Best placement for auxiliary LED lights
'In front! It may sound obvious, but while it's the most straightforward answer, there are many more options to choose from thanks to the flexibility and versatility of Nilight led light bars' entire line of high-power auxiliary LED driving lights.
"Best placement for auxiliary LED lights?" There are several variables to consider. What kind of car do you have; What type of driving; What installation positions are available; the purpose why you need additional lighting?
Local restrictions or regulations might affect the choice of an auxiliary light and its location on the vehicle. To answer this question, we previously published a blog called Staying Legal.
Therefore, let's look at some of these variables to see if we can filter your installation location. We will only go into a bit of detail about each LED driver light Nilight offers. Although they are unique and may be specific to specific uses, we will focus on the installation location.
In general, well-designed light bars are best installed higher up in the vehicle. Lights mounted low and close to the road surface, with a relatively high up/down light distribution, may project too much light directly in front of the vehicle where it is not needed, or it might create shadows on uneven roads.
Slower-moving utility vehicles or SUVs may benefit from broader beam patterns to illuminate more of the surrounding area. At the same time, fast-moving rally cars need to go as far as possible while illuminating the sides of the track, so opt for multiple hood-mounted lights, each at a slightly different angle, or use one of our rally pods.
You can view the complete list of available mounting brackets here.
Roof Bracket
It is still a favorite of many to install auxiliary lights on the roof of a pickup truck, 4x4, or van, which allows the light bar to extend across the entire width of the vehicle, thus providing a very wide and powerful beam pattern.
Regarding roof-mounted light bars from other manufacturers or even the traditional single bulb at the center of a circular reflector design, one thing to note is that light usually transmits less accurately than Lazer LED lights we aim to provide. Cheaper light bars with forward-facing leds tend to project light output in all directions in front of the bar, which often means a lot of light output is wasted, illuminating the vehicle's roof and/or hood and creating unwanted glare.
Our Linear and Triple-R series use rear leds and precise-designed reflectors to focus light only where it is needed, avoiding glare on the body. Even our ST Evolution series, which does feature forward-facing leds and incorporates super reflective vacuum metalized reflectors to harness the maximum amount of light where you need it: on the road or on the trail ahead.
Another consideration is the possibility of increased wind noise. With a very streamlined and aerodynamic profile, our LINEAR series is only 41mm thick, ideal for concealed installation, and produces almost no wind noise. Similarly, our Triple-R Gen 2 series incorporates design improvements to reduce wind noise.
After covering these important provisos, there are several options for roof-mounted Lazer driving lights or LED light bars:
With or without roof rails
Most pickups, four-wheel drive vehicles, SUVs, and even family sedans can have a roof rail installed. These are usually clamped into roof gutters, but some car manufacturers fix them more securely with body fasteners. Either way, if you have a roof rail, you have a ready-mounted position for the LED bar. We provide solutions for many vehicles custom-designed for specific models and years of manufacture. These are designed to be attached directly to the roof rail or installed into the roof groove( if there is no roof rail).
Installing lights between the roof rails sometimes means that the actual length of the LED bar is shorter than the unit installed in the roof slot. See if we have a ready-made solution for your vehicle, or contact us for more suggestions. Our roof mounting kit includes everything needed to attach the lights to the vehicle, including wiring and instructions.
It is an option to attach auxiliary running lights to removable roof beams, such as those provided by Thule, but since these lights are not designed to be permanently installed, you should always choose a reputable, sturdy brand. Obviously, if you intend to remove the roof rebar at some point, you may need to leave a margin in the wiring to connect and disconnect the lights.
Roof fracturing bracket
Most roof racks used on 4x4s, vans, and SUVs are of solid construction, whether it's the Brownchurch-style box-section roof rack installed on the Land Rover Defender or the more modern aerodynamic style installed on late model SUVs.
Our ST-Evolution and Triple-R series of LED drive lights can be mounted via brackets at the top, bottom, or end of the light, giving you great flexibility when installing these lights, whether suspended, forward-facing, or top-mounted.
Please note that unless you order a custom-designed kit from us - which will come with the relevant wiring and installation instructions - you will need to assess the wiring options best suited for your vehicle, the placement of the wiring, and the location into which the wiring is to be placed.
Roll cage bracket
An external roll cage, motion guard, or roll cage mounted on some pickups and 4x4s is another suitable location for installing LED lights. We offer pipe clamps in three sizes, 42mm, 60mm, and 76mm, which refers to the diameter of the motion rod or roll cage tube.
Similar to the roof rack installation options above, you will need to determine the most appropriate wiring options for your particular vehicle.
In addition, many pickups moving light bars are located in the rear of the cab, so it will be an important consideration to choose a LED light or light bar whose beam pattern does not glare from the truck roof or hood. The Triple-R Elite and Linear series LED bars from Lazer Lamps feature a beam pattern design with low up/down light diffusion, making them particularly suitable for this purpose.
OEM grille integration
Lazer Lamps, one of the famous things, is our grille integration kit. We offer unique solutions to meet the needs of discerning car owners who need the benefits our high-power LED drive lights can provide but want to retain the discreet OEM-style finish.
Grille Integration kits are available for a variety of vehicles and allow for auxiliary driving lights to be installed within the existing grille or front-end structure of a car, van, 4x4, or pickup truck.
Custom-designed for each specific brand and model year, the grille kit comes with everything you need to install the LED lights inside the grille, including cutting guides, instructions, wiring harness, and of course, the LED lights you choose to install.
No other manufacturer can match this range of products, but we continue to develop new solutions for more makes and models of vehicles. All of these are legal on the road and provide an installation solution that eliminates the need to install additional modifications, brackets, rods, or brackets first.
Click to view the complete list of vehicle integration kits.
Behind the grille bracket
In addition to the grille integration kit, we now also offer flexible, concealed, and versatile mounting solutions that allow auxiliary LED running lights to be mounted to almost any vehicle, 4x4, or truck without drilling holes in the body. It gives you an easier way to upgrade with new lights at a later date, without the custom OEM-style integration described above, or remove it from the car altogether and install it on a different vehicle.
Your auxiliary LED running lights are mounted behind the grille and mounted on the crash bar or bumper beam. The decoration is very flexible, and the choice of lights entirely depends on personal choice or available space. Check out our universal Bumper Beam mounting kit.
Our Linear series of high-performance LED lights have a very low-profile aerodynamic design and can be installed in spaces where other lights cannot be installed. For example, it is possible to remain discreet and unnoticed even if installing linear lights in front of the grille - until you turn them on, of course!
License plate bracket
A firm favorite, purely for ease of installation, is the license plate bracket, or plate bracket. It consists of a pair of powder-coated aluminum brackets and accompanying stainless steel fasteners which fit behind existing plate mounting bolts. The resulting mounting platform can accommodate a pair of lights or a single light spanning two brackets.
Considering that our largest 51-inch LED Triple-R light bar weighs just 4.7kg, the maximum load of 5kg is also very generous. While we do not recommend that you install that particularly powerful LED light on your license plate, it does show that your choice of LED running lights is unrestricted if you only use the license plate bracket.
Load light
So far, we've only talked about forward lights. But, of course, those with jobs, utilities, or rescue vehicles often have to go into areas that may not be well-lit at night. It is not always possible to point your truck in the direction of the work in progress. At these times, we offer our line of Utility lights.
The Utility 25, 45, and 80 are designed to be compact but still powerful in terms of power output, providing not only a lot of lighting near the vehicle but also up to 1 lux of usable light at up to 75 meters. The area is more than 40 meters. Most of what we're talking about here is a football field from a utility light!
Mounting brackets add flexibility - these brackets can be mounted on any surface, and the lights can be angled as needed - and the Utility series is perfect for vehicles working away from street lights.
In addition to the compact Utility series, we offer a "floodlight" version of the Linear-24 light bar. It has the same aerodynamic profile as the standard Linear-24 but features a custom reflector design to create a flood beam pattern on the side or back of a vehicle, truck, or farm machinery.
Parking lights
Finally, let's look at the parking lights. While not a specific mount point variable, it may be useful to consider high-performance LED lights that also provide location markers or side light functions.
This is similar to a vehicle's regular side lights and can be used to mark the position of a stationary vehicle even when the headlights are off. Based on the intended use and regulations that may affect choice, our location marker lights are available in white or amber.
You can view the full list of available mounting brackets here.
We hope you find this guide to LED light installation location useful and that, if no surprise, it should prove that the choice of lights and installation location on your vehicle is not a limited decision. There are countless options. If you need more advice on installing our high-performance LED running lights on your vehicle, please feel free to contact us or contact your nearest dealer, who can also assist you in selecting your lights.
See more. Go further and Safer.
You can find more details below these articles:
1. How many amperes does the led light bar consume
2. Fuse sizes for 12v LED lights: Use and Prevention
4. What size wire should I use for my LED light bar
5. My light bar has completely or partially stopped working
6. How to choose the best LED light bar for your vehicle
7. How to Wire a Light Bar with a 5 Pin Rocker Switch
8. Why do you need a harness kit for Off-road LED light bars
9. How many watts of good LED light bars are suitable for car use