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humby



Member Since: 19 Aug 2022
Location: South
Posts: 27

United Kingdom 2015 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 SW Indus Silver
Defender LED Light Bar
I am trying to decide on what brand fitment and style. Looking for some pictures as guidance if you please.

I am trying to figure out if i want curved v straight. Single or double row LED. 50" or 52".

I deffo want to use gutter mounts! Not a fan of poking holes in the roof. I dont want spot lights nothing against them just not going for that style.

If this can be a LED light bar picture thread Thumbs Up
Post #1000724 18th Jul 2023 4:05pm
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Chicken Drumstick



Member Since: 17 Aug 2020
Location: Near MK
Posts: 553

United Kingdom 
I guess the first question is. What do you intend to actually use it for?

Not all lights are equal and just paying a lot of money is no guarantee it will be any good.

Personally I'm not a fan of roof mounted lights, they often look a bit Censored , are vulnerable to being hit and worst of all end up lighting up the top of the bonnet causing terrible glare and making them pretty useless to actually drive with.

Things I'd say to look for:

-spot or flood beam depending on your intended use. IMO if it is for mostly road use, then a flood beam is mostly useless. No need to light up peoples rooms in houses set back off the road.

-colour temp. Cool white beams usually have a low CRI (colour rendition index), which means most greens and browns become very grey looking and murky. Cool white also induces more eye strain. I'd suggest anything around 5000k would be good and at least 80CRI. Although most places won't tell you these figures.

-don't get obsessed with lumens. the Lux or beam distance is probably far more telling. Lumens are a bit like engine torque, to an extent more is better. But they don't tell you the whole picture. Hence why a Golf Tdi has more torque than a lot of Ferrari V8's (na ones). The Ferrari's still make way more power....!

-consider build quality and longevity. Being outside exposed to the elements 24/7 all year round can take a toll on some electronics and cheap materials/construction.


On my Jimny I went with some units from Osram, not quite the entire specs I'd have liked, but weighed up against the price it was a happy compromise. This was last year, so the market may have changed a bit as LED technology is rapidly changing.

Review of the lightbar:


And some additional lights I also added:



For road use you would not want higher output, or at least I have no idea where you'd make any practical use of it. Glare from road signs becomes a real issue with too many lumens. And of course when you switch back to dip headlights. If that gap is too great, you'll then struggle to readjust your eyes in an acceptable amount of time if you are moving at any sort of speed.
Post #1000735 18th Jul 2023 5:12pm
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humby



Member Since: 19 Aug 2022
Location: South
Posts: 27

United Kingdom 2015 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 SW Indus Silver
Good point, for me 2 points, 1. It will be used as aux light. Rural no lighting areas provide additional illumination. 2. a light bar to fit in to how i want the truck to look.

I was looking at :

Hella, Black Magic.
Strands Siberia
Stedi
Post #1000738 18th Jul 2023 5:21pm
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