Lights placement

ssgp2

ssgp2

Member
I see lots of secondary lighting system placed on the roof, over the hood and on the front bumper.
I am curious about the pros and cons with the different placement.
Also, would the type of lighting(LED,HID,etc) dictate a specific placement.

For systems over the hood or on the roof, does the illumination of the hood reduce the the visibility?
 
Hellfire

Hellfire

New member
I would like to add to this thread and ask about lighting in the fender well...what lights to use & how to install.
 
JKAnimal

JKAnimal

Caught the Bug
ssgp2 said:
I see lots of secondary lighting system placed on the roof, over the hood and on the front bumper.
I am curious about the pros and cons with the different placement.
Also, would the type of lighting(LED,HID,etc) dictate a specific placement.

For systems over the hood or on the roof, does the illumination of the hood reduce the the visibility?
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The very bright RIGID LEDs I have on my roof rack do not reduce visibility even though they light up the hood to some degree.

I prefer the LED for their low power drain, bright white light, and they are rated for 50,000 hours of life. Their housing seems nearly indestructible.

I am of the opinion that the type of light doesn't really dictate placement unless you are thinking spot vs. fog or diffused. Light size might play more of a factor in where to place it.:twocents:
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I too prefer LED for the reasons stated. I also prefer not to use windshield mounted lights do to the glare the create on the hood. But, in the dark, you can never have enough lighting.

Oh, as far as rock lights go, I just run cheap Walmart platinum burner lights.
 
OverlanderJK

OverlanderJK

Resident Smartass
wayoflife said:
I too prefer LED for the reasons stated. I also prefer not to use windshield mounted lights do to the glare the create on the hood. But, in the dark, you can never have enough lighting.

Oh, as far as rock lights go, I just run cheap Walmart platinum burner lights.
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Yeah I don't like them either. I have some mounted on the windshield and the glare is crazy. They are angled so far out just to help it a little bit. I will be taking them off soon.
 
Sharkey

Sharkey

Word Ninja
I'm the odd man out here. I like having some lights up high but it takes the right kind of lights. I never felt like my lightforce 170's glared my hood too much, and I felt like the range was better having them up higher. I did focus them as spots though. I used to run five hella rally lights (very large) on the roof of my blazer. Again, they were set up as spots and combo beams. It was like driving during the day. ;)
 
ssgp2

ssgp2

Member
Would you agree that a focus beam mounted on the windshield(top or bottom) would reduce the hood glare and a diffuse beam would be more appropriate on the bumper?

Do you think this technology has it's place in 4 wheeling or just for city and highway?
 
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Sharkey

Sharkey

Word Ninja
ssgp2 said:
Would you agree that a focus beam mounted on the windshield(top or bottom) would reduce the hood glare and a diffuse beam would be more appropriate on the bumper?
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That's generally the mix I have used and it worked well for me. As for the thermal, looks cool but I'm not a fan of having to take your eyes off the road. Might be cool if you could run it as a heads up display.
 
ssgp2

ssgp2

Member
I agree, a HUD system like some european cars(Cadillac also if not mistaken) is the way to go.
 
OverlanderJK

OverlanderJK

Resident Smartass
Sharkey said:
That's generally the mix I have used and it worked well for me. As for the thermal, looks cool but I'm not a fan of having to take your eyes off the road. Might be cool if you could run it as a heads up display.
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I agree. It would be useful for a co-driver I think or maybe if there was a hologram display on the windshield.:crazyeyes:
 
MTG

MTG

Caught the Bug
If you haven't done trucklites do those first before any accessory lighting.

I run dually D2 on my windshields and love them! I don't notice any glare. It's like driving in daylight. I've ran them in the desert at about 60 MPH and could see everything.

I can't imagine home much light the Rigid 50" lightbar puts out.
 
Steele2j

Steele2j

New member
I am also concerned about adding lights to the windshield and getting the glare.


I am looking at the lightforce 140 HID's. Any thoughts?
 
Gibbo

Gibbo

New member
I've seen a couple of videos comparing LED to HID,and the LED's had the spread of light, but no where near the distance the HID's had. No personal experience though. I did have 5 KC spots on a light bar once, and the glare was so bad with no top on, I had to wear a baseball cap.:crazyeyes:
 
bl17z90

bl17z90

New member
Gibbo said:
I've seen a couple of videos comparing LED to HID,and the LED's had the spread of light, but no where near the distance the HID's had. No personal experience though. I did have 5 KC spots on a light bar once, and the glare was so bad with no top on, I had to wear a baseball cap.:crazyeyes:
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Topless+baseball cap=problems :crazyeyes:
 
JKAnimal

JKAnimal

Caught the Bug
My configuration is spots up high on the roof rack, floods down low on the bumper, floods up high in the rear.

I went with the spots up high so the beam is narrower and reaches out further so I can see WAY down the road. Fogs down low throw a wide beam to I get large coverage to the sides, up high, and down low. The fogs have a very large radius of light they throw out. I just have the regular dually. I have been thinking about putting some on the lower tabs of the roof rack by the windshield, pointing out to the side. The only problem I noticed driving at night on the trails is coming up on sharp turns on forested trails it is hard to see around the bend (this is why I was thinking lights a little lower would help). I thought it would be nice to have the lights pointed out to the sides.

I use the fogs on the front bumper for driving since we have a lot of back roads here. You can see a deer or hog from very far off. With the LEDs their eyes light up super bright way off. I plan on getting the Trucklights ASAP to round off my LED collection. I would agree with MTG that if you can afford them they are probably the most useful purchase and will get the most use.
 
bl17z90

bl17z90

New member
OverlanderJK said:
I always wear a hat and don't have top and doors on that often. Just need it to be tight. :thumb:


(Insert dirty comment here)
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I love to drive with my Jeep wide open but but sadly winter starts about October and doesn't end until May here in MD.

And with all that cold time, we hardly ever get snow to take the Jeep out in :mad:
 
Mikes Offroad

Mikes Offroad

New member
Has anyone heard of an LED light called Aurora? I dealer in Edmonton Alberta tells me that they actually make the lights for Ridgid, Ridgid just places their names on them. Reason is I can pick up a 50" that produces 24500 Lum of light for around $1100 cad.
 
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