Let's talk lights. How much lighting needed? I need suggestions.

[HalfmuleFarmer]

… is the light bar legal to run on-road where you live? If not, then it isn't doing you a whole lot of good most of the time.

Concur with this, which is one reason I haven’t spent the $$$$ yet … good aux lights, that are going to last and be worth the money? Not cheap.

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[Brian_B]

The light are for off road and not on road.

The the only limit is the output of your alternator and however many spots you imagination can come up with the mount them in that case.

 

[Brian_B]

Concur with this, which is one reason I haven’t spent the $$$$ yet … good aux lights, that are going to last and be worth the money? Not cheap.

I threw a decent amount of money at a nice set of Diode Dynamics triple fog lights... two of the three are street legal, but I can only run 1 set of those at a time with headlights on road.

But--- the one set I do run - a very very nice mod that I'm glad I got and I run them full time wired to factory fog lamp circuit.

The other two sets of lamps... kind of a waste of money, but in the rare event I'm off road in the dark they do the job - just only use them maybe a handful of times a year.

I could have just got that one set and been just as happy to be honest, and saved about $600.

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

The light are for off road and not on road. I have plenty of light for the roads.

How about added wind noise on the highway (even tho your aux lights will be off)? That’s also been a concern of mine with lights that protrude from the pillars or roof.

 

[agentdarnell]

How about added wind noise on the highway (even tho your aux lights will be off)? That’s also been a concern of mine with lights that protrude from the pillars or roof.

I don't think ill put them on the roof any time soon. I was thinking about a couple for my brush guard above my winch and some a pillar for ditch lights.

I have no idea how noisey they would be.

 

[dejones64]

Lights were not a priority, until I hit a deer after 1 month of ownership. They went right to the top of my list. Two pair of Rough Country wide angle ditch lights, A-pillar and top corners of the bumper. Diode Dynamics lights in the bumper, yellow SAE fogs, white SAE fogs, and spots. Added a brush guard that attaches to the frame where the tow hooks are, with a 30" Diode Dynamics light bar, by far the brightest light I have. I see a lot of deer in advance, giving me a chance to slow down...

My SAE fogs are DOT approved. The rest are for off-road or country roads, where I find most deer. I try to avoid night driving as much as possible., but have the lights just in case. $1k in lights is still cheaper than hitting a deer.

 

[87-Z28]

Have you ever seen Chevy chase griswold Christmas? Not enough lights IMO.

 

[Oldhippie]

Go out and decide where ya want more light and fix that…Having done rubicon midnight runs with just old sealed bean headlights my DD SAE fog & driving pods along with BD s2 ditch pods (ya may think about rock lights for your spotter) are way more than I “need” for rocky trails and work great on road too but sure more light is more gooder…to a point…

 

[EasternSierra]

How about added wind noise on the highway (even tho your aux lights will be off)? That’s also been a concern of mine with lights that protrude from the pillars or roof.

My ditch lights make a little wind noise that I no longer notice as a separate noise. However, I'm switching to the Blumak ditch light housings which are a lot more streamlined.

 

[CalvinT]

My ditch lights make a little wind noise that I no longer notice as a separate noise. However, I'm switching to the Blumak ditch light housings which are a lot more streamlined.

I really like mine and I haven't noticed any wind noise from them. And absolutely no glare back on the hood.

edit: Because of a quirk in Arizona law I put the left and right ditch lights on separate switches so that it's possible to drive with just the right ditch light turned on. AZ allows a spotlight that shines off to the right less than 600 feet and doesn't blind oncoming drivers. This means I can use just my right ditch light for reading house addresses, etc while on public roads. Now to make sure I carry a copy of the relevant Statute in my glove box.

 

[Gluestick]

I strongly feel (cue Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark ) that MOAR lights is better. Late night rural drives on windy roads being part of that motivation, campsite illumination being another and being able to clearly see the obstacles or during recovery being top of mind.

but I’d note that long throw spots or laser patterns aren’t my jam because they don’t follow my needs: I’m on curvy roads and the Bronco simply doesn’t go fast enough on straight lines or sweeping curves for narrow through.

so beam patterns for me was a key decision: I went with Scene, Flood, and Drive. I have multiple angles slightly to the side or significantly to the side to see both around turns and to light up trail side obstacles.

color choice is also a key: I think rigid Amber is my favorite but you can go white and use lens covers to get that. A lot of people like Baja Amber (yellow). Big fan of cutting through dust, fog, and rain/snow, and less bug activity - solid white just lights up every damn spec of distraction in the air by comparison.

Rigid 6” 360s are great as are their D-series. I just installed a pair of D-SS I had on a winch plate for a friend - really great there or ditch / a-pillar location and they are indexed left/right so the side shooting doesn’t require a partial cover to avoid hood glare.

 

[Q1svt]

campsite illumination being another and being able to clearly see the obstacles or during recovery being top of mind.

… I use a Jackery for camp, but interested in what you’re using out back on the bronco?

 

[dejones64]

I really like mine and I haven't noticed any wind noise from them. And absolutely no glare back on the hood.

edit: Because of a quirk in Arizona law I put the left and right ditch lights on separate switches so that it's possible to drive with just the right ditch light turned on. AZ allows a spotlight that shines off to the right less than 600 feet and doesn't blind oncoming drivers. This means I can use just my right ditch light for reading house addresses, etc while on public roads. Now to make sure I carry a copy of the relevant Statute in my glove box.

I thought about doing this with my ditch lights. Can light up the right side ditch without blinding oncoming cars. For now I have my passenger SAE white fogs pointed outward to the right.

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