LED Vehicle Light Bar

[Grumpy Old Man]

Google is my best friend even though my wife says she knows everything but there is nothing better than first hand experience so I'm throwing this question out there.

 

Does anyone have experience or are currently using LED vehicle light bars ?

 

I have a 2017 Toyota Hilux Revo, the vehicle's excellent but I feel I need a bit more front lighting sometimes when I'm out and about in more remote areas where the street lighting is non-existent; I am considering fitting a LED Light bar to my vehicle, does anyone have experience with a company local to Chiangmai that supplies and fits LED light bars.

 

I don't want to have bolt on accessory as I see on many vehicles set up for off road use, I'm looking to have a LED light bar mounted behind the lower front grill as indicated in the attached photo.

 

Any ideas or suggestions are very welcome.

 

 

[tifino]

if you want 'real' projection, for driveable visibility, get something that's focused, has a lens such the type which comes as original equipment.

 

Those bars, all they do is put glare into oncoming eyes

[Samuel Smith]

What film do you have on your windscreen?

 

Never had a problem with the factory fitted lights on my Ford Ranger, even on unlit rural roads.

[tifino]

I respect something that has the ability to perform beam cut-off, which can't happen with those LED light splatter bars

 

 

IOLs in eyes don't take kindly to excessive spurious light

[sfokevin]

https://www.lazada.co.th/7inch-18w-led-work-light-bar-flood-spot-suv-boat-driving-lamp-offroad-4wd-intl-66324382.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.68.4f2d2876jpdJiM

 

 

[Dante99]

Put more powerful bulbs in existing light fixtures, headlights and running lights, worked for me.

 

Edited February 5, 2018 by Dante99

[Bob33065]

Does anybody know the law in Thailand For LED light Bars and backup LED lights?

[stuartd1]

55 minutes ago, Bob33065 said:

Does anybody know the law in Thailand For LED light Bars and backup LED lights?

[Grumpy Old Man]

On 29/03/2018 at 7:14 AM, Bob33065 said:

Does anybody know the law in Thailand For LED light Bars and backup LED lights?

 

I did the research on this same question before looking for extra lighting for my vehicle, I was told by a Thai Traffic Police Officer and by my local Toyota dealership that ALL extra mounted lighting on a vehicle be it light bars / flood lights are not supposed to be used on the public road; having them mounted is not the offence but using them is. You pay your money and take your chances.

Edited April 2, 2018 by Grumpy Old Man

[Bob33065]

On 4/2/2018 at 6:13 AM, Grumpy Old Man said:

 

I did the research on this same question before looking for extra lighting for my vehicle, I was told by a Thai Traffic Police Officer and by my local Toyota dealership that ALL extra mounted lighting on a vehicle be it light bars / flood lights are not supposed to be used on the public road; having them mounted is not the offence but using them is. You pay your money and take your chances.

Thank You, That's what I understood also.

 

[watcharacters]

On 4/2/2018 at 5:13 PM, Grumpy Old Man said:

 

I did the research on this same question before looking for extra lighting for my vehicle, I was told by a Thai Traffic Police Officer and by my local Toyota dealership that ALL extra mounted lighting on a vehicle be it light bars / flood lights are not supposed to be used on the public road; having them mounted is not the offence but using them is. You pay your money and take your chances.

 

 

As tifino suggested, the light bars may cause a glare for oncoming vehicles  which could in turn cause an accident.

 

 

[mikeoxwelling]

So @Grumpy Old Man besides the non-helpful replies here did you end up finding anything in Chiang Mai? Am looking to do something similar as my headlights are pitiful.

[impulse]

I'm amazed at how many guys gripe about their inadequate headlights while driving around with a heavily tinted windshield.  I ended up scraping off the film on my windshield and never had a problem with my box stock headlights.   It made a huge difference in night time visibility. 

 

Unfortunately, even before I scraped off the film, I often had problems being blinded by drivers who installed aftermarket lighting or aimed their headlights higher to compensate for their heavily tinted windshields.

 

If that's not a helpful reply, tough luck...

 

[tlandtday]

these dark windshields i see here are absolute suicide as no one can see clearly out of these much less at night... those tinting this dark should be jailed...

[impulse]

43 minutes ago, tlandtday said:

these dark windshields i see here are absolute suicide as no one can see clearly out of these much less at night... those tinting this dark should be jailed...

 

And it's not just how dark they are.  Any adhesive film adds some distortion to an otherwise beautifully crafted glass windshield.  Not as noticeable during bright daylight hours, but it's just one more factor making night time driving more dangerous.

 

[tigerbeer]

dark tints as many others have pointed out is very dangerous. invest in a good film that cuts off UV even at 30% darkness should keep the vehicle cool during hot sunny days. i do not understand why dark tints which are black are so popular here. doesn't black tint absorb more heat? maybe i am ignorant. to the OP, I would go ahead and add extra lights and use only when in very dark roads keeping wary of oncoming vehicles. i installed HID lights on my old benz for a while and realised that it was blinding oncoming vehicles. Apparently the glass covering reflects light in all directions and not suitable to use with HID. Gone back to the old stock bulbs and all is good now.

[mikeoxwelling]

On 6/3/2019 at 10:52 PM, impulse said:

 

If that's not a helpful reply, tough luck...

 

Nope, still not helpful. Don't have a tinted windscreen, just shity lights, is that so hard to understand?

[impulse]

8 hours ago, mikeoxwelling said:

Nope, still not helpful. Don't have a tinted windscreen, just shity lights, is that so hard to understand?

 

Given that 90% of the windshields I've seen in Thailand are tinted, and the "shitty lights" have been around for decades and have served billions of drivers perfectly well, I'd have bet you did have a tinted windshield.  I didn't know mine was tinted until I looked very carefully.

Another possibility is that your night vision has gone bad with age. 

 

In any case- tinted windshield, poor night vision or just the ego boost that comes with having bright lights, installing kick-ass headlights to compensate creates a hazard to everyone sharing the road with you.

 

Edited June 5, 2019 by impulse

[Grumpy Old Man]

On 6/3/2019 at 9:26 PM, mikeoxwelling said:

So @Grumpy Old Man besides the non-helpful replies here did you end up finding anything in Chiang Mai? Am looking to do something similar as my headlights are pitiful.

 I did improve my vehicle lights by changing all the bulbs to LED units . . . . I now have a total output of approximately 10,000 lumens of white LED light . . . . Works for me  

[Bill97]

 I did improve my vehicle lights by changing all the bulbs to LED units . . . . I now have a total output of approximately 10,000 lumens of white LED light . . . . Works for me  

Where did you get them?
Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Grumpy Old Man]

On 6/12/2019 at 3:07 AM, Bill97 said:

Where did you get them?
Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

I used a small independent accessories and fitting shop on Charoen Muang Road Chiangmai . . . . . I will get a business card and post a photo of information; they are very good and have done hundreds