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Just how much heat from LED light bars?

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12K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  BJ'sFJ  
#1 ·
How much heat is generated from a LED light bar? I know size will matter, but, how close to grill, bumper covers, or other plastic parts can they be mounted? How much air do they need so as not to over heat?
 
#4 ·
Bump...

So I have done endless amounts of research and comparisons to find the best Snow/Fog Light set up for my FJ... My rig is still fairly stock and I will need to mount whatever I go with to the OEM bumper... I am currently leaning towards the Rigid Industries Dually D2 Wide beam light kit with Amber Filters, mounted behind the grill in the lower opening on the front bumper... This should give a clean stock look and have my "snow/fog" lights mounted low enough to be effective; as well as not blinding oncoming traffic...

My biggest concern was that these lights would freeze/frost over in the snow/ice/cold, because of the lower heat output of LED's... This would potentially defeat the purpose of buying these, if the light output decreases due to the lenses being frosted over...

Has anyone experienced any problems with the D2's in snow/ice/cold??

Any other brands or set up's that I should consider before buying these??

I was also considering the Rigid Industries SR-10" Flood with Amber LED's, mounted in the same location...

I would appreciate any pics and all feedback that can be provided...

Thanks!
 
#3 ·
How many watts you want to dissipate? :lol:
They all have heat sinks extruded on the backs of them. I'm no expert but I wouldn't be too worried about heat, especially if you go with a decent brand. I just wouldn't mount it actually touching any plastic. Although my Baja Designs squadron pro's get fairly warm actually.
 
#8 ·
#10 ·
#12 ·
Thanks for the advice everyone! I have known about the Rigid Grill inserts for awhile, but not too crazy about the price tag...

I dont know how/where I found the 6" x 6" lights, and probably couldnt find them again if i tried!! Haha... The pic you included is helpful, so thanks for that FJCMatt. Do the fog lights you are running (the one with the amber lens) provide a nice and wide beam pattern, without throwing the light too far down the road?

The diffused set that rigid offers seems to have an extremely wide & shallow beam pattern, which may be ideal for fog/snow; unless it is too wide and too shallow, not throwing the beam far enough ahead of you... I really wish they offered the DOT fogs with Amber LED's instead of the white LED's... But it seems like the set you are running work fine with just the covers...

Now to come up with a way to mount them without cutting the grill... I like the idea of hiding them behind the grill, but as previously mentioned cleaning them will be a *****... But it may make it harder for Mr.Sticky Fingers to steal them, especially if he cant really see them because they are tucked behind the grill... Has anyone done this yet? (I know that is probably a stupid question... Haha...)
 
#14 ·
I'm going to try to remember everything in one post... Lol

The diffused beam does not have a cutoff. That is one thing that fog lights have for a good reason. Light will shine up into the snow/fog and blind you.

The fog lights can be aimed to the hight you like.


Without


With

So as you can see, they fill in everything around your headlights.

I asked them to chop my front grill because I had a set
Of lights behind it before, and they were a pain in the a$$ to clean.
To mount all my lights they just drilled and bolted them to the front frame horn.

Here is the best pic I can find...

The round ones were mounted behind the grill while the duallys were sticking through.

If you don't want to cut the grill, invest in a spray bottle.

Even with the grill chopped, mine would be real hard to steal. They would spend a long time lying under my front bumper trying to unbolt everything. Or they would have to remove the bumper to get to the lights easily.

I think I remembered everything...

Cheers


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#15 ·
The diffused beam does not have a cutoff. That is one thing that fog lights have for a good reason. Light will shine up into the snow/fog and blind you. The fog lights can be aimed to the hight you like.
I asked them to chop my front grill because I had a set of lights behind it before, and they were a pain in the a$$ to clean.
To mount all my lights they just drilled and bolted them to the front frame horn. The round ones were mounted behind the grill while the duallys were sticking through. If you don't want to cut the grill, invest in a spray bottle. Even with the grill chopped, mine would be real hard to steal. They would spend a long time lying under my front bumper trying to unbolt everything. Or they would have to remove the bumper to get to the lights easily.
Thanks again for the info... The front bumper cover must be removed to install I am assuming? Ill try to go down to Toyota to grab some of the stupid plastic clips that I hear break every time you remove the bumpers...

Is wiring Rigid D2's to the OEM switch as easy and straight forward as it seems to be? Ill do some homework on the forum and search for install tips...

Do the Amber covers cut down on the light output drastically or is it minimal?

I may go with the brighter D2 HD'S with a wide beam pattern, IF AND ONLY IF you would think it would make up for the cover... I know that if lights are too birght in the fog and snow, they will hurt you more than help you... But if using the amber covers severely reduces the light output, then maybe "dumbing down" the bright ones may not be a bad idea... Haha...

Any thoughts?

Decisions decisions...

Cheers!
 
#16 ·
Yeah, I get where you are coming from. They do cut out quite a bit of the output, but I like them better in fog an snow anyways. They take like 10 seconds to put on and take off, so I jut snap them on if it looks foggy. I have used Amber covers on my D2s an duallys, and I just find the beam patterns don't work. Maybe a set of D2 hyperspot aimed low could work well.

You might want to call rigid and ask them.


Here is a shot that shows the cover, vs no cover.



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#17 ·
Yeah, I get where you are coming from. They do cut out quite a bit of the output, but I like them better in fog an snow anyways. They take like 10 seconds to put on and take off, so I jut snap them on if it looks foggy. I have used Amber covers on my D2s an duallys, and I just find the beam patterns don't work. Maybe a set of D2 hyperspot aimed low could work well.

You might want to call rigid and ask them.
Calling Rigid is very high on my to-do list before ordering anything...

I would really like to find a set of either the D2 HD's in a wide beam pattern with Amber LED's and Amber covers, to cut down on the the 3000+ lumens they put out; OR the DOT (SAE Compliant) Fog's with Amber LED's instead of white LED's, and no Amber covers, so that the 1700+ lumens wont be decreased by needing to use the Amber covers...

I am surprised that I am having trouble finding the DOT (SAE Compliant) fog dually's with an Amber LED... Has no one thought to make that combination yet? :lol:

The Hyperspots wont have the correct beam pattern, those are more driving/spot lights than fog/wide beam pattern lights...

Thanks!
:cheers:
Cheers!