Where To: install driving lights?

[sydneysider Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close sydneysider]

Hi guys,

Driving lights are seen often installed on the bull bar or roof rack. Does anybody know the pros & cons of these two fitting places?

cheers,
sydneysider

[letsgoplaces Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close letsgoplaces]

All depends if you worry about legalities. Spot lights on the roof rack are illegal. But technically driving with high beams on in a 'built up' area is also illegal. When i had lights on the roof i didn't like the bonnet being lit up because i felt my vision was not what it should have been.

[Noobie Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Noobie]

Piggy made me

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

Bull bar for standard road use.
Roof racks when needing additional coverage, a bright bonnet or showing off.
A hand held one for hunting.

[sydneysider Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close sydneysider]

thks for quick response.
I was planning to install on roof just in case the driving lights would play its role when crossing creek with bra covers all headlights in the night.
it looks I have to fit it into bull bar.

[wooley Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close wooley]

thks for quick response.
I was planning to install on roof just in case the driving lights would play its role when crossing creek with bra covers all headlights in the night.
it looks I have to fit it into bull bar.

I've got narva senator work lights which have a magnetic/suction base which are great for those types of situations and lots of others; repairs, setting up camps, etc. so you could always get one or two if that's a likely scenario.

[letsgoplaces Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close letsgoplaces]

The only reason i wouldn't go with driving lights on the roof rack is because i don't like the bonnet being lit up. With a white car it is too reflective. So purely a personal reason. You do get better spread with them up high.
With the amount of 4b's on the road with lights 'up high', i don't think Mr Plod is too worried about them. So long as you're not driving across the Harbour Bridge with them on
If your main issue with wanting lights on the roof is so you can see when going through water at night? I would think twice about going through water which would be nearly bonnet height at night unless it was an absolute emergency
Just my thoughts

[croozza Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close croozza]

All depends if you worry about legalities. Spot lights on the roof rack are illegal. But technically driving with high beams on in a 'built up' area is also illegal. When i had lights on the roof i didn't like the bonnet being lit up because i felt my vision was not what it should have been.

This is true if your still in the year 1999, after that they were made legal, (we can thank Jeep for that, one thing they did right), as they started putting lights on the factory roof racks. Driving with hibeam in built up areas is fine too, as long as your not shining your lights into peoples homes.
Lights on the roof will light up your bonnet and cause flashback.
The best option is to put them on the bullbar, and not to skimp on the quality of the lights, IPF lights are not what they use to be so I would give them a miss, and use either Narva (the better model of lights, not the cheap ones), Fyrlyt, or Lightforce.

[letsgoplaces Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close letsgoplaces]

Here are a couple of excerpts from a SAPOL Traffic Information Page Tip 12....

The centres of low-beam headlights fi tted to a motor
vehicle built after June 1953 must be:
a) at least 500 millimetres above ground level;
and
b) not over 1.4 metres above ground level.
If the vehicle is built after 1970, the headlights must
be at least 600 mm apart and must not be over 400
millimetres from the nearer side of the vehicle and
if it was built after October 1991, the lights must not
be over 1.2 metres above ground level.

and

It is permissible to fit additional lights such as ‘Spot
lights’ to a vehicle; however, the lights must be fitted
to the front of the vehicle. Fitment to a bumper bar
or bull bar is acceptable, but roof mounted spot
lights are illegal.

So from my research, it shows that in South Australia spot lights fitted on a roof rack are illegal. I understand that in Qld spotties up high are legal (but don't just take my word on that).

So research your own state rules and regulations...... that is if you really care that much

[gumboot Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close gumboot]

How bad are the reflections off the roof mounted spotlights?

[sydneysider Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close sydneysider]

The only reason i wouldn't go with driving lights on the roof rack is because i don't like the bonnet being lit up. With a white car it is too reflective. So purely a personal reason. You do get better spread with them up high.
With the amount of 4b's on the road with lights 'up high', i don't think Mr Plod is too worried about them. So long as you're not driving across the Harbour Bridge with them on
If your main issue with wanting lights on the roof is so you can see when going through water at night? I would think twice about going through water which would be nearly bonnet height at night unless it was an absolute emergency
Just my thoughts

many thanks letsgoplaces!
it's definitely for emergency, I don't wanna take any unnecessary risk to render the habits of crossing streams in nights...hehe.
the situation happended during Qld flood when we're stuck in a small town. One friend needed to rush to Syd for overseas trip and we tried to get out to avoid further flood, we had to steer in the road with 40cm deep water at the beginning in the night, and then the water level reached waist. We finally had to give up to avoid risk that night. (of course we made it finally the day after).

[sydneysider Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close sydneysider]

Here are a couple of excerpts from a SAPOL Traffic Information Page Tip 12....

The centres of low-beam headlights fi tted to a motor
vehicle built after June 1953 must be:
a) at least 500 millimetres above ground level;
and
b) not over 1.4 metres above ground level.
If the vehicle is built after 1970, the headlights must
be at least 600 mm apart and must not be over 400
millimetres from the nearer side of the vehicle and
if it was built after October 1991, the lights must not
be over 1.2 metres above ground level.

and

It is permissible to fit additional lights such as ‘Spot
lights’ to a vehicle; however, the lights must be fitted
to the front of the vehicle. Fitment to a bumper bar
or bull bar is acceptable, but roof mounted spot
lights are illegal.

So from my research, it shows that in South Australia spot lights fitted on a roof rack are illegal. I understand that in Qld spotties up high are legal (but don't just take my word on that).

So research your own state rules and regulations...... that is if you really care that much

thanks for your research again!
it appears there're diff rules in diff states. the issue will arise in the case a Qld guy with lights on roof crosss border to SA, should SA police issue a offence ticket?
why should we have a uniform national rule to avoid any confusion, including national road code not limited to the lights?

[xlr8_87 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close xlr8_87]

If I had the dollars I'd go for 2x spotlights on the bullbar and an LED spread beam on the roof.
Reasoning:
2x spotlights on the bullbar will light up the road at vehicle height (if they were on the roof you'd miss sections of the road, unless they were angled down in which case you'd be losing distance)
Spread beam on the roof will have the advantage of height and "fill in" all the small gaps in light closer to the car

[Pradod Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Pradod]

One of those lightbars on the roof would be brilliant I reckon

[smakb Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close smakb]

If I had the dollars I'd go for 2x spotlights on the bullbar and an LED spread beam on the roof.
Reasoning:
2x spotlights on the bullbar will light up the road at vehicle height (if they were on the roof you'd miss sections of the road, unless they were angled down in which case you'd be losing distance)
Spread beam on the roof will have the advantage of height and "fill in" all the small gaps in light closer to the car

I agree. I have two on the roof since I got stuck in the hight country at night and in bad weather. Tight turns coming down a mountain and we found we could not see where we were going.
They may be illegal but that will depend on the cop. It is illegal in Vic to have light on the roof that are "forward facing" and mine are pointing out to the sides.


Steve.