LED headlights and snow

….$450 for a set of Trucklites or equivalent might make some people feel superior to others, but it’s actually insane when there is an actual choice….

Nothing at all condescending about this comment.

Didn’t you just spend an inordinate amount of time railing against folks being condescending to you? I run Truck Lights. Worse, I run the heated Truck Lights. Paid full price as I recall. Best choice for me.

But my choice is insane?

Ironic.
 
  • Like
Reactions: L J and MikekiM
I agree that it's important. That's why I posted it. But there is more than one way to skin the cat. I'm exploring those, and some have offered great ideas here. Pays to hear what they have to say also. Not just the self-anointed "experts of everything Jeep".
To those with knowledge who frequent these forums to help others, I tip my hat. But there are some who merely drop into posts like mine to insult the choices other people make by diminishing otherwise perfectly good products as cheap, inferior, and that the buyer is somehow deficient in not choosing their own preferred brand. While I realize the know-it-alls exist in all forms of activity, it only serves to turn fresh new enthusiasts away from such forums like this when they are treated as some lesser life form for making the choices they made. The distinct insinuation is that their choice was ignorant in nature, and not thought through with potential options. I've seen it way too many times before here and in that "other" forum by the same people. It's not helping.Might make them feel superior to bully others for their choices, but doesn't help.

Being here to educate others with existing knowledge gained from experience is a good thing. Educate, don't denigrate and chastise others for their choices. As I stated before, there is a point at which spending 4-5X as much for a product, simply because most of its components aren't made in China, is not a choice I would make. Potentially, others feel even more strongly about it than that, and have plenty of money to throw around. Not everyone shares that view, and has to make choices on somewhat different criteria. I also recognize fully that goupthink can take over and anoint certain brands as untouchable and beyond reproach. That's also not necessarily wise as a selection criteria. I happen to know Ray Currie. Great products. Great guy. Have some of his products on my Jeeps. Don't genuflect at his feet and automatically shell out all my hard-earned cash for his product across the board, because the level of product they build is not necessarily critical for my application. I also used to know Sammy Chu, part owner of Viair. I do currently have his compressor mounted on my Jeep as my onboard air choice. Also a good guy. I don't necessarily like Sammy any more than I like Ray. I just happen to believe his product delivers solid quality for the money. I know the Thomas compressor lineup quite well, as I spent many years applying them in various industrial and medical applications. I don't use Thomas either. What most people don't understand is that these companies who offer an "American made" product actually source many components and materials worldwide. Including China. The whole thing doesn't have to be sourced here to say it's "an American made product". I'd guess many of the components in the Trucklite product are sourced in China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and elsewhere.

I'm not running a race team here, where the cost is no object. I've done that. Don't need to do it here. I just want a solid, reliable Jeep with reasonable quality and reliable results. The calculus of others may be different. That's fine, I have no issue whatsoever with that. But the moment someone with knowledge drops in and belittles my choice because it's not what they consider the only acceptable option, they lose their status with me as a reliable source. They are here for the wrong reasons. They want to be worshipped, not here to help out other people. My purpose for starting topics is partly to learn, and partly to help other people who may end up in the same spot a week from now, or a year from now. Not to dominate the conversation with my choice of the popular brands and simple conventional wisdom. If you read thru lots of Jeep threads (as well as other vehicles), there are plenty of people who have had the same issue with all brands of LED lights. Not just WHDZ or Trucklite. Speaker, KC, a dozen others have the same issue, and it's why they are all offering heated LED lights. If not now, then soon.

My 2 cents. Your mileage may vary. Listen to whoever you want. It's YOUR Jeep. Not mine.

Holy wall of text.

Anyone care to post cliff notes?
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: NashvilleTJ and L J
Looks like my best option will be a set of halogen fog lights for those rare occasions, as replacements for my Rigid LED fogs. $450 for a set of Trucklites or equivalent might make some people feel superior to others, but it’s actually insane when there is an actual choice. Thank you to those who offered real alternative sane choices, most of which were quite viable and reasonable. And especially, thank you for making those suggestions in the true spirit of helpfulness. I really appreciate your help in crystallizing my thoughts. Cheers!

This is a really ignorant comment. Move on.
 
@jjvw

Do me one last favor, if you will. Visit these three web pages. Read the descriptions, and please pay special attention to the text and to the country of origin. And tell me the Truck-lite LED headlights and the WHDZ LED headlights aren’t the same product, same manufacturer, same factory. And, above all else, please tell me you didn’t pay more than $46.99 for those nice Truck-lites….

https://www.truck-lite.com/27270c.html

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007K8AA7I/?tag=wranglerorg-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019I0UBLU/?tag=wranglerorg-20

So, are my WHDZ “cheap Chinese knock-offs” still so bad? Still think the solution is to abandon my “nickel and dime fixes”? Turns out, you merely paid over 4X as much for the very same headlights as the “cheap Chinese copies”. Must be the dry snow.
In reality, we bought the same headlights. We’re both quite happy with them in nearly all conditions. They are a huge improvement over stock. But they both have the very same limitations as all LED headlight manufacturers face. They ice up. You just have yet to drive your Jeep in the conditions I did. And that’s why yours have yet to freeze over. It’s why all LED headlight manufacturers are offering heated versions of their product….for even more money. So, I have a suggestion: Let’s both just quit digging our respective holes, quit being asses, quit throwing good money after bad. I’ll get the halogen fogs so I can avoid taking your advice to go spend almost 400 bucks to NOT solve my infrequent problem, and I’ll stop being over-sensitive about the mocking for buying a cheap Chinese product. You can try to understand that all may not be as it seems, that mocking someone else’s choice ultimately insults the buyer, and we can just go on about our business having learned something.
Sound reasonable?
 
Dustdevil said:
I’ll stop being over-sensitive
200.gif
 
  • Haha
Reactions: 707kevin
@jjvw

Do me one last favor, if you will. Visit these three web pages. Read the descriptions, and please pay special attention to the text and to the country of origin. And tell me the Truck-lite LED headlights and the WHDZ LED headlights aren’t the same product, same manufacturer, same factory. And, above all else, please tell me you didn’t pay more than $46.99 for those nice Truck-lites….

https://www.truck-lite.com/27270c.html

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007K8AA7I/?tag=wranglerorg-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019I0UBLU/?tag=wranglerorg-20

So, are my WHDZ “cheap Chinese knock-offs” still so bad? Still think the solution is to abandon my “nickel and dime fixes”? Turns out, you merely paid over 4X as much for the very same headlights as the “cheap Chinese copies”. Must be the dry snow.
In reality, we bought the same headlights. We’re both quite happy with them in nearly all conditions. They are a huge improvement over stock. But they both have the very same limitations as all LED headlight manufacturers face. They ice up. You just have yet to drive your Jeep in the conditions I did. And that’s why yours have yet to freeze over. It’s why all LED headlight manufacturers are offering heated versions of their product….for even more money. So, I have a suggestion: Let’s both just quit digging our respective holes, quit being asses, quit throwing good money after bad. I’ll get the halogen fogs so I can avoid taking your advice to go spend almost 400 bucks to NOT solve my infrequent problem, and I’ll stop being over-sensitive about the mocking for buying a cheap Chinese product. You can try to understand that all may not be as it seems, that mocking someone else’s choice ultimately insults the buyer, and we can just go on about our business having learned something.
Sound reasonable?

I didn't pay anywhere near full price for my trucklites on Craigslist. Mine don't freeze over. Arizona must have unusual snow that I have yet to experience in my travels around the country. And you are being far too delicate.
 
  • Face Palm
Reactions: Dustdevil

Heated or non-heated LED headlights?

Now, we can’t ignore this little detail. If you’re living in areas where the snow drops hard once winter arrives…

…Well, is there anybody who’d be OK with their awesome (and expensive) LEDs ruined by snow piling on them?

Obviously, you can’t clean the lenses while driving. And obviously, you wouldn’t like pulling over every 10 minutes to clean your LEDs.

Here’s something interesting, though:

Even non-heated LED headlights from both JW Speaker and Truck Lite will be able to melt some of the snow/ice due to their strong light. So with milder winter conditions, you would still be OK.

https://toolingfun.com/jw-speaker-vs-truck-lite-led-headlights-8700-evolution/
 
@jjvw

Do me one last favor, if you will. Visit these three web pages. Read the descriptions, and please pay special attention to the text and to the country of origin. And tell me the Truck-lite LED headlights and the WHDZ LED headlights aren’t the same product, same manufacturer, same factory. And, above all else, please tell me you didn’t pay more than $46.99 for those nice Truck-lites….

https://www.truck-lite.com/27270c.html

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007K8AA7I/?tag=wranglerorg-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019I0UBLU/?tag=wranglerorg-20

So, are my WHDZ “cheap Chinese knock-offs” still so bad? Still think the solution is to abandon my “nickel and dime fixes”? Turns out, you merely paid over 4X as much for the very same headlights as the “cheap Chinese copies”. Must be the dry snow.
In reality, we bought the same headlights. We’re both quite happy with them in nearly all conditions. They are a huge improvement over stock. But they both have the very same limitations as all LED headlight manufacturers face. They ice up. You just have yet to drive your Jeep in the conditions I did. And that’s why yours have yet to freeze over. It’s why all LED headlight manufacturers are offering heated versions of their product….for even more money. So, I have a suggestion: Let’s both just quit digging our respective holes, quit being asses, quit throwing good money after bad. I’ll get the halogen fogs so I can avoid taking your advice to go spend almost 400 bucks to NOT solve my infrequent problem, and I’ll stop being over-sensitive about the mocking for buying a cheap Chinese product. You can try to understand that all may not be as it seems, that mocking someone else’s choice ultimately insults the buyer, and we can just go on about our business having learned something.
Sound reasonable?
The WHDZ are exactly what I purchased a while back. They replaced an even cheaper set of Amazon chinesium LEDs that the PO installed as pre-sale click-bait.

What I found with the WHDZ's was the pattern.. wasn't a pattern at all. It scattered all over the place. Most annoyingly there was substantial unmanaged light projected straight up in front of the Jeep. Annoyed the shit out of me. Easily missed if you didn't drive under overhanging trees or through a tunnel. The color was what I wanted at about 5500k, but the light pattern sucked. Equally important, I quickly realized I hated modern high tech look of them on a 20+ year old rig. If you have them and like the performance and look.. you do you. You don't need my approval.

There is no arguing this. The WHDZ's weren't worth a penny of my money.. even if they actually cost a penny, I would pass. After trying a bunch of options and researching the shit out of it, I decided spending $400 on lights was the best option for me. I won't try to convince you it is the best option for you, but I'll share my thoughts as to the pros and cons.

We need to stop discussing where other people should spend their money. There are way too many variables. As much as I feel a $500+ [insert Savvy bumper, beadlocks, skid plate, sport seat] is the coolest looking thing ever, it would be a waste of money for my DD. All/most of us need bumpers and wheels, but I am (mostly) happy with what I've chosen. The "which XXX is best..." conversation is a waste of time. And the "which XXX is best for me.." question is only answered by me.

All secure in Sector Seven... Carry on
 
The WHDZ are exactly what I purchased a while back. They replaced an even cheaper set of Amazon chinesium LEDs that the PO installed as pre-sale click-bait.

What I found with the WHDZ's was the pattern.. wasn't a pattern at all. It scattered all over the place. Most annoyingly there was substantial unmanaged light projected straight up in front of the Jeep. Annoyed the shit out of me. Easily missed if you didn't drive under overhanging trees or through a tunnel. The color was what I wanted at about 5500k, but the light pattern sucked. Equally important, I quickly realized I hated modern high tech look of them on a 20+ year old rig. If you have them and like the performance and look.. you do you. You don't need my approval.

There is no arguing this. The WHDZ's weren't worth a penny of my money.. even if they actually cost a penny, I would pass. After trying a bunch of options and researching the shit out of it, I decided spending $400 on lights was the best option for me. I won't try to convince you it is the best option for you, but I'll share my thoughts as to the pros and cons.

We need to stop discussing where other people should spend their money. There are way too many variables. As much as I feel a $500+ [insert Savvy bumper, beadlocks, skid plate, sport seat] is the coolest looking thing ever, it would be a waste of money for my DD. All/most of us need bumpers and wheels, but I am (mostly) happy with what I've chosen. The "which XXX is best..." conversation is a waste of time. And the "which XXX is best for me.." question is only answered by me.

All secure in Sector Seven... Carry on
Odd thing is, I had the same issue with finding the pattern. CUtoff was so high, I almost didn’t find it. Then, I couldn’t adjust the buckets far enough to get the cutoff where I wanted it. Adjustment screws in the original buckets stripped immediately anyway. At 50 bucks per side for new exact copy buckets that would end up doing the very same thing in a year or two, I simply shimmed them in place to adjust the beam. My leds actually have a solid cutoff, but had to be adjusted down so far it was hard to get the bezel back on. Not an easy install, but they are well adjusted. I understand your issue with light aimed straight up. The snow cap on mine last week diffused enough light upward to blind me. Mine don’t naturally do that, but I have experienced that same thing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MikekiM
Meanwhile, as we are off-topic, have you been paying attention?

China is not given they have started stockpiling commodities since 2019 and currently hold 80% of global copper inventories, 70% of corn, 51% of wheat, 46% of soybeans, 70% of crude oil, and over 20% of global aluminum inventories."

China just bought 32 tons of gold in November, and another 30 tons in December, while you were figuring out which Jeep part to buy yourself for Christmas. Turns out, we all have work to do.