If you have that much stray light reflection you have other issues. Meaning focus of the led pattern is way outside useable range and not focused at all...
What you describe is similar to running hideaways across the top of the windshield.
I'm just going to rattle can spray my hood flat black. The stupid green paint is all peeling and gone anyway. Plus I can just spray it again when it gets rock chips.
Adam I have a similar setup to yours for the same reasons.
Love those HIDs up front. Low mounting position, long throw...I couldn't outrun mine if I tried! The roof-mounted light bar issue is a bit disappointing. I went to a lot of trouble to build mounting brackets for the light bar into my roof rack design, but neglected to research overall placement of the light bar. It illuminates front half of my hood for sure. The glare isn't unbearable, just irritating.
I've mounted my lightbar upside down on the top taps of the ARB and it works fantastic. I had planned out mounting a much larger roof top lightbar until I used this on the trails. Now I don't see the point. IMG_9216 by Jonathan Jones, on Flickr
I had HIDs mounted low, and I didn't like the throw pattern.
And swapped out with multiple LEDs to direct the light where I want. I like my flexible options.
I'm not too worried about out running my lights in the backcountry. With that said, I am tempted to add a bar on the roof for giggles, but do not want to deal with the glare.
U guys are all right!
I was planning on running a 52" on the front of my gamiviti,
My 80 is also white so no thank you.
Buddy of mine bought me a 10" light bar for my birthday, prob flip it upside down and mount it in the front hoop on my labs bumper
I'm just going to rattle can spray my hood flat black. The stupid green paint is all peeling and gone anyway. Plus I can just spray it again when it gets rock chips.
Might I suggest Dupliacolor Flat Black. Seems to hold up the best to the UV a hood is exposed to. I get about two years out of it before reapplication.
Take my word, Rustoleum will fade in a few quick summer months time.
If I did it all over again id go with the flat vinyl.
Yeah. I could have sworn these guys used to make a full length decal.
I have mine inverted millimeters from touching the roof and set back, reflection off the hood doesn't bother me. It really sucks if it illuminates all the particles on your windshield which mine doesn't do. The LED bar really is best at expanding your visibility width wise and preventing tunnel vision at night. Works best on windy trails and finding trails and potential camp spots at night.
I just took mine off roof front and put on rack on back of truck better aid visibility when backing up. The good glare was too much. I got a pair of LED 6” lights to put on roof to point forward and out and thereby not putting light on my hood. The 1&” LED in front of grill does good off-road and on dark back roads with no traffic. Also have an old pair of HELLA Micro DM fogs that I’ll put on bumper pointed down for snowstorms and fog.
Roof with the full light bar just spread too much light on hood and dash killing my ability to use them and see. But work great pointing backwards for backing up in woods.
What if you have bitchin backlighting to match your ground effects for cruisin the strip? Spots on either side of roof work best for lighting up ditch dwellers without blinding yourself.... bumper mounted bar for infill. HID ftw over cheap Chinese blind-o-bars
Never understood why people put a spread beam pattern or spot/spread combo pattern on the roof for this exact reason, and why I'll be avoiding it. Also not my thing to do a black hood, but to each their own. I'd personally only put spot or long distance lights(ie baja designs racer edition) on the roofline and keep any spread beam patterns in the front of the car. You can maybe get away with wide/cornering pods that you can further angle to the side to avoid glare on the hood.
I'm currently having a custom bumper built(actually already off to the powdercoaters) and my second requirement(after first requirement being it built around a very large winch) was to be built around a lighting setup I carefully chose out. 2x Baja Designs LP9(with room for a 3rd), and 2x Baja Designs Squadron Sport wide driving/fog. Went with the LP9's because I felt they were the most advanced lighting solution that allowed you to consolidate multiple lights. 3x wide driving LED's and 6x spot LED's for 11k lumens per light and and their version of "side shooters" called IPT, Integrated Peripheral Technology, for 2k lumens per light that provide lighting for up to 200 degrees. Unfortunately they do come at quite a hefty price tag...
Here's a pic before final welds were done and sent off to the powdercoaters