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Do your headlights meet DOT standards, are they legal for use in the USA, Canada, and Mexico?
Excellent question, YES, they are! We are proud to say that any of our products labeled as “FMVSS/CMVSS 108 legal” have been completely designed from the ground up by a dedicated team of greasy gear heads & degreed mechanical and optical engineers with a combined 50 years of engineering experience. What this means is that our headlights are legal for use in the US, Canada, Mexico, and any other country that recognizes and allows DOT lighting products. Please note, the DOT does not approve any product, they only set the testing standards and enforce those standards through the NHTSA ODI division. So, any headlight manufacturer that says their lights are “DOT Approved” is simply using buzz words for marketing purposes.
Do your headlights meet SAE J1383 and J578 standards?
Are your headlights ECE approved and legal for use in Europe?
Unfortunately, NO, our headlights were developed to meet DOT standards for use in the US, and any other country that accepts DOT Right Hand Drive (RHD) lights for on-road use. They are not marked with an E-mark and cannot be legally used on-road in countries that require ECE certification.
Are your headlights ADR approved and legal for use in LHD countries like Australia?
Are your headlights JIS approved and legal for use in LHD countries like Japan?
Do your headlights have that super crisp cutoff line like modern cars with projector headlights?
NO they do not, if that is what you want than we recommend projector or matrix lighting technology since those will produce a crisp horizontal light/dark cutoff line. We purposely did not utilize this technology since it would have destroyed the classic Fresnel aesthetics of the lens, and because projectors produced inferior light output when installed within a standard sized headlight housing. Our headlights have a very wide horizontal cutoff with a well-defined hot spot for down road illumination that slowly transitions to dark above the H cutoff line. Many people prefer this as it offers slight illumination above the cutoff for things like street signs, while at the same time not exceeding FMVSS 108 limits or blinding oncoming drivers.
Do you have any other headlight sizes available at this time?
Not yet but very soon! We are currently developing the smaller classic H5001 & H5006 5 ¾” (146mm) round light that is found in many classics, after that the next headlights we will develop will be the rectangular models. These will take time, but the result will be the best performing 100% classic OE looking LED headlights available in the market.
Can these lights be used in a motorcycle?
Do you offer different colored headlights?
YES, we offer two light colors to suit your particular style, a 2,900K Classic White and a 5,800K Modern White with clear lenses, both of these meet the FMVSS 108 S10.4 strict legal requirements for the color white.
Which light color is best, 2,900K or 5,800K?
Honestly, it’s a matter of personal preference. Both light colors produce the exact same lumen output, but we find that most people say the 5,800K appears brighter than the 2,900K light due to the way the human eye reacts to the 450nm spike in the LED’s color spectrum. Our general recommendation is if you have a restomod, prefer a more modern look, or want a light that makes things “pop” at night go with the 5,800K Modern White. If your vehicle is all original, you want to retain the original halogen color look at night, or if you’re not a fan of the “bright white” light then go with the 2,900K Classic White. Either light is great, and the choice is ultimately yours; the only difference is the hue and your personal preference.
What makes the Cruisader LED headlight different from regular inexpensive halogens?
I see inexpensive LED headlights on eBay and Amazon all the time, why should I buy yours?
How far can I see with your headlights?
That depends, but why is because of each person’s unique eyesight. This is why we specify illumination distances by various industry standard lux values. We set our maximum illumination distance at 1 lux, which equates to over 700’ with our low beam. For most people 3 lux, which is equal to nighttime twilight, is a very comfortable illumination level at night, which our headlight will produce to approximately 425’. For comparison, most halogens and inexpensive LED headlights will only illuminate to 3 lux at 200’ or less. This means that you see twice as far with our headlights and have a wider beam pattern as well. This may not seem like much, but assume you’re cruising down a two-lane road at 65 MPH, this equates to travelling at 95 ft/sec. Now image it’s a pitch-black night and there’s something in the middle of the road, what our lights offer is over 2 seconds of extra reaction time for you to see, react, and not hit what’s in the road, which could save damaging your car, hitting another car, or losing your life!
Will your headlights require any modifications to my vehicle?
None at all, our lights are manufactured to a 1:1 size to match industry standard 7” round H6024 external dimensions to comply with FMVSS 108 S10.13 requirements, and they use a standard H4 plug with no silly pigtail to have to deal with. This means that they will fit into all housings. We do have to add one stipulation, we haven’t been able to install them in every model vehicle, but during the development phase we test fit them in over two dozen different vehicle models and did not find one that they will not directly fit in.
Do I need to adjust my lights after I install them?
YES, 100%. Anytime a forward mounted light is replaced the beam pattern must be checked and re-aimed, this ensures that you not only have the best illumination, but that you do not potentially cause undue glare to oncoming drivers from lights aimed too high.
Are the lenses plastic or glass?
Are your lights sold in sets or individually?
We offer our lights individually for those who only need one light, for most vehicle owners you will need two, so be sure your cart contains two before checking out!
Do your 7” headlights have a high and low beam?
Are these fully Sealed Beam headlights?
NO, although they are a sealed assembly, our housing incorporates a semi-permeable seal for venting water vapor which means that they are not rated for indefinite submersed or underwater use like a true Sealed Beam lamp. We rate these lights as IP67 which means they will resist temporary submersion in water for up to 30 minutes, they cannot be used in a continuous submersion environment.
What beam pattern do these headlights have?
What is the minimum voltage required for the headlights to operate?
Can these headlights be used in vehicles with 6V DC systems?
YES, but not directly. If you have an older vehicle which operates on 6V DC these will not turn on. In order for them to operate in a 6V DC system you will need to add an external 6V to 12V DC step-up converter to the positive input wire of your headlight switch. Although we wanted these to operate on 6V DC, we had to eliminate that criteria early in the design phase due to housing volume limitations and thermal management restrictions. Step-up converters are very inexpensive and can be found online or at electronic sites, but it would have to be sourced and properly wired by you.
I have a vehicle with a reverse polarity circuit, will these work or do I have to rewire my vehicle’s headlight circuit?
YES, these will directly work with your vehicle; you do not need to rewire anything. We purposely designed our LED driver circuit to be non-polarity. What this means is that you can reverse the ground and positive connections and the headlight will still function normally on both the low and high beam, pretty cool feature, huh?
Why did you use reflector technology?
What is your housing made from?
Do your lights have a fan?
NO, sometimes they are needed; but we did not want this as a potential failure mode, so we utilized passive cooling technology to maintain our LED junction temperatures. We accomplished this by the use of a thermal tube, a large LED module base, thermal pastes, a robust solid aluminum reflector housing, and our active temperature control circuit.
I don’t see an aiming mark on the lens, where is your VOL aiming mark?
Our optical axis aiming mark is a 3mm circle placed on the surface of the aluminum light shield within the light, this is to comply with FMVSS 108 S10.18.5.1 requirements, this circle is the sole marker to be used for VOL aiming. If the mark is too difficult to see and you want to use the lens, this VOL mark aligns with the top left line of the letter K in our logo, approximately 2mm to the right of the knight’s helmet.
How bright are the headlights?
How do I compare and/or what is lumen (lm), lux (lx), and candela (cd)?
Great question, the main thing to understand is that lumen (lm) and candela (cd) have no distance factors, while lux (lx) does. When a manufacturer lists a lumen specification all they are telling you is how much light is produced. At KnightBeam, we specify our output as the actual light exiting the lens, which we feel is the most honest and accurate representation of the light output. Many other manufacturers list either the overall or the theoretical light output from the filament or LED. Using this value is not entirely accurate since the only output you as a driver perceive is what is coming out of the lens. This is why you see astronomical numbers like 60,000 lumens or more advertised from many Amazon and eBay sellers. Candela and lux both indicate how much a surface is illuminated, for a headlight, the surface you care about is the road. When lux is listed it must be in conjunction with a distance, whereas candela does not have a distance factor, this is why candela is the best measurement to accurately document and compare light output. To convert from candela to lux the formula is lux = (candela)/(distance)2, what this means is that every time the distance from the light source doubles the lux will reduce by a factor of 4. The important takeaway is if a distance is not included with the advertised lux value, the number supplied is absolutely meaningless, whereas candela can be listed without a distance.
Will you publish and share all your testing data?
How many watts do these headlights consume?
25 watts on low/35 watts on high, well below any halogen or High Intensity Discharge (HID) bulb out there.
What size fuse is required for the headlights?
Depending on your vehicle’s alternator voltage output, each headlight will require 2.1-3.5 amps of continuous power (or 4.2-7.0 amps per set), we recommend a minimum fuse rating of 5 amps per headlight light or 10 amps if on a single fused circuit. Our lights utilize a self-regulating driver system which will increase or decrease amperage draw depending on the input voltage, so please ensure your grounds are clean for the best performance.
Do I need to add relays to my headlight harness or increase the wire gauge size?
NO, all vehicles with original H6024 bulbs utilize wires and circuits rated for 7.5-15 amps per headlight. The Cruisader LED headlights consume less than 4 amps, therefore no changes, relays, or wiring modifications are needed.