Light bars, whats the whack

[Dales Cannon]

A 4 wheel drive magazine ran tests years ago with spotlights, they came to the conclusion that spotlights that went beyond 200m were a waste of time because your eyes can't distinguish what's on the road until you get closer. I find that the bright LEDs strain my eyes after a few hours of driving, the light reflects back into my own eyes.

This is very true. If you do the numbers on distance and speed it doesn't make any sense at all. Cars can stop from 100 in 30-50m so you have plenty of time to see ahead. My concern is what is lurking in the shadows on the sides of the road. On our 4wd we have spread beams which are good for maybe 250m at best but shine wide and are positioned that way a little too. A mate has three spots on his Prado and on the beach they are almost useless much less if they shine onto a sign, reflection is appalling and your retinas are slammed shut by the light!

 

[ozzybmx]

The only hassle with them is for other drivers. They throw so much light out there, that the light bar equipped driver can’t see the oncoming beam of the other driver, until they round the corner and melt their eyes.

True, that high output bar of mine is crazy bright. 35,000 raw lumens on a 23" bar and it drowns out anyone coming towards me, whether they have dip or full beam on.

Does a good job on cyclists though, full flood and come Fri/Sat/Sun heading to work at 5am, my road is a cycling hill climb, meeting anything between a couple to 30 riders in a morning. Most full black, a few in the middle of the road and some with no lights at all.