New KC 7" LED headlights

Drop-ins and DOT compliant.
Anybody have intel on them?
I'm curious....
The Peterson/KC lights were pretty good but had room for improvement. I liked them better than Trucklite but not on the same ball field as JW Speaker.

Link to par-56 universal version.
Link to Jeep JK specific version.

"Patented Gravity Reflective Diode (GRD) Technology" Sounds like a load of marketing bs to fool the average jeep "bro", but the lamp looks very similar to the truck lite unit and its various rebrands.

I don't know that there's much intel on them to be had yet; they're claiming availability begins next month. I do note two different lamps pictured here versus here, and it doesn't make sense that the JK-specific lamp would be so completely optically different from the universal lamp. Maybe pics of two different development prototypes? I tend to be skeptical of KC's lights; they've pretty much all been PFRs from other makers (occasionally reputable ones) with the main selling point being the 23-year warranty gimmick together with a knack for marketing to the 4-wheeling crowd.

As for the Peterson lamp, word is they're working on all-new optics and emitters for a 2nd-generation 7" round lamp. If it is anything like the left-hand traffic ECE 7" round product they have just released (60,000 candela at the low beam hot spot, sharp cutoff, etc), it will be a fantastic lamp.

I dont like the trucklite models at all. Far too blue (6500k +) And major icing problems in even the slightest hint of snow/ ice fog.

I hope the KC models dont have these flaws...

-Virgil- said:

As for the Peterson lamp, word is they're working on all-new optics and emitters for a 2nd-generation 7" round lamp. If it is anything like the left-hand traffic ECE 7" round product they have just released (60,000 candela at the low beam hot spot, sharp cutoff, etc), it will be a fantastic lamp.

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Do you have any links or information on this? I'd love to learn more about it.

"By angling our LEDs at the most effective angles we're able to reflect as much light as possible to the right areas to create extremely functional bright beams."

Marketing: Is there anything it CAN'T do?

Alaric Darconville said:

Marketing: Is there anything it CAN'T do?

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Make toys work well?

Even though the Truck-Lite led headlights are a bit too blue, they do light up the road very well. Cut through rain and fog well.
Anyone here that have had both the TL and JWs?

Sadden said:

I dont like the trucklite models at all. Far too blue (6500k +)

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They're not higher than 6500K, and unfortunately that's the color temperature of pretty much all LED headlamps.

And major icing problems in even the slightest hint of snow/ ice fog

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That's why they have these.

64.5vette said:

As for the Peterson lamp, word is they're working on all-new optics and emitters for a 2nd-generation 7" round lamp. If it is anything like the left-hand traffic ECE 7" round product they have just released (60,000 candela at the low beam hot spot, sharp cutoff, etc), it will be a fantastic lamp.Do you have any links or information on this? I'd love to learn more about it.

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Do you have any links or information on this? I'd love to learn more about it.

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Info on which? The LHT ECE headlamp, or the pending update of the RHT DOT headlamp? Pretty much all the info publicly available is already presented in this thread. I can't wait to see what they come up with...but I have no choice; I have to wait.

Any idea if Peterson is making these new KC products?

I don't mind hyperbole if the product is actually pretty good. Anything to attract consumers to something that is safe/legal/&works ----- if it also happens to be perceived as cool, so be it...

KC has tremendous brand recognition in the offroad market. Their relabeling of the Petersons was a decent choice and a solid trajectory launch. I just hope they're maintaining that.

Hilldweller said:

Any idea if Peterson is making these new KC products?

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The new KC product is said to be an own-make item rather than a Peterson or other-company purchase.

I don't mind hyperbole if the product is actually pretty good. Anything to attract consumers to something that is safe/legal/&works ----- if it also happens to be perceived as cool, so be it...

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Agreed, subject to asterisks!

KC has tremendous brand recognition in the offroad market.

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Yes, I would say more than their products generally deserve.

Their relabeling of the Petersons was a decent choice and a solid trajectory launch. I just hope they're maintaining that.

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You and me both!

Well then, I guess I gotta try to score a set and stick a meter in front of them.

Trying to go up against JW Speaker is brave; the bar is set pretty high.
JWS headlights are fairly funky-looking though and the crowd is yearning for a high performance 7" round light that looks a bit more at home on the front of a retro-chic vehicle like the iconic Wrangler. KC is getting this and is considering style as well as performance...
I really hope they work. We all know that they'll sell regardless.

It's March, so I'm hoping we see something more from KC soon. I hope they show improvement over their direct competitors. By the way, I'm new here, so hello to everyone.

I've held off buying into the current LED technologies, because I don't care for the looks of the JW Speaker and I'm not sold on the performance of the other serious contenders. I have a 2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with the SMS harness, Cibie e codes, and hella H4 bulbs. They perform much better than the stock, but I'd love something better. If money were no object, I'd get the SMS Hella bi-xenon set-up. Unfortunately, they're just not cost effective.

rgeorge33 said:

It's March, so I'm hoping we see something more from KC soon.

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I'm guessing late in the month.

I hope they show improvement over their direct competitors. By the way, I'm new here, so hello to everyone.

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Welcome!

I have a 2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with the SMS harness, Cibie e codes, and hella H4 bulbs. They perform much better than the stock, but I'd love something better.

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You can cheaply and significantly improve on that setup with Osram 70/65w bulbs, see here.

If money were no object, I'd get the SMS Hella bi-xenon set-up. Unfortunately, they're just not cost effective.

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It looks like you mean they're expensive. That's true. But they are very cost-effective, in that their performance is high in accordance with their price. Just as "a reasonable price" doesn't necessarily mean a low price, neither does "cost effective" mean a low price.

rgeorge33 said:

If money were no object, I'd get the SMS Hella bi-xenon set-up. Unfortunately, they're just not cost effective.

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Im not sure if you can order it without ballasts and bulbs, but you could snag some ballasts from a crashed luxury car from your local wrecker/pick n pull and then bulbs from a reputable vender online. OEMs tend to overprice ballasts and bulbs by a large amount. That may lower the cost of the kit by a fair amount.

Virgil, Thanks for the suggestion. I may order those Osram bulbs from SMS if the new KC lights prove not to be a worthwhile alternative. As far as the SMS bi-xenons and their cost effectiveness, I disagree. If you look at the price delta between them and the JW speaker units, I don't think they are worth the additional expense. However, that's an opinion. I'm not sure anyone's done a cost-benefit analysis to ascertain fact.

64.5vette, I haven't reached out to SMS but I believe it's a unit cost. I'm not sure you can get separate components. Thanks for the comment, though.

I checked the KC page today, and they've apparently updated some of the information. There are two distinct models: one with a center projector, the other without. Unfortunately, they've also pushed the release to April. I guess that means it will be a while before I see any data on these. It's too bad Hilldweller can't get his hands on a pre-production test product, as he has done with the JW Speaker equipment. I'd love to see some intel...

Thanks again for the input, guys.

rgeorge33 said:

As far as the SMS bi-xenons and their cost effectiveness, I disagree. If you look at the price delta between them and the JW speaker units, I don't think they are worth the additional expense. However, that's an opinion.

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I'd go into the precautions about basing opinions on subjective impressions of headlamp performance, but as far as I can tell your opinion is based solely on dollar figures, without even a tenuous subjective basis in performance. Is that the case?

-Virgil- said:

I'd go into the precautions about basing opinions on subjective impressions of headlamp performance, but as far as I can tell your opinion is based solely on dollar figures, without even a tenuous subjective basis in performance. Is that the case?

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Yes, my opinion is based heavily upon the dollar figures. I've looked at the graphs published by both Hella and JW Speaker for the light output of their respective products and I don't believe that the Hella produces twice the light, but it is twice as expensive when packaged and sold by SMS. So from an ROI standpoint, I don't believe the additional $700 it takes to buy the Hellas over the Speakers is money well spent.

Having said all that, the reason I'm here at this forum is to learn. I'm certainly open to any explanation and knowledge you could share to help me understand why they are cost effective. I definitely don't intend to be argumentative, I'm just digging to better understand the facts and lighting principles relevant to this comparison. Thanks again.

http://www.kchilites.com/light-type...ty-led-7-jeep-headlight-pair-pack-system.html

Just wondering if anyone knows any other details about these lights or actually as them?

I'm curious on how they actually work. I've not seen any in person and not been able to find much else online.

It looks like they have the LEDs pointing back towards the reflectors. But can't find anymore on this.


The spec page says XHP35HI and Nichia...

But no idea how many of each.

I also can't get the figures to add up, they claim 3666 lumens on high beam, but only 1.88A current draw? Now I could believe multiple XHP35's at this current might make the claimed output. But I don't see how you can 3666 lumens from such a low amp draw.


So does anyone know how many actual LEDs these light use and when which ones are used for what mode?

And anyone care to guess how the amp draw and lumens compare?

And for the record having just had a quick look at the Peterson and Truck Lite sites, neither seem to list a lamp that:
a) looks the same
b) has the same specs

Mad the one I posted about.

so while I have knowledge of the origin of the lights I was asking about. They don't seem to be related to the ones under discussion in this thread.