KC HiLiTES 517 2x6 55w Back Up/Flood Light System

I wish I had ordered these when I first saw them 6 mos ago. I drive a 2003 dakota and the stock lights are abysmal. On top of that my section of the street is very dark making it very difficult to back into my driveway at night. Enter the KC Hilites. Everything about this kit is squared away. It included everything needed for a clean professional looking install and the generic instructions were first rate. They included wiring diagrams as well as written instructions with good installation tips.The performance of these lights are excellent. A previous reviewer commented that they were beam and not flood. The lenses are interchangeable and it is written out on the lens whether it is flood or spot so you can verify you received the correct item. The flood beam has good coverage and lights the area behind my truck superbly. With my backup camera it is second only to direct sunlight. Short of putting a set of 1000w fishing lights on my bumper, this is as good as it gets.

I installed these lights on my 89 f-250. First of all when I bought these lights I was confused by some of the conflicting reviews. The KC Hilites 517 is a "flood light". The KC HilLites 516 is the one with the interchangeable lenses and are "fog/driving lights".What is included: Everything you see the picture is included wiring harness with fuse, mounting bracket with nuts and bolts, a wire splice connectors, two lights, relay, and wire snake to protect your wire with 6 zip ties, I would suggest getting more zip ties if you buy this product as 6 is barely enough in my opinion.Note: there is no manual switch so the kit is made to wire to your reverse lights. Prior to installing kit figure out which wire that is.Impression of lights: I like them, Though I can see where most of the complaints come from. First these lights have some heft to them and appear to be good quality. With that said they are still plastic lenses with a plastic housing. These lights are bright! 55w each they light up enough for you to see quite comfortably. Now there are complaints from multiple reviewers about it being a spot light, I will post pictures of the light distribution pattern on a cinder block wall at my condo. As you can see in the picture there is definitely a concentration of light in the middle, with bleed all around. This picture was taking at around 20 feet from the wall. In my opinion the bleed amount of the lights make it so I can comfortably see obstacles without any issues. Note the backup lights are pointed straight back and pointed level not pointed down.Are they worth the cost? This is why I'm giving it 4 stars, because I don't know yet as I have just bought them. They do the job intended, they appear to be well built and everything came with the kit with instructions that were simple to follow. But I could probably buy another set with okay wiring, and a little less sturdy build for a lot less. This is where the warranty comes into play KC offers a 23 year warranty on their lights. I have not filed a claim and nothing has gone wrong with the lights like cracks, melting or manufacture defect. There contact for cust support is : [email protected] or 1 (928) 635-2607. If support of their products is important to you. It might be prudent to call them to see if you can actually get a hold of a person or if they will answer questions, that's always a good sign. I will update this review later probably in a year or so to see if these lights have lasted the test of time and if the customer support is any good. Till then are they worth it? so far so good.

The lights are great and I was really impressed with the quality when I installed them, but now I've had them for less than a month and the two screws (that hold the lens on?) on each light have begun to rust. I live in an area where we haven't had snow yet so the roads haven't been salted. I didn't even notice those screws when I installed the lights - it was the rust that caught my attention!!!So I emailed KC HiLiTES basically saying what I just said above. I wasn't making a warranty claim, just wondering if that is normal. A company that cared about its customers and its reputation might have sent out an apology or at best, a set of new screws. Instead, I received this terse reply (verbatim):"Screws are not stainless steel, I have them on my vehicle and the screws will show rust but that is what will happen over time. If it is an issue, get some stainless screws at your local hardware store, we do not have any to send you."No kidding they are not stainless, that's why they are rusted. And I understand that screws will rust "over time", but does that include less than 30 days out of the box? I don't live by the ocean. Anyway, the KC lights work well, but I wouldn't buy them again for three reasons:1) Customer service believes that if rusty screws on a brand new product are "an issue", I can fix it myself. They didn't even tell me what size screws I need - I'll have to figure that out for myself. Even so, I doubt I'll find black screws, so I'll need to paint them myself if I want them to match.2) The reply that I received from KC HiLiTES bordered on rude: "...get some stainless screws at your local hardware store, we do not have any to send you." This is not my idea of good customer service at all.3) If they know the hardware is going rust so soon, they should have used stainless steel screws to begin with. Four small stainless screws couldn't add much to the cost of a pair of lights. I'd have paid the extra $2 for stainless. Don't they care what their product looks like? Apparently not.Based on this experience, when I add my off-road lights, I'll go with another brand.