Light bar vs. Good Seperate Lamps

[BettysNephew]

First let me establish my parameters:

I am not a racer and will never be blasting through Baja or anywhere else at speed. Not too many rocky areas in Iowa for crawling either.
I would like to be able to use the lighting on the street as well as trail.
There will be no safari rack on the top or steel bumper on front.
If I buy separates they will be good quality lamps (Hella, Cibie, etc.)
My preference is LED due to lower current draw. 5000k tops, 4300k would be better, no blue light specials.
Beam pattern between fog and low beam or thereabouts.

What sayeth the wisdom of the hive?

 

[preacher35]

First let me establish my parameters:

I am not a racer and will never be blasting through Baja or anywhere else at speed. Not too many rocky areas in Iowa for crawling either.
I would like to be able to use the lighting on the street as well as trail.
There will be no safari rack on the top or steel bumper on front.
If I buy separates they will be good quality lamps (Hella, Cibie, etc.)
My preference is LED due to lower current draw. 5000k tops, 4300k would be better, no blue light specials.
Beam pattern between fog and low beam or thereabouts.

What sayeth the wisdom of the hive?

Um, you have NOT given us enough information and thus, I am at a loss of what exactly you are asking us. Are you asking us to recommend a brand or are you only asking us if you should choose LED's over halogens? Are you asking us light bar vs. individuals or are you asking us if it should be mounted on a bumper vs. on the roof? We need MORE INFORMATION.

 

[2014 Warthog]

Matter of preference really...

Incandescent offroad lights look a lot better/easier on the eyes that's true. But yes they also draw a lot of current, require heavier wiring, etc. Also stick up more, more wind resistance.

LEDS are super light on power, easily wired, low profile, but to get enough light output they are VERY white which (and here's where the personal preference comes in) is not that great to look at IMHO.

In the end though, even though I would rather the color of incandescent lamps, I went with LED due to the other benefits.

Not sure if they make any lower temp LED lights yet. Though if they do they would be lower light output per watt, the reason they are all brilliant white (almost blue/white) is because that is the natural color of the pure, unfiltered, highest phosphorescent output compound currently made.

 

[BettysNephew]

Um, you have NOT given us enough information and thus, I am at a loss of what exactly you are asking us. Are you asking us to recommend a brand or are you only asking us if you should choose LED's over halogens? Are you asking us light bar vs. individuals or are you asking us if it should be mounted on a bumper vs. on the roof? We need MORE INFORMATION.

Per the title line: Light bar or Lamps.

I was hoping the body would just give guidance to my general wants.
Not brand, I will make that decision.
As said I prefer LED. I would consider upgrading to LED if the unit had incandescents originally.
Yes, Bar v. Individual.
They will not be on the roof.

Is that sufficient?

 

[TCMach]

Personally I would go LED. Lower current draw, bulb life, light output, size. I've had both and sold my Hellas for an LED bar and couldn't be happier. Couple that with the fact that there are covers being made for lightbars now (orange and blue) and I wont be buying anything else.

I would throw in HID lamps into this mix (such as lightforce 240 HID) but they are quite pricey. But as far as light throw goes, its hard to beat them.

 

[KidVermicious]

You said using them on the street. If staying legal is a concern, you can chuck the idea of a light bar, they aren't DOT compliant. I don't know how many aux lights are compliant, for that matter, but a pair of 55w halogen fog lamps or the LED equivalent are a lot less likely to get you pulled over than a light bar blazing from your roof rack or front bumper.

 

[swapmeet]

I imagine OP wants to use them "on the street" when nobody else is on the street.

Obviously thats kinda like not stopping at a stop sign when nobody is around... but thats the feeling I get from OP's request.

I prefer the LED bar or Cube lights for the reasons mentioned. My comment is do you buy the knock off stuff or do you step up and get something from Rigid or equivalent?

I was considering getting the Rigid D2 on a Ditch Light bracket from CBI. Its 2 tiny cubes that put out almost as much light as a off brand bar.

I don't wheel enough in the dark to really worry about it, but if I had to make the call... thats the bigger decision.

 

[TCMach]

ill never buy rigid just because of the price. I can almost buy a 40" bar from OKLEDLIGHTBARS for that price. And ill end up with almost 19000 lumens, 3x a set of rigid pods and a 3 year warranty. All his stuff has great reviews from alot of guys on Tacomaworld. They've had like 8 group buys for them. Just because it isn't a rigid doesnt mean its junk. Just my opinion

 

[gtlshroutti]

In the end though, even though I would rather the color of incandescent lamps

 

[zopperman]

ill never buy rigid just because of the price. I can almost buy a 40" bar from OKLEDLIGHTBARS for that price. And ill end up with almost 19000 lumens, 3x a set of rigid pods and a 3 year warranty. All his stuff has great reviews from alot of guys on Tacomaworld. They've had like 8 group buys for them. Just because it isn't a rigid doesnt mean its junk. Just my opinion

I agree, BUT word of caution is I think the lumen ratings on all these are BS. My 40" china bar is "24,000 lumens" and my 20" is "10,000 lumens". what the hell is a lumen anyway

HIDs for distance (but be warned they take a bit to heat up) LEDs for flood. Combination of the two will give you a sweet output. Halogen is really not worth it for things aside from high beams

 

[swapmeet]

I agree, BUT word of caution is I think the lumen ratings on all these are BS. My 40" china bar is "24,000 lumens" and my 20" is "10,000 lumens". what the hell is a lumen anyway

HIDs for distance (but be warned they take a bit to heat up) LEDs for flood. Combination of the two will give you a sweet output. Halogen is really not worth it for things aside from high beams

Yeah, I'm not saying the off brands are crap, but I don't believe the stated Lumen rating for a minute.

If you research how a "lumen" is measured, its very subjective.

I think that, for the most part, you get what you pay for. You are not getting the same quality out of the 'knock off' brands. They may work fine and I have no doubt that everyone is happy with their purchase, but that doesn't mean you're getting the same light for the money.

 

[zopperman]

Yeah, I'm not saying the off brands are crap, but I don't believe the stated Lumen rating for a minute.

If you research how a "lumen" is measured, its very subjective.

I think that, for the most part, you get what you pay for. You are not getting the same quality out of the 'knock off' brands. They may work fine and I have no doubt that everyone is happy with their purchase, but that doesn't mean you're getting the same light for the money.

i agree with all of that. That being said, I am happy with my cheap china bars, especially my 10W 20".

 

[TCMach]

what the hell is a lumen anyway

Its a measure of how long your retinas last if you stare at it.....or something like that :loco:

It really is a useless number. I compared my 10w 20" Illumination Supply bar to a Rigid E series 20" and I couldn't tell the difference. Rigid was rated for 9000 lumens mine is like 10,000 or something. All I know is its better than my old Hella 700ffs

 

[swapmeet]

Sorry for the thread de-rail OP...
[MENTION=82211]TCMach[/MENTION]
Check this out.
Its kind of long, so skip to 6:20
30" China Bar vs 30" Rigid.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1vShTn7bWes" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Range]

OP, check out KC's website. They have a comparison of HID vs. Halogen vs. LED and show examples of Bars and Lamps. I was lost trying to figure out what I want because I too want something for the road but something I can also use offroading/camping. Not saying to buy KC's but start from there.

 

[swapmeet]

i agree with all of that. That being said, I am happy with my cheap china bars, especially my 10W 20".

Yeah absolutely, if the cheap bar gives you the light you want and you're happy with it... its all good in my book.

But my point is this:

If a pair of Rigid D2's

Can give a equal or greater light output compared to this

Then it may be worth the extra money to have a more compact, higher quality set up.

 

[junkyardbiker]

I have a large array of china led lights on top of mine and I haved used them for the past year with only one issue. Condensation built up in one and shorted it. After that I immediatly dissasemble them and seal them better with RTV. They are plenty bright and pretty cheap. If I smack one on a tree branch or whatever Im not out the cost of a name brand. They do draw far less power compared to the amount of output even though the claimed lumens may not be realistic. Cant beat them.

 

[junkyardbiker]

Top pic is of the 20" spot bar, a pair of 6" spot pods in each side, and a pair of 4" rigid knockoff floods angled out to the sides for seeing around the turns. The 20" spot is up for distance, the 6" spots are down for pretty close in front. The second pic is just the 6" spots on with no headlights.

 

[zopperman]

Sorry for the thread de-rail OP...

[MENTION=82211]TCMach[/MENTION]
Check this out.
Its kind of long, so skip to 6:20
30" China Bar vs 30" Rigid.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1vShTn7bWes" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I didn't listen with sound but does he say if they are both the same beam pattern? cus it looks like the rigid one is a spot beam.

I have no doubt that a rigid bar is better, but 10x the price better?

 

[slapdappy]

good separate lamps. simple. subtle.
hope you do not use them on the street. The legality is irrelevant to me. the obnoxiousness of the oncoming light is. People love having their driving lights/fog lights/whatever switched on because they like the way it makes their truck look. All it makes a truck look like is an obnoxious A Hole who is too selfish or ignorant to understand how this impacts oncoming drivers.
I drive a 4runner with a 1" body lift yet still wince when some 'bro rolls with his cool auxiliary lights on. It's a lesser version of the insanely bright lights on top of cop cars these days, which are so intense they are actually disorienting.
Anyhow, please use whichever sweet auxiliary lights you mount off road or on empty stretches of pavement. My 50 year old eyes can't take it.