LED Light Bars

Decided to mount some rigid sr-q ambers I had laying around.. Mounted to the top lip of the hood using antenna brackets. Worked great, just not sure I like them. Not really effective against my led bar, seeing as they are meant to be fog/dust lights and running them in series with my light bar defeats the purpose as white just makes it worse when driving through fog or dust. Ambers should only be used by themselves in those scenarios... Didn't feel like wiring up a toggle switch since I plan to get some white floods for ditch lights to replace these eventually. At least the wiring and brackets are ready. Ha..
I thought these would be brighter too, oh well guess I'll leave em on for now..

 

Before...



After...



Before...



After...

 

Got a pic of your mounts

 

Here's the hood lip mounts I used for anyone who wants an easy ditch light mount for cheap. I purchased these antenna mounts
($11.54 a piece http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stainless-Steel-CB-HAM-Radio-Antenna-Trunk-Lip-Mount-/111264454946)


and took off the top piece. It has a recessed spot for a countersunk bolt underneath so it doesn't protrude and scratch the paint, and the nut goes on top. I did have to purchase smaller/shorter bolts. Then it comes with a thin square rubber piece with a sticky backing to stick in between the mount and the body. Then just tighten down the screws (was a little tricky to get to, had to use stubby and then angled screwdriver from underneath the hood when opened.) and its pretty darn sturdy.


Got my 42" bar just resting on there now, drawing up my brackets...

 

Looks great! What are you running?

 

Anyone know about this company? I emailed them and they are a manufacture and only distribute wholesale. They have a 10pc minimum. Please help me on this. Thanks!

 

Here you go
http://www.auroraledusa.com/

 

still a pretty penny. Any success with Amazon or ebay bars?

 

Have fun with the non stop emails now. I made that mistake. Never again

 

Not sure what's on Amazon. But I've gotten all my bars from eBay. Granted all mine are vision x knock offs, so I'm unsure about other styles. But I haven't heard really any bad things about them. Durability shouldn't be a factor to worry about. That aurora vid is just over exxagerated. Any bar should be able to withstand what a daily driver throws at it. If you are worried about it holding up to that kind of torture, then that means you should have a trophy truck.. Normal conditions, as in daily driving or casual offroading should not affect it enough to worry. Any build quality should be fine. What you should be worried about is the reflector design, led's used, and lumens output. I'm guessing about 80% of people on here have china knock offs. The price difference for top brands or even mid level name brands are just not worth it. If u have the $ to blow then go for it. But otherwise I suggest getting a knock off.
When looking at bars look for;
- Type of led's
*Wattage: 3 watt/5watt/10watt.. (3 watts are pretty much outdated now)
*Brand: Luminous/Cree/Epistar... (A lot don't even specify)
- Reflector design: bowl shape/depth/ lens beam pattern..
*If it looks ricey, it probably is. Stay away. Reflector design plays a HUGE role in output.
- Last would be build quality
*Design/shape of housing
*Durability (Just a guess by looking at pics whether or not I think it is a good design)
*Coating: Is it painted/powder coated/ resists elements...
But really all 'I' look for is design i like, lumens output, and price. My vision x evo prime knock offs from ebay are pretty nice. I'm confident they will hold up to vibration and rocks and daily elements. Except maybe the paint. They are just spray painted with a light coat, and it arrived with a few scratches underneath, and easily chips.. I would prefer it to be powdercoated. I can do this myself by taking the bar all apart and powdercoat the pieces, but i dont want to risk it not sealing properly after reassembly.. So i may just tape off the lens and give it a few good coats of paint and some clear coat. Or maybe even bedliner or plastidip it or something. But right now I am not worried about it at all. I've also heard of some fading from the sun, turning a bronze color. But I'll just leave it as I purchased it for now and see how it holds up. Another thing I am worried about is how the lens will hold up to the sun. I had a cheap bar from superbrightleds.com and the lens quickly yellowed and hazed. My new ones don't show any sign of that yet. They still look crystal clear. But, summer isnt that far away and in az, that'll be a test. I know some bars have covers, but I don't think vision x makes em, plus I use mine every single night so there wouldn't be any point. I did take one of the lights apart, my 20", and the lens seems like a simple ploycarbonate lens that if need be can be cut and replaced quite easily. I also thought about using some clear uv resistent vinyl film to put on the lens. May end up doing this.
Anyways.. hope this helps any newbs. Now get yer damned light and show it off! Lol.

 

LOL I know about those emails. "Hi this is Wendy Tran of crappyLED company. We supply you with the 12year old soldered light bar. many leds make nice"

 

Sam Yao of Hanma is my buddy.

 

Just got one as we speak

"Hi, Wish you a good day. We are large led manufacture in China: XXXXX Our led light bar are on promotion these day, The price is very competitive. If you want to get the price list, Please contact: sales4@XXXXXX.com. I will at your service."

 

I started seeing these new variants in LED light bars. It is a combo of large 10W bulbs and the traditional double row. Makes sense...these 10W are suppose to be superior spot/throw...so why not put them in the center.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/132W-25-Cre...Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item3a8ac7d628

 

Does having the light bar behind the grill (a grill such as the mesh grill craft) significantly affect the lighting?

 

Good find, primo. And yes, but not a lot ^

 

Here's another one of those. Saw this a while back too. Its interesting, and kinda cool you can change the modes. But idk, I don't see the point really. Why would you only want to run a single mode and not the entire thing? It looks cool. But that's about it. And I'm not sure why they didn't put 5 watt led's on the outside instead of 3watts. Then it might be worth it. But why not buy a bar like I did that is all 10 watt with a combo pattern? My 42" has 26 10 watt led's. Outside 6 led's are flood beam and center are spot. I guess with the smaller reflectors in the 3 watts would be a little better for a flood design versus the deeper reflector on the 10 watts. But mine work pretty good with just the diffused lenses. Its quite an amazing design and performs like no other. Idk, I just prefer to have a singular design for a cleaner look. Thats just me tho...

 

All I know is I need more bars. lol

 

x2^^

It all starts with one. Then you're hooked. Lol. I now have 6. And want yet another 42" to make it double stack and I haven't even got the 42" I have now mounted yet. Ha. I'm afraid I may not stop. Next I'll have lights surrounding my entire truck. Rear and sides. Lol. But I gotta force myself to stop. Need to get other things that I actually NEED. Like shocks, tires, brakes, other preventative maintenance stuff. Although I would say that I do NEED the lights too. Ha.

 

I'm thinking maybe another 1 or two behind a new grill and maybe one across the top if I can find a mount I like