(Poll) Would love everyone's input on light bar size, reference pics included

[King]

I have decided to go with the Extreme LED X6/X6s series light bar for my rig. This will be placed in the front plate bumper and no matter what size I choose I will need to take material off the bumper. Last year I took a trip to South Lake Tahoe and was caught in a snow storm. I was driving a rental Ford Fusion and remembered not being able to see oncoming cars that well, until a super sweet kitted out 2nd gen Tacoma came rolling past with it's amber LED's. I initially thought it was a construction vehicle as they had many out that day keeping the roads open but I was able to identify it as an oncoming vehicle well before any other car on the road that day.

I really like this bar as it's IP68 rated and has a lifetime warranty. I am a very indecisive when it comes to having multiple options so i'd like to get some community feedback on what may work the best and what looks the best.

Here are pictures of the rig as she sits and I have made cut outs of how big the light bar would be and taped them to the bumper for reference. I do plan on adding a winch at some point but do not know if the thickness of the X6 will get in the way of operation. Only time will tell for that one.

I plan on calling Exteme LED's as im interested in using thier 2 inch Extreme Stackerz in Amber as additional fog lights but unsure if I will really need them and if I should get the spot or flood lens.



Here are what the bars look like. Amber on the outside and white floods sandwiched in between.

No bar

X6 22
$252
14,400 Lumens 57.1 Lumens per $1
120W

This bar is near perfect in terms of length but will have to do major adjustment for the height of the bar itself.

X6S 30
$235
13,500 Lumens 57.4 Lumens per $1
150W

As mentioned before throws a bunch more light but a lot more work needs to happen to get the cut out correct.

EDIT:


Got rid of a lot of the options and singled it down to two of the bars that are really close in price and light output.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Driving in snow is not a strong point for a LED light bar, they often reduce visibility because they light up to much falling snow. I mounted two 4" AMBER pods under my 4, 4" pods, getting them as close to the ground as I could, about 26". I can see much farther with being blinded.

If you do go with the LED bar mount as low as possible.

 

[KonzaLander]

I don't have any opinion about the light bar, but do suggest mounting amber fogs down low if you are concerned about snow visibility. They will also help quite a bit in the rain.

 

[madcratebuilder]

I think that would work just fine. Getting the "fog' lights as low as you can and still have protection is the goal. Looks good in your mock up. One other option is a LED bar that has a Amber for in the center and white on the ends, I've seen those on Amazon.
Low lights well light up dust, rain, snow less than a roof mounted light, roof light may show further and can glare the hood depending on color. I find I use the roof light when setting up camp in the dark or open country at night.

 

[King]

One other option is a LED bar that has a Amber for in the center and white on the ends, I've seen those on Amazon.

This is what the the light bar will look like. It has the Ambers on the outside and the white floods in the middle.

 

[King]

I don't have any opinion about the light bar, but do suggest mounting amber fogs down low if you are concerned about snow visibility. They will also help quite a bit in the rain.

Would you recommend FLOOD or SPOT optics for amber fog lights?

 

[smritte]

Ill have to get a picture of the front of my rig when I get home. Basically, I have a 22 inch (I think) bar on my bumper with 2 spot "pod" lights to the sides of it. Add in HID headlights and I'm not wanting for vision. That is until I went out a few months ago. I was driving down a winding desert trail looking for a spot to sleep. I realized I couldn't see over the 5 foot tall bush's.
I don't want to put a bar on top but, where I live, I may need to. My rack has a deflector I can cut. I can fit a 45" max light there and if I tuck it back a little it "shouldn't" make noise on the freeway.

 

[MidOH]

I hate led's in snow. The led's on my bike are fine for dry weather.

Halogens for me only, in the snow belt. Lightforce, Fyrlyt, etc. etc.

 

[KonzaLander]

Would you recommend flood or fog optics for amber fog lights?

Fog. You want the horizontal cutoff. They wont daylight the road like a light bar but they will help get usable, non-glaring light down the road.

 

[King]

Fog. You want the horizontal cutoff. They wont daylight the road like a light bar but they will help get usable, non-glaring light down the road.

Sorry, I mis-typed. the options of the lights were SPOT or FLOOD. Ideally id like to get fog pod lights with a cut off but I cannot find many in my price point and I really need to get my bumper painted up before it starts to really rust.

 

[KonzaLander]

Sorry, I mis-typed. the options of the lights were SPOT or FLOOD. Ideally id like to get fog pod lights with a cut off but I cannot find many in my price point and I really need to get my bumper painted up before it starts to really rust.

I honestly do not know which of the patterns would be better for an amber snow light. My hunch is flood, but that is not based on any real experience.

Not sure what your budget is, but the round amber LED fog lights for a JK are about $45/pair from Amazon. I have these retrofitted in my ARB bumper, but could be installed on any flat panel with a 4" hole with minimal effort.

 

[King]

Not sure what your budget is, but the round amber LED fog lights for a JK are about $45/pair from Amazon. I have these retrofitted in my ARB bumper, but could be installed on any flat panel with a 4" hole with minimal effort.

Will do a little more digging but my current budget for pod lights are under $150 for the set up.

I would love to drop $290 for DOT rigid industries flood lights but that wouldnt be financially responsible right now. I will be sure to make a new thread of what i end up doing. Thanks for the input!