[3097]

I'm trying to decide where to mount my off road lights and would appreciate any input. Obviously the choices are basically at bumper level, on the winshield, or at roof level. My two concerns are making sure they offer maximum visibility when I'm miles from any road in the middle of the night and that a branch or rock doesn't disable one or all of them.

 

[Guest]

on my wrangler i have some round kc's mounted on the bumper and on the bottom corners of the windshield. the ones on the windshield are really cool, they are really brite if i had to go with just one or the other i'd have the ones on the windshield.

 

[2493]

I used to have the lights mounted on the upper half of the windshield frame and they were really bright but the hood was painted white and it glared so bad you couldn't see anything with the KC's on. Moved them down to the frame horns and they seem just as bright and no glare, tree branches do not grab them anymore either.

 

[clffhnger]

If you mount them on the windshield, you'll notice they light up the front of the jeep and glare back at you. Some manufacturers sell a sheild so that doesn't happen, but it looks bad. You'd be better off highest point possible in front of the grill.

 

[Tim]

Quite frankly, I wouldn't waste my money on aux lighting, if I had it to do over again. I added a set of Warn SDB-160HB off-road lights to the bumper and they are anemic compared to my headlights. Here's a link to the Warn lights:

Warn Industries - Off Road Lights: SDB-160 HBE

My headlights have been upgraded to IPF headlight inserts with 55W/100W bulbs and they produce better light than the Warns. For slow night wheeling, they really rock. If you intend to drive high speed at night, then perhaps some high powered aux lights might be waranted, but otherwise these are all I will ever need. Here's a couple of links for the IPF's:

Cherokee XJ IPF H4 Headlamp Upgrade

4X4REVIEW.COM: IPF's replacement headlamp kit

Another choice would be the Hella Vision Plus headlight inserts, same type of replacement as the IPF's. Here's a link:

Hella

You will want to upgrade the wiring to include relays for any light upgrade.

 

[864]

I put a set of Warn lights on my truck last spring before driving to Alaska and have been amazed at their brightness, but they are also pencil beams. Warns website lists the reflective distance of the 160s that Tim mentions as only 235 meters, while the 510s that I bought reflect to 2408 meters (7900'!). The pencil beams obviously wouldn't be very good for slow speed wheeling. They sure are nice for the road though. Having had problems with glare in the past, I would avoid mounting on either the roof or the windshield.

For wheeling, my favorite light addition has been a pair of cheap walmart very small rice-burner foglights. They only cost $14.00 and are probably 2" in diameter. I have one mounted on the bottom of the radiator facing down to the front pumpkin, and another under the rear bumper facing the rear axle. If you get stuck rock-crawling in the dark, they are invaluable for a spotter trying to help you get out. Granted I don't use them very often, but when you need them they are great, especially for the price. You will probably want to upgrade the crappy wiring harness you get with them.