cody0707

I live in Florida and while going off road I do many mud and water crossings. Would LEDs, HID projectors, or halogen headlights lights be better suited to hold up to these elements?

My headlights have gone used water before and I want to have something rugged enough to hold up to this abuse. I am leaning towards Truck Lites due to them being used in the military.

Yuriy

I got JW Speaker head lights and fog lights. Absolutely love them. Mud, snow. water, not a scratch yet. check out some you tube videos showing their durability!!

GJeep

A splash of cold water/mud on hot HID or Halogen may cause a problem.
They should better be turned off and allowed to cool before fording/splashing.

When it gets dark, that's when a light bar 'shines', used as the only light(s).

LEDs don't get hot and the TLs are sealed, but the best way would still be turning on only high mounted light bar LEDs when going through water.
When underwater, lights don't shed light above the water...

My experience with the Trucklites is very good.
The most even light spread available, straight & sharp cutoff, wide sideways illumination.

Vladimer

In theory I would agree, although I have never heard of anyone having issues with water splashing on their Halogen or HID headlights and having issues in the JK's, ever.

GJeep

I agree that this is more theoretical than actual, but mainly for other reasons.
Sudden cooling may damage sealing/connections in a hot HID or Halogen.
HIDs have a vent channel. When hot, sudden cooling contracts the air inside the headlight, so air is sucked back in. If under water, some water will be sucked in.
At night, very few would drive into water which is deep enough to reach the rear of the headlights, to begin with.
The damage may also be small, and the few who did it, may not necessarily connect a later problem to the deep water fording at night.

Septu

If you're looking for aftermarket headlights, I wouldn't use any with a glass lens. That cost me 3 different sets due to hot glass and a cold puddle. I eventually (way too late) went with TL LEDs. I've tried many different headlights out there, and these are by far the best I've tried.

I really like what I'm reading about the JW Speaker v2 lights, and heard something about VisionX putting out a pair that apparently blows the JW's out of the water. But what I have now is good for a while. Will see what happens after I add my lightbar later this week.

Septu

I've never actually had an issue with water hitting the bulb (of either HIDs or halogen bulbs). But I've gone through 3 different sets of lights due to cracking the glass. 2 Hella's and a set of Cibies. Tried them both with HID and halogens. TLs are still better.

GJeep

I came to the conclusion that the TLs are better, that's why I installed them.
They're very good, off & on road. Still, I'd have liked them (and all LED lights) even more, if they had glass lenses rather than plastic.
Regardless of how strong the plastic is, good tempered glass doesn't scratch, is very strong and stays clear practically forever. Maybe I'm old-fashioned regarding this...