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TooTall



Member Since: 10 Jul 2012
Location: Fens
Posts: 504

United Kingdom 2004 Defender 90 Td5 HT Tonga Green
A bar + LED bar?
I want to prep the truck for the oncoming winter, so I'm ideally looking to remove the OE x2 spots from inside the soft A bar (winch model) & replace with a modern LED light-bar. However I suspect it can't be that straight forward... so will I be able to retain the original loom & perhaps simply recycle the brackets? in which case the bar would prob need adjustable "sliding" mounts & what's the best spot/flood combo which will fit? IIRC it will need to be no wider than 22cm to fit? Any thoughts or pics would be great (mimicking Likeomg's truck Bow down but realistically, on a far tighter budget)
Many thx.
TT "Ease your worries, Clear-up your woes,
Go into your garage & put stuff into rows."
Post #452387 5th Sep 2015 8:06am
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ken



Member Since: 18 Aug 2009
Location: Banging Birds with my bitches !!
Posts: 4328

United Kingdom 

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Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated Mr. Green
Post #452396 5th Sep 2015 8:44am
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TooTall



Member Since: 10 Jul 2012
Location: Fens
Posts: 504

United Kingdom 2004 Defender 90 Td5 HT Tonga Green
Many thx Ken, you do have far to many nice toys.
When you get the time, would you share make/model/thoughts on ease of fitting etc?
TT "Ease your worries, Clear-up your woes,
Go into your garage & put stuff into rows."
Post #452402 5th Sep 2015 8:49am
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Lost for Words



Member Since: 18 Jun 2015
Location: Warminster, Wiltshire
Posts: 200

Re: A bar + LED bar?
TooTall wrote:
I want to prep the truck for the oncoming winter, so I'm ideally looking to remove the OE x2 spots from inside the soft A bar (winch model) & replace with a modern LED light-bar. However I suspect it can't be that straight forward... so will I be able to retain the original loom & perhaps simply recycle the brackets? in which case the bar would prob need adjustable "sliding" mounts & what's the best spot/flood combo which will fit?


I'm not a fan of LED lighting as a whole (very practical, but for visibility, it's poor), though they have their uses, but I'm noting your use of the term "spot". AFAIK, the OE lamps are a driving beam, but I thought I would point out that if you want a spot beam, you won't achieve it with LEDs. Even an LED driving beam won't match the quality of halogen. Thumbs Up Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver
Post #452412 5th Sep 2015 9:40am
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SailingTom



Member Since: 19 Nov 2013
Location: ESSEX
Posts: 1709

United Kingdom 
I'll be selling my LED bars I had on an a bar aswell briefly. Only changing as made no noise on the front but whistle when mounted on my hoop.

Post #452441 5th Sep 2015 12:09pm
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TooTall



Member Since: 10 Jul 2012
Location: Fens
Posts: 504

United Kingdom 2004 Defender 90 Td5 HT Tonga Green
I'm probably only looking at fitting just the one led light bar spot/flood combo, under the A frame (just like ^^ Kens ^^)
Any thoughts on the light bar itself?
Recommendations are always welcome young Tom Thumbs Up
TT "Ease your worries, Clear-up your woes,
Go into your garage & put stuff into rows."
Post #452442 5th Sep 2015 12:27pm
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SailingTom



Member Since: 19 Nov 2013
Location: ESSEX
Posts: 1709

United Kingdom 
No probs. ill sell them individually anyway so let me know if you want one by pm, seem pretty good and make a huge amount of light, more than you'll ever need. Thumbs Up
Post #452447 5th Sep 2015 12:38pm
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YOLO110



Member Since: 14 Feb 2015
Location: Perth Oz and Stansted UK
Posts: 1633

Australia 
SailingTom wrote:
I'll be selling my LED bars I had on an a bar aswell briefly. Only changing as made no noise on the front but whistle when mounted on my hoop.



Mate, can you tell me where you got / I can get that 'hoop' please?

Cheers, Pete Smile YOLO... You Only Live Once...
Post #452453 5th Sep 2015 12:52pm
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ken



Member Since: 18 Aug 2009
Location: Banging Birds with my bitches !!
Posts: 4328

United Kingdom 
@LFW LED eclipse Halogen in every way

Many years of side by side testing

As always your car your choice not getting in a my's better than yours life's to short and its shooting season Mr. Green
Post #452454 5th Sep 2015 12:53pm
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BuckBlu110



Member Since: 19 Apr 2014
Location: in the pub
Posts: 711

United Kingdom 1994 Defender 110 BMW M57 3.0 Diesel CSW Buckingham Blue
Have to agree with Ken, led is far superior in terms of light output (provided ithe lights are of decent quality) the only problem I have encountered with led over halogen is snow building up over the lense as led work far cooler than halogen.
Post #452458 5th Sep 2015 1:14pm
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TooTall



Member Since: 10 Jul 2012
Location: Fens
Posts: 504

United Kingdom 2004 Defender 90 Td5 HT Tonga Green
Has anyone got any misgivings over the performance/longevity of Lazer LED's?
TT "Ease your worries, Clear-up your woes,
Go into your garage & put stuff into rows."
Post #452465 5th Sep 2015 1:38pm
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RustyM



Member Since: 28 Oct 2013
Location: Africa/The Med
Posts: 222

England 2016 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Corris Grey
@ Ken.

Can you provide the make and model of your A-bar LED bar please ? Thumbs Up 90 & Wolf
110 XS
Previously owned SI SII SIIa SIII & Light weight (air portable)
Post #452466 5th Sep 2015 1:45pm
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Lost for Words



Member Since: 18 Jun 2015
Location: Warminster, Wiltshire
Posts: 200

ken wrote:
@LFW LED eclipse Halogen in every way

Many years of side by side testing

As always your car your choice not getting in a my's better than yours life's to short and its shooting season Mr. Green


Just to be clear, there's no "mine's better than yours" about it, as I don't currently have any aux lights. Thumbs Up

There are merits of LED, halogen and HID options. In the real world, not one is superior overall, and they all have good uses.

LEDs are most efficient, which is a great help if you're wanting smaller cabling or reaching the limits of your alternator. They produce little excess heat, so can be made nice and small. They're also extremely durable. The downsides are that their light output is "spikey"; they don't provide the full spectrum to achieve good colour rendering. They also produce the greatest output at 6000k - this may look stylish but the human eye is better able to process colours at lower kelvin ratings. In addition, they are much harder to focus which is why they aren't suitable for a spot beam. A good HID spot will illuminate up to 1km, and LEDs can't match that.

Halogen produces a lower output, but it's light is much more even, providing much better colour rendering (where both LED and HID struggle). A nice small filament makes them easy to focus. Lower kelvin rating bulbs can help in fog and poor visibility. In general, it's also cheap. Obviously, it uses much more power, which can be a problem if you want a large system with high wattage bulbs. Much more heat too.

HID is excellent on lumens, and power consumption is much lower than halogen. Colour is still not good though, and it takes time to warm up - which is a pain if it's not paired with other in-fill beams. Normally the most expensive option too.

So my point is, that each source has to be chosen for it's intended use. An LED bar can produce a very powerful flood beam, but not a true spot/pencil. Given endless power, and unlimited space (which is obviously not the case), high-wattage halogen is actually the best option overall - just needs lots of them!

Thumbs Up Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver
Post #452478 5th Sep 2015 2:38pm
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gilarion



Member Since: 05 Dec 2013
Location: Wales
Posts: 5084

Wales 2007 Defender 90 Other CSW Trident Green
I have not got a light bar on the defender as I have no use for it, but I do have a LED light bar on the front of my narrow boat having replaced two halogen spots with the light bar. All I can say is the light output from the Led light bar turns night into day, whereas the halogen spots did not. The spread of light and distance the LED light bar gives is amazing. If you do purchase a light bar make sure you get one that has both flood and spot LED’s combined. For those who like Welsh Mountains and narrow boats have a look at my videos and photos at..

http://www.youtube.com/user/conwy1
Post #452479 5th Sep 2015 2:51pm
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TooTall



Member Since: 10 Jul 2012
Location: Fens
Posts: 504

United Kingdom 2004 Defender 90 Td5 HT Tonga Green
Thx
I am trying to get a combo light bar... but as yet no ones been able to point a specific make/model & say "these are bl**dy brilliant" (intended pun alert Laughing )
TT "Ease your worries, Clear-up your woes,
Go into your garage & put stuff into rows."
Post #452480 5th Sep 2015 2:54pm
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