vote on mounting driving lights

I'm debating which way I want to go when I put some additional lights on. Lights that im thinking about is the Hella 500 (either the regular or the ft)
Option 1: Buy a grillcraft and BAMF mounting bracket and put lights behind the grill.

Or

Option 2: Buy a N-Fab light bar and just mount the Hella lights to that.

If I go with option 1 do I HAVE to relocate the horns or are the ok with these lights? Vote up and gve me your ideas.

 

If you get an NFab bar, I think you should get 4 lights. Just personal preference but I don't think they look right with only a pair of lights. I went with an NFab bar only because I had just purchased a color matched grille and didn't want to cut it up.

 

Shallow lights right on the bumper

 

I have the n fab bar and love it. I have 2 piaa yellow ion fogs and 2 ATPs. The only problem was the paint made the mounting holes too small for the bolt, but a few minutes with a file and it was fine. I like Hellas, and have run them in the past, but they seemed cheaper in a few ways to the piaas. I went through a few Hellas on my Subaru. Cracked glass. Cracked housings. I will admit that they were mounted very low on my Subaru and sometimes I may have clipped a snow bank. If you go with the n fab, go with 4 lights. Forg/driving combo works well, but the hella 500s seem to throw very nicely. I used them instead of high beams.

 

They might have fixed that problem depending on how old your bar is. I got one about a year and a half ago and my PIAA's fit the bolt holes just fine, even after I bedlinered the whole thing.

 

Behind the grill FTW, keeps them protected from stuff, less work to protect the wiring, yes the horns have to move (but it's really easy), and you may have to scoot the tranny cooler back (also not hard to do), 55w stocks bulbs are rather dim IMO, mine upgraded to 130w KC bulbs, beefier wires, a lot of folks retrofit these with HIDs which is even brighter. Mountain/desert driving is what these are for and they do everything I need/want.

 

I second this, look in my gallery for pics, I have hella 500 black magics, 4 of them and a light bar that I made with angle aluminum from Lowes.

 

You say they are dim. Do they offer some lighting and can you tell some difference. I'm not looking for super bright just wanting to have some extra lights while driving and looking "cool" LOL

 

Yes with four, but honestly, it ain't much trust me. Go get some brighter KC bulbs on Amazon, you'll be happier

 

I kind of like the behind the grill idea out of the two options. Just got a new bumper and light setup which I really like but my lights are just mounted in the open.

 

tried both.........................better output on a bar, no shadows, easy to clean the lights, a million times easier to adjust, and easy to fix any issues later.

Then again, I do not worry 1 bit about the lightforces being damaged by rocks, birds, or anything that wouldnt also screw up the front of the truck anyhow

 

I have had both and I prefer the behind the grill look. it just looks more clean. n fab has the hella 700s so they are bigger. behind the grill is the hella 500.

 

does look cleaner. coming from a guy whos got a lightbar.

 

I went with the bed mounted bar. Being a man of the 70's and 80s, the era of the roll bar, I cant stand the behind the grill look.

 

I agree with ACDRONIN; He helped me do my lights and they were a success. Another Idea is to get Relentless Fabs hood mounts. I have those and the BAMF behind the grill bar and a grill craft. Lets just say people get out of my way at night time

 

N-Fab. I'm in the minority but I can't stand the lights behind the grill. Nothing wrong with it. Just not my style.

Before BHLM and Painted Lower Valance

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Does either one effect the engine cooling? They seem to take up a lot of space in front of the radiator with the behind the grill and like the look of it but worried of mechanical issues with doing so

 

Not that I've seen. I've run my truck pretty hard and did a 3k trip after doing it. I haven't seen a difference in performance at all.

 

Do u have a scan or ultra gauge by chance?


I was always worried bout it and that's why I went to an avid bar.....just in case.

Then again, with an intercooler up front now I can say I haven't seen any temp rises above normal...... still 185-196 avg