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Real talk about light bars...

mrhumble1

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So... Light bars seem to be an odd mod. I walked by Jeep yesterday and that guy could have lit up a stadium with his setup. I get that some additional lighting might be handy but I have never understood the need for some light bar setups. I don't plan on wheeling much at night and don't know how popular that is, but I guess my main question is wouldn't it be better to have some adjustable lights on each side of the hood or on the bumper and let that be that (along with good headlights).

I am winding down my mod season and am thinking of putting some simple lights on my Jeep. I am curious about the best way to mount them. See the pic below for my thoughts on where. There are two mounts for them on the bumper (red squares), and two behind the hood (yellow squares). I'm guessing it would be fairly straightforward to wire either of those up. Which does everyone recommend? For someone who doesn't see himself doing much night-wheeling, will this be a good idea or a waste of money??

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Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

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spurly

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With the stock LED headlights and fog lights, additional amber light is never a bad idea. Dusty roads, snow storms, or even heavy rain can cause visibility issues with white LEDS. Amber lights don't reflect back nearly as much as a white LEDs allowing you to actually see in poor weather. I would suggest Baja Designs lights on the hood and the bumper. Depending on your budget you can get pretty crazy with their lights but 4 or even 2 of their lights with the amber lens would make a huge difference. A lot of companies sell cowl mounts. Everything from a simple spacer to a double mount. The great thing about Baja Designs is that you can change from a spot, to flood, to driving combo, from white to amber with a simple lens swap. No one companies allow you to change the lens as easily as Baja Designs.
 

ThirtyOne

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So I tend to agree with the OP. I have been off-roading once at night ( riding shotgun). We only used the LED fog lights on a Rubicon. More than that we would have blinded the lead Jeep.

And I am sure someone will post that they regularly drive in blinding snowstorms or through herds of wild animals on back roads at night and there is no such thing as too much light. I am sure there are cases where that is true. But most of what I see I chalk up to a light fetish.
 

OldBird

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As with anything else on your Jeep, it depends on how you use it. Drive in wide open desert/scrub alot? Lots of mixed lighting will help. Light up the night. Driving tight forest trails with lots of switchbacks? Rock lighting is going to help far more than a big light bar.

Personally, with the factory LEDs and fogs, with me doing mostly forest trails, lights are the last mod I will be doing. And agreeing with @spurly, I'll be getting just one good pair of amber colored floods for fog and rain when I do.
 

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Maverick909

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i have 2- 4" led lights on my bull bar like yours in the above picture. i bought some cheap lights off amazon believe it was like 25 bucks for the pair. they do pretty good at adding extra light on the trail at night.. There is a reason for placement of lights though i see know one has posted. Roof rack pod lights or light bar is the best for overall visual and performance. as it has less shadowing of objects ahead of you on the trail or road. Pods on the hood give you some feed back form shine on the hood but still gives little height to help but you loose most light from the hood. My preference on the bumper/ bull bar. this is out of the way and i use flood lighting not direct beam lighting to get better visual of things closer to the jeeps front end. plus there is no feed back from the hood nor can i actually see the lights them selves on my bar as it stills below the hood perfectly. It all comes down to your preference and how often you use them.!
 

ThirtyOne

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I've only purposely done a Jeep trail at night once, this was as the LED light bar thing was just starting to take off. I went out with a random group from MeetUp, so these aren't people I really know. I was running my TJ which had a simple halogen light mod, but it still don't put out much. On the way up the trail I was in the middle of the group and I was thinking I really needed to get more lights. On one particularly tough trail a JK with a nice light bar set up was off to the side and behind me, he clicked on his lights trying to help me see Oh man it was impressive how much light that thing put out. It probably worked well for everyone outside, but from inside my Jeep I just had the light reflecting off of my windshield and it blinded me.

On the way back down I ended up at the back of the group and started falling behind. I'd see mountains on the other side of the valley lighting up as the lead guy with his lightbar would go around a corner. Seriously impressive. But as the lights of the group got farther away from me I started finding that my lights were actually quite adequate. I wouldn't say they were good, I certainly could have used some rock lights underneath and around the perimeter of the Jeep because more than once I jumped out with my flashlight to take a closer look at what was immediately in front or to either side. But I didn't feel a need for a light bar at that point. I've pretty much held that opinion ever since. They are impressive, and I'm sure they are very nice for spotting your line to set up for it sooner, but I go very slow on trails it's not that big of a concern for me. Add in that you can't fold down the windshield with the light bar (or cowl mounted, or hood mounted) in place, plus the extra wind noise and it's just not for me. There are times when I'm going across Wyoming on the highway that I'd love all that extra light but it's not worth the expense and the downsides to me. I still believe that for off road use you'd be better spending some cash on a proper rock light system for all around your Jeep rather than worrying about lighting up what's 2 miles down the trail. Now if you go racing across the desert for fun, that changes things.
You brought up the point that struck me - if you are not the lead Jeep i think you are doing more harm than good.
 

Hgrace

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I've only purposely done a Jeep trail at night once, this was as the LED light bar thing was just starting to take off. I went out with a random group from MeetUp, so these aren't people I really know. I was running my TJ which had a simple halogen light mod, but it still don't put out much. On the way up the trail I was in the middle of the group and I was thinking I really needed to get more lights. On one particularly tough trail a JK with a nice light bar set up was off to the side and behind me, he clicked on his lights trying to help me see Oh man it was impressive how much light that thing put out. It probably worked well for everyone outside, but from inside my Jeep I just had the light reflecting off of my windshield and it blinded me.

On the way back down I ended up at the back of the group and started falling behind. I'd see mountains on the other side of the valley lighting up as the lead guy with his lightbar would go around a corner. Seriously impressive. But as the lights of the group got farther away from me I started finding that my lights were actually quite adequate. I wouldn't say they were good, I certainly could have used some rock lights underneath and around the perimeter of the Jeep because more than once I jumped out with my flashlight to take a closer look at what was immediately in front or to either side. But I didn't feel a need for a light bar at that point. I've pretty much held that opinion ever since. They are impressive, and I'm sure they are very nice for spotting your line to set up for it sooner, but I go very slow on trails it's not that big of a concern for me. Add in that you can't fold down the windshield with the light bar (or cowl mounted, or hood mounted) in place, plus the extra wind noise and it's just not for me. There are times when I'm going across Wyoming on the highway that I'd love all that extra light but it's not worth the expense and the downsides to me. I still believe that for off road use you'd be better spending some cash on a proper rock light system for all around your Jeep rather than worrying about lighting up what's 2 miles down the trail. Now if you go racing across the desert for fun, that changes things.
The huge roof arrays that morphed into light bars were made popular by Baja1000 racers. When you're blasting down desolate roads at 90 miles per hour they're a neccessary thing. Manufacturers say the allure and marketed to the masses. Now we have this.
I was an HRDA driver and competed in the Mint 400 and other events. Truth told only a few marathon races extend to the night.
I'll keep a couple of small KCs on my aluminum Patriot bumper.
And that's enough.
 

Headbarcode

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I fully agree with the previous posts about the benefits of a good pair of amber lights. I have my sights set on a pair of the baja designs amber spot/flood xl80's for the front bumper. That will be the extent of my forward lighting because the factory led headlights are more than sufficient enough for my realistic needs. Also, a set of squadron pro floods for the hood cowls in white led. These will be adjusted slightly down and angled about 45° outward for peripheral lighting. That's all, clean and simple.
 

InspiredEngineering

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Light bars are one of those things that you don't know you'll need, until you actually need them. Most of the time people go overkill because they like the look, same reason why people run 37"-40" tires and never take the Jeep offroading. You also might never plan to go night wheeling, but if you get stuck out some where and get caught in the night, you'll be glad you have them.

On my personal trail Jeep I have a 12" S series on the bumper, CUBE A pillar lights, and a 50". The CUBEs and the 12" get constant use, the 50" not so much, especially if i'm behind someone on the trail, as I wouldn't want to blind them.

With that said what I would recommend on your Jeep is a set of 6CUBE or Gamma Series A pillar kit, and a 12" Single row, or 14" dual row PSII LED bar on your bumper. All of these options are easy to install, and will give you maximum lighting in a small package.
 

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Qurtyslyn

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The huge roof arrays that morphed into light bars were made popular by Baja1000 racers. When you're blasting down desolate roads at 90 miles per hour they're a neccessary thing. Manufacturers say the allure and marketed to the masses. Now we have this.
I was an HRDA driver and competed in the Mint 400 and other events. Truth told only a few marathon races extend to the night.
I'll keep a couple of small KCs on my aluminum Patriot bumper.
And that's enough.
They're really handy when you're working recovery and have to try and find a broken down UTV/Jeepspeed/Class 9 in the middle of the night and get them fixed or towed out, can never have enough light for that.


So I tend to agree with the OP. I have been off-roading once at night ( riding shotgun). We only used the LED fog lights on a Rubicon. More than that we would have blinded the lead Jeep.

And I am sure someone will post that they regularly drive in blinding snowstorms or through herds of wild animals on back roads at night and there is no such thing as too much light. I am sure there are cases where that is true. But most of what I see I chalk up to a light fetish.
If you're in a blinding snowstorm, there is definitely such a thing as too much light. Snow is reflective and you do not want that windshield bar on.

Herds of cows are usually fine and don't care about the light bar. But you're not going fast enough to need it if you're going through a herd.
 

Token

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As a trail guide, I'm usually the lead Jeep.

And having the extra light when night wheeling is a godsend.

Not to mention it does let the rest of the group see up ahead where I am, and can provide some clues on upcoming direction changes and obstacles.

That being said I have 2 pod lights (spots) mounted in the yellow boxes in the OP's pic, and a 10" Baja Designs ONX6+ on the front bumper.
I still use the clear "wide driving" pattern, haven't had need to use amber personally.
 

ThirtyOne

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They're really handy when you're working recovery and have to try and find a broken down UTV/Jeepspeed/Class 9 in the middle of the night and get them fixed or towed out, can never have enough light for that.




If you're in a blinding snowstorm, there is definitely such a thing as too much light. Snow is reflective and you do not want that windshield bar on.

Herds of cows are usually fine and don't care about the light bar. But you're not going fast enough to need it if you're going through a herd.
Fair enough.
 

Hgrace

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They're really handy when you're working recovery and have to try and find a broken down UTV/Jeepspeed/Class 9 in the middle of the night and get them fixed or towed out, can never have enough light for that.




If you're in a blinding snowstorm, there is definitely such a thing as too much light. Snow is reflective and you do not want that windshield bar on.

Herds of cows are usually fine and don't care about the light bar. But you're not going fast enough to need it if you're going through a herd.
Yes they are. But in a search darkness can be a better friend.
 

Arterius2

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Because obviously all that light bar bonanza is not for the trails, duh, it's for bragging in front of your friends in Starbucks parking lot.

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