Lights on roof vs cowl vs bumper

[Virtual-Chris]

I’ve never wheeled with extra lights. What are the pros/cons of mounting lights on these three areas?

I‘m guessing roof for distance, cowl to light up more of the sides, and bumper for more of the road surface?

If you’re going to start by adding lights in one place... which is best?

And what about the rear? How important is that compared to the front?

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[Mattwings]

All your assumptions are essentially correct. I have done cowl and bumper myself. Cowl was for “ditch lights” and I really liked the visibility it gave now to the sides when off road. If I tried to point them too far forward it did reflect off the hood and made them somewhat useless. Roof adds some noise and light reflection issues that make me shy away personally. I have not done reverse aftermarket lighting before, but the Bronco will probably get some. I have often wanted more light in reverse and definitely would like some work lighting in the back for hooking up trailers, getting gear together, setting up camp etc. With the pre-wire in the rear for the hero switches on the BL, I will look to try it out.

 

[broadicustomworks]

I’ve never wheeled with extra lights. What are the pros/cons of mounting lights on these three areas?

I‘m guessing roof for distance, cowl to light up more of the sides, and bumper for more of the road surface?

If you’re going to start by adding lights in one place... which is best?

And what about the rear? How important is that compared to the front?

The easiest and natural place for forward-facing lights you can use while driving (and not blinding everyone else) is the bumper. Fog/driving lights have been there for years for a reason.
My 2nd fav is the cowl. You can aim them pretty much wherever needed.
Matt is right, placed strictly forward and you do get some bounce-back from the hood. Great for ditch lighting or supplemental.
Bar, again as Matt said, adds some wind noise and resistance. But man will it light up the planet if you need it to!
Rock lights on the actual sides are worth more than their weight in gold when needed. I'm not talking about the red wheel well lights the brodozers are running.
Reverse lights are last on my list. Handy as can be when needed, but they are always the last thing I add, but typically the ones I miss the most when trying to back out of a situation or spot in the dark rain/fog.
Within reason you get what ya pay for too.
Amazon and Wish cheap-o lights suck. The lenses yellow and leak water. The light pattern sucks.
Mid-range is where I tend to fall, as I can't justify a $1500 set of 2 pod lights.

 

[Mattwings]

The easiest and natural place for forward-facing lights you can use while driving (and not blinding everyone else) is the bumper. Fog/driving lights have been there for years for a reason.
My 2nd fav is the cowl. You can aim them pretty much wherever needed.
Matt is right, placed strictly forward and you do get some bounce-back from the hood. Great for ditch lighting or supplemental.
Bar, again as Matt said, adds some wind noise and resistance. But man will it light up the planet if you need it to!
Rock lights on the actual sides are worth more than their weight in gold when needed. I'm not talking about the red wheel well lights the brodozers are running.
Reverse lights are last on my list. Handy as can be when needed, but they are always the last thing I add, but typically the ones I miss the most when trying to back out of a situation or spot in the dark rain/fog.
Within reason you get what ya pay for too.
Amazon and Wish cheap-o lights suck. The lenses yellow and leak water. The light pattern sucks.
Mid-range is where I tend to fall, as I can't justify a $1500 set of 2 pod lights.

I tend to go mid to lower (not the cheapest, but lower end) but I think I am going to try Baja Designs on the Bronco. If the Squadrons fit inside the BL bumper I think one set of combo lights in amber might take care of my fog light “needs” (winter/snow is my most common use for fog light pattern). I will probably go Harbor freight on the rear lights, they don’t need a great pattern and even the basic LED lighting is plenty bright for backing speeds. I am still unclear if the Squadrons have individual wiring so you can run the spots, floods or both simultaneously. As a fog it will loose utility if you can’t kill the spots in the snow or fog.

 

[Bud2020]

I will probably go Harbor freight on the rear lights, they don’t need a great pattern and even the basic LED lighting is plenty bright for backing speeds.

I am assuming you have seen the reverse light setup from Baja specific for the Bronco? 100% getting that setup for the rears. It's not that expensive.

https://www.bajadesigns.com/products/Ford-Bronco-Reverse-Kits.asp

 

[broadicustomworks]

I tend to go mid to lower (not the cheapest, but lower end) but I think I am going to try Baja Designs on the Bronco. If the Squadrons fit inside the BL bumper I think one set of combo lights in amber might take care of my fog light “needs” (winter/snow is my most common use for fog light pattern). I will probably go Harbor freight on the rear lights, they don’t need a great pattern and even the basic LED lighting is plenty bright for backing speeds. I am still unclear if the Squadrons have individual wiring so you can run the spots, floods or both simultaneously. As a fog it will loose utility if you can’t kill the spots in the snow or fog.

Yeah even those are high to me, at this point. But they are crazy-nice.
I have some on my Jeep that have amber LED and White LED for fog or driving.
Each bank has its own hot wire you can wire to a three-way or two separate switches. They are about $80 for a set of 2 pods. I would be really, really surprised if a high end light like the Baja Designs didn't do the same. Never installed or had any of theirs, so unsure.
I'll bet someone, somewhere on the internet has a video.
I'd be a mechanical Einstein if we had the internet when I was growing up and teaching myself how to work on stuff.

 

[broadicustomworks]

I am assuming you have seen the reverse light setup from Baja specific for the Bronco? 100% getting that setup for the rears. It's not that expensive.

https://www.bajadesigns.com/products/Ford-Bronco-Reverse-Kits.asp

Those are sweet. I like the mounting option also. It would work well in tailgating situations as well.

 

[Bud2020]

Those are sweet. I like the mounting option also. It would work well in tailgating situations as well.

I get tingly when thinking about setting up the zone lighting in SYNC 4.

 

[campbebc]

I tend to go mid to lower (not the cheapest, but lower end) but I think I am going to try Baja Designs on the Bronco. If the Squadrons fit inside the BL bumper I think one set of combo lights in amber might take care of my fog light “needs” (winter/snow is my most common use for fog light pattern). I will probably go Harbor freight on the rear lights, they don’t need a great pattern and even the basic LED lighting is plenty bright for backing speeds. I am still unclear if the Squadrons have individual wiring so you can run the spots, floods or both simultaneously. As a fog it will loose utility if you can’t kill the spots in the snow or fog.

Assuming you've seen this kit they announced? https://www.bajadesigns.com/Products/Ford-Bronco-Fog-Pocket-Kits.asp

I've always loved that look from Raptor builds, would throw a TON of light

 

[VelocityBrew]

I am assuming you have seen the reverse light setup from Baja specific for the Bronco? 100% getting that setup for the rears. It's not that expensive.

https://www.bajadesigns.com/products/Ford-Bronco-Reverse-Kits.asp

I get the feeling they are going to get a fair amount of my money

 

[Mattwings]

Assuming you've seen this kit they announced? https://www.bajadesigns.com/Products/Ford-Bronco-Fog-Pocket-Kits.asp

I've always loved that look from Raptor builds, would throw a TON of light

I did, it's just probably a bit extreme for my application. I don't do any high speed running at night, but I do like a good "fog" cut off for snow/fog and in general it's nice to have a full and bright light pattern when off road. The Squadrons stand alone seem like they would do the job and it sounds like they have a "2 wire" set up for the two patterns. If I went any more, it would likely be the cowl lights, but I went High package, so I am hoping the mirror mounted lights are adequate for the ditches (again, not high speed, I have just found it nice to be able to see to the sides off road, particularly when hunting or looking for a camping spot etc.). Fun accessory to mess with!

 

[campbebc]

I have 4 Squadron sports on my RS, partially because I like the rally look and partially for snowy winter driving, and they are awesome. Two would put out plenty of light.

 

[AcesandEights]

A lot of people are overly (in my opinion) concerned about how much light, or lumens you get. You overrun most fog lights at about 20 - 25mph and can't drive fast enough for some of the many aftermarket high-output lights. So, if you really want them for what you do, you need to consider how you're going to use them.

On road, street legal lights are good for about 20 mph. What's interesting is off road many people aren't going to go faster than that. So, for about $70 you can buy very high quality fog/driving lights, like a Hella 500/700 fog/driving light. That's all you need in most off road situations, because off road you're just not driving that fast.

The flip side of that is that on road most fog lights don't help because you drive faster than 20 mph and you over run your lights. You can't use off road only lights on road due to blinding other drivers, but they're really what's going to be effective at speeds great than 20 mph.

If you wheel at speed, say in the desert, then higher output lights can be of value, but even then, most people aren't driving fast enough to really need more than a Hella 500/700 driving light, at $70 a pair.

I know it's not the popular opinion but, the truth of the matter is, most of the off road specific lights don't meet the needs of most of the off road drivers. So, buy what looks cool since you're probably not going to really need or use them anyway, haha!

Regarding where you put them, it doesn't really matter. I don't like the cowl mounts because there is too much reflected light, not usable. The higher the better really, but at slower (most off road) speeds it's not going to make much practical difference.

 

[DaBronCo33]

Was thinking about doing Baja LP4s on the cowl, but I think I might put them on the bumper instead.

 

[Daktari]

I might add little pods by the mirrors, rest I'm gonna see first how good the lights are that come with the Bronco. Don't like the look or wind noise created by light bars on top, that's a no go for me.
Somebody here recently pointed out a light bar that mounts to the top of the inside of the windshield, interesting idea. Comes in two pieces since there's that box with camera and sensors behind the mirror. Would be interesting to see how far those get into the way of daily driving.

I don't really plan to wheel at night, and certainly not at high speed, I'm just guessing the stock lamps will be plenty, the pods could be neat to widen the view, point them a bit sideways.

I've also seen very nice 3rd party bumpers with lights built in, I'd consider something like that down the road. Options will be plenty :-D

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