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State of LED Light Bars

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  MConte05 
#1 ·
It seems like we've reached the turning point in cost/performance of LED light bars. A good portion of the field in last week's Baie des Chaleurs rally were running them exclusively. A couple of teams were getting really impressive output with some pretty small light packages. One had two ~10" bars mounted above the headlights that were throwing out an absolutely astounding amount of light.

What are the hands-on thoughts about them? It is better to go with one large bar or a combination of smaller ones? What about the larger spot/spread combination bars? Obviously you get what you pay for but what are the things to look for when purchasing one? I've seen lots of people really happy with their ~$150 ebay bars, but those people aren't trusting their cars at high speeds to their function.

As well as they work for price/performance/consumption vs output a rally car with a 40"x2" light bar will never look as good as a giant pod of PIAAs or Hellas, of course. :)
 
#2 ·
I've been extremely happy with my Diode Dynamics light bar. I run a dedicated spot and a spot/flood combo. Optics are the name of the game here. You can get super cheap high output chinese rebranded bars that will look great statically because they just throw a ton of light. Isn't until you are bombing down at 90mph that you realize you are quickly outdriving the lights.

The more expensive or mid-range bars focus more on the actual optics themselves to make the light throw better. The housings are all standard and for the most part most of the LED's are too. Optics are where the difference is made.

From what I recall Diode has put a hold on their lightbar production due to issues with the housing supplier (they assemble the lights in house in St. Louis). Not sure when they'll start back up.

Rigid has a "hyperspot" combo that looks good on paper, long range with some flood capabilities. I tried that first and it turns out it's awful for rallying. The light concentration is too great. It'll light up the trees a mile and a half away on a long straight, but the second the car gets slightly sideways, or the road turns, looking at a big void of darkness.
 
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