NARVA Debuts its Most Intelligent Light Bars Yet at Aftermarket Expo

Showcasing their latest developments in automotive lighting and electrical technology, NARVA’s stand at the recent Australian Automotive Aftermarket Expo (April 7th to 9th) presented attendees with more world-class product innovations and designs after a 3-year event hiatus due to COVID restrictions.

NARVA’s innovative new ‘Ultima IQ’ light bar range was front and centre on the stand, attracting a lot of attention with their unique aesthetics and functionality unlike anything currently found on the market.

The bars, which in singular form, available as 8” or 24” lengths and utilising a stretched hexagonal shape, can be joined together using optional joiner kits to produce different lengths depending on the ideal size for a given vehicle.

This means an 8” bar and two 24” bars can be combined to create a 40” bar, or two 24” bars to achieve a 48” bar. Ultima IQ light bars feature built-in ‘IQ technology’, which allows the bars to connect to each other for unified control, as well as reducing wiring and installation footprint.

Benefitting the most from the IQ technology is an optional ‘Ultima IQ controller’, which mounts in cabin via a single wire through the vehicle firewall and enables the driver to adjust the brightness of their bars both in unison or separately, using four intensity levels as well as one touch presets designed for different driving terrains. Highway mode, for example, reduces brightness out the side to prevent glare reflecting off road signage back to the driver.

A special boost mode offers a 15% increase in light output for 30 seconds. The controller also retains memory of the last brightness used – including off – so that high beam switched light bars won’t be activated unless the driver intends them to.

NARVA says it has plans to incorporate its IQ technology into other lighting products, giving users powerful control over their complete vehicle lighting.

Aesthetically, the new Ultima IQ light bars were designed with the recently launched (and also on display) Ultima MK2 driving lights in mind, carrying over many of their personalisation features, such as front position light pipe (24” model only), stealth and clear lens options and a variety of coloured trim inserts. This allow users to match the appearance of their Ultima IQ bars to their Ultima MK2 driving lights, should they desire to combine both products for the ultimate forward lighting setup.

Despite these considerations, NARVA is adamant their new Ultima IQ bars stand on their own in terms of performance: the 40” combination of light bars is expected provide output on par with a pair of Ultima MK1 215 driving lights, which at the time of their release were heralded as a performance benchmark in the driving light market.

“When LED light bars first came to market, they were typically sold supplementary to traditional driving lights, filling the dark voids, or on their own providing a useful boost in forward visibility for vehicles that only had high beams. Now, we’re in a time where light bar technology has not only caught up in terms of performance, but is offering many advantages over traditional driving lights, such as hybrid and directional beams and brackets, versatile customisation and a cleaner, more factory looking vehicle front end.” NARVA said.