So, with my new TJ Rubicon I'm going a totally different route than the last time. On my previous Rubicon I had the Truck Lite 27270C LED headlights. I love those things too! They were bright as hell and had a great light output pattern.
I did a lot of research though, and one thing I found was that the new Vision X Vortex LED headlights are supposed to be one of the best (if not the best) LED headlights on the market. I also really like the look of them since they use reflector housings instead of projectors (such as the JW Speakers), and I feel that with LEDs, it seems the reflectors output a nicer light (at least that's my experience with the Truck Lites).
Now I'm not fan of halos by any means, so the fact that these have them was a little off-putting. However, since they aren't colored halos, I figured that I could live with them. While these are labeled as "JK" headlights, they fit the TJ just fine without any modifications at all. You just don't install the anti-flicker harness like you would in the JK.
These lights are made in South Korea, which is something I'm very happy about, since Korea produces some very high quality stuff these days in my opinion (quite a bit better than China in most cases).
I'm using the Vision X High Four adapter, which allows you to have the high beams and low beams on at the same time, thus doubling your light output. Without this harness you'd only be able to have the high beam on by itself, or the low beam, not both at once.
To compliment the headlights, I decided to replace my factory fog lights with the Vision X CG2 4.7" Light Cannon LED fog lights. These things are supposed to be very bright, and the nice thing is that they don't look stupid like some of these LED fog lights do. They actually look like a normal halogen housing, which I like!
So first off, let's do the unboxing and initial impressions:
Vision X Vortex 7" LED Headlights Unboxing & Initial Impressions
The first thing I noticed upon unboxing these things is how nice the packaging is. Seriously, Vision X put some serious time and effort into designing some very thought out and eye catching packaging. Definitely not what you'd expect for a set of LED headlights.
After getting them out of the packaging, I'm thoroughly impressed with the weight of these things. You can tell they are extremely solid. Not only the metal back, but the lenses as well, which appear to be some sort of polycarbonate (not glass).
Here is everything the lights come with. You've got the headlight itself, the wiring harness adapter to use them on JKs (not needed for the TJs), and the CANBUS ant-flicker harness, which also is only for use on the JKs. So in other words, I won't be needing either of those harnesses there. Oh, and you get a sticker too!
When it comes to LEDs, I seem to notice that the better light output comes from LEDs in reflector housings (such as these headlights have) as oppose to the projectors you see in so many of the cheaper LEDs. The exception being the JW Speakers, as I've tested those out, and the light output is actually very, very good from the projectors.
Notice how these things don't look as "out there" as some of the LED headlights on the market. In my opinion, they almost look like the stock LED headlight option you find on the new JKs.
It's hard to tell, but the back of these things is very beefy!
For what it's worth, these things are "DOT approved" (even though that means little to nothing at all):
Conclusion
Although I haven't installed them yet, I don't have any regrets about paying what I did for these headlights. The build quality is apparent upon unboxing them. These are leaps and bounds above the typical $100 pair of Chinese LED headlights you buy on eBay. While I understand a lot of people won't want to drop this kind of money on headlights, if you are a lighting enthusiast like me, you'll be happy that a premium option like this exists.
Vision X CG2 4.7" Light Cannon Unboxing & Initial Impressions
I unboxed these things next. As with the headlights, the packaging is fantastic.
With the light filters you can purchase separately, it enables you to use these lights to serve just about any purpose, check it out:
You'll notice that in addition to being able to choose the color of the light cover, you can also choose the beam pattern you want for it.
In order to use mine as fog lights without blinding people, the kind folks at Vision X recommended these covers. One pair is the clear, "elliptical" covers, and the other pair is the clear "wide flood" light pattern. These will greatly reduce the spot light effect of these headlights and disperse the light in a much more road friendly manner, as not to blind other drivers. At some point I may buy some more light filters such as the fog and snow ones.
After removing the lights themselves, this is what I'm treated to:
Look at how well made these things look! They're heavy as hell, but that's a good thing!
Check out the heat sinks on the back too:
Notice how the wiring harness adapter is a nice, waterproof plug? That can't be said for the cheaper Chinese lights you buy on eBay:
Here's a side shot:
Now check out this incredibly beefy wiring harness they come with! It's got built-in relays for better light output, matching waterproof adapters for the lights, and it's even got a button pre-wired that you can install in your dash! So basically this is a plug-and-play affair! No wiring to worry about whatsoever!
I'm not kidding when I say this thing is beefy. I'm not sure what gauge the wires are, but I can tell you that they are very, very thick. No expense was spared with this wiring harness.
The unfortunate part is that since my Jeep came with factory fog lights, I don't need this harness. I was able to wire the lights directly into my stock fog light harness, and they work 100% perfectly with the factory fog light switch.
However, the fact that they include this harness is a huge benefit for people who don't have factory fog light wiring, or just want to wire up an extra set of auxiliary lights.
Optional High Four (P-HLHI4) Harness
I decided to order the optional "High Four" (part number P-HLHI4) adapters. These will work with any TJ headlights (not just the Vision X ones). They allow you to have the low beams on with the high beams as well. You'll notice on most vehicles, when you turn on the high beams, the low beams go off. With these plug-and-play adapters, when you turn on the high beams, the low beams will stay on with them, which will result in double the light output! Still think you need an LED light bar?
I did a lot of research though, and one thing I found was that the new Vision X Vortex LED headlights are supposed to be one of the best (if not the best) LED headlights on the market. I also really like the look of them since they use reflector housings instead of projectors (such as the JW Speakers), and I feel that with LEDs, it seems the reflectors output a nicer light (at least that's my experience with the Truck Lites).
Now I'm not fan of halos by any means, so the fact that these have them was a little off-putting. However, since they aren't colored halos, I figured that I could live with them. While these are labeled as "JK" headlights, they fit the TJ just fine without any modifications at all. You just don't install the anti-flicker harness like you would in the JK.
These lights are made in South Korea, which is something I'm very happy about, since Korea produces some very high quality stuff these days in my opinion (quite a bit better than China in most cases).
I'm using the Vision X High Four adapter, which allows you to have the high beams and low beams on at the same time, thus doubling your light output. Without this harness you'd only be able to have the high beam on by itself, or the low beam, not both at once.
To compliment the headlights, I decided to replace my factory fog lights with the Vision X CG2 4.7" Light Cannon LED fog lights. These things are supposed to be very bright, and the nice thing is that they don't look stupid like some of these LED fog lights do. They actually look like a normal halogen housing, which I like!
So first off, let's do the unboxing and initial impressions:
Vision X Vortex 7" LED Headlights Unboxing & Initial Impressions
The first thing I noticed upon unboxing these things is how nice the packaging is. Seriously, Vision X put some serious time and effort into designing some very thought out and eye catching packaging. Definitely not what you'd expect for a set of LED headlights.
After getting them out of the packaging, I'm thoroughly impressed with the weight of these things. You can tell they are extremely solid. Not only the metal back, but the lenses as well, which appear to be some sort of polycarbonate (not glass).
Here is everything the lights come with. You've got the headlight itself, the wiring harness adapter to use them on JKs (not needed for the TJs), and the CANBUS ant-flicker harness, which also is only for use on the JKs. So in other words, I won't be needing either of those harnesses there. Oh, and you get a sticker too!
When it comes to LEDs, I seem to notice that the better light output comes from LEDs in reflector housings (such as these headlights have) as oppose to the projectors you see in so many of the cheaper LEDs. The exception being the JW Speakers, as I've tested those out, and the light output is actually very, very good from the projectors.
Notice how these things don't look as "out there" as some of the LED headlights on the market. In my opinion, they almost look like the stock LED headlight option you find on the new JKs.
It's hard to tell, but the back of these things is very beefy!
For what it's worth, these things are "DOT approved" (even though that means little to nothing at all):
Conclusion
Although I haven't installed them yet, I don't have any regrets about paying what I did for these headlights. The build quality is apparent upon unboxing them. These are leaps and bounds above the typical $100 pair of Chinese LED headlights you buy on eBay. While I understand a lot of people won't want to drop this kind of money on headlights, if you are a lighting enthusiast like me, you'll be happy that a premium option like this exists.
Vision X CG2 4.7" Light Cannon Unboxing & Initial Impressions
I unboxed these things next. As with the headlights, the packaging is fantastic.
With the light filters you can purchase separately, it enables you to use these lights to serve just about any purpose, check it out:
You'll notice that in addition to being able to choose the color of the light cover, you can also choose the beam pattern you want for it.
In order to use mine as fog lights without blinding people, the kind folks at Vision X recommended these covers. One pair is the clear, "elliptical" covers, and the other pair is the clear "wide flood" light pattern. These will greatly reduce the spot light effect of these headlights and disperse the light in a much more road friendly manner, as not to blind other drivers. At some point I may buy some more light filters such as the fog and snow ones.
After removing the lights themselves, this is what I'm treated to:
Look at how well made these things look! They're heavy as hell, but that's a good thing!
Check out the heat sinks on the back too:
Notice how the wiring harness adapter is a nice, waterproof plug? That can't be said for the cheaper Chinese lights you buy on eBay:
Here's a side shot:
Now check out this incredibly beefy wiring harness they come with! It's got built-in relays for better light output, matching waterproof adapters for the lights, and it's even got a button pre-wired that you can install in your dash! So basically this is a plug-and-play affair! No wiring to worry about whatsoever!
I'm not kidding when I say this thing is beefy. I'm not sure what gauge the wires are, but I can tell you that they are very, very thick. No expense was spared with this wiring harness.
The unfortunate part is that since my Jeep came with factory fog lights, I don't need this harness. I was able to wire the lights directly into my stock fog light harness, and they work 100% perfectly with the factory fog light switch.
However, the fact that they include this harness is a huge benefit for people who don't have factory fog light wiring, or just want to wire up an extra set of auxiliary lights.
Optional High Four (P-HLHI4) Harness
I decided to order the optional "High Four" (part number P-HLHI4) adapters. These will work with any TJ headlights (not just the Vision X ones). They allow you to have the low beams on with the high beams as well. You'll notice on most vehicles, when you turn on the high beams, the low beams go off. With these plug-and-play adapters, when you turn on the high beams, the low beams will stay on with them, which will result in double the light output! Still think you need an LED light bar?
