50" LED light bars.. looking for some input

[compunerdy]

I am looking into getting one for myself as well as possibly getting some decently priced for resale..

I deal with high powered LED's for a living and so there is no way I would pay over $1000 for a LED light bar. I had thought about getting some mounts extruded and going the route of making my own but I started to look into cheaper (yes overseas) made units (probably the same place the rigid, etc ones are made).

Anyways, here are some questions I thought I would get some input on..

1. Best placement? Above or below the windshield? Below can use the windshield mount bolts and above could use the 2 bolts on each side of the upper portion of the windshield (not sure what those where for originally)

2. Would anyone see a benefit to having a few of the outside LED's be amber and setup for turn signals? Just a idea I came up with but might not be worth looking into.

3. Would anyone else on here be interested in a <$500 light bar?

I also thought it would be cool to do a smaller one for the rear with a spot in the middle for the backup camera a few of us are using.. although that would probably require a custom setup but might be able to get away with just modifying the housing.

[krick3tt]

Often thought about a backup camera. Not sure about mounting...close to license plate for power source (only when lights are on?)
Can't be too high as there is virtually no clearance to get into garage (1/2 inch) and it is a soft top 710M. Not too low as to be constantly
coated with road crud. I installed two spots on the front (separately switched) years ago that served me well for desert travel in SoCal
before LED light bars were available in my price range.
Be interested in possible suggestions for camera location.
Thanks for the topic.

[compunerdy]

I have a 710k so the perfect spot for the backup camera was above the door on the sloped back area as shown here..

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7510&start=30

I leave mine on all the time as it makes a very good rear view mirror.. No idea on placement for a soft top Pinz..

[EmbarkChief]

I think if you were able to mount the bar flush with the top of the windshield frame then that would be a winner. Personally I don't see a need for the amber lights, but that's just me. A 50" LED bar for <$500? You have my attention

[TechMOGogy]

GenevaPinz had a really nice setup if you ask me - below window
viewtopic.php?p=61271#p61271

[compunerdy]

I agree that his setup is nice but a lot of people like to install other items there such as the antenna holders, hi-lift jacks, etc.. I also think it might be better light wise to have them mounted higher up. This is just me guessing though as I have never had a light bar before..

[mopar]

I have a 40" aurora light bar from china on my dodge ram. 60 3watt cree 180 watts pretty bright I only bought a sample piece from them and it was $400 shipped probably a bit cheaper if you order 10 or more. Some guys have bought hanma lighting both are from china same as RIGID. A little tough on communications and dealing with problem but overall good lights for the price.

[GenevaPinz]

My answers:

1) Best placement for me is under the windshield to keep the overall height reasonable, and I am still tinkering with the idea of a hardtop over the front seats, at some point in the future... this is why I dismissed the top of the windshield location, although it makes more sense for off-road driving.

2) Turn signals in the LED bar is redundant in my view, especially with the bar sitting about a foot above the stock turn signals, so I don't see a real need... Additionally, I could barely fit the 3 wires I needed through the existing hole in the body (originally the antenna tube holder hole, top one on the passenger side), so another wire would have probably needed some drilling which I try to avoid.

3) Interested, yes, but it will most likely end up on just building up frustration of having already purchased at a higher price, not placing an order.

Back up camera is something I looked into, but I am not 100% sold for a number of reasons as of yet (camera placement on the 710M, screen placement, wiring, etc...).

In any case thanks for looking into these. If the outcome is even only half as good as your custom dash it will be killer!

[compunerdy]

Thanks for the compliment on the dash.. maybe one of these days I will finish it.. It seems I am tackling every idea I have at once..

As far as mounting the light bar above the windshield, it will still sit lower than the roof line..

I need to take the time to model the pinz in 3D so I can "see" how things look.

[totaljoint]

I have two Go lights above the windshield on my boat, and the off-road lights above the windshield on my 712. In both cases there is glare on the glass (much worse on the angled boat windshield, but still some on the verticle Pinz 'shield), especially if the glass is dusty or bug splattered. Also, the bounce back from light on smoke/dust in the air limits visibility with the lights above the viewer.


There is a lot less glare if the lights are mounted below the windshield when my lower fog lights alone are turned on.
From my experience, with these newer low-profile LED bars, next time I'd put the lights below eye level.

[compunerdy]

Never thought of that but just googled it and sure enough there is much talk about it. Most trophy trucks put them on top but I guess they mount them so they stick out past the windshield a bit. Others have put them back behind the windshield so the roof cuts off the glare but that would not be ideal. Thanks for the insight..

[Andre]

this works well.

[compunerdy]

Here is what I ended up going with. It was $237 including shipping and paypal fees.

It is supposed to be 50" but is closer to 48". It ended up fitting really nice I think. I drilled two holes and ran the wires through one of the stock bracket holes.

210 watts
42 cree LED's spot/flood combo
18,900lm
7.84A @ 24v



This is the company I got it from and the part number..

E-mail: info@mesbonhk.com
Website: http://www.mesbonhk.com
part# MSLS-50-C42

[TechMOGogy]

Nice price and I like how it is mounted evenly on the 'raise ribs' of the nose

[GenevaPinz]

Woaw! Unbeatable at this price.
That's the location I chose too, and there is no glare. These things turn night into day...!