Need LED bar help

svynx

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Joined
Sep 11, 2014
Messages
28
Location
Dover, pa
Car Year
looking around
Car Model
unsure on what
Transmission
i want to lift
After a little more research, I have one question for you guys that have done more back road/woods driving than I have. I'm installing a total of 7 lights. I can fit 2 3-5" LED bars on bottom, 4 round lights on top, and a LED bar on the roof. Here's what I'm thinking and I'll ask for help on one or two. As I stated before, I currently have a set of Hella HID pencil beams (great distance light) for the top of the bar. I'll be adding a set of Hella rallye 4000X to finish the top, which are more of a driving light (good distance, but sufficient light closer to the car). The 2 3-5" bars can be whatever I find that fits. Now for the question which pertains to the large roof mounted bar. I'm looking at two right now. First is a 33", 150w (5w LED's), combo flood/spot light. Second is a 37", 200w (10w LED's), spot light. I do not have fog lights on this car, but that might be a future purchase.
Suggestions? Preferences?
Pic of bar setup:
 
How rigid is the bar?
I cannot see a mount point up the top to stop/reduce any shaking.
I'd be a little concerned with vibration/shake/judder of the fitted lights.
 
^ Our Sun emits 4 tons of light per square inch per second ... :lol: :lildevil:.
 
I find that lights mounted too low cast shadows and so defeat their intended purpose.
 
^ Yup.

Fog lights as low as possible; driving lights as near as possible to the driver's line of sight, either slightly below or slightly above, but not at the same level ...
 
^Thats why above the bullbar or on the roofrack works so well, gives you great useable light field of view.
To wire all this up are you going to use a central splitter/fusebox?
Personally I would go for the 2 LED lightbars down the bottom in a spread beam and then the big spread/spot one on the roof.
Really depends on what you are driving. For hilly, twisty, kangaroo infested lands go as much spread beam as the HID's will do you fine for distance.
For straight highway drives, long straight uphills, powerline 4wd'ing etc, I would go for the Spot beam up on the roof.
 
subyroo said:
How rigid is the bar?
I cannot see a mount point up the top to stop/reduce any shaking.
I'd be a little concerned with vibration/shake/judder of the fitted lights.
Click to expand...

Here is a pic of the bar uninstalled. Note that there are 6 mounting points. 4 of which are for the subframe itself, and another 2 that are bolted through the subframe. I can jump on the top of the bar and it doesn't move. I believe it is made out of 1.5" steel tubing.



Kevin said:
I find that lights mounted too low cast shadows and so defeat their intended purpose.
Click to expand...

Ratbag said:
^ Yup.

Fog lights as low as possible; driving lights as near as possible to the driver's line of sight, either slightly below or slightly above, but not at the same level ...
Click to expand...

The bar will be holding the pencil beams and the "driving" lights, so they will be at grill height, in line with the stock headlights. The large LED bar will be mounted on the roof.

ALMOSTunseen said:
^Thats why above the bullbar or on the roofrack works so well, gives you great useable light field of view.
To wire all this up are you going to use a central splitter/fusebox?
Personally I would go for the 2 LED lightbars down the bottom in a spread beam and then the big spread/spot one on the roof.
Really depends on what you are driving. For hilly, twisty, kangaroo infested lands go as much spread beam as the HID's will do you fine for distance.
For straight highway drives, long straight uphills, powerline 4wd'ing etc, I would go for the Spot beam up on the roof.
Click to expand...

I posted this in another forum, and a person with the same bar also added a 20" fog/flood LED bar hanging from the top bar, above the winch. At one point he also had two small cube lights on either side of the winch. As of right now my car doesn't have fog lights in the factory location. This most likely will be something that I address in the near future.
 
Wow seeing that bar now it makes more sense, but the first photo of it mounted makes it look like just a sport bar and not anything solid. When I saw the winch on there I thought "Now dis fakah right here is crazy" - but now it all makes sense. Looks pretty solid, can you still mount a skid plate over the mounting points?

Sorry, I have nothing to add for your light bars. I'm looking into some myself so I'm just lurking to see what you end up doing. I'm curious as well how you end up wiring them as I'm gonna run a whole ton of lights as well (lots of deer here). Are you gonna run a second battery or is the one sufficient for all that power?
 
If you've got a tonne of lights, then doing a nice fuse and relay box would make everything nice and easy to work with. In regards to battery, alternator will be your limiting factor,as a second battery could just be drained quickly, but it does give you leeway for blasting all the lights on(like a capacitor)
 
My preference would be your pencil beam with a front mounted led bar. Distance and spread.
I'm not sure where the love of roof mounted lights came from. If there's any dust around you can't see a thing and reflected light off the hood is annoying (pending how far back they are mounted). Night river crossings where your front lights are under water is the only time a roof light would be handy.
Fog lights if you need them, no fog where I live so I don't have them lol
 
roof mounting is (now explicitly) illegal in Oz .. light bars must be below the level of the bonnet or front bar.
 
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