Light bars/spot lights

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Millsy90

Millsy90

Member
Posts
35
Location
Kent
Afternoon guys,

I hope everyone who went enjoyed the LRO show. I managed to pick up a Terrafirma light bar mount which i was chuffed about. I cant decide whether 4 round spots would look best or the rectangle spots, or a mix of both. Can anybody recommend some well priced spots that you have used/fitted?

Cheers.
 
I didn't want to go down the hole in the roof route so the cables run out the battery box, along the chassis, up the ladder and along the roof rack. It's a bit long winded but I couldn't summon up the courage to drill through the roof.
 
Tromboman said:
I didn't want to go down the hole in the roof route so the cables run out the battery box, along the chassis, up the ladder and along the roof rack. It's a bit long winded but I couldn't summon up the courage to drill through the roof.
Click to expand...

That was my worry too. I guess once the wires are tucked up away you don't really notice them anyway.
 
I went through the roof, no leaks or other issues in 14 years.
I used round sheathed cable and a bulkhead cable gland, internally I went along the roof and down behind the plastic windscreen trim.
 
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Flossie said:
I went through the roof, no leaks or other issues in 14 years.
I used round sheathed cable and a bulkhead cable gland, internally I went along the roof and down behind the plastic windscreen trim.
Click to expand...

Thanks, sounds like a tidy option.

Tromboman said:
I didn't want to go down the hole in the roof route so the cables run out the battery box, along the chassis, up the ladder and along the roof rack. It's a bit long winded but I couldn't summon up the courage to drill through the roof.
Click to expand...

I have also seen that some people run the wiring down the snorkel and into a relay in the engine bay, might be an option if i don't fancy drilling through the roof. Thank you for the Ebay link too, going to order a couple of pairs of these.
 
Millsy90 said:
That was my worry too. I guess once the wires are tucked up away you don't really notice them anyway.
Click to expand...

Yeah, a few well places cable ties and it's fairly tidy.

Millsy90 said:
Thank you for the Ebay link too, going to order a couple of pairs of these.
Click to expand...

I've got one of their 12in ones on the back as a work light as well, and a 20in one in the cupboard that I was going to put between the two 7in on the front until I decided to go with 4x7in ones instead.
 
Millsy90 said:
I have also seen that some people run the wiring down the snorkel and into a relay in the engine bay, might be an option if i don't fancy drilling through the roof. Thank you for the Ebay link too, going to order a couple of pairs of these.
Click to expand...
If you've got a snorkel that's probably the best route. Just needs a discreet hole drilling in the front wing. Worth fitting a suitable waterproof connector at the top so you can easily remove the roof rack for whatever reason.
 
FlyingPete said:
If you've got a snorkel that's probably the best route. Just needs a discreet hole drilling in the front wing. Worth fitting a suitable waterproof connector at the top so you can easily remove the roof rack for whatever reason.
Click to expand...
Snorkel is definitely the best way to route the cables, but you don't need to drill the wing. I just run mine out the corner of the bonnet and up to the snorkel. Thanks to land rover precision engineering the panel gap on the bonnet fitting is the perfect size for a few lengths of twin core cable! Make sure you wire them in with appropriate relays etc as well.

Millsy90 said:
Yep that's exactly the sort of things I was looking at. 4 of them across the top would look spot on. How did you wire them into the car? Hole through roof?
Click to expand...
I would definitely go square, rather than round but I would mount them under the bar rather than on top of it (see mine below). This gives you added protections and makes it more difficult to smash them off low hanging branches etc and keeps the roof line of the vehicle rather than looking silly with a line of lights stuck up looking out of place above the roof. I have 6x ring road runner driving lights across my roof, old fashioned halogen lights they may be, but with upgraded 100watt bulbs I have no complaints, and they are very very cheap light units to replace.

7.jpg
 
dag019 said:
Snorkel is definitely the best way to route the cables, but you don't need to drill the wing. I just run mine out the corner of the bonnet and up to the snorkel. Thanks to land rover precision engineering the panel gap on the bonnet fitting is the perfect size for a few lengths of twin core cable! Make sure you wire them in with appropriate relays etc as well.


I would definitely go square, rather than round but I would mount them under the bar rather than on top of it (see mine below). This gives you added protections and makes it more difficult to smash them off low hanging branches etc and keeps the roof line of the vehicle rather than looking silly with a line of lights stuck up looking out of place above the roof. I have 6x ring road runner driving lights across my roof, old fashioned halogen lights they may be, but with upgraded 100watt bulbs I have no complaints, and they are very very cheap light units to replace.

View attachment 190313
Click to expand...

Love the picture by the way. Yes settled with the rectangle shaped ones. The terrafirma bar allows for 4 spots to be mounted and def plan to mount them under the bar and not on top. Hadn't thought about getting halogens to be honest. Not much difference in price between them. Would you think the halogens give off a better light than the LEDS?
 
Millsy90 said:
Love the picture by the way. Yes settled with the rectangle shaped ones. The terrafirma bar allows for 4 spots to be mounted and def plan to mount them under the bar and not on top. Hadn't thought about getting halogens to be honest. Not much difference in price between them. Would you think the halogens give off a better light than the LEDS?
Click to expand...
Halogens are cheap to replace when they break, led units need the whole unit replacing. They are also in my opinion more reliable as long as they are wired in correctly. I have no personal experience with leds, and tech may have changed in recent years, but when friends fitted led spots and light bars the reliability was poor and they regularly failed or flickered, or lost sections. I never had that problem with a simple old fashioned bulb. But I needed heavier wiring and more relays to ensure they do not burn out.
In terms of light quality it depends what you mean. Led tend to be whiter light which gives the impression of being brighter even at the same lumen reading than the yellow of halogen. This means things seems clearer but the flip side is things seem even darker when you turn them off for the oncoming vehicle. I have 8 additional 100watt hologram spots on the front of mine with reasonably long distance beam patterns, turns the night into the day and I have no complaints. Once I have found an led which is as simple, reliable, and cheap as the halogens I will swap them over. But so far whenever I look they get mixed reviews unless you spend big money.
 
The only problem with too many extra spots is the difference in output between them and low beam. While perma-noon spots are great for driving down an empty road, your eyes adjust to that light level and then when oncoming traffic causes you to switch back to a single low beam pair, you can't see anything.

A pair or two of high-mounted spots, aimed for long-range light, is probably the best compromise.
 
For normal driving I find full beam more than adequate, remember bulbs wear out just like any component, dipped beam gets used the most so wears out more quickly, which means the gap between full and dipped expands meaning when you switch to dipped you cant see anything and then suspect your lights are inadequate. Just replace the bulbs, check the wiring and make sure your battery is in good order. You would be surprised what a difference decent wiring, charge system, battery and new bulbs make. If you service your engine why shouldn't you service the electrical systems?
 
I always found on my 90 that full beam was pretty good (with the original sealed beam candles replaced by halogen) and good enough for most uses. As Nobber said, changing tired old bulbs and overhauling the wiring can make a big difference. Just like how new standard springs will improve the handling compared to seized old ones without the need for mods.
I did add an 'asymmetric pair' (one fog light and one spot light) on the bumper for extra long-range illumination plus the fog lamp when needed. One of each was enough. Sometimes less is more in the real world.
 
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