SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1503989
CUTTING EDGE ILLUMINATION What’s New And Brighter In Lighting For Off-Road By Stuart Bourdon PHOTOS Courtesy Of The Manufacturers Whether you’re racing across the desert at high speeds or tooling along a dirt road exploring the beauty of Baja, good lights are not simply a convenience. You might be competing in the legendary SCORE International Baja 1000 or coming back into camp after a long day on the trail. Either way, you will need the best possible lighting for your truck, buggy, UTV, or motorcycle. The good news is that for decades, several companies have been offering a wide variety of high-quality, high-tech lighting to cut through the darkness. Most have applications for everything from a 100-plus mph SCORE Trophy Truck to a recreational off-road vehicle. Many off-road lighting manufacturers offer configurations such as light bars, driving lights, spot- and wide-beam lights, and scene lighting. Innovative new light-emitting diode (LED) technology and electronic control systems lead the way in all of the top-flight off-road lighting products currently available. SCORE Journal took a deep dive into some of the best off-road race and recreation lighting technology and found some new ideas, unique approaches, and highly creative lighting products ready for your rig now. We gathered some tips on the best products for those in the market for new lighting products today and learned about some exciting new technology just around the corner. HELLA While once a predominant name in the current off-road racing arena, HELLA has been creating innovative automotive lighting solutions for more than a century and is renowned for its involvement in rally racing, both international and stateside. Founded in Germany in 1899, HELLA created an acetylene headlamp system in 1908. Automotive lighting innovation highlights include a fully electronic flasher unit in 1965, the world’s first approved H4 (dual filament, high and low beam) main headlight bulb in 1971, their first full-LED headlamp in 2008, and the world’s first LED matrix technology in 2013. Offering a portfolio of nearly a dozen automotive lighting products, HELLA is now jumping headfirst into the off-road racing and recreation market with some new and very powerful products for off-road enthusiasts. HELLA’s Pablo Sanchez Segura brought us up to speed on the company’s brightest new ideas. “Our Black Magic Tough LED light bars are the newest product designed for the off-road enthusiast. Available in many different lengths ranging from 20 to 52 inches long, and in “Slim” (single row of LEDs) or “Double Row” (two rows of LEDs) models, the new Black Magic Tough LED light bars are also available as curved variants.” All of the new Black Magic Light Bars have an integrated thermal sensor that allows them to adjust to the ambient temperature. This new feature not only prevents overheating or LED failure but also increases light output when the ambient temperature is low. In this way, the driver is provided with the maximum light output under all conditions. With a Double Row light bar carrying 80 LEDs, the total output is 50,000 lumens. “For those looking for even more light output distance, the Hella Rallye 4000 LED Metal light is a good choice,” said Sanchez. “With it, almost a mile of range can be achieved. The Rallye 4000 LED Metal has a heat sink for effective thermal management and is vibration resistant for use in extreme conditions.” RIGID INDUSTRIES “We are the original LED off-road lighting innovator, and it has always been our goal to continue being the innovator,” remarked Damon Flippo of Rigid Industries. “We recently launched our ADAPT series of lights that adjust their beam patterns and brightness according to your vehicle’s speed. The ADAPT series lights have a built-in GPS speed chip, allowing auto adjustment of power to the light, and there are applications for virtually any vehicle.” “It works everywhere, no cell towers, it’s all through satellite hookups,” said Flippo. “The light beam can go from wide when you’re going slow to narrow and long when speeds reach 70 mph. There are lights bars and all sorts of other light shapes and sizes in the ADAPT series of lights.” “The Enduro model in the ADAPT line is designed for the moto racers. The ADAPT moto versions also feature side shooters (a couple of extra LEDS on the sides) that give you that extra peripheral side light so you can see your handlebars lit up. Some ADAPT series lights are also being used on side-by-side teams like Polaris Turbo R racer Branden Sims.” Early development of the ADAPT series was done with SCORE Trophy Truck phenom BJ Baldwin, but Rigid continues working today with SCORE TT Spec teams such as Justin Davis, Chris Polvoorde, and Brenthel Racing. “Those teams are helping Rigid to further develop the ADAPT system and our new ‘true amber’ (it’s not yellow) Amber Pro Series of lights that cut through the dust better,” said Flippo. “It’s one of our new projects we’re proud of.” “The Rigid Industries 360 Series is another of our lighting products that has been very popular with recreational off-roaders. It’s a very powerful round light that comes in 4- and 6-inch inch sizes and several backlight colors. But the really big news is that Rigid Industries is introducing something totally new in lighting technology at the SEMA Show this year (November 2023).” BAJA DESIGNS Our conversation with Wes Wheeler at Baja Designs began with lighting choices for different applications and budgets. “Everyone registers what they are seeing in a different way, so personal preferences are a big part of choosing a lighting package,” said Wheeler. “Having said that, our best options for racing applications will be the ONX6+ Light Bars, LP Series Pods, and our XL Pro, XL80, and XL Racer Pods. Drivers like Luke McMillin, Bryce Menzies, and Cameron Steele are just some of the SCORE drivers we work with. These lights can provide the most coverage of all forward lighting zones when paired with the proper lens. For those on a budget, we offer Sport and Pro series lights. These lights have a lower price point but still provide more than enough light for racers or everyday off-road enthusiasts. In addition, we suggest at least one Amber Chase light for anyone (race, chase, or pit crews) involved in racing. Chase lights keep you safe and visible in dust or fog. The RTL Chase Bar is our ultimate rear lighting solution, but our S1, S2, or even Squadron Series lights double as chase lights when mounted facing rearward.” Two of the newest lighting products from Baja Designs are the Squadron SAE 2.0 light and the sPOD Power Management Systems. “The Squadron 2.0 is street-legal and has been drastically improved over the previous generation. It’s perfect for Chase vehicles or daily drivers used spectate during a race,” said Wheeler. “It provides considerably more light output than most stock headlights and has an extremely sharp vertical cut-off so you’re not blinding oncoming traffic. Our sPOD system provides 6- or 8-circuit switch panels, with 30-amp capability, and multiple functions such as Flash, Dim, and Momentary for enhanced control of your lighting setup. We use our proprietary 5000k Daylight LEDs in all Baja Designs lighting products. They closely mimic sunlight and can help lessen driver fatigue at night. We are also in development of more on-road solutions including our first ever DOT street-legal headlight replacement.” VISION X Brandon Nelson from Vision X told us, “We take what we learn from racing, improve where it’s needed for the racer, and then move it over to recreational lighting. Larry Roeseler in his Baja Vida SCORE Trophy Truck is one of our most notable drivers in BAJA who provides invaluable feedback to make sure our lights perform under the most extreme conditions.” “In the past years racing off-road I have won many races running Vision X Lights, I can tell you without any doubt it made my ability to drive at night in the darkness of Baja a lot easier, and in fact allowed me many a podium finishes,” says Larry Roeseler “Most desert racers are looking for long-distance lighting with a long reach since at times they are moving at high speeds, well we offer it all,” says Nelson. “Whether you’re a pro racer or on a budget we have it all. We also now have a full line of off road and area lighting for the standard recreational off-roaders, as well as in the Overland market, who’s consumers are usually moving at moderate speeds, 30 to 40 mph. In some cases once stopped, you might want light around their vehicle (and often a trailer) and campsite, so good scene lighting is important in this application. Scene lighting comes in flood and ultrawide beam patterns, available in standard bolt mount, or flush or flat surface mounts. Now available, is the new Selective Yellow Colored Lens (Not Covers) for extreme dusty or foggy conditions.” “Vision X is a True 100% manufacturer, we build it all ourselves, we don’t import it or have someone else make it and we package it in our boxes.. We build it all in house and patent it as well, that gives us total 100% quality control,” added Nelson. “We don’t make LED chips, however we only use the best available, because not all LED’s are created equal. Vision X recently added a few new brands like Twisted Throttle/Denali, Projecta. The two new companies add to the off-road market both lighting in the dual-sport world as well as a really high end jump box manufacturer that Vision X doesn’t settle for anything but the best.” “As lighting technology advances, lights are getting brighter,”said Nelson. “We are now making a new lineup of smarter lights that will be released soon. The next step is controlling it, and being able to go from flood to spot to driving beam all in one light. What you’re going to see coming soon from Vision X (Oct 2023), are lights that operate more efficiently and that offer more functions in a single light.”