RIGID VS VISION X LED LIGHTS RESULTS

Double Trouble Hooks

Dorian's My Name, Pimpin DTH's is my Game - UTVUnd
Jan 15, 2009
200
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18
51
Lumen's, foot-candles, illuminance, LUX, candlepower, lumen's, radiance. Are you as confused as I am? All these things are ways to either determine the amount of light at a certain spot, or how much light is being emitted from a light. I have read up on how to determine these and measure them and the equations to figure them out, and I am still lost. This article will not get into depth on the mathematics of it all, but will show you the difference in power consumption and light output at a certain distance.




I would like to start off by thanking the people who made this all happen. Thomas Hoover who supplied me with a Vision-X 32” & 42” Xmitter LED light bars. Dorian at DoubleTroubleHook.com for supplying a Rigid Industries 30” E-Series LED light bar. Mike Street with A Quality Electric who supplied the testing equipment and knowledge on the electrical aspect. Last but not least, my wife who sat around with us for the 3½ hours we spent testing the light bars and taking all the notes.




We are now going to go over the vehicles used and the products tested. Car 1 was a Yamaha Rhino 660cc with a stock battery. Car 2 was a Yamaha Rhino 700cc with a stock battery. No upgraded stators, alternators or other charging devices were used or installed on either vehicle. Car 1 had a Rigid Industries E-Series 30” LED bar installed. Car 2 had a Vision-X Xmitter 32” & 42” LED bar installed. Both LED bars were installed in the same location and the angles were matched to properly test light output.




Below you will find a table that shows amp draw, lumen's, watts, number of LED's and pricing on each of the LED light bars tested as per the manufactures websites.








Now lets talk about our test. We used 36” tall wood stakes at 25' increments to test light output via foot-candles. What is a foot-candle you ask, well the definition is the amount of light that a birthday cake candle generates one foot away. We also tested the voltage on the battery with the vehicle running and the LED light bar on & off, the amount of amps being drawn through the light bar running, and the temperature of the housing.




This article will not tell you who is a winner or which one is the best one out there or things of that nature. It will simply give you all the information you and others have asked and put it in an informative article let you make your choice and form your own opinion from there.




Below you will find a table that has all the information side by side for comparison, then I will get into the details of the numbers shown.









First off lets discuss amps. The amps shown above are the amount of amps the light bar is drawing while the car is running and the bar has been turned on for 10 minutes or more. Rigid is drawing 7.62 amps on the 30”, Vision-X is drawing 9.40 amps on the 32”, and Vision-X is drawing 12.90 amps on the 42”. Thus showing us that the Rigid 30” has the least amount of amp draw between the 3 LED light bars tested.




Secondly we will discuss volts on the OEM battery while the car is running and the LED light bar is turned off than turned on. Car 1 (Rigid) had a reading of 14.19 volts while the car was at idle, the LED light bar was turned off and no other accessories were running. Car 2 (Vision-X) had a reading of 14.33 volt while the car was at idle, the LED light bar was turned off and no other accessories were running. Now we will discuss the volts on the stock Yamaha Rhino battery while the LED light bars were running. Car 1 (Rigid) had a reading of 13.80 volts while the LED light bar was turned on, the car was t idle and no other accessories were running. That shows us that there is a 2.72% decrease in volts with the Rigid 30” LED bar running. Car 2 (Vision-X) had a reading of 13.82 volts with the 32” LED bar running, which is a 3.55% decrease in volts. Car 2 (Vision-X) had a reading of 13.72 volts while the 42” LED bar was running, which equates to a 4.10% decrease in volts. What does this sum up? The Rigid 30” bar had the lower percentage of volt loss with the LED bar running. Which now will bring us to the final and most important test, light output.




Now lumen's, LUX, candlepower and what-not are confusing to me, so we will use Foot Candle, which I went over in the beggining of this article. We tested the light output at 25' increments, up to 200'. Car 1 (Rigid) had a Foot Candle output of 26.90 at 25', 13.90 at 50', 8.50 at 75', 5.20 at 100', 3.70 at 125', 2.50 at 150', 2.00 at 175' and 1.40 at 200'. Car 2 (Vision X) with the 32” had a Foot Candle out put of 20.80' at 25', 8.60 at 50', 4.20 at 75', 2.20 at 100', 1.40 at 125', 0.80 at 150', 0.50 at 175' and 0.30 at 200'. Car 2 (Vision X) with the 42” had a Foot Candle out put of 43.20 at 25', 17.90 at 50', 9.00 at 75', 5.00 at 100', 3.50 at 125', 2.20 at 150', 1.70 at 175' and 1.00 at 200'. What do all these numbers mean? Well lets look at 2 measurements for comparisons, 25 feet and 200 feet. The Rigid 30” had a reading of 26.90 at 25' while the Vision-X 32” had a reading of 20.80 and the 42” had a reading of 43.20 at 25'. So at 25' the 42” Vision X bar had the highest reading of light out put. Now, the big one, 200', which is 66 yards, over half the length of a football field. The Rigid 30” had a reading of 1.40 at 200', while the Vision X 32” was reading 0.30 at 200' and the 42” was 1.00 at 200'. So by looking at the measurement we can say that the Rigid 30” LED bar puts out more light at 200' than the 32” & 42” Vision-X LED light bars.




Now we tried our best to take some photos for you to see, but are not the best photographers or have the best camera for taking pictures at night so this is what we can show you. Each picture was taken with each car in the same spot, both cars were at idle and no other accessories were running. Each orange stake shown was at 25 foot increment up to 200 feet, and the reflective sign at the farthest was at 500 feet away.




Picture 1 is the Rigid Industries E-Series 30” LED light bar. Picture 2 is the Vision-X Xmitter 32” LED light bar. Picture 3 is the Vision-X Xmitter 42” LED light bar.












And there you have it, that was what we tested and how we tested it. Is one bar better than the other, is there a better bar, is there a cheaper bar, is there a bar with more light out put, less amp draw? Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. Take the information found in this article and my tests to make your decision on your purchase if you are looking to buy an LED bar. In summary we can say this. The Rigid 30” had less amp draw, less volts lost, and more light output at 200 feet over the Vision-X 32” & 42” LED light bar. The Vision-X 42” LED light bar put out the most amount of light at 25 feet almost double the amount put out by the Rigid 30” and the Vision-X 32”.




I hope this has been informative

Report and shoot out done by UTVUnderground member Nick
 

Baja Designs

Official UTVUnderground Lighting Sponsor
Jan 22, 2009
300
15
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www.bajadesigns.com
Now that is how a comparison should be done! Great Info Double Trouble Hooks! Anyone looking to get set up with a Rigid E-Series LED bar PM me for member prices.
 

Nick

Un Banned - UTVUnderground Approved
Mar 3, 2009
132
20
18
40
Mesa, AZ
At least leave my name on it Dorian. I dont mind taking the website links out and what not, but at least my name would have been cool. But even though its not, its cool. Thanks again for coming out and helping with the shoot out Dorian!

I know if I ever need lights and LEDs are in question Rigid is who I will call.
 

Double Trouble Hooks

Dorian's My Name, Pimpin DTH's is my Game - UTVUnd
Jan 15, 2009
200
9
18
51
Sorry Nick, just so it is clear Nick Wilson is the author of that genius write up, i simply supplied the car and testing. thanks Nick, good job!
 

BR44

New Member
Jan 29, 2009
5
0
0
You guys kill me...

Sorry this was late. My rhino was the other one used for this shoot out.
First off I want to say it was great to put faces with everyone's names. Look forward to meeting up with you guys again.

The customer service and reputation of VISION X or RIGID should make anyone comfortable purchasing from either of them.

In addition, I received nothing from VISION X for my participation in this shoot-out.





I firmly believe that anyone that is in the market to purchase one of these units should reflect on the type of driving they would be doing after the light bar is installed. Most of the duners and guys like me I’ve spoke with prefer to have not only the front illuminated but also we like to see as far out to the side of us as humanly possible and directly in front of us. Anyone that has driven in the black of night in the mountains or in the middle of nowhere understands where I am coming from. VISION X satisfies this demand more then any other current manufacturer. If the VISION X or the RIGID EDGE light only threw out light at 50, 100 or even 150 feet then the circumstances may be different. However if I can purchase a light that throws light forward further then I can drive and in addition provides light further to the left and right then any other light manufactured then I will still prefer the Vision X lights at this point in time for anything other the Just safety reasons.

If you are, driving habits lean you towards Rigid’s light that is more of spot beam pattern then go that direction. Again, I have heard only good things from the customers of Rigid.

Good luck in whichever direction you choose​
 

Taylor

Party In The Pines Founding Father - UTVUndergroun
Jan 15, 2009
107
2
0
51
AZ
www.rigidindustries.com
Thanks again guys for all your work on this project.

Br44-i see your point, just remember that the E-series light in the shootout was a combo spot/flood. Had we supplied a all-flood you would have been more than pleased with the results, trust me. The numbers dont lie, footcandles dont lie. When we sell lights to customers we have them tell us what reflectors they want, no extra charge. Most of the SCORE lights that we are currently doing are dedicated spots for up top, dedicated floods on the bottom. just fyi..
Taylor
 

BR44

New Member
Jan 29, 2009
5
0
0
Thanks again guys for all your work on this project.

Br44-i see your point, just remember that the E-series light in the shootout was a combo spot/flood. Had we supplied a all-flood you would have been more than pleased with the results, trust me. The numbers dont lie, footcandles dont lie. When we sell lights to customers we have them tell us what reflectors they want, no extra charge. Most of the SCORE lights that we are currently doing are dedicated spots for up top, dedicated floods on the bottom. just fyi..
Taylor
Hey Taylor
Just a thought, I would volunteer to try out one of your amber lens light bars. It sounds like it help with the "snow blindness". As far as I know no one on the west coast of Arizona is using your product and I know others would like to see it in the flesh.
BR44
 

Double Trouble Hooks

Dorian's My Name, Pimpin DTH's is my Game - UTVUnd
Jan 15, 2009
200
9
18
51
Thomas that is something I guess i shoulda noted as well,

I IN NO WAY RECEIVED ANYTHING FROM RIGID AS WELL. THE LIGHT TESTED WAS ALREADY RETURNED AND RESOLD AFTER THE SHOOTOUT.

That is not to say I dont want one, just not in the cards right now...
 

Taylor

Party In The Pines Founding Father - UTVUndergroun
Jan 15, 2009
107
2
0
51
AZ
www.rigidindustries.com
br44,

the ambers are still in the test stages, i just had them in Johnson Valley at the KOH race on my jeep. They are very impressive, absolutely no snow blindness in very thick dust, and with the reflectors it still throws like the white. I just have to use the regular protocol so we dont release something that is not perfect. I will keep you posted on when we are coming to market with it.
Taylor



Hey Taylor
Just a thought, I would volunteer to try out one of your amber lens light bars. It sounds like it help with the "snow blindness". As far as I know no one on the west coast of Arizona is using your product and I know others would like to see it in the flesh.
BR44
 

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