4x4 / Off-Road TechThis section contains all discussion related to taking the FJ Cruiser in Off-Road situations, 4x4 applications and any armor modifications.
Great post with a ton of useful information. I have the PIAA 520s on top, and they do a good job but I think that they lose some function by being up to high. To counter this, I am going to mount a pair of Warn SDB-160s on the ARB bumper to give out more white light closer to the ground.
PIAA 520 series lights are designed primarily for street use - 580 series will provide more light and a more useful pattern for off road use...
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I didn't see any mention of one of the most useful types of lights. Rock Lights.
All those extra lights everybody puts on their roof racks and bumpers hardly ever gets used. You can't use the roof mounted ones on the street. You can't use any of them when trail riding in a group unless you're in front. The only time I've seen them really useful is at the dunes or desert running.
sheesh Larry we start agreeing to much we will have to punch each other out
I love floods, down below the bumper where they light up rocks, have no need for fogs, do not need extra driving light and have a perverse demented sexual deviation for super long range pencil beams.
are you carrying the Warn dual bulb setup? Missy wants a set. plus she needs a set of floods for that small lower insert area in the Warn bumper so I have an excuse to take the FJ out on night patrol
I didn't see any mention of one of the most useful types of lights. Rock Lights.
All those extra lights everybody puts on their roof racks and bumpers hardly ever gets used. You can't use the roof mounted ones on the street. You can't use any of them when trail riding in a group unless you're in front. The only time I've seen them really useful is at the dunes or desert running.
I use floods for rock lights
and about those bumper long range lights designed for desert running, use them all winter long running the deserts. SoCal and Baja. guess it is also just a matter of area or 4x4 usage for those rack lights, we use them all the time down here, but then Adventure 4x4ing is a little different than rockcrawling, when you are setting up camp after dark those lights all around the rack work great illuminating the area you are unpacking into.
I have to agree a large number of offroad lights never get used, but then the same can be said about 4x4s, so many are sold that never leave the street it is a shame
their loss, not ours
Deer is a big concern around here. You noted driving lights as being good for deer. My biggest concern with deer is seeing them when they're off the side of the road, before they run across. Will driving light be wide enough? Or would you use those and slightly aim them to the sides?
Would flood lights be better or do they not show far enough to be effective at speed?
Can anyone else post their lights and where they bought them from?
I got a pair of Lightforce 270's from tufflights. For offroad I use the amber lenses to cut through the dust and so my eyes don't adjust to much when looking towards or away from them.
Thanks for a well-researched and written "article" on offroad lights. Here's my set up:
Fog lights in bumper were part of the Fabours bumper package; they're Hella 90mm units with 55W bulbs. The driving lights are IPF960 with 110W bulb. Quadratec had these IPF on sale for less than $200/pair. Here's a source of aftermarket lights:
Linear Mode
