Forester S3 light bar mounting

[Beachworm]

I got a 21'' LED light bar for father's Day and now I need to mount it on the front of my S3 Forester. I don't want a bull bar and I've looked at all the nudge bars on the market but they all reduce my approach angle so I am wondering if anyone knows of an alternative such as a light mounting bar that I could use.

As a last resort I will go to an exhaust fabricator and get one bent up and powder coated but it would be best not to reinvent the wheel if someone has done it before.

 

[Ben Up North]

Best Light bar setup I've seen on a forester was on an SG. covered the width of the roof, I'm guessing a 39". they had the mounts bolted to the inside of the roof mounts and the light bar fitted perfectly between them, looked like the whole setup was designed specifically to be on a forester it was that good.

If I hadn't gone old school with the Blitz 240s I'd have done something similar. But I like the throw of the big old Blitz, no LED light bar comes close.

With a 21" I reckon stick it on the front, might be not so easy, but would look better (assuming it fits between the headlights) either that or get a decent set of roof bars and mount it to the front one.

If you want a recommendation for roof bars, get Whisbar. they are the quietest I've ever had, can't even tell they're on the vehicle. Although sticking a light bar on them would probably ruin that. light bars are noisy (especially if you have a sunroof and like using it)
Why someone hasn't come up with a design that takes into consideration wind noise is beyond me.

As an aside, Lightforce themselves recommend more traditional shaped (LED) lights over light bars if you are after throw, even though the traditional shapes are a bit cheaper than their high end light bars.

 

[Beachworm]

Thanks for the advice Ben. I have to admit I hate roof bars of any description. Not only are they noisy but they increase wind resistance and therefore fuel consumption. Putting things on the roof bars moves the vehicle's centre of gravity up and increases risk of rollover, makes it less stable in cross winds and further increases wind resistance. I would rather have a trailer than roof bars. (I don't have a trailer either)

I have figured out the light bar I have will fit between the headlights. Under Queensland regulations I have to mount it so it is not in the driver's line of sight so on the top of a nudge bar that comes to bottom of grille height is about as high as I could go. What I need is a nudge bar that attaches somewhere other than under the front bumper because those that mount there reduce the approach angle by the thickness of the bar. If I could get one that comes out through the lower part of the front bumper it would be ideal even though it would mean I have to cut holes in the bumper.

 

[Ben Up North]

Not only are they noisy but they increase wind resistance and therefore fuel consumption.

That's why I mentioned the Whispbar. they're awesome.

...I would rather have a trailer than roof bars. (I don't have a trailer either)

I've got a trailer too, the only things that go on my roof bars are the kids SLS Boards.

I have figured out the light bar I have will fit between the headlights. Under Queensland regulations I have to mount it so it is not in the driver's line of sight so on the top of a nudge bar that comes to bottom of grille height is about as high as I could go. What I need is a nudge bar that attaches somewhere other than under the front bumper because those that mount there reduce the approach angle by the thickness of the bar. If I could get one that comes out through the lower part of the front bumper it would be ideal even though it would mean I have to cut holes in the bumper.

I ended up modifying things a bit to mount my lights. The mount is actually bolted to the Reinforced part of the bumper, which required a bit of cutting (in my case of the grill to ensure the lights don't stick in front of the Bumper) -another no-no legally speaking is having anything projecting out in front of the bumper.
It involved a bit of planning but the end result is worth it, no Nudge bar, no Bull bar and the lights look (in my opinion) good.

The trick is getting a solid enough mount that sits on, or just above the existing bumper. If you're not afraid of cutting up the plastic bumper a bit, it's well worth it.

I'd like to get a bull bar on the front of mine for additional protection, but there is nothing available that will fit the Blitz 240s, they're not really designed for a smallish vehicle, but light output and the price I got them for makes them worth it.
Mind you, back in the day I used to get around in a VW Beetle with Cibie Super Oscars on it. They're still the best lights I've come across, but pretty exy nowadays. It did look a bit odd though (I like odd)

 

[Beachworm]

Do you have a photo I could have a look at?

 

[Ben Up North]

There's a bit about it in Jack's Journey

here;s the finished product:

 

[Beachworm]

That looks good. Sadly, the SH doesn't have any bumper sticking out like yours. I would have to cut out a significant amount of the grille to get it back far enough. I'll do a bit more thinking. You've given me some ideas. I'll have to see if I can make it work.

Thanks

 

[Ben Up North]

Sadly, the SH doesn't have any bumper sticking out like yours. I would have to cut out a significant amount of the grille to get it back far enough.

oh yeah, didn't think about that. The SG Series I was the last model that had a decent bumper . You'll probably cut a lot less of the grill than I did though. Most of mine is gone, only really the middle bit is till in place.

You could put one of those mini light mounts that go above the number plate on the front - some are legal and give you a bit more room to move. Not that I'd recommend actually putting the light bar on it, without ensuring that it was solid enough.

From looking at pictures of the SH grill though, it seems to angle back a resonable amount at the bonnet compared to the bumper., so you probably wouldn't need to worry about the light mount on the number plate idea, but chopping up the grill would definitely be involved.

 

[Ben Up North]

Here's a nice SH grill mod:

If you did that, it would look good and be easy to cut out the bits needed to poke the mounts through.

Dunno about the fake STI look though.

thread about it here

 

[Beachworm]

That looks great except for the STI badge. If I chop up the grille It might be a smaller step to cut a hole in the guard for a snorkel.

 

[Ben Up North]

That looks great except for the STI badge. If I chop up the grille It might be a smaller step to cut a hole in the guard for a snorkel.

Chopping up my grill was easy. cutting the hole for my snorkel was nervewracking!

 

[scalman]

Looks good. Hope that wont be problem that they block part of air coming trough.

 

[Ben Up North]

Looks good. Hope that wont be problem that they block part of air coming trough.

So far so good in my case.

 

[Ratbag]

Ben, a couple of shots of my light bar, fitted to a SubaXtreme roo bar, masking tape is prior to painting the rear part of the hoops matte black - the reflections from the parking lights was driving me nuts ...

 

[Ben Up North]

that's a nice roo bar, but I don't think Beachworm's plainning on having one.

 

[Ratbag]

I understand that, but it doesn't hurt to look at alternatives .

 

[PauSum]

You probably have seen this (option) a lot...

 

[Beachworm]

You probably have seen this (option) a lot...

This is a good option and very cheap from SCA but without a traditional front bumper, the SH has nowhere to mount it

 

[Ben Up North]

This is a good option and very cheap from SCA but without a traditional front bumper, the SH has nowhere to mount it

Designed to be attached to the bolts your number plates uses. I would have thought that they'd wobble a bit but they seem solid enough.

I'm not keen on them, bit sticky outy for me.

 

[GreenSuby]

Thats what I've got holding my 22" light bar on the front. Just screwed into the plastic on the bumper. I used the original number plate holes plus for extra self tappers into the plastic.
Holds the light well with little vibration.
Just need to be careful cause i did the same on my daughter's outback & someone stole the bar & mount by tying rope around the lot & pulled the mount off the bumper! Lost the light & had the bumper half removed from the car.
Greensuby