Roof/windshield light bars

[Yellow1098]

What are your thoughts and experience with roof/above windshield light bars? It would be the first time I put one on a truck and would like to get the rundown and which ones are good which ones are cheap and best mounting options....some pics/links would be appreciated as well....thanks as always

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[Jowen]

I you have a light bar over the windshield be prepared for a loud whisle while you drive. This is a design issue of all the light bars. The jl forum has a home fix for the whisle, just be ready. Plus I do not of a light mount for the windshield area yet.

 

[Moabite]

My thoughts and experience: The stupidist mistake I ever made with any of my Jeeps was putting lights above the windshield. Any lights above the windshield will cast light on the hood. I prefer not to have my hood lit up while I'm out on trails at night. However, if your intention is just to look cool while cruising the mall, they are perfect for that. I will never again mount lights anywhere above the hood. I have a pair of bumper-mounted Baja Designs LP6 Pros on my Gladiator and they provide more light than would ever be needed on any trail. I chuckle every time I see Jeeps with lights above the windshield, more on the A-pillar, and another light bar on the hood.

 

[Yellow1098]

This is the kind of info and education on them I was hoping to get....tell me more

 

[Moabite]

Check out post #27 in the thread "Off Road Lights" in this section. You'll see what I mean by lighting up the hood. Those lights appear to be cowl-mounted.

 

[kpohanka]

if you dont have adaptive cruise control this could be a good option.

https://www.quadratec.com/p/quadratec/stealth-led-interior-mount-50-inch-light-bar-jeep-wrangler-jl

 

[Yellow1098]

Now that's pretty interesting......guess it's for lowering the windshield

 

[Moabite]

if you dont have adaptive cruise control this could be a good option.

https://www.quadratec.com/p/quadratec/stealth-led-interior-mount-50-inch-light-bar-jeep-wrangler-jl

That is, without a doubt, one of the stupidest ideas I've ever seen. Not only would it block a good portion of an already small windshield, it would also light up your hood and your dash.

 

[kpohanka]

That is, without a doubt, one of the stupidest ideas I've ever seen. Not only would it block a good portion of an already small windshield, it would also light up your hood and your dash.

You must live a pretty intelligent life if that's one of the stupidest ideas you've ever seen. It was designed to be enclosed against the windshield so it does not light up the dash and appears to be maybe 2" in height. Additionally it is a 90 degree flood so its somewhat narrow, might not light the hood up at all depending on how it is aimed. Plenty of people use overhead lighting and are perfectly happy. I could see this product appealing to somebody who does not want to change the exterior look of their vehicle.

 

[Renegade]

The amount of money people drop on lights they don’t really need kills me. I like LED headlights and fogs, but a $700 light bar??,

 

[Yellow1098]

Was thinking more along the lines of the sub 200$ version ...that worked well and maybe pointed slightly up for a higher beam along tree lines and such....oh and of course looked good

 

[Moabite]

You must live a pretty intelligent life if that's one of the stupidest ideas you've ever seen. It was designed to be enclosed against the windshield so it does not light up the dash and appears to be maybe 2" in height. Additionally it is a 90 degree flood so its somewhat narrow, might not light the hood up at all depending on how it is aimed. Plenty of people use overhead lighting and are perfectly happy. I could see this product appealing to somebody who does not want to change the exterior look of their vehicle.

Viewable area on the JT windshield is less than 16 inches tall. If this light bar is 2" tall (I don't see dimensions listed in the specs), it blocks at least 1/8 of the view out the windshield. I will believe this does not light up the dash or the hood when I see it. I have yet to see any overhead light bar that does not cast an unacceptable amount of light on the hood for backcountry off-roading, even with a spot beam pattern. This interior mount light bar has a flood pattern.

 

[CarolinaGladiator]

I had A-pillar mounted lights on a CJ once. I couldn't get them off fast enough. Yeah they look cool but if you ever really needed them on a trail they were more of a hindrance. The "glow" from the hood makes them unusable. I'm with Moabite on this one, no lights above the hood.

Oh, and $700 for a light bar? That truly is one of the stupidest things I've ever seen.

 

[Yellow1098]

Thank you guys for the education on this! I am definitely not looking to spend that kind of money on a light bar...I was thinking more along the lines to have it angled upward for a tree line type use as I use drones at night a bit...I have seen some for much cheaper that were used etc and wanted to learn alittle about them....let's be honest also I was thinking they do look pretty cool as well on some trucks

 

[spazzyfry123]

if you dont have adaptive cruise control this could be a good option.

https://www.quadratec.com/p/quadratec/stealth-led-interior-mount-50-inch-light-bar-jeep-wrangler-jl

I really like the idea of this strictly from a non-invasive perspective. No additional wind noise nor increase in exterior proportions. Plus the additional factor of people wondering if the city got a new Jeep truck for their patrol car so that they'll get out of my way

The only lights I've done were for my strictly offroad YJ (full hydro steering, D60s, coilovers...) with no intention of looking cool at the mall. The lights were nowhere near the top of the vehicle and proved to work well at night. Wondering if something like this could be a good alternative. I surely can't stomach the price - also bummer that it has an integrated switch. Defeats my Aux switch option!

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