My review of the Vision X Vortex 7" LED headlights & Vision X 4.7" CG2 Light Cannon LED Fog Lights

jeep_boss said:
The CG2 canons are over 10K raw lumens and VERY bright out of the box. You have to buy plastic filters that go over them to diffuse / disperse / spread light, although the no -filtered spread on them is insanely good.

They will blind on coming traffic so I wouldn't plan on using them on the road for fog. They are like miniature suns that do away with the need for a light bar. They also make them in a ~6-8", I can't remember.
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I forgot to mention that I bought the plastic filters that go over them to allow multiple different types of light output. That’s how I intended to use them for fog lights while I’m on-road.
 
Chris said:
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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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It's hard to tell, but the back of these things is very beefy!

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For what it's worth, these things are "DOT approved" (even though that means little to nothing at all):

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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.

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With the light filters you can purchase separately, it enables you to use these lights to serve just about any purpose, check it out:

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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. 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.

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After removing the lights themselves, this is what I'm treated to:

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Look at how well made these things look! They're heavy as hell, but that's a good thing!

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Check out the heat sinks on the back too:

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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:

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Here's a side shot:

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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!

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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.

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I'm not sure if I'll use the wiring harness ultimately, as I had planned to use the factory wiring on my Rubicon. We'll see though!


Conclusion
While I have yet to install them, just from unboxing them, I can tell that the Vision X CG2 4.7" Light Cannon is well made light, that offers a large number of combinations (25 to be exact) for light output. You don't need to be like some of those people out there with 5 light bars, LED light cubes, etc. These lights alone in conjunction with the headlights should be all the light you ever need!
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I can’t wait to see pictures of them installed!

If you decide to use the factory harness for the fog lights, please explain how you did it. I’d like to use my factory harness and switch when I upgrade to led fog lights.
 
lovemachine said:
I can’t wait to see pictures of them installed!

If you decide to use the factory harness for the fog lights, please explain how you did it. I’d like to use my factory harness and switch when I upgrade to led fog lights.
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The factory harness should be easy to use. All I need to do is cut the connectors off it and solder on these ones instead, so they'll plug right into the fog lights. It should be very simple... I believe @jeep_boss may have done it with his stock fog light harness as well.

I'm curious if I'd gain any better light output by using the harness they supplied since it has inline relays, but then the factory wiring has to have inline relays as well I assume.
 
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Chris said:
The factory harness should be easy to use. All I need to do is cut the connectors off it and solder on these ones instead, so they'll plug right into the fog lights. It should be very simple... I believe @jeep_boss may have done it with his stock fog light harness as well.

I'm curious if I'd gain any better light output by using the harness they supplied since it has inline relays, but then the factory wiring has to have inline relays as well I assume.
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It's very simple if you already have the fog light wiring. The OEM switch relay is in the steering column. The power draw looked the same when I tested with the wiring harness as it did on the OEM fog light circuit, so unless you're wiring is different than my 05 TJR, then I don't think there is much to be gained with it in terms of brightness on 12v.
 
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jeep_boss said:
It's very simple if you already have the fog light wiring. The OEM switch relay is in the steering column. The power draw looked the same when I tested with the wiring harness as it did on the OEM fog light circuit, so unless you're wiring is different than my 05 TJR, then I don't think there is much to be gained with it in terms of brightness on 12v.
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Perfect, I'll use the factory wiring then. At least that way it's all built in and factory looking!

Still, pretty cool that they include such a nice wiring harness.
 
jeep_boss said:
Yeah man! Those are better quality relays too than you'd usually find. Some local "off-road" shops sell identical wiring harnesses for $80+ LOL!

Save it for another project ;-)
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Yep, I’m putting that in storage and saving it for another time. You never know when I’ll end up needing it.
 
cliffish said:
Chris, will the Hi4 adapter work with the Amazon Knockoffs a lot of run to do the same thing with the brights and low beam?
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I have the Knock-Off Truck Lites from amazon that most people have here and my lows already stay on when I put on the high beams.

Though this may be due to doing the mod that allows you to keep the foglights on when you put on the high beams. Where you take one of the relays ups front and you bend away one of the pins.

I was about to order the Hi4 adapters until I checked my headlights, but I guess now I don’t need to


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The other night, i relaized that my right front CG2 canon turned off. I got out of my Jeep in the middle of a blizzard, thinking snow had accumulated and fried it or something, but when I got home I discovered that MOISTURE made its way into the connector! The LEDs were VERY dimly lit on that side, but not completey off.

I vaguely recall the mental note I made to grease the contacts, which were not greased on that partiular side, because I ran over my grease the day that I did the install. I dried it out, added grease and it has been fine since then.
 
jeep_boss said:
The other night, i relaized that my right front CG2 canon turned off. I got out of my Jeep in the middle of a blizzard, thinking snow had accumulated and fried it or something, but when I got home I discovered that MOISTURE made its way into the connector! The LEDs were VERY dimly lit on that side, but not completey off.

I vaguely recall the mental note I made to grease the contacts, which were not greased on that partiular side, because I ran over my grease the day that I did the install. I dried it out, added grease and it has been fine since then.
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I made sure to put dielectric grease on everything! I'm going to take some night shots soon, but these things are just mind blowing in terms of light output! That Hi4 harness really made a huge difference too. With these headlights and the light cannons, there's no reason whatsoever I'd ever need a light bar.
 
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Chris said:
I made sure to put dielectric grease on everything! I'm going to take some night shots soon, but these things are just mind blowing in terms of light output! That Hi4 harness really made a huge difference too. With these headlights and the light cannons, there's no reason whatsoever I'd ever need a light bar.
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I have never been a fan of light bars - nothing against anyone that runs them, but there is an intrinsic sense of douchery, in terms of overkill with some of the "in your face" type setups that i have seen. You know what i mean, the guys that run them just to be the "hey, look at me!!!" sort of people. So I totally concur, that - at least for my rig and my needs, these little cylindrical canisters of GOD are enough.

Also, I cannot be certain, but that same night - I hooked up the light to a spare 12V battery with the harness that Vision-X supplied, and I could swear the light was even brighter than it was on the stock fog lamp wiring. My wife concurred, but I know the effects of suggestive psychology, and we were both pretty much blind after a few seconds - so who knows!
 
jeep_boss said:
I have never been a fan of light bars - nothing against anyone that runs them, but there is an intrinsic sense of douchery, in terms of overkill with some of the "in your face" type setups that i have seen. You know what i mean, the guys that run them just to be the "hey, look at me!!!" sort of people. So I totally concur, that - at least for my rig and my needs, these little cylindrical canisters of GOD are enough.
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Took the words right out of my mouth. I usually keep mum about it, but I truly do think light bars are right up there with angry bird grilles in terms of ugliness. They look so friggin' stupid on Jeeps, and I honestly have no idea why people use them. A good set of headlights and fog lights should provide all the light you ever need, even when it's pitch dark out.

To each their own of course. I just absolutely despise the light bar trend. I wouldn't put one on my Jeep if you paid me.

jeep_boss said:
Also, I cannot be certain, but that same night - I hooked up the light to a spare 12V battery with the harness that Vision-X supplied, and I could swear the light was even brighter than it was on the stock fog lamp wiring. My wife concurred, but I know the effects of suggestive psychology, and we were both pretty much blind after a few seconds - so who knows!
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Hmmm, that's interesting. The only difference with their harness would be a higher gauge of wire I think. It has relays and a fuse, but even the stock fog lights have relays and a fuse.
 
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Beginner question. What do you hook the white wire up to to get the halos running? Do you have them on all the time or just when the light plunger is half out?
 
tomtaylz said:
Thanks! Is there any wiring diagrams or good tutorials on that? Not too familiar with wiring just yet.
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You can do it yourself, if you are confident in stripping a piece of the wires off and connecting the halo wires to them on each side properly.

I soldered mine, but I solder everything. Do a YT search for making proper wiring taps.
 
jeep_boss said:
You can do it yourself, if you are confident in stripping a piece of the wires off and connecting the halo wires to them on each side properly.

I soldered mine, but I solder everything. Do a YT search for making proper wiring taps.
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I usually always solder, but I got some really nice wire taps for doing the halo lights. They are the kind where you can disconnect them if need be. Basically the same as these ones: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077YB123S/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Mine are just a little nicer in the sense that they look like they're a bit higher quality.

But other than this situation, I always solder and heat shrink. I just wanted to be able to remove them with ease incase I needed to take the headlights out.
 
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Chris said:
I usually always solder, but I got some really nice wire taps for doing the halo lights. They are the kind where you can disconnect them if need be. Basically the same as these ones: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077YB123S/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Mine are just a little nicer in the sense that they look like they're a bit higher quality.

But other than this situation, I always solder and heat shrink. I just wanted to be able to remove them with ease incase I needed to take the headlights out.
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We used to call those vampire clips. I would use them for testing stuff, but I don't mind doing the extra effort to put everything back the way it was for getting a water tight connection :)
 
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