Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray Dunakin
I like the combined low profile of your rack and lights, very nice.
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Thanks Ray. I made the brackets myself to fit as low to the rack as I could.
Quote:
Originally Posted by llDemonll
Avoid glare on the roof rack by not running lights up there. They don't really help your visibility at night because they provide light in the same area that your high beams already do. They light up the hood of your car and make it harder to see into the distance.
If you need a light bar, put it on the front of the car.
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This is true. Lighting on the roof is really not ideal except for projecting lights long distance at speed, which is what most experts will tell you. Here's Baja Designs:
Zone 5 - Racer Edition Spot: This zone is necessary for triple digit speeds, or wanting to see miles down the road. This is the only forward projection pattern we recommend mounting along your roofline (wider patterns can contribute to glare).
Most of us are not racing the Baja 1000. I admit that the reason I chose to mount lights up there was to simplify my installation, as my roof rack already has a drilled and recessed slot for mounting. This saved me from needing to buy hidden grill mounts and ditch brackets, cleaning up the overall look as well.
The first bar I tried (the dual control from ExtremeLED, designed to mimic the much better S8 light from Baja Designs) was described as a spot, but had such poorly controlled optics that it shone BRIGHT white light all over my hood unless I pointed it almost 20º up, completely eliminating the point.
That bar I ended up with (stage series from Diode Dynamics) utilizes total internal reflection (TIR) optics. The spill light on the hood is negligible; it's a gentle illumination rather than uncontrolled bright glare. It's still not ideal. However, the combination of all the lights (including my headlights and fogs) does a pretty good job of forward coverage for all speeds that I'm comfortable with at night.
Eye strain is a real thing, but my use case scenarios so far have been less than 2 hours at night (usually catching up to a group already at camp, etc.). I'm not racing the Baja 1000 all night. Having said that: if you have the choice, grill mounting is best for most scenarios. If you insist on a roof light, get one with good optics and don't be afraid to return lights that won't work.