Help with light selection

[AmeriCon1776]

I've come across a lot of threads about light selection and it has helped some and also added some confusion. I'm looking to add 3 sets of lights, an amber pair for my front bumper for fog/snow, a set for the a-pillars to light up the side ditches, and some cube lights for my rear bumper. Can anyone make some recommendations on specific lights? I'm not sure what beams are best. I'd like to keep the bumper & A pillars round. The KC Gravity & Rigid 360 lines both caught my eye, but within those lines I don't know exactly what I need. Thanks a ton

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[dpike]

I just replaced my fog lights with diode dynamics yellow fogs and I'm very happy with them. They're crazy bright.

 

[BDinTX]

If you go with the Rigid 360 keep in mind those have backlights. You can light them up separately from the main light. If you do, the White or amber MIGHT be legal, red and blue are illegal in all 50 states.

I got a pair of these:
Rigid Industries 360Series 6in LED OffRoad Drive Fog Lights Red Pair | 36205|Northridge4x4

They are pretty bright, but I have never used any other offroad lights to compare.

Because they had the red backlights, I got covers since I tied them into the same circuit as my KC rock lights. I figured if I'm offroad nobody cares the color of the lights on the front. I might use the rock lights on road for changing a spare. If I do, the front lights are covered.
Rigid Industries 360Series 6in LED Light Cover Black Pair | 36362-SB|Northridge4x4

Have no personal experience with cube lights. I thought about putting them on the rear but didn't want to mount below the bumper. Not sure on top would work. the Oracle backup lights that replace the reflectors might get installed at some point.

 

[ORACLElights]

I've come across a lot of threads about light selection and it has helped some and also added some confusion. I'm looking to add 3 sets of lights, an amber pair for my front bumper for fog/snow, a set for the a-pillars to light up the side ditches, and some cube lights for my rear bumper. Can anyone make some recommendations on specific lights? I'm not sure what beams are best. I'd like to keep the bumper & A pillars round. The KC Gravity & Rigid 360 lines both caught my eye, but within those lines I don't know exactly what I need. Thanks a ton

Front Bumper Light for Fog/ Snow: www.oraclelights.com/products/oracle-lighting-skid-plate-with-integrated-led-emitters-for-jeep-wrangler-jl-and-gladiator-jt

Cube lights for rear bumper look like an after thought, we recommend: www.oraclelights.com/products/rear-bumper-led-reverse-lights

For A-Pillar/ Ditch Lights we are introducing a much cleaner solution with the LEDs integrated into the mirrors. Looks almost factory.

 

[Jeepeto]

I've had really good luck with Baja designs. I ran the squadron pros up front on the last rig and used a pair of squadron sports for the ditch lights. I plan to run a pair of LP6 Amber lights up front on Jeepeto lll and I'm pretty confident that’ll be enough light for most scenarios

 

[AcesandEights]

Short version, buy what you think looks cool, or read the long version.

I posted this before, and it's not a popular opinion, but...

Fog lights are based on pattern, not color. Studies actually show that fog lights do not help you see (and react), but help others see you. Fog lights were traditionally amber (or thought of that way to help others see you). The fog beam pattern is overdriven at speeds above 20 mph or so, meaning at 20 mph you are driving too fast to react to anything within the area lit by fog lights (due to the short/wide pattern), further proving the point they are not for the driver of the vehicle, but for other drivers to see you. In fact studies show high beams are more effective for driving in fog than fog lights.

Fog lights really, in my opinion, should be mounted on the rear of the vehicle, and should be amber. They are there to keep you from being rear-ended at low(er) speeds, not for you to see what's in front of you.

Driving beams, provide a throw of approximately 300 - 400 meters (1,300 feet). If you were driving 60 mph (88 feet per second), you would be able to see (or what would be illuminated) about 15 seconds ahead of you. That can be accomplished with some Hella 500/700 with halogen bulbs at $75/pair. You typically need two to three seconds to react, meaning you could drive 300 miles per hour and still have a three-second reaction time with basic driving lights.

$500+ lights may be brighter, but they don't actually provide an advantage to a driver worried about preventing a collision at highway speeds.

At off road speeds, they're even less important because your speeds are typically far slower. I'm usually driving 20 - 35 mph off road, which means I've got the better of 30 seconds to react to what is illuminated, except of course all of the trees, rocks, dips, humps, etc. limit the light-shine and sight-distance anyway.

To the OP, if you need lights, you need to determine for what purpose, driving on road or off and at what speeds. What I've found is a driving beam fills most of the gaps of a fog light, that they light up the sides of the road well enough (depending on how they are aimed), while providing more light/distance than a Jeep can drive (we're speed limited by the manufacturer).

 

[cosine]

i'm running baja designs for all my lighting. currently i have the squadron sport pro on the a pillar. on the bumper squadron sport amber and on the bull bar lp4. all 3 are driving combo light pattern. i'm waiting for the lp4 spot to be delivered to replace the a pillar light. on the rear i just have the rough country 3" cube.

 

[sardogtella]

I have installed Mopar lights on the Cowels and front bumper. Couldn't be happier with them. Thay are made by Tyri who makes lights for heavy equipment. They are twice the price on the Tyri website.

 

[JLTruman]

something else to consider, some manufacturers offer different lenses for lights meaning you can really customize your lighting areas and colors depending on what you need without having to buy so many lights

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