Led lightbars

[Boofa]

Hi guys,
has anybody got an opinion on these, are they as good as traditional spotlights? what are the things to look for in a good quality lightbar? Anybody have them on there vehicles or seen them on other vehicles?
:bananarock:

[dan&tamspatrol]

depends on ur application how far do u want to see light bars good for lighting up immediate area spotties good for distance

[bazzad]

We fit them to our trucks at work. They give a good spread of white light and remove shadows but i think the contrast from on to off would make them i bit hard to drive with on the road. Would be interested to hear from some who has used them on the road but.
cheers bazza

[Mmarcuss]

I have a 20" Baja designs light bar and while they don't give you the range as a good set of hid's they get you a really good spread of light and good quality light as well.

I drive alot of windy country roads going to work and this is better for my situation. I will also add that if you do night 4x4ing they are great to have.

[Richo460]

I am looking for a combo of LED bars and spotties, how much better are the HID's than normal, was looking at 2 x lightforce blitz (not HID) for the front bar and 2 x smallish LED bars for the front of the roof rack. Does anyone have a combo like this? Are the HID's worth paying double for?
Mmarcuss do you get better range from the LED bar than your normal headlights? Are LED bars legal for onroad use?

[Mmarcuss]

Heaps better range over standard headlight and yes they are legal. But they have to be wired up like spotlights so they come on with high beam. If you have them on your roof I believe that they need a separate isolator switch outside the cab because they are then "for off road use only". But I honestly don't know anyone who has done this, they just wire them up without the isolator.

[mick.]

I've got a 42 inch Light bar on my roof with 4 x 70 HIDs and 2 x 100 HIDs on the bullbar (yes I'm scared of the dark:eck05:) and the HIDs defiantly have it all over the light bars for distance. My light bar is a combo which is spot in the centre and spread on the outside. You can get them in all spread as well but not all as a spot. But up to about 300 metres the light bar has it all over them.

If you where buying one or the other I'd buy a light bar if your doing low range stuff or beach work but if your do a lot of road driving HIDs would be the go. Personally I think the ideal combo is Light force 240s with 70 HID kit and a Light bar of what ever size suits you.

Cheers Mick.

[nissannewby]

I wouldnt go much more than 55w with the hid i have a set of 55w XGT's and the light that comes out of them is intense the road signs are an issue with the reflection sometimes so anymore light and you may have too much reflection

[Boofa]

yea i was thinking two ipf 900xs hid spots on bullbar and a 22" led lightbar on roofrack for spread beam,

by the letter of the law any white light facing forward of the vehicle can not be any higher then 1300mm from the ground

[bazzad]

:clapping:Man that is serious lighting. Would like to see that sometime.

[mick.]

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/patrolpictures005.jpg

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/mickkk78/patrolpictures007.jpg

There not the best pics but you get the idea.:D

Cheers Mick.

[macca86]

people in the distance will think the aliens have landed

[Tweakedoffroad]

Hi guys,
has anybody got an opinion on these, are they as good as traditional spotlights? what are the things to look for in a good quality lightbar? Anybody have them on there vehicles or seen them on other vehicles?
:bananarock:


hey mate what sort of light are you after more for distance or from the front of truck onwards?

[bazzad]

Yep, serious lights, thanks Mick
Cheers
bazza

[choppie]

Hey Boofa
Just to confuse you more, I have Xray 220's on my bullbar, spread & spot, they are good for about 600mtrs with standard bulbs, haven't put HID kits in yet, they say they will be good for over 1200 mtrs then........ goodbye darkness

[Rusty86]

Wow that's some serious light!

[Richo460]

just going for an all round lighting package, i will be touring, driving at night and 4x4ing regularly so just wanted something for all occasions. I just bought 2 x 12" LED bars i will mount to the roof rack front and i think i will go lightforce blitz for driving. I just haven't heard much about the LED's and spending over $1000 on lights might be excessive, hell i can't see over a kilometer in day so i don't think i need HID's......yet. I should be spending my cash on a turbo for the old girl.

[Gas_Guzzler4800]

Sorry to hijack the thread but can anyone recommend a decent quality LED light bar without having to spend the earth. I would probably only want around a 10-12" to work in conjuction with my factory IPF spotties. I just want it to help light up the immediate area for low range night driving etc.

[Boofa]

thanks guys some good ideas there there are so many options around

[mick.]

Hey Boofa
Just to confuse you more, I have Xray 220's on my bullbar, spread & spot, they are good for about 600mtrs with standard bulbs, haven't put HID kits in yet, they say they will be good for over 1200 mtrs then........ goodbye darknessI can vouch for those lights also. I used to have them on my comp truck in the 35 watt factory HID. I got mine when they first come out and handled a couple of good roll overs and I just straightened them back up and they where as good as new.:wink:

There now on my mates 80 series and still going strong after 5 years.

Cheers Mick.

[Mmarcuss]

Sorry to hijack the thread but can anyone recommend a decent quality LED light bar without having to spend the earth. I would probably only want around a 10-12" to work in conjuction with my factory IPF spotties. I just want it to help light up the immediate area for low range night driving etc.

I can't comment on any other led bars but have a look at the baja designs one. I think they are a little bit more expensive but the 20" one I have is worth the extra and throws out good light.

[Tweakedoffroad]

Sorry to hijack the thread but can anyone recommend a decent quality LED light bar without having to spend the earth. I would probably only want around a 10-12" to work in conjuction with my factory IPF spotties. I just want it to help light up the immediate area for low range night driving etc.

Hey mate were abouts are you I can work out a price for you posted
Cheers russ

[mudnut]

Time to revisit this thread. Are Light bars worth it now, three years on. I see light bars have grown in size and wattage, and round ones are becoming more popular.

They are still touted to be short range, wide light spread, but how much have they really improved?

[threedogs]

They are cheap as chips lighting now, as you say Im not convinced they have long distant beam sorted yet
I did see you can now buy 3 row numbers, a nice 8 degree single row would throw a beam the furtherest imo
But for bang for buck you cant beat HID driving lights at $100 a pair for a 9" set

[nissannewby]

Lightforce have a light out now which incorporate a ring of leds around a hid spotlight. Lightforce generally produce good gear so would be good to see how these work in the real world.

[threedogs]

Lightforce have a light out now which incorporate a ring of leds around a hid spotlight. Lightforce generally produce good gear so would be good to see how these work in the real world.

Thanks Ill go up to TJM and get some facts and figure as well as some pics.
I ran EGTs for a long time till I changed to HID.

[Winnie]

I would not bother with spotlights nowadays. For outback night time touring (which I think is mad anyway) then yeah, spotlights with a 1km range are perfect.
There are no straight roads that long near me... LED light bar is perfect for me.

[mudnut]

There are many winding roads and roos and wallabies are almost in plague proportions, down this way, so long range is not a priority.

HID use high voltages, which I'm not a fan of for automotive applications.

[Bloodyaussie]

Lightforce have a light out now which incorporate a ring of leds around a hid spotlight. Lightforce generally produce good gear so would be good to see how these work in the real world.

I rang them after breaking a hunting light mount and they were rude to me and said they dont break.... err I have a broken one here in my hand and it really did not get that much use.
The part cost a fortune for what it was so I made my own out of steel and cost less that $5 to make compared to $60+ they wanted plus attitude.

[Throbbinhood]

Would recommend Stedi personally. Have been very happy with my purchases from them (1 x 24", 2 x 7", 2 x 6" round at the back). The 7's are mounted on the bottom of the bullbar, the 24 at the top. After a deep crossing (water was coming up the windscreen) one of the 7's got a bit of water in it. A quick email to Stedi and they'd sent out a return slip for it to be warrantied. Too easy! Well priced too!

[mudnut]

How much light did the 7" throw?

[Bloodyaussie]

How much light did the 7" throw?

Yesterday i was offered to onsell some very good lights of all description for a wholesaler.. did not get a chance to talk numbers yet and also the market is flooded with people selling lights so not sure i will do it yet. ?

[threedogs]

I think we should wait and see what the next generation LED light bars bring to the table.
Anything they sell now is pretty much old technology,

Just like the led head lights and led driving lights IMO they could be better and they will be ,,,,,,,in time

[Winnie]

Yesterday i was offered to onsell some very good lights of all description for a wholesaler.. did not get a chance to talk numbers yet and also the market is flooded with people selling lights so not sure i will do it yet. ?

I would not bother mate... like you said the market it is a ridiculously flooded market with every man and his dog importing them from China.
See how much you could get them for and then check eBay prices, I'd be very surprised if you could make $10 per light.

[Bloodyaussie]

I would not bother mate... like you said the market it is a ridiculously flooded market with every man and his dog importing them from China.
See how much you could get them for and then check eBay prices, I'd be very surprised if you could make $10 per light.

Yes but i may still arrange a group buy as they are already in the country there is no hidden problems and might be able to get some very good deals with full warranty and all ADR approved unlike the lights from directly out of China.

They have some great awning lights and awesome new products that had my juices flowing... i would not put myself in a position to be out of pocket..

i will try and get some prices and product pics.

[Throbbinhood]

How much light did the 7" throw?

They throw a bit, it's a little hard to quantify as I use them on a 45deg angle to my 24" front facing.. Idea being it basically illuminates all the corners.. I get good vision pretty much 90deg from the front of the bar - it's great around corners through the hills, and on 4x4 tracks helps to find the little tracks/lines that I might otherwise miss.

I can take some pics if it will help. Will just be of the backyard, but I'll block off the light in one pic, then unblock so you can see the difference.

[threedogs]

Yes but i may still arrange a group buy as they are already in the country there is no hidden problems and might be able to get some very good deals with full warranty and all ADR approved unlike the lights from directly out of China.

They have some great awning lights and awesome new products that had my juices flowing... i would not put myself in a position to be out of pocket..

i will try and get some prices and product pics.


Has to be something better than strip Leds for an awning light