Yup, you and I are on the same boat. I use two pencil beams on the front bumper to see that cow half a mile ahead.
LED Light Bar - Rigid or Bust?
- Thread starter mrtifftiff
- Start date
$1500??? With how fast the LED light word changes I don't know how tha price makes sense. About 10 years ago I bought an LED flashlight for about $100 that blew the doors every light I ever had in my life. I pushed about 100 lumens. Today for $100 I can get a 4000 lumen flashlight. The light tech is moving faster than computer chips by a factor of 10x. In fact I would not be surprised if in a few years that there will be laws on how bright a light you can buy!
I got my light bar from Seward Offroad a company out of Florida. I think they are priced well and have not had any issues so far. Ive only had it for a 2 months so we will see how they hold up and they offer a lifetime warranty as well. That was the main reason I went with them.
I haven't pulled the trigger on any of these yet myself but I have done a lot of research including some pretty detailed threads on other boards where folks with ATVs and such do a lot of off roading at night. The "knock-off" brand that stands out to me as having a lot of bang for the buck are the Sirius Professional series sold by Motoalliance. You can find them on Amazon, or you can buy them direct with a few more options. They are the only brand I see that claims an IP69 rating and offers a life time warranty at a very reasonable cost. I plan to get a 20 inch and a couple of 6 inch bars to fill in the brackets on my Gobi roof rack in the near future. Honestly, it is probably mostly for looks, so keeping the cost reasonable is extremely important. But hey, if I get to use them a couple of times a year and get a kick out of it, no harm no fowl.
SouthernSS
New member
If you go with an amazon bar get one with OSRAM leds for sure. I just replaced my 50" curved bar that had typical cree lighting and reflectors. That lightbar was more of a distraction and hindrance when lit up as it scattered light all over the hood and windshield. It effectively made it more difficult to see, go figure.
These OSRAM LEDS have a built in spot lens on each diode and it WORKS AMAZINGLY well. Not only do I get literally NO relection on my hood or windshield, but this thing is exceedingly bright. You cant look directly at it even in the daytime without melting your retinas.
Cost $225 shipped, and I am very happy with it right now. Will it last as long as a RIGID? I dunno, but for 225 I can buy 6 of them before it even begins to be similar cost.
These OSRAM LEDS have a built in spot lens on each diode and it WORKS AMAZINGLY well. Not only do I get literally NO relection on my hood or windshield, but this thing is exceedingly bright. You cant look directly at it even in the daytime without melting your retinas.
Cost $225 shipped, and I am very happy with it right now. Will it last as long as a RIGID? I dunno, but for 225 I can buy 6 of them before it even begins to be similar cost.
NuclearN8
New member
In my mind people who put auxiliary lighting on vehicles are doing it just for looks, UNLESS you are an offroad, high speed baja racer or looking to provide some sort feature outside of driving (like auxiliary basecamp lighting off the roof rack).
There is no way anyone can convince me the OEM lighting isn't good enough to safely operate the vehicle in any weather condition.
IF you need more light than your high beams you should either 1) not be driving or 2) slow the freak down (cause you're about to kill yourself).
[This written by a guy who ha wasted thousands on Rigid lighting in the past, it's pointless for function but looks cool as hell if that's what you're after]
Then again, maybe this is just me getting old and frugile....
There is no way anyone can convince me the OEM lighting isn't good enough to safely operate the vehicle in any weather condition.
IF you need more light than your high beams you should either 1) not be driving or 2) slow the freak down (cause you're about to kill yourself).
[This written by a guy who ha wasted thousands on Rigid lighting in the past, it's pointless for function but looks cool as hell if that's what you're after]
Then again, maybe this is just me getting old and frugile....
SouthernSS
New member
^---agreed. Purely for cool points.
I keep toying with the idea of adding some lights behind the grill. My problem is I would use them a lot, but I don't want to remortgage the house to buy them.
I drive on steep narrow winding 2 lane mountain roads in the dark where there's really nothing besides the moon to provide ambient light. On roads like that you can never have too much light. My MK6 GTI had HID high and low beams and the AFS system which monitored steering input so the headlights could pivot to light up around the bends in the road. That setup and a simple coding change to allow you to run the fog lights with high beams was phenomenal in those conditions.
My 4Runner with the fogs wired to work with the high and low beams all at once is not even close to the same level of vision in the dark.
I drive on steep narrow winding 2 lane mountain roads in the dark where there's really nothing besides the moon to provide ambient light. On roads like that you can never have too much light. My MK6 GTI had HID high and low beams and the AFS system which monitored steering input so the headlights could pivot to light up around the bends in the road. That setup and a simple coding change to allow you to run the fog lights with high beams was phenomenal in those conditions.
My 4Runner with the fogs wired to work with the high and low beams all at once is not even close to the same level of vision in the dark.
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Jeremy556
New member
Try route finding in the desert, at night. Sometimes it is tough to spot where the trail is and where turns are during the day time.
Twisty mountain roads where your headlights are not actually lighting up the road ahead, plus, deer and elk everywhere.
I think they look tacky (every bro dozer around here is covered in them) and take my top bar off in the summer.
KidVermicious
New member
Jeremy is exactly right. It's fawking dark at night out there, OEM lights don't cut it. You need more light, and you need a wider beam. And if you're trying to go fast, you need WAY more throw.
I hide mine too. On the 4Runner they're hidden in the bumper, and on the pickup they're in the grill.
I hide mine too. On the 4Runner they're hidden in the bumper, and on the pickup they're in the grill.
Sorry to bump an old thread, but, can you link to the bar you've bought?
