity for a brief second or 2 before output is cut due to heat when using these high intensity chips.
Thank you for this informative video and appreciate the thorough report you included. I really wish you included the beamshots and overhead shots in the report as it gives us a look at the beam pattern and overall brightness. That said the Morimoto and DD max are visibily brighter than the rest.
Lux are a great measurement of brightness and how far down the road the lights will shine but it doesn't measure total light output (lumens) which is considerably more difficult to measure are requires a lumen integrating sphere. So just because a light is brighter at a single point doesn't mean it is putting out more light overall. Another bulb could have a more uniform spread of light instead of concentrated hot spot or whatever beam shape it is and be putting out more light fhm the lux measurement indicates.
The reason I'm saying this is because including the beamshots would of been very helpful. The Morimoto has the highest brightness but the DD lights that were tested were the wide beam. Of course a wide floody style light is not going to have the highest lux measurements. Mentioning the different types of beam patterns that the lights are available in would be helpful. If you tested the spotlight version of DD I bet it would be at least double the brightness of the version tested.
I will say that it is excellent that you test the light output after an extended period of time. I would love to see this method tested on the headlight bulb comparison videos you put out. I would esp. like to see the GTR lighting and SV4 bulbs brightness after running for 30 minutes or more. Higher output lights creates more heat. I know that all of these lights have "state of the art" fans that keep them cool and prevent the Leds from frying themselves but I would love to see the numbers after running headlight bulbs after extended time frame.
He stated that the Morimoto 4banger was the wide version just like the DD.
Hello guys, I would like to thank you for all your videos. I am selling led headlight bulbs since one year. Yours videos have gave me great insight about leds.
Thanks alot
Our pleasure!
I think it would be nice to see how air moving over it changes the temp/output. Like, does cruising at 30mpg on a gravel road provide enough cooling to minimize performance loss?
That's a good concept, maybe we can include this in a future video!
Good video and information. I have some "no name" off road lighting on my truck and am thinking about upgrading. If you are looking at brightness, you go for the number one light. However, to me, the best "bang for your buck" is the Morimoto NCS 4Banger and possibly the Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro. The cost is about $300.00 per set and you still get decent brightness that doesn't break your wallet. Yes, we want a bright light to be able to see; however, we want to still see some money in our wallet after we buy them. 😀😀😀
So the Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro has the same brightness with the SS3 Sport after an hour? It’s clear I’m getting the Sport version.
So, I get the test and I believe it's valid for what it is. However, I was waiting for a comment about the lights being typically mounted to vehicles and typically those vehicles are in motion while using their lights, which would aid on some level to cooling them die to the airflow around them. Would love to see a follow up test of preformance with a measured airflow on the lights while in use over the same period of time. I feel like the best bag for the buck based on this test is the lower power 4 banger.... but is it really? Not sure based on this test alone.
We can definitely suggest this to our video team!
Killing it again guys. Thanks
🤘
Good vodeo for sure as I am looking into adding one of these as fog lights on my new grand cherokee since the headlights on this generation are ok but not great and there is no aftermarket headlight solution yet. Heat on all these tested will not be a big issue in real world useage though since you will have constant airflow aiding in heat disapation at all times. But yes if you could get morimoto and other manufactures to come out with after market headlights for ther 2022 and up new Cherokee that would be awesome !!!!! Keep up the good work you all do.
Why didn't y'all do beamshots?
Facts
I was shopping between the Diode Dynamics SS3 Sport and Pro. After watching this, it looks like it may be better to save my money and go with the Sport if I’m just using them as fog lights.
Certainly Sport is better than Pro, more like, Pro is not safe as fog lamp, shall not be called SAE fog at all. Pro has nowhere near SAE compliant beam, it can't be aimed based on cutoff line ( too much scatter). For Pro to avoid SAE defined glare level, it must be aimed as low as 6.5 degree, at that point, vast majority of the beam won't be visible from driver view point. If available for your model, DD's Elite fog is more suitable choice for on-road fog usage, they will be F3 ( more strict fog regulation ) class actual fog lamp, shoot beam like fog lamp. If you like Pod look, Sport is better choice( I don't know if it's truly complainant or not tho,, but better chance to be so than Pro or Max) than Pro or Max. 4 Banger NCS performs performs stronger as on-road fog lamp from even smaller package than Sport Check available bracket, make sure you can aim lamp properly. Sport aim is likely 3.5~4 degree down, 4B NCS is 3.5 degree down required.
Save and do the max
@@alexbergevin1447 Max did not satisfy SAE J583 gradient requirement, therefore, it's not SAE compliant fog lamp. Not suitable for on-road usage. Gradient had issue and considered as lamp can't be aimed per regulation definition. Basically, cutoff was not distinct enough SAE J583 defined by maximum gradient to be set at 0.75D, if cutoff isn't detectable, then can't run the test. He is planning to use as fog light, best to suggest Elite (if he has choice)
@@yoshiishida6577 4 bangers are best overall
Ss3 max was widest
Rigid D series has most crisp cutoff
@@yoshiishida6577 is the blade fin heat sink design on the 4 banger and BigBanger more efficient than the pin fin design on the SS3 and SS5 lights? You would think the pin fin would be more costly to produce, but I could be wrong. Any reason to go with one over the other?
What was the reason behind going with a pigtail with a deutsch connector on the end on the 4 banger but just a DT-04 connector coming straight out the back of the BigBanger, 1 banger and 2 banger? Is one way better than the other for any reason? They all meet IP69K so I'm guessing ingress isn't a reason. The connector might be cheaper and slightly more efficient as the pins in the DT-04 are basically directly soldered to the circuit board correct?
Do you have isolux plots of the BigBanger HXB spot and combo? Or specifics on the beam pattern width and height? I'm just trying to compare it to the Diode Dynamics SS5 sport spot with a 15° spot pattern, SS5 Pro spot with a 20° spot pattern and the SS5 driving with a 30° wide by 20° tall pattern. Thanks!
Price comparison would be helpful too
In my opinion for fog lights diodedynamics elite series is the best beam pattern.
Pod lights should be used a auxiliary high beams or ditch lights,
Because moving air around the light will make a lot of difference.
If some does spirited driving then the higher power Max, Pro or HXB pods makes sense in Driving beam pattern.
For slow offroading like with combination of flood beam as ditch lights go for Baja designs S2 sport or S1
This makes a ton of sense!
This changed which set of lights I'm buying.
That max temperature is concerning… that said, I have a 20” rigid bar and 2 of their XL’s driving diffused (12leds not the 9’s).
I’ve driven home multiple times where I’m using them as much as I can. When I get home they are warm, not hot.
220°f is 104°c. I’d say mine are around the 30-40°c mark.
However there’s 1 thing that I have issue with in this test. The lights are in a room with no passing air to help cool them. In the real world they would be on a vehicle that is moving, with air passing over the heat sinks . This test doesn’t represent real world conditions, which has a knock on effect which impacts the results (with heat increasing, the light output reduces).
See my other response here, 4 Banger HXB can retain -7% ( to initial brightness) output volume when there is steady above 5mph airflow. System also handle without active airflow, when lamp are installed in fog lamp bracket for example, very small amount of airflow is expected. Lamp are designed to handle in any regular usage scenario. 4B vehicle specific brackets are also given small airflow passage design. Both 4B HXB is tested in 85C~90C heated oven for 100h total, and at those high temp operations, it regulate output volume to retain system below thermal degrade threshold temperature. real world condition not always with ample airflow, that's only happen when mounted externally float like A-pillar mount. Test in no active airflow is standard observation method. SS3 also has same thermal feedback logic, but their heatsink capacity is less than 4B heatsink despite larger unit size. 4B heatsink is designed with both active and passive airflow case study. Thermal feedback threshold is configured at 115C at emitter case, 135C at estimated junction.
Yoshi is the man!
Do the lights regain their original brightness after being cooled off? Or do they permanently lose that brightness after being too hot?
They temporarily lose brightness until they cool down. It's thermal regulation which is good. Cheap lights won't do that and they will burn themselves up.
Can you test these in a real life situation as in driving down the highway in the snow to see if they will stay hot enough to keep the snow and ice melted off the surface.
Just ratings, is that MoriMoto 4Banger is the most affordable and reliable as well as endurance for using?
Have you done any of these in the "amber", yellow? I have tons of snow so normally is what I use or go to
Yes, we have! Check out some of our recent testing videos, we test both white and yellow pod lights.
Would love to see current draw.
All specs are listed on the website!
@@HeadlightRevolution You all are great about that. I am talking during the test.
At what distance from the light do you measure the brightness in lux?
25ft!
ONLY thing I didn't care for about the heat numbers and lumen loss is the fact that they are being tested stationary vs on a moving vehicle which will be allowing them to cool and not react to the heat and experience lumen loss.
Id like for you to test flushmount podlights, like the stedi c-4 and similar
Maybe!
Have you tried using a fan to cool them. Most lights are used at different vehicle speeds.
That is true, but in this case we're just testing brightness over a period of time and how heat would affect these pod lights if used for long amounts of time. It's pretty normal for LED pod lights to have an initial brightness versus a warmed-up brightness - however, many companies only share the first set of #s because they're higher. Sometimes it's good to know facts from the other side!
How do AliExpress spot lights stack up against the much more expensive brand name spotlight, and are the AliExpress spotlights really rubbish for the price?
Not sure, likely won't be impressive. We'll send this idea to our video team!
Driving at highway speeds would cool these down though.
Does Lux keep dropping after 60 mins?
It would, but not drastically.
Love the channel though.
Thank you!
👍👍
5:08 Obviously a basied review being given here; The pod displayed is the SAE version and not the Baja Designs Pro. Show these lights in action and prove it ...BD FTW