I am thinking of buying a Frontrunner Slimline roof rack for some time now, but it is finally getting serious
Once I have it, I would like to install some driving lights on it mainly because it looks sooo cool 8)
I have seen pictures of DiscoDunc's D3, and that is definitely the look I am after.
But looks aside, I would like them to be useful too. Thinking about it I realized that I really have no idea what type of lights I would require. What are these lights actually used for, besides looking cool and obviously providing a lot of light?
What type of beam would I need, spot or wide, how much power would be required/adviced?
Any recommendations on lights that I should use?
I would like to have quite small lights so that they can be mounted below the rack and not add to the height of the vehicle.
4 in a row looks very cool in my opinion, so the numbers may compensate for size? Or doesn't it work that way?
So, I decided to call upon the experts in this forum to enlighten me on this matter... 2006 Zermatt Silver TDV6 'SE' Auto, Mantec sump guard, Frontrunner roofrack, Lightforce 140s, split charge system and... a Jetboil.
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21st Aug 2007 3:37 pm
Bodsy Site Sponsor
Member Since: 06 Nov 2006
Location: In the Clubhouse
Posts: 21361
Why don't you put an offer in for AndrewS G4 Roofrack & lights already built in & ready to go...Bodsys Brake Bible
Why don't you put an offer in for AndrewS G4 Roofrack & lights already built in & ready to go...
Mainly because:
- The FR rack is stronger, and comes with stronger roof rails
- The FR slimline rack has a lower profile, so it does not add as much to the vehicle height
- The FR rack looks better (in my opinion )
- I did already order the FR rack in the meantime
Anyone has any answers to the original questions about lighting? 2006 Zermatt Silver TDV6 'SE' Auto, Mantec sump guard, Frontrunner roofrack, Lightforce 140s, split charge system and... a Jetboil.
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I have 4 LF 140 mounted on my roofrack, and think they are pretty neat
Click image to enlarge
about the beam, LF offers variation by simply using other filters. haven't used them that way yet, but seems the easiest and cheapiest way to go ..
in effect, there's is a certain 'sum' made by using 4 smaller (less Watt-consuming). How that compares to 2 bigger, eg, I wouldn't know.D4
Disco4.com sticker
D3 11y, 425k km - sold, miss it though (MAR, DNK, NOR, SWE, SCO, WAL, MUD ...)
Is that a FR roof rack too that you mounted those on? If so, did you use the FR brackets for mounting the lights, or something different? 2006 Zermatt Silver TDV6 'SE' Auto, Mantec sump guard, Frontrunner roofrack, Lightforce 140s, split charge system and... a Jetboil.
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yups, it's the FR roofrack with those brackets. The brackets are mounted 'upside-down' op top of the roofrack. I could post some details if you want to ...D4
Disco4.com sticker
D3 11y, 425k km - sold, miss it though (MAR, DNK, NOR, SWE, SCO, WAL, MUD ...)
That would be great... 2006 Zermatt Silver TDV6 'SE' Auto, Mantec sump guard, Frontrunner roofrack, Lightforce 140s, split charge system and... a Jetboil.
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As you can see, you will extend the heiht of your roofrack with the bolts, since they're used 'upside down'.
For me, that wasn't an issue.
I looked into the option of mounting the lights directly on the roofrack, but then I was lighting outer space
Hope the pictures show what they're meant to D4
Disco4.com sticker
D3 11y, 425k km - sold, miss it though (MAR, DNK, NOR, SWE, SCO, WAL, MUD ...)
28th Aug 2007 8:20 pm
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Member Since: 11 May 2006
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Any airports missing landing lights down your way nessie???
28th Aug 2007 8:23 pm
drivesafe
Member Since: 23 Feb 2006
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 867
Hi Beaker, you should try going with someone who has them already fitted and see what they are really like.
There are some down sides to having roof lights such as add fuel consumption but if you have or are planning to have a permanent mounted roof rack then the fuel consumption increase is already there so the lights will make little if any difference. I drive at around 110 kph on the open road and they increase the consumption at this speed by nearly 10%
Next, again a good reason for seeing what they are like before you jump in, these lights will not only light up the road but when fitted to the very front of the roof, will light up your bonnet and and A bar and this can be as distractive as the lights can be an advantage.
Now thats the cons, the pros are that roof lights, particularly if set up correctly, are going to give you a huge improvement in night driving safety and make night driving a lot more comfortable.
I have been running roof lights on nearly all my vehicles for the last 25 years and currently run 4 on a quick fit and release roof bar on my RR and will eventually fit a similar bar on the D3.
I have two IPFs on the front that are spots and cover the long range area directly in front of the RR. I use four Hella 181s on the roof and have them set up as a spread paten covering from one side of the RR to the other.
I remove them by day and only fit them at night when doing some long distance driving and I do up the 2,000 kms of night driving a month so they get plenty of use.
The first two pics below will give you some idea of their ability to light up the night.
The last pic gives you an idea of how big the ship is and how the lights are positioned on the RR.
2008 TDV8 RR Lux + 2009 D4 2.7
28th Aug 2007 10:38 pm
10forcash
Member Since: 09 Jun 2005
Location: Ubique
Posts: 16534
Biggest problem with roof lights is the 'spill' across the bonnet and windscreen - worse when theres dust on either personally I prefer decent lights on the front of the vehicle... ask yourself why rally cars have a bonnet light pod not a roof mounted light bar
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What are these lights actually used for, besides looking cool and obviously providing a lot of light?
2006 Zermatt Silver TDV6 'SE' Auto, Mantec sump guard, Frontrunner roofrack, Lightforce 140s, split charge system and... a Jetboil.
cant wait
)
