GOOD Additional Lighting Option w/o A New Bumper? (1 Viewer)

[Dan Higgins]

I do a fair bit of driving back roads and fire roads in the dark (due to the need to be at photography locations before dawn or after sunset.) I am always concerned about hitting a large animal. And the headlights, even the high beams, on my 2016 are not that good. Not wide enough and cut off at a certain height.

I talked to Slee about roof rack options but they are not big fans of putting something on the roof rack. (Expensive to run the wiring to the back and then through the interior back to the front or, worse, having to punch holes.)

I really don't want to do a front bumper simply to get good lighting. Do I have any other good options that aren't stupid expense, would not damage the vehicle and would provide me with a convenient switch setup on the console so I can turn them off when someone is approach from the other direction.

If not, I get it. I'll deal with it. But thought I would ask.

 

[TonyP]

From just looking at pics of a '16+ you could possibly fit a curved bar in the black section of the bumper. It would take some cutting though. Otherwise you could have some ditch lights fabbed up to mount at the bottom of the A-Pillar.

It all really depends on how much plastic cutting you're willing to do. Make sure you get quality lights though, the cheapo ebay brands pale in comparison to name-brand lights in both output and build quality.

 

[TXGooner]

What about something like this Aussie nudge bar? Not a full bumper, and has mounting points for a couple of lights...

2016-17 LC200 Aussie Nudge Bar

 

[TexAZ]

what do you think about this approach?

What are we looking at you ask? Well it's the Rigid Midnight series LED lightbar. I thought a stealth install behind the grill would be even better with one of the midnight series lights to remain low key.

Here's the normal vs midnight:

Working on dropping in a smattering of 2x2.1A usb outlets, a 12v socket for the fridge and most importantly the big one which is the CTEK BMS. Kinda ran into a hiccup as I'm waiting on the second battery to arrive still! So far though looks like the gameplan is going well with it though.
[/QUOTE]


I fully realize the photos are of @tabraha lexus, but a single row 20" light bar may fit in the grill or bumper area of your cruiser.

This is about 4 items down on my to do list after driving all night in Moab. 13 and newer lights are infinitely better than the 08' but still not enough.

 

[Sandroad]

I think I'll check into fitting a Rigid light in the grill. The extremely sharp cutoff of the headlights on the '17 is unnerving and even a bit spooky when driving at night on forest roads with hills/bumps. Something to even out the up lighting would be great.

 

[KLF]

If I were doing a lot of backroad driving at night and was worried about hitting a large animal, the FIRST thing I would want is a nice heavy duty bullbar bumper. Sometimes they hop out in front of you and a collision is unavoidable, no matter how good your lights are.

 

[Dan Higgins]

I think I'll check into fitting a Rigid light in the grill. The extremely sharp cutoff of the headlights on the '17 is unnerving and even a bit spooky when driving at night on forest roads with hills/bumps. Something to even out the up lighting would be great.

Exactly. I think I'll check in to what @tabraha is doing or planning to do with his Lexus if they'll fit on my 2016. I was planning to go with Rigid. Keeping the lights up front and in the engine bay would make the electronics easier. And I have no plans for other electrical needs like a fridge. Just the lights. Thanks for that tip, @TexAZ. The front ends of the LX and LC are different but it is worth a look. In fact, after just looking at it, I have to openings where the earlier models have 1. Without looking closely, I'm thinking that I may be able to put a 6" Rigid on each side. They would flare out a bit but that wouldn't be all bad. I would want to understand the impact on air flow for engine cooling.

 

[Dan Higgins]

If I were doing a lot of backroad driving at night and was worried about hitting a large animal, the FIRST thing I would want is a nice heavy duty bullbar bumper. Sometimes they hop out in front of you and a collision is unavoidable, no matter how good your lights are.

Thought long and hard about a bull bar. But Christo convinced me that most, at least the ones that ARB make, will work OK for small deer but if you hit an elk (coming home from the mountains today I saw one on the side of the road on I70 - that must have been quite a collision) or a moose then they are tall enough that the body will just go over the hood anyway. They do work well for kangaroos. So part of the equation is to drive slower and more carefully. But it also helps to have better lighting on the side. And the better lighting has other benefits on those roads as well.

 

[KLF]

Oh no argument there. Deer are one thing, but you'll need an Abrams APC if you tangle with a moose or elk.

 

[Dan Higgins]

 

[SQRRRL]

This is a mod I had for the future. How are the lights mounted?

 

[luke27617]

I don't know how good LEDs are, but there is a Chinese made grille replacement with integrated LEDs. On ebay is very expensive, but saw it much cheaper through aliexpress. For Toyota Land Cruiser LC200 2016-2017 ABS+LED Front Grille Grill 3PCS | eBay

 

[mcgaskins]

I think your best bet is figuring out a way to cut up your front grill upper or lower and hiding a slim light bar or two. I find it odd that Slee has talked you out of a front bumper plus lighting and a roof rack plus lighting. I know they're super slammed with work because every time I try to schedule something they are booked out a month or more (and it takes days for someone to reply to me), and it seems like they only want to book big $$$ jobs right now. I wanted them to do some regular maintenance on my truck and felt...dissuaded. I know they're honest guys, but it sounds like an ARB plus lighting would be excellent for your application. Sure an elk or moose would still do damage, but the highest likelihood in a wreck is a deer strike which bull bars are ideal for. Bigger animals will do more damage, but stock bumper vs. a bull bar - the bull bar will still do better.

 

[Markuson]

I think your best bet is figuring out a way to cut up your front grill upper or lower and hiding a slim light bar or two. I find it odd that Slee has talked you out of a front bumper plus lighting and a roof rack plus lighting. I know they're super slammed with work because every time I try to schedule something they are booked out a month or more (and it takes days for someone to reply to me), and it seems like they only want to book big $$$ jobs right now. I wanted them to do some regular maintenance on my truck and felt...dissuaded. I know they're honest guys, but it sounds like an ARB plus lighting would be excellent for your application. Sure an elk or moose would still do damage, but the highest likelihood in a wreck is a deer strike which bull bars are ideal for. Bigger animals will do more damage, but stock bumper vs. a bull bar - the bull bar will still do better.

It could be that Slee feels as I do about roof rack lighting. I don't like higher-than-my-eye lighting angles. Lower angles show contour better IMHO, due to shadowing effects that are lost with higher-than-the=eyes light sources (I've posted about this before)...so I avoid roof-level light.

The problem with bumper-mounted lights is that they are limited to times when you can get away with using them, since they aren't street legal.

With the above two issues in mind, I would suggest maybe having a look at the IPF LED's in another thread. I just added them (main headlight low-beams) with high beams on the way. My reaction was, "WOW..." as they are a massive improvement over stock headlights! Best of all...they are street legal, and require no special hardware, bumper, extra wiring, or cutting of grills or stock bumpers.

 

[LALC]

The 2016 LED's are super dang bright for my country roads, but I'm needing extra light for driving around the ranch in the forest trails. If I wasn't planning to get the ARB bumper along with their intensity lights, I would be looking into mounting in the empty grille rows *above* the camera row. That seems like the best option at first look. Good luck with finding a solution that works for you.

 

[NC 100]

What about replacing the fog lights with a stronger option? Are there any strong flood or beams that would fit in that location?

 

[Vestal]

Thanks in advance for any help.

I'm currently looking at this topic and it appears some of the earlier fog light replacement bulb options are no longer available. I'd like to avoid having someone fabricate a custom mounting platform for a Rigid or Baja setup in the existing fog light wells if there is an easier option. Also, this is independent of any roof lighting.

I'm considering a 32" light bar behind the grill, but the overseas suppliers I've found are "no brand" and I'm concerned about reliability. Does anyone have any suggestions for improving driving lighting with an oem front end? (Trail Tailor hwm is eventual goal in lieu of a deal on Rhino bumper or nudge bar)

 

[TeCKis300]

There's opportunity with just the stock lighting to improve overall light output. DOT requirements only allow two pairs of front lights at any one time. So when one turns on the high beams, the fogs will go off. Can override this function such that 3 pairs of lighting - headlights, highbeams, AND fogs go on. This can make a big difference, especially if the bulbs get upgraded in any or all those positions as well.

There's multiple way to do it. Here's a couple strategies

Running Fog Independent of Headlight

I may very well just add a relay and switch outside of this so I can turn on/off the fogs and avoid additional complexity here. That's what I would recommend. Remove the FR FOG relay and plug in some spade terminals to the sockets at pins 3 and 5 and connect to your own external relay and...

forum.ih8mud.com

Switch Panel / Switchpros Install Underhood Tap Points

Lots of people have installed these but I couldn't find a good reference as to where to tap for various things underhood. Here's my attempt to document some of the more common taps and triggers. Including a much wanted stock fog light override function. I'm using a 1/4" gland fitting to route...

forum.ih8mud.com

It'll differ how to add additional lights to different model years of LX and LC. Here's an example of how I added aftermarket Rigid D-Series Pro long throw spots to my 'LX. Between the 3 sets of stock fixtures, plus these spots - 4 pairs all on at the same time, I have light for the asking.

 

[TeCKis300]

You might also have seen Ed Martin's integration of a baller light bar in the grill with an HWM?

 

[timjax]

You could try this:

Baja Design fog lights

Finally found a solution with the help of a local shop (SDHQ) I’ve been looking for an alternative to the factory fog lights. I put on the squadron pros and used the bezels they included in the kit for a clean fit. It is the tundra fog light kit. Hope this helps for anyone else that has been...

forum.ih8mud.com

Use the Baja Designs Squadron SAE model if you want to legally run your fog lights on public roads, or the Squadron Pro for much brighter off-road only use.

Toyota 200 Series Land Cruiser Ditch Light Brackets | CBI

Shop our Toyota 200 series Land Cruise Ditch Light Brackets. It provides mounting for a-pillar lights & is easy to install with simple tools.

cbioffroadfab.com

Then add some good ditch lights, which you can use as additional driving/spot lights or for wide cornering use. Lumens/lux wise, Baja Designs would probably be your best bet for the most light output and throw - Squadron Pro or LP4 Pro.

Then I would look into concealed light bars behind your grille.