(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best automotive light bars

Ok, so like I said I would, here is the album of the install for my LED Lightbar. All said and done, it took about 5 hours of work. My father helped me out, so a big thank you to him!

Let me say this, we aren't professional mechanics or anything, but we have wired up stuff like this before. When deciding on how to run the wiring, we thought about running it down the windshield, but decided against it. Here is why. It will look better (in my opinion), and we both felt we were capable of doing the semi-professional way of drilling a hole. I think it turned out great, so I am satisfied.

On to the good stuff. If you decide to drill a hole like we did, I would recommend right behind the factory rail (it is pictured in the album. We went to Subaru and got some great information regarding this. There are no brackets for the airbags in that area, and you won't hit the airbag either, and there is no factory wiring that runs up the frame there. You can run the wire back along the rails and down into the cabin of the vehicle. That is also pictured.

If you do drill a hole, you will have to take the headliner off, or off enough to where you can get enough room to play with. My XV has eyesight, so taking it off completely wasn't an option. We were able to take the left-hand side hand holds, sun visor, and A pillar cover off, and that gave us enough room to work with. Again, everything is pictured.

Here is what I bought:

• Brackets
  
  
• Wiring harness
  
  
• Lightbar
  
  I did the research on LED Lightbars and such, and landed on the one I linked. I love it so far, but do your research and figure out which one works best for you.
  
  We also had some 14 gauge wire that we bought, along with wire connectors and the like to complete the project.
  
  Feel free to ask any questions!

For lightbars, I got this one for my car and I was genuinely surprised at the quality. I was expecting it to just be okay or mediocre, BUT, it's actually really good. The fins on the back felt sturdy like they wouldn't break id I hit a bump, the lens was well sealed and wasn't wavy (have heard of a few lightbars having this problem), and the cord coming off the end of it was really nice silicon wire.

All in all I think I spent ~$120 on the whole install. With the wire, switch, relay, etc... it adds up.

If you have any questions about the wiring or anything else, I'd be happy to help.

I recommend Rigid Industries and Tuff LED. I have a pair of Rigid floods and a 20" Tuff LED spot bar on my front bumper. I've had them for a year and I love them! They're great for driving out in the country at night (a lot of deer around here, these make it a lot easier to see them). I can upload a picture of how bright they are later tonight if you'd like! Here's what they look like!

I am one of the luminous idiots with a light bar in my lower grill(2017 3) tied to my fog light switch.

You can do it but you need to make sure it is not pointed far forward/up. I would suggest you tie it into the fog light, but using the high beams is an option. The problem comes about if the high beam circuit can handle the additional load. Each light will add 4 watts(really 3, but add safety margin.) so a total of 8 watts and 6 amps requiring a 7.5a fuse or the stock fuse +7.5(so 20a fuse stock, 30a fuse with lights). How you can get around this is by using a relay that gives ground when the power to the high beams and power coming directly from the battery with a 7.5a fuse. So when the high beams get power, it also grounds the light pods and turns them on without adding strain to the high beam circuit.

Another option is to use the fog light circuit, this is a great option if you don't have fog lights and is easier but more expensive. You swap a stalk with fogs into the car and wire into the fog light sockets and it will turn on when you turn on the fogs. What is great about this option is that it gives you the ability to use the high beams independent of the light pods and vise versa and because it uses the stock switch, you can have a cleaner install as you don't need to put a button anywhere. You can do the relay trick if you already have fog lights.

Personally I feel the narrow style of light pod like this would look better in either the upper or lower grill as it has less of the stock grill blocking it vs the square 12 diode model you linked to. Also for amazon links you don't need anything from the "ref=" onward, so your link should look like this: https://www.amazon.com/6000-6500K-Breathable-Driving-Motorcycle-Warranty/dp/B07FNFWFDD/

For some smaller led lights I'd suggest either these, which are a bit bigger than you expect but good quality or these which come highly recommended with almost 3k reviews and are at an excellent price point. On the 12" bar I don't have much experience but I've heard good things about "eyourlife" on amazon which is just a rebranding of the Chinese light bars but they're cheaper

I have a 2002dakota
Under the grill there are gaps for a transmission cooler a 15" bar will fit there perfectly I'll send you a link of the one I have
It's amazing
Xtreme® Off Road 12V 72W LED Spot Light 15" Work Light Bar ATV 4x4 Jeep Polaris Offroad Tractor Marine Truck Raptor Super Bright https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HNNQLZA/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_35PRub1GC2MN1


Edit:added link

If you really want some bright LED turn signals you might want to just go custom - something like these https://www.amazon.com/YITAMOTOR-Offroad-Driving-Waterproof-Warranty/dp/B017NJNVWE/ref=sr_1_5?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1497595815&sr=1-5&keywords=20w+led

with a square piece of yellow plastic infront would make some very noticeable turn signals, or just placing bulbs like these in the OEM blinker housings if you can get them to fit would be SUPER bright turn signals that no one would miss

https://www.amazon.com/JDM-ASTAR-Extremely-Bright-Lights/dp/B00NJ903MY/ref=sr_1_17?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1497595774&sr=1-17&keywords=50w+led

LED Light Bar Nilight 20 Inch 126w LED Work Light Spot Flood Combo Led Bar Off Road Lights Driving Lights Led Fog Light Jeep Lights Boat Lighting ,2 Years Warranty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WE47FVM/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_XO8jyb00TR1KP

Probably smaller than. You want on a battle car but I have one on my '15 focus st a d I love it. Works great and I could totally use just it and no headlights.

288W 50" LED Light Bar Combo Beam for Off-Road ATV UTV SUV RV Truck Pick-up (pack of 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NAQUJ34/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_gQ8jybETDYH5B

Also got this one for my fiance's jeep and it's incredibly bright.

light bar mounts, universal 1” tube, adjustable.

YitaMotor 24” LED with wiring kit.

This is my testing set up and it works out well. I’m running the Yakima Load Warrior. Obviously the bug splatter is from last weekends road trip to Santa Cruz and back. Pretty bad wind noise at 80-85 because of the roof rack but not a noticeable difference with or without the light because it’s down so low. I am going to move the light back a bit on the bracket to keep the leverage down on the bracket. Being this low and this far back completely stops me from being blinded by the light bouncing off the hood.

I need to trim the Yakima wind deflector so it will fit with these brackets. That will drop the wind noise a bit.

Next up is removing half the interior so I can figure out the best way to run wiring into the roof rails. Want to keep it waterproof and winterproof. Not big on the standard reply of running the wires up the edge of the windshield. That’s ok for temporary but not permanent.

It'll be fine. It replaces a 60/55 watt halogen lamp. Most of those little light bars are about 15 watts. They are advertised with more, but rarely meet that rating. Here's one that's more honest than most that uses 24 watts each. Altogether that's 96 watts. That is more than stock, but that could be made up by swapping the other lights to LED. Turn signals are 27 watts each. Replace that with a 5 watt LED and you got 44 watts back, and is more than enough for these LED headlights. Convert the brake light and dash lights, and there would be a huge excess.

Thank you! The lights are pretty cheap off of Amazon, here’s a link: 2PACK 7" LED Offroad Pod Lights Bar 51W with Mounting Bracket, Black Round Spot Bumper Driving Lamp Headlight Fog Light for Offroader, Truck, Car, ATV https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MCXDZ4H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_NWwP3yEh73wze


As for gears, I’m still doing research on what I want, but want to strike a balance for decent crawling but this is also my daily so needs to be somewhat freeway friendly. Probably why I haven’t done it yet, gearing is a deep rabbit hole!

LED bulbs WILL blind oncoming traffic in your stock reflectors. So will a lightbar.
Best option is to do an HID retrofit. They're a little pricey, but I hear are very rewarding.

I've seen some people do LED bulbs in the fogs recently, it seems to be another decent option for increasing output.

If you want a lightbar, a 20 inch one will fit in the lower opening on the second gen bumper.


As far as rear light goes, I've never seen a full bar flush mounted in the bumper, but people have put Nilite pods from Amazon in the bumper and on the plastic corners.

I actually put one of these on the back of my truck below the bumper:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L0R5ZQQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Makes hooking up to a trailer at night so much easier (or backing down my in-laws 1600ft driveway at night). Has the added benefit of being a friendly reminder to dim your brights behind me.

All of RGB lights on our store are enjoying 10%-25% discount now after we back to work.Check them out if you are interesting!!

1. 3inch 18w led pods halo
   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NALDFSN
   2)32inch 180w led bar halo
   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6DOQ3F
   3)50inch 288w led bar halo
   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MY2IPYL
   

I believe he has the jw speaker evo 2's. I recently purchased the jw speaker evo J's and its incredible how nice they are after you get them adjusted. I honestly give them a 10/10. Only downside being the price, but you get what you pay for. The only difference I know of between the Evo 2's and the evo J's is that the evo J's come with a half halo on top of the headlight and they have a built in harness so there isnt any flickering. Here's a link to the J's on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/JW-Speaker-8700J-Black-Headlight/dp/B0137B5HEC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482891384&sr=8-1&keywords=jw+speaker+8700+evolution+j

This is the bracket I'm using. It's a license plate mount. Seems to be holding it on pretty strong so far.

I had a couple of their smaller units on before with no issues and they worked well so I purchased from them again. I haven't run any silicone along to better seal it but I do check all the screws. No fogging or leaks so far and wash it pretty regularly. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZEYP6Q0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_vSzMAb19JB71Z

Its also insanely bright.

Also, they come with everything needed to wire and use except for a mount. If it is a new Wrangler built after 07 I would get these

http://www.amazon.com/KC-7316-2007-2014-Wrangler-Windshield/dp/B00192QSVS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1419017660&sr=8-2&keywords=jeep+jk+light+mount

They mount by the windshield and are really easy to install if you do it yourself. And I would recomend the spot lights. I bought the driving lights and then the spots like 2 weeks later.

It works and Amazon. It's bright as fuck. I love it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00NAQUJ34/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Starting in April we will post a thread and sticky it. Posting in the thread will enter you in the drawing for the give away.

The contest post will go up April 1st. This is NOT the contest post.

There will be new post each month!

The item they will give away each month is the 18w Offroad led light Led work light with Chasing RGB halo ring

---

All of Nicoko RGB lights on thier amazon store are discounted 10%-25% now. Check them out if you are interested!

3inch 18w led pods halo

32inch 180w led bar halo

50inch 288w led bar halo

Was just going to post my LED upgrade, though it doesnt look half as nice as this one. I used an LED bar/lamp... this one: https://www.amazon.com/YITAMOTOR-Single-Driving-Waterproof-Warranty/dp/B01A6TNWHW/

The cool thing is that I connected it to a 12 volt USB relay module which is connected to the Raspberry Pi running Octoprint. So I can use the API to make the light turn on when it begins to print.

Happy to answer questions, this is all you need though you may want to upgrade the switch.

LAMPHUS CRUIZER Off Road ATV/Jeep LED Light Bar Wiring Harness Kit - 40 Amp Relay ON/OFF Switch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D1CQVIY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_nJMxwb0HP0PKW

I had those ones off amazon as well. They where slightly warped so then I tightened the mounting bolts down it popped a weld. Very cheaply made. There are tons to choose from without the POD brackets. I added a set of brackets over my LED uprights and it works just fine.
http://www.amazon.com/KC-HiLiTES-7316-2007-2014-Windshield/dp/B00192QSVS/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462535961&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=kc+highlights+jeep+bracket

JW Speaker 8700J-B Black LED Headlight, Set of 2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0137B5HEC/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_G-TOwbZEF45KK

my friend bought it last month, he drove through Miami at night

https://www.amazon.com/YITAMOTOR-Offroad-Waterproof-Wiring-Harness/dp/B0151GUVBU/ref=sr_1_4?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1522823412&sr=1-4&keywords=24+Inch+Light+Bar+Offroad+Spot+Flood+Combo

Nilight Led Light Bar Super Slim 2PCS 7 Inch 30W Spot Driving Fog Light 3600LM Single Row Off Road led Lights for Jeep - 2 Style Mounting Brackets, 2 Years Warranty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0197ZQLBA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_zUmwCbHHQAM3J

Here they are. Really not the best for actual headlights. Kinda blinding

Definitely. My "China-Bar" is connected with a similar harness. [This one] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D1CQVIY/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_6fPXub0DJ2011 )

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J5AAX5S/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_C2CIyb6QRDGXK

these are interesting, fairly inexpensive

Make something like this and use the license plate holes https://www.amazon.com/MICTUNING-Universal-License-Mounting-Bracket/dp/B01CEICZLC/ref=sr_1_9?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1518047171&sr=1-9&keywords=license+plate+light+bar+mount

Amazon, it was a cheap little bolt on mount. Just wanted something to hold the bar. MICTUNING Universal License Plate Mounting Bracket w/ Front Bull Bar Bumper for Off Road LED Work Light Bar - Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CEICZLC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_uyVn4hnb4G36c

no. the two side vents on the left and right would be better to use for this. something like this may fit. https://www.amazon.com/MicTuning-MIC-5DP30-SR-Mini-Single-Visibility/dp/B00L0R5ZQQ/ref=sr_1_25?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1510159375&sr=1-25&keywords=led+fog+lights

They are some generic LED fog lights that came with the car and since they worked, I didn’t toss them. I did however spray painted them with some Bed liner. Take a look on Amazon for LED 5” lights. Upon further inspection, they look very similar to these lights

I used these: https://www.amazon.com/YITAMOTOR-Single-Driving-Waterproof-Warranty/dp/B01A6TNWHW?ref_=ast_sto_dp

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0197ZQLBA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Maybe get this guy painted to match with a couple of these guys

MICTUNING MIC-5DP30, SR-Mini Series 30W Single Row Cree LED Light Bar Combo Spot Flood 2700 lm, 400m Visibility, 8'' L https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L0R5ZQQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_EmwhDbNXW3DF6

Here you go!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rTd_rrxN1w



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0151GUVBU/

Here is the mobile version of your link

Here's the link, guys: https://www.amazon.com/Auxbeam-20inch-Driving-Lights-driving/dp/B00T9BJ2GE/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_3?keywords=auxbeam+20+in+light+bar&qid=1554157264&s=gateway&sr=8-3-fkmrnull

http://www.amazon.com/Road-Jeep-Light-Wiring-Harness/dp/B00D1CQVIY
the kit came with this similar layout

Not sure which one OP is using, but there are a bunch of private label versions of the same product. Here is one:

MICTUNING Universal License Plate Mounting Bracket w/ Front Bull Bar Bumper for Off Road LED Work Light Bar https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CEICZLC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_tAKcBbMBBQDDS

amazon $95 (they are even cheaper now http://www.amazon.com/Light-Combo-Off-Road-Truck-Pick-up/dp/B00NAQUJ34/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452257311&sr=8-1&keywords=50%22+led+bar)

It has lasted 2 years and has worked flawlessly. No moisture and looks identical to the ones a few buddies have that cost 6x as much. I originally bought it as a joke cause people hated them so much, but for that price and the light it puts out I can't beat it!