Fans of light bars. Questions

[aman43]

Im new to auxillery lighting and just have some questions.

1. Slimline LEDs bars or big round lights? This is less a practical question as it is a fashion question. I personally like the big KChighlights with smiley face covers but i dont want to be laughed at. Is there any cultural rules i would be breaking?

2. Is LED the standard now? or are there alternative lights that are better?

3. KChighlights makes a roof rack/cage that has a built in bar and side lights to light up the campsight, but since the roof comes off , is this a bad idea since it looks like bronco has mounts right on the windshield?

4. Underbody lighting/rock lights. Cringe or cool?

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[Rogues Gambit]

all I know is you'll be getting wind whistling from what I heard with the full strip bar

my friends dad has it on his Silverodriguez and was bitching to him about it, though I could be wrong about it overall

 

[aman43]

all I know is you'll be getting wind whistling from what I heard with the full strip bar

my friends dad has it on his Silverodriguez and was bitching to him about it, though I could be wrong about it overall

never thought about that. Ya a full lightbar would likely whistle

 

[attworth]

1. Totally personal preference. If I add a bar, it’ll be round lights to match the headlights. I have a slim bar on my D2, and it definitely does the job.

2. LED is pretty standard. Halogen and HID are still out there though.

3. Some pictures of the modified orange 2 door show the (assumed to be) factory accessory roof rails installed without the front roof panels. It seems like the rail may be designed to stay in place while the roof is off. I’m holding out hope for that, since I love having a rack on my D2, but don’t want to lose the ability to take off the roof panels (at least the ones over the passengers) like you do on a Wrangler with a standard rack system.

4. I like them for camping, but I think a lot of people get them strictly for show.

 

[aman43]

1. Totally personal preference. If I add a bar, it’ll be round lights to match the headlights. I have a slim bar on my D2, and it definitely does the job.

2. LED is pretty standard. Halogen and HID are still out there though.

3. Some pictures of the modified orange 2 door show the (assumed to be) factory accessory roof rails installed without the front roof panels. It seems like the rail may be designed to stay in place while the roof is off. I’m holding out hope for that, since I love having a rack on my D2, but don’t want to lose the ability to take off the roof panels (at least the ones over the passengers) like you do on a Wrangler with a standard rack system.

4. I like them for camping, but I think a lot of people get them strictly for show.

never thought about the round lights matching the headlights good point

 

[Garemlin]

I hate hate hate any form of light bar. People are abusing them. Using them on the road. Blinding oncoming traffic. I even see little ricer cars with them mounted on the hood. IMO they look stupid too. There is my opinion on light bars.

Now some round KC's with a small bull bar or a roof mount would look cool. If I was doing any night time off-roading or overlanding I'd consider something like the KC Gravity bar.

 

[DarthTod]

3. Some pictures of the modified orange 2 door show the (assumed to be) factory accessory roof rails installed without the front roof panels. It seems like the rail may be designed to stay in place while the roof is off. I’m holding out hope for that, since I love having a rack on my D2, but don’t want to lose the ability to take off the roof panels (at least the ones over the passengers) like you do on a Wrangler with a standard rack system.

There are two mount points on the front of the windshield frame for the roof racks or light bars. So I think you should be able to slide the front roof panel out from underneath the rack/rails as it won’t be connected to the roof itself up front.

 

[attworth]

There are two mount points on the front of the windshield frame for the roof racks or light bars. So I think you should be able to slide the front roof panel out from underneath the rack/rails as it won’t be connected to the roof itself up front.

That’s definitely what it looks like, and I hope it’s true. I also hope the middle section on 4 door will work the same. I wonder how the curved part will get past the roll bar though since it’s not a split design like the front.

 

[Gr8Hortoni]

https://www.kchilites.com/light-typ...MIwPb__e7X6gIVhsDACh3hnwCCEAAYASAAEgLQl_D_BwE

best of both worlds, KC’s in a bar with LED. One of the best setups on the market. They get very pricey though. If I could afford it, I would love to have this setup on my BD. They looks sick on the JL/JT.

 

[rgwinn]

I will not get a full LED Bar again, the wind noise was horrible. I put door edge stripping on the fins to reduce the highway noise. I will go with LED Cubes on the front and rear

 

[Toffs]

I have light bars on my Raptor (after market front bumper with internal winch) and they have been extremely helpful off-road and in unique situations. Yes, there are many people who run their light bars in normal traffic; unacceptable. However, light bars can be an extraordinary benefit in unique situations on road -- such as rural driving -- if, and only if, you treat them as you would your high beams. I have never left a bar light on when another driver is detected. I have been able to avoid several near misses with wildlife in rural situations. Also, orange light bars absolutely improve my field of vision in foggy conditions. I run Rigid lights and have had zero issues other than minor cosmetic issues. Also, no wind noise when mounted on the bumper -- that I could detect!

 

[Stampede.Offroad]

all I know is you'll be getting wind whistling from what I heard with the full strip bar
...

They're a lot more prone to whistle, especially if mounted close to the body.

 

[Sighlense]

Passed a Dodge the other day that had a full strip bar on top. I heard it whistling from about 100 yards out...no lie.

 

[chicknwithabeer]

I just took my light bar off and it WON'T go back on. I picked up 1.5 mpg and I can hear again.

 

[elmystico]

I don't do anything purely for the look. I'm a cheapskate and now you need to get the h*ll off my lawn.

Seriously, I wanted lights that were functional only. Spots for extra light at night in weather or dark off-road areas, fogs for, um, fog, and a small rear spotlight bar on the rack in case I needed light behind the truck. Because of wind noise, resistance, bug splatter and all the downsides, I went with Rigid Duallys integrated into an aftermarket center grille and Rigid fogs on an aftermarket lower grille on my FJ. The grilles are powder-coated and take a beating from God, stones and armor-plated insects. I tried cheap Amazon lights instead of the Duallys at first, and the seals rotted and failed in a year. Rigid is not cheap, but dammit, they really last.

The rear light, aka the FU light when @ssholios tailgate me, has come in handy more times than I expected when we had to make an emergency roadside stop at night in the middle of nowhere. It lights up several yards around the truck reminding coyotes I can now see them.

All this to say, screw big fat cyclops light bars.

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