How to choose light bar?
 

Before anybody says "just do a search", I did. I am having some information overload.
I'm very overwhelmed with the options available to install a hidden light bar on my 2016 4Runner. I'm in a marketing class currently and don't really trust the marketing of all these companies. LOL.
How am I supposed to know which bar is decent quality? Which bar will last me 5 or 10 years? I'm not an "image" person, rather I want this truck to last me a LONG time. I will not be changing accessories over the long term and prefer they don't fail. I also understand that high price does not also equal best quality.
On the subject of mounts, I like the look of the Cali Raised bracket. My only concern is the removal of the air dams. They are there for a reason. Is there a mount system that retains the factory engineered cooling system?

With automotive lighting - like many other things - you get what you pay for. If you want a high quality LED light bar, then go to premium suppliers like Diode Dynamics, Baja Designs or Rigid. Avoid the Amazon and eBay crap in spite of their fabulous (and generally false) claims of superior performance.

How to choose light bar?
 

Totally erroneous. The big name brands are insanely priced. OP says he doesn’t want to replace... but some of these Baja ones are literally 1,000’s of dollars... for a light bar... that in all likelihood won’t see tons of use... so you could literally buy 10-20 “amazon or eBay crap” ones for a single big name flashy probably-still-manufactured-in-the-same-Chinese-warehouse light bar.

I just don’t get it. I have “amazon or eBay crap” lights on my roof and I’ve put a decent amount of use on them.. still bright as shit. A WALL of light. And if one dies, it’s like $70-150... not $700-1500.

A lot of this nonsense is status symbol. “Oh you don’t have Baja lights?... pshhh”. I experience it all day where I work for a high-end brand RV company... and all the internals are literally the exact same as a “less-accredited”company and these folks pay 5-8 times for the allure of that status...

I wish folks wouldn’t fall for that trap.

Then again, maybe I’m full of shit and my cheap lights are the 1 out of 1,000,000 that aren’t garbage. I accept that could be it as well.

My recommendation is start cheap and see how much you even use the thing. And if you see that you use it all the time, upgrade for equivalent of what is several month’s car payments or grocery payments or gas or a killer bumper/ winch...

And then you’re only out that $70-150 initial investment which you could turn around and resell.

Doing it the other way: spend $1500 on lights and then you never use it... I just don’t get it. Makes me want to start a company called “Compensator Industries”.

I have the Cali Raised 32" light bar and ditch lights. Am happy with both as they lit up the backcountry roads on my trip through Utah last month just fine.

Are the other light bars better? Based on what I've read they are incrementally better performing overall, but for the price, the Cali Raised are really good value.

Regarding the air dam... I cut out slots in the air dams to slide the bracket through in order to retain them. It'd be easiest with a Dremel, but I used a utility knife which wasn't too bad if you let the plastic warm up in the sun a little.

https://i.imgur.com/RMEjIlQ.jpg

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My advice might sound "totally erroneous" to you, but I actually started with the cheap crap and then stepped up to Diode Dynamics and Baja Designs after the cheap crap started to look like an aquarium (my 30" light bar) and outright failed (several LED pods). The exterior finish work on the cheaper products is particularly bad if you live (as I do) in an area where they use road salt.

I too believed that many of the higher priced products were manufactured in the same factories in China. This part however is partially true. Many companies (including one already mentioned in this post) simply buy lights from contract manufacturers who will gladly slap your name on their product. So yes, many cheap LED bars are actually the same junk.

One thing nobody has mentioned yet is light pattern. The cheap stuff is pretty good at simply blasting light out all over the place and some folks like / want that. I don't. I want light where I want it and not everywhere else blinding me (and others) with useless glare. My Diode Dynamics 30" bar is light years ahead of the CR bar it replaced in both quality of build and light focus even though both are / were supposedly "all driving pattern." This also means it puts light much farther down the road. And a year and a half later, no fish are swimming in it.

But, that's my personal experience. Take it for what it's worth.

This is all definitely true. I use BD lights, and I bought a couple ebay 6" light pods to use as portable camp lights attached to a pole. when comparing them to the S2 sports on my rack, which only have 2 emitters, the 6 emitter ebay lights are only 50% the brightness, if that. Both brightness due to better emitters as well as proper beam pattern/throw are significantly better in BD lights( haven't tested other name brands).

It does depend on use though. If you never really intend to use them often and its just for show, then definitely not worth spending the money. Just buy what looks cool.

Fair enough. I appreciate and respect the feedback. In fairness I did leave room in my post for me to be completely wrong, since I admit I don’t know everything.

I also respect the idea you went up the ladder in cost and therefore have firsthand experience. I’m also ignorant of conditions such as road salt and rough winters since I’m spoiled in that way by living in CA. I never thought of that and that’s a great observation.

It just appears to me that most folks buy for looks. The appearance of an over landing rig. Especially around where I live. So if one is to buy for looks, I just can’t see justifying such a massive expense when the money could be used on something waaaay more useful.

For perspective: my Coastal off-road bumper and winch for my 2nd gen totalled out to about $1500.... I would argue that’s a way better purchase than a light bar due to fancy name. But a lot of folks might just have tons of extra money and/or have a more complete knowledge/necessity for those fancier lights.

Regardless, post up pics of what you decide OP

I do tons of research before i buy, then i ask for opinions. Its all part of the research to find the best and most reliable fit for me.

Ultimately for me it came down to the best quality/reliability and the smallest design so i went with Baja S1's for my rear lighting. The beam pattern is fantastic and brightness is surprising for its size (as true with all BD lights).

https://i.imgur.com/Z5SpIA3l.jpg

I am still deciding if i want a light bar since i can accomplish the same lighting goal with a set of ditch lights from Baja that cost much less than a fixed light bar. I think i am leaning toward S2 Pro ditch light instead of a light bar for more more versatility.

IMO Baja is definitely the best US manufacture of lights. Overall quality, customer service and brightness to size is great. Sure, they are not cheap but you will be 100% confident they will work every time (reliability when off road is #1). BD customer service is awesome too, great communication with my orders and even threw in some extra plugs for some custom wiring i did.

I expect my BD S1's to last a lifetime, maybe 2. lol

OP,

My .02 cents is kind of a mixture of the two opinions in this thread. I too look at this vehicle as a 20+ year vehicle and don't mind spending big money to get a product that will last. Other than the initial shock of spending the money I have never regretted the price after owning the "top tier" thing for a while.

With that being said I was shocked at the price spread on lighting. Having had mixed experiences with ebay/amazon lightbars I knew I wanted to step up in quality but was not going to spend big for the really cool looking ones.

I went with a brand called "Heise". They are in the around $200.00 for a 30" lightbar range. I use these lights a lot on the farm both for navigation as well as work lights. They have also been used in snow a lot as well as on the beach in the gulf, (saltwater environment). 3years in and they look brand new, no fogging/haziness in the lenses, no finish degradation on the aluminum, and no deterioration of the LED's. Signs are they appear as if they will last. (one on roof, one just above my winch so down low).

Don't know if the BD, Rigid, etc. tier lights will last longer or have a better beam pattern, but I know I'm very pleased with the throw and light pattern of my bars.

For back ground I am a flashlight nerd who now exclusively uses Surefire products due to durability first, beam pattern second, brightness third, standing behind the product fourth, and fit finish/pride of ownership fifth so I'm not opposed to spending big bucks for performance and have a somewhat comparable base of knowledge for lighting products.

There's a fine line between cheap chinese crap and cheap but decent quality stuff. I have no need to drop a grand or more on a light bar when I've had good success with my Opt7 lights. One survived a fender bender and another one that I've had on 2 different 4Runners for the last 6 years or so and still works great.

My vote is Diode Dynamics. They actually have videos comparing their lights to other manufacturer’s lights using objective data. While they may not always be the winner in whatever category and beam pattern they are testing, they are at least honest. I’ll give them money over BD or Rigid any day. Bonus is that they are in between the cheap Amazon specials and the BD/Rigid in terms of price. The only place I wouldn’t use DD is somewhere out in the open like ditch lights or roof light bar since they appear to be easier to steal

As with anything in life, buy the best one you can afford that is within your budget.


As for me, I went budget lighting so I can run better suspension and armor.

OP. I think a lot of it depends on what you are planning to do with it, whether you want the lights hidden or visible when you are done, etc.

I wanted a very bright driving light for when I was on the trail / a f service road at night.

I also wanted it hidden / low key.

Finally, I wanted to not have to modify the vehicle (e.g. drill) and have things easily reversible.

$20 got a 20" behind-the-grill mount from SDHQ which fits perfectly.

It will work with a number of different vendor's lights (BD + Rigid for sure per SDHQ, but I'm sure you can make others fit). I went with BD because I liked their "wide driving" pattern.

https://i.imgur.com/FzUNiW3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/iXEpOqX.jpg

Works very well. It's in-line with the headlights, plenty bright, and out of sight unless you are looking.

So I'd say get really clear on what for and where you are mounting as part of your research.

PS Just for fun, here is the throw in a picture taken at night on the Alvord Playa

https://i.imgur.com/5x19Snl.jpg

All good points...and both the cheap and expensive routes have their pros and cons....

However....one has to often weigh "value".
I am personally in the commercial lighting business and my business installs millions of dollars worth on commercial lighting every year. Some is custom made Sanctuary lighting and some is off the shelf white label parking lot lighting, all made in China. All with a 10 year warranty.
All that to say, I personally don't think the really high end stuff is a good value. Can I afford it...yes, but I don't feel good about it because I know (for the most part) all of the chip sets are made in the same plant in china. Yes the overall build quality may be better, but for me its not worth it on something that is easily replaced. If the failure of a light bar could damage my engine, yes, I would go with the best. If I was bombing down a desert track at night, yes I would spend the money....but for crawling around trails at 10mph, the cheapos are fine with me.

I'm not very smart, but its all about your priorities and what makes you happy. On the opposite spectrum, I would never buy dinner at an applebees, I would rather spend 300$ for dinner with my lady at a fine steakhouse.

What a great looking setup.