First impression - 40" Rigid Industries combo LED lightbar (1 Viewer)

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I am building an expedition rig and just recently got the roof rack fabbed up and welded together. I have a TJM roof top tent and awning installed. I also installed a Rigid Industries 40" LED lightbar up front. I have three small LED floods for the sides and rear which I have not yet installed. Not too long ago I also replaced the original headlights with new DEPO lights.



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I had no idea to what to expect. Here are my findings:

DEPO headlights LOW beam


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DEPO headlights HIGH beam


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With Rigid Industries 40" combo LED light bar


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As viewed from the driver's seat

LOW BEAM, HIGH BEAM, LIGHT BAR


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Images got out of order and I do not know how to rearrange them :/
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Hmm - maybe different in person. But I prefer the looks of just the high beams versus with the light bar on. The high beams show the irregularities of the dirt road surface better with the shadows etc. With the light bar from above it seems you lose a lot of the 3d perspective of the road surface - at least in the picture.

The glare/light off the top of the bonnet doesn't appeal to me either for night driving.

Anyhow, hopefully you like the result.

cheers,
george.
 
Pics do not do justice. Light is amazing. I will experiment between light bar, headlights and driving lights mounted on the bull bar.
 
Amazing, wonder what current is drawn with the LED's?

dfm
 
dfmorse said:
Amazing, wonder what current is drawn with the LED's?

dfm

The harness that is included with the lights is fused at 15A. I could put an amp meter in series to get an exact measurement.
 
george_tlc said:
Hmm - maybe different in person. But I prefer the looks of just the high beams versus with the light bar on. The high beams show the irregularities of the dirt road surface better with the shadows etc. With the light bar from above it seems you lose a lot of the 3d perspective of the road surface - at least in the picture.

The glare/light off the top of the bonnet doesn't appeal to me either for night driving.

Anyhow, hopefully you like the result.

cheers,
george.

I'm a novice to off roading. My son speaks of the same 'shadowing' effect. He uses it to judge the size of an obstacle while driving his jeep off road. I have much to learn. I don't foresee any high speed off road night time driving in my future but I doubt you could out-drive this light bar.
 
Had a 40" Rigid bar on the FJC, and it was incredible.

My only complaint, or change, if/when I do again, is the lack of peripheral light cast with the 40" solid, and may have been better to have gone (1) 20" center and (2) 10"s canted more to illuminate the periphery.

Depends on terrain, I guess.
 
I'm a novice to off roading. My son speaks of the same 'shadowing' effect. He uses it to judge the size of an obstacle while driving his jeep off road. I have much to learn. I don't foresee any high speed off road night time driving in my future but I doubt you could out-drive this light bar.

You can absolutely "out drive" that light bar. You probably won't in a cruiser, and not using a cruiser off road, but they really are not all that fantastic for long distance illumination. LED lightbars give great illumination at close and mid range. But they don't really reach out down the road, due largely to the lack of tight focus, and the glare effect of all the light dumped on the road right in front of you degrading your ability to see past/through that area into the less lit distance.

Great lights to supplement high beams, but they are not driving lights.

You will almost certainly find that glare off of your hood irritating, and dangerously detrimental to your ability to see into the distance when you are out on the highway with no other illumination.

Mark...
 
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yup, I don't think I could easily live with the hood glare for long when moving
 
You can absolutely "out drive" that light bar. You probably won't in a cruiser, and not using a cruiser off road, but they really are not all that fantastic for long distance illumination. LED lightbars give great illumination at close and mid range. But they don't really reach out down the road, due largely to the lack of tight focus, and the glare effect of all the light dumped on the road right in front of you degrading your ability to see past/through that area into the less lit distance.

Great lights to supplement high beams, but they are not driving lights.

You will almost certainly find that glare off of your hood irritating, and dangerously detrimental to your ability to see into the distance when you are out on the highway with no other illumination.

Mark...


Very good summary of today's forward projection LED technology. Advertised ~15,000+ lumens from today's crop of LED lights = ~ 40mph off-road speed based upon my experience. More LED chips = more lumens but not more distance punch.

And then there's the vertical wash...not good for higher speed work unless you're the lead dog in a non-dusty locale.

OTOH these types of LED bars are great for slower speed trail work especially in canyons/steep hillsides/forests where the huge vertical light wash can be put to good use.

The Hella 4000LED rear projection LED looks interesting for a true driving light but I haven't seen a real review nor used them myself.
 
The light bar I have is a combo unit with floods on each side and spot in the center. I will use it in conjunction with my Lightforce 170 lights mounted on my bull bar and my DEPO headlights.

I agree with the dust/lead vehicle issue. With experience and advice I will learn what to use when.

I'm building an expedition rig not a off road racer so I doubt I need more light than I have now.

Maybe a flat black hood will be incorporated in the new paint scheme :)
 
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With the light bar from above it seems you lose a lot of the 3d perspective of the road surface - at least in the picture.

Anyhow, hopefully you like the result.

cheers,
george.

Truedat... you loose depth perception when you have lights above your eyes....
 
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Truedat... you loose depth perception when you have lights above your eyes....

It takes a bit of getting used to.

You could always do what I did and black out your hood with some bed liner:

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