Coming in Hot: 3 New Brands in Automotive Lighting

As we highlighted in our Truck and Off-Road Lighting piece from earlier in October, the aftermarket lighting segment has some serious growth potential. Even with COVID putting the crunch on some categories, projections have the lighting market growing nearly $5 billion over the next few years.

While other smaller vehicle segments certainly contribute, the big drivers for this forecasted increase aren’t much of a surprise. The continued dominance of truck and SUV/CUV sales in the US keeps giving us more of the most popular blank canvases for lighting upgrades. The same goes for the used truck market as well. Plus, taste, trend, and the lighting itself has a shelf life, and often needs to be updated several times over the vehicle’s lifespan.

However, if there’s one knock on the lighting market—it’s that it is highly saturated.

Looking for a front bumper for your F-150? You might have a solid 1-2 dozen options that you’ll keep coming across. Looking for a light bar to mount on that same F-150? Well, you’ll probably find 10 times more options—some premium, some budget, some from established names, some from names you’ve never heard of, and some from names you probably can’t even pronounce.

So for an average consumer, or even someone who does have some automotive chops, the fragmentation of the lighting segment can be a bit daunting. Who can I trust? Who stands behind their product? Who’s doing the innovating and who’s the knock-off?

We all know a handful of the big players that have established themselves using their heritage, customer support, and tactful marketing. But standing out as a new guy in an overloaded market filled with copycats is a tough assignment.

This lighting season, let’s take a look three names in the segment who you may not be familiar with, but deserve your attention—and the products we love from each.

AeroLidz

When an accessory becomes as popular as the light bar has, it’s only a matter of time before companies start trying to “accessorize the accessory”. Some seem pretty gimmicky, but AeroLidz has a nice thing going with their infinitely customizable light bar covers.

Firstly, these things aren’t just about looks. As anyone with a bar can tell you, the whistle and wind noise generated at higher speeds can be infuriating. But the curved, streamlined shield design from AeroLidz eliminates the screeching caused when wind explores all the nooks and crannies of your unit.

Made for single and dual-row bars, these covers are constructed from high-grade UV polycarbonate and the open-back design allow for use while installed. It’s a simple, stylish solution to protect your high-dollar lighting investment.

For even more style, add one of AeroLidz’ cover inserts.

They slide perfectly inside the silencers and won’t crack or fade under intense light or heat. They’ve got just about any graphic imaginable—from flags to slogans, and off-road shops to military branches. And if by chance you don’t see something that tickles your fancy, they also do custom inserts featuring your own design. Best part? Since they won’t break the bank, you can get a couple to spice up your rig each season.

Race Sport Lighting

As a relative newcomer in the game, Race Sport Lighting made its name producing just about anything you could ask for in the automotive lighting segment. LED to HID, bulbs to bars, strips to strobes, Race Sport has your car—as well as bike and boat—completely covered.

What we love is the ever-expanding lineup of LED Rock Lights. If you’re wondering what those are, think of it as a Philips Hue system for the exterior of your car. You can mount these innovative low profile lights inside wheel wells, under bumpers, in engine compartments, and right to the frame of your vehicle to give it a glow sure to catch eyes. And, with an IP68 rating, your Rock Lights can handle anything you or Mother Nature throws their way.

Kits come with 4, 6, 8, or 12 individual lights, with singles available to add on. Solid color kits are available, but we’d opt for the RGB and RGB+W (+white) kits to give your setup a near infinite color palette.

And it just wouldn’t be 2020 if you couldn’t control it with your smartphone. After downloading the app, you can control exactly what color and pattern appear on your Rock Lights, using presets to save your favorites.

ARC Lighting

As winter comes into view, the days are shortening and the weather becomes a little less straightforward. This, of course, means that the bulbs lying inside your headlights become vastly more important this time of year. No one wants to be heading down that winding switchback with a dim or flickering set of lights. A bright, reliable pair of LEDs can make all the difference in avoiding ice, deer, potholes, and other seasonal hazards.

The folks at ARC Lighting have LED solutions for your vehicle’s most important bulbs—so make 2020 the year you finally retire those tired ol’ halogens and make the upgrade.

Here’s what we’re currently digging.

Concept Series

If you’re used to the old-fashioned halogen, then these may look a bit peculiar to you. Over the past five years, similarly fashioned LED bulbs have really carved themselves a nice slice of the headlight market.

But we think ARC’s Concept Series significantly improves upon fit and output over other manufacturers.

Integrating the collar, driver, and plug right into the heat sink of the bulb leaves a much smaller footprint, resulting in an easier installation for tighter applications. And as for performance, the Concept Series are capable of producing light that’s three times brighter than stock halogen, all while drawing a fraction of the amperage—a great option for upgrading headlights and fog lights.

Xtreme Series

For those of you looking for even more performance, ARC presents the Xtreme Series LED bulbs. These monsters kick out FIVE TIMES the light output of a stock halogen, even beating out much more expensive 35W HID converted systems.

ARC balances out all that power with a 10,000 RPM dual-bearing fan to keep temperatures and noise level down. And their patented VacPipe™ cooling cylinder pulls heat away from the circuitry three times better than a traditional heat sink. All this rolled into a durable all-weather housing while only pulling 3.0 amps.