More than just lights, some brands were showing off killer new controls and switches that offer wireless solutions and tighter integration into your vehicles electronics. So, technically, here are the best six lighting innovations from SEMA, which includes several very bright new lights.
Here’s the video overview, scroll down for pics, specs, and more details!
Diode Dynamics Stage Series & Kuat rack integration
Diode Dynamics’ updated Stage Series light bars get a much sleeker appearance and cleaner mounts, but keep their proprietary TIR (Total Internal Reflection) lens element that builds the reflector directly into the glass rather than using a shiny cone like virtually every other brand.
They say this provides more precise output by using the glass as the reflector, so all of the light is pushed forward and with more control. Compare that to standard reflector cones that allow some of the LED’s light to spray out with no reflector contact.
This also lets them shape the front of the glass to control the beam pattern. They now have five beam pattern options (up from just two), ranging from full flood to full spot, including a “Fog/Wide” pattern that keeps the light in a narrower horizontal band so more of it hits the road and sides rather than illuminating the air in front of you.
They’ll come in four- and eight-LED sizes and can be linked together in straight or curved configurations. Mix and match colors and patterns as desired.
They also have integrated backlights than you can customize the color with their app. While I’d caution against actually using red and blue (like shown the video…because you’re probably not a police car), you’ll have that option. You can control them with an app or manual switches, too.
Diode Dynamics has also partnered with Kuat on their upcoming DEK roof rack (separate post about this coming soon) to provide a custom version with full-width light bar.
Kuat will also have a custom light bar using Diode Dynamics’ new Stage Series lights, but with fewer total LEDs. Both look killer. Pricing and availability TBA. More at DiodeDynamics.com.
Form Lights prototype headlights
Diode Dynamic’s sister brand Form Lighting shares their tech (and their booth) and was showing off these prototype headlights for the new 2024 Toyota Tacoma. Like their other lights, they’ll likely have multiple LED projectors, UV-coated polycarbonate lenses, and startup animations, but with a very smooth daytime running brow.
They also had these headlight upgrades for the Ford F-150 with integrated off-road lights built into the bottom (turned on on right), which are sold under the Diode Dynamics line as a premium product (along with models for some Jeep Wranglers). They’re $1,599 and should ship in Q1 2025.
They say most third-party headlights are coming out of the same few factories in Asia, including many of theirs, because the manufacturing process and required equipment is a massive investment, so few others have the ability to make them.
But, they’re working on making some domestically (U.S.) and plan to ramp that up as resources allow. Part of their strategy is also using extremely complex reflector and lens designs (like the perimeter of these F-150 lights) that are too expensive and difficult to copy, helping set them apart from Chinese knock-offs. More at FormLights.com.
Vision-X CR Pro Series
The new Vision-X CR Pro series lights (top row) bring dual circuit, multi-function driving lights along with full-power off-road illumination.
Available in CR14 Pro (6.7″, 14 LEDs) and CR7 (4.5″, 7 LEDs), both can light up the middle row at 15% to be used as SAE/DOT-compliant driving/fog lights. And the X-Lenses snap on to diffuse change the hue from clear to amber to selective yellow.
This low-power model is their alternative to halo and backlighting, letting you also use them as marker lights in dusty daylight conditions without blinding your group or dealing with reflection haze.
They use three wires, so you have separate switches for the low power and high power modes. In high power, the lights put out 11,900 (CR7) and 14,000 (CR14) raw lumens per light.
The lenses create a combo beam pattern, with a wider elliptical shape up to 275 ft wide closer to the vehicle and spots punching up to 1730 ft.
The housings are just 3″ deep, with huge heat sinks on the back. They’ll start shipping in late January 2025 as single and dual kits, with optional vehicle-specific mounting brackets for bumper pockets on popular models (Jeep, Bronco, etc.).
The bottom row (top pic) is the new CR Base Series, which are a single-mode (no low-beam) model with about 30% less output. These include a CR3 3.5″ pod that’s designed to fit in bumper pockets and comes in spot, flood, and SAE/ECE Fog Beam models. The larger CR7 is spot only, and the CR14 is a combo beam. More at VisionXoffroad.com.
NovSight wireless, voice-activated light controls
NovSight was showing off two upcoming control options. The Switch Panel above builds in voice activation (watch video to see how it works), letting you tell it to turn each of its eight channels on or off. Pushing the buttons works, too.
Their new wireless switch panel has a more mechanical look and feel, with traditional toggle switches. Its trick is that it pairs with a control module that can stay under the hood or hidden behind panels, and all lights and accessories are wired to that rather than the panel.
That means you won’t have to wire anything through your firewall into the cabin, making it much easier to install.
The other benefit is that you can take it with you to your sleeping area, picnic table, camp toilet, or wherever. The body is all metal construction, and it’s USB-C rechargeable. It snaps into a fixed base for secure placement while driving.
These two are still in development, but they already have a wireless RGB switch panel if you prefer buttons to switches.
Their new 6″ Cyber-1 series uses a housing and reflector/lens designed entirely by artificial intelligence to maximize output and optimize beam pattern. Available with white or amber lenses, I’d recommend going with white (6000K) and using the detachable amber cover (3000K) when you need it.
They have six lighting modes, letting you use the smaller center row as driving or marker lights with three output levels bringing them all the way up to a proper high-beam flood light.
A dual-button switch lets you control those independently of the four larger high-output Spot Light LEDs. Total output is 140W and 16,100 lumens per pod. They’re also compatible with various control pads/switch panels.
These are available now for $579/pair. The Orange pod comes as clear with an amber cover; the Black pod comes as amber with an opaque black cover. Use code SEMA2024 for 20% off sitewide for a limited time. More at NovSights.com.
Triple-R Canny CANBUS integration
Triple-R has a lot of light options, but their latest and greatest is the new Canny, a light and accessory switch that taps into you vehicles’ CAN Bus system to control up to four accessories with no additional switches.
It’s available in two versions…one that actually taps into any two CAN wires in your vehicle, and one that simply wraps over the wires to detect electromagnetic impulses so you don’t have to (potentially) void your warranty by splicing or tapping into the physical wires.
Here’s how it works: Your vehicle’s CAN system uses specific electrical pulses and patterns to control accessories, allowing complex commands to run across a single pair of wires to different ECUs located throughout the car. Each ECU is tied to various accessories on your car, allowing lots of things to be controlled without needing separate wires running to every accessory throughout the entire vehicle.
The Triple-R Canny taps into this and can be programmed to react to specific pulse patterns. Using their app, you will be able to tell it to look for a certain signal, then turn a desired 3rd party accessory on or off.
For example, you could teach it to turn your light bar on when you cycle your high beams on. Or when you flash them twice. Or honk your horn or turn your cruise control on and off. Basically anything that uses CAN can be used to also control your non-factory accessories, too.
If that seems convoluted compared to a traditional switch panel or mechanical switch, I’d agree. But if you don’t want to drill any holes, run wires inside your car, or add switches, it’s a clever solution. MSRP is about $170 with full app customization coming soon. More at Triple-R-Lights.com.
GoLight GT Series remote control hood lights
These aren’t brand new, but I hadn’t seen them so wanted to share. The GoLight GT Series lights come in fixed and magnetic mounts and let you aim them from inside the vehicle.
They come with either wired or wireless remote controls, letting you rotate them 370º and swivel them 135º up and down.
They’re available in Halogen (why?) and LED versions, and come in black or white housings. LED output is 544,000 candela with a 4,839 ft max beam distance. More at GoLight.com.
EGR VSL Jeep & Bronco frame lights
As an alternative to ditch lights mounted in front of your windshield pillars and creating wind noise and drag, the new EGR VSL integrated side lights offer a much cleaner, streamlined option. Yes, VSL stands for Vehicle Side Lights.
The Bronco version ($999, on sale as of this post for $759) sits inside a custom CNC’d aluminum housing that replaces the front corner hood handles. It’s available in black and raw.
…and the Jeep version ($749, on sale as of publishing date for $569) replaces the corner panel at the back of the hood with a polyurethane panel. It fits 2018-24 Wrangler JL/JT models and comes in factory-matched paint for every color you can imagine, plus unpainted if you need to go custom.
Both have a 2500 lumen flood light with 165º beam pattern shining a cool white 6500K light. Power draw is 36W/3.0amp. More at EGRUSA.com.
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