Narva recently launched its 215 LED driving lights with a focus on industry and transport as well as recreation. Matt Wood puts a pair to the test on his Land Rover Perentie
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The build quality of these lights is a real standout
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- 33 individual 5-watt LEDs
- Rubber suspension mounting
- Each light weighs 2.8kg
Recently I found myself contemplating a couple of boxes sitting on my desk … inside them were a pair of new Narva Ultima 215 LED driving lights. It was clear that I was going to need to hook them up to something to try them out.
I considered mounting the 215’s to the front of a colleague’s Hyundai Getz, but I reckoned that adding nearly six kilos of LED driving lights to the front bumper may have had a detrimental effect on driving dynamics. Would’ve looked cool, though!
I don’t have a spare prime mover lying around, but I happen to have an ex-army Land Rover Perentie which turned out to be the best option for seeing just how much these babies light up the night. Given the appalling performance of the stock headlights on the Landy, the old girl needs all the help it can get in the lighting department.
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A pair of 215s puts out 1 LUX of light at a distance of 900m
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Lighting up
Narva is touting these lights as being just the ticket for fourby and transport applications. Funnily enough, fourby owners everywhere these days seem pretty keen to cover the front of their vehicles with multiple lights and light bars. Which does kind of make me wonder: just how much off-roading do these people actually do at night?
Trucking, however, requires better than average lighting. Between Australia’s kamikaze wildlife and the somewhat questionable state of some of our road network, having a daylight view down the road in the wee hours of the morning is invaluable.
The interwebs are packed with cheap LED light bar and driving light options. And, for the most part, if you just want to make your 4×4 look a bit more macho – or you like blinding errant motorists when required – then these cheapies may suffice. But if you actually use them for their intended purpose then quality lights really are worth the extra dosh.
While the amount of light created and the spread of the beam is important, durability is the biggest advantage of going for a premium light. High-powered spotties create a lot of heat, especially when they’re on for extended periods of time; quality lights tend to evacuate heat better than the cheapies.
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Ash, TJM Hendra’s resident sparkie, delves into deep into the dark realms of Land Rover wiring
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Durable housing
The other thing to take into account is the durability of the housings and mounting brackets.
Driving lights cop a pounding on rough roads and are constantly out in the elements, so you need something that is not only going to stay bolted to your bulbar but is also going to cope with a constant barrage of heat, dust, rain, spray and maybe even the occasional dose of kangaroo guts.
Which brings me to the Narva Ultima 215s. They’re pretty hefty lights, with each one weighing in at 2.8kg. They measure 215mm in diameter (I know, it’s obvious from the name) and need 235mm of vertical space to be mounted. Given their size, they are pretty shallow space-wise with a depth of 112mm.
The housings are made from die-cast aluminium and the mounts are stainless steel with three mounting bolt holes. The light housing also features a Nitto breather vent in the back, which prevents dust and water getting inside the light while still allowing it to vent.
Looming lumens
Narva claims that a pair of 215s puts out 1 LUX of light at a distance of 900m. Each light uses 33 separate 5-watt LEDs to create 10,500 lumens.
The hybrid beam pattern is meant to provide a good usable balance between spread and distance. This makes them a pretty good option for a prime mover as you get the performance without needing multiple light sources.
The LEDs are covered by a five-year warranty.
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These are big lights, so a little welding was required to fit some mounting tabs
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Installation
I tend to be a bit of a butcher when it comes to wiring, so I elected to get the guys at the TJM Hendra store to install the wiring loom properly. Young Ash, the resident sparky, waded through all the manky Land Rover wiring to install the ‘Extreme Duty’ plug-and-play wiring harness and relays.
I might also add that he managed to do it with a lot less swearing than I would have. And, unlike my last attempt, nothing caught fire.
A bit of welding was needed to get some mounting tabs on the bullbar as the lights’ size meant that they wouldn’t fit between the crossbars of the bullbar.
Adjusting the angle of the lights was pretty easy. It was simply a matter of loosening the pivot mount handle and tightening again – no mucking about with spanners or screwdrivers.
A clip-on protector keeps the lens safe from flying rocks and sand blasting.
The 215s also have a running light feature that illuminates when the park lights are switched on, which is a nice little safety bonus.
Off-road credibility
Once the lights were installed I have to admit they certainly looked the part. My off-road credibility soared; I just needed a big beard, a book of road kill recipes and a bush hat to top off the look.
As you’d expect, once out in the bush they worked exceptionally well. I didn’t have a tape measure long enough to tell you if the range estimates were accurate, but a couple of these on the front of a vehicle should be more than enough to pick out any potential hazards lurking in the darkness. The light quality and clarity is exceptional.
However, while performance is important, it’s the build quality and potential durability that caught my eye. These things are very well made. The Land Rover Perentie uses an Isuzu 4BD1 engine to haul itself around, which admittedly is a tough old donk that will no doubt run forever.
The downside of the 4BD1 is that it thrashes about in the engine bay trying to eat its own mounts. The rubber suspension mounting system of the Narva 215s did an awesome job of soaking up any vibrations. The beam stayed rock steady, even if my teeth were rattling.
The bottom line
Impressions are that these lights are a pretty tough item. Performance is also impressive, but the standout out with these lights really revolves around build quality. As for durability, if anything is going to break them, the old Landy will!