Pillar vs Bumper Lights

[BoostCreep]

I’m happy with my fog light setup, but think my s2 pros are a bit small on the pillars, and want a bit more overall light.

Would love to hear opinions of pros and cons of bumper lights vs pillar lights. I’m considering either putting a pair of XL80s on the pillars and being done with it, or maybe removing the pillar lights completely and running either a Foutz light bar with some LP6s or the linkable 6 XL lights. Not interested in an aftermarket bumper really.

Pics for reference.

 

[04Ram2500Hemi]

If aimed right (to the side), A-Pillar (or Ditch Lights) are pretty helpful. I had a set on my Raptor, but they were aimed straight ahead and just glared off the hood. I have a set on my TRX now, and aimed off to the side they really help in areas where bumper lights can’t get to.

Ford Raptor setup:




Glare of the hood on the Raptor

 

[04Ram2500Hemi]

Again- on the TRX with my lights to the side, the glare is gone.

 

[BoostCreep]

Again- on the TRX with my lights to the side, the glare is gone.

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I have the wide cornering squadron pros in the bumper aimed to get the sides decently well for my purposes, for the pillars I’d probably use spot only lenses to reach far out since the squadron pro spots in the bumper just aren’t great for that.

 

[smurfslayer]

I have the wide cornering squadron pros in the bumper aimed to get the sides decently well for my purposes, for the pillars I’d probably use spot only lenses to reach far out since the squadron pro spots in the bumper just aren’t great for that.

+1

I’m happy with my fog light setup, but think my s2 pros are a bit small on the pillars, and want a bit more overall light.

Would love to hear opinions of pros and cons of bumper lights vs pillar lights. I’m considering either putting a pair of XL80s on the pillars and being done with it, or maybe removing the pillar lights completely and running either a Foutz light bar with some LP6s or the linkable 6 XL lights. Not interested in an aftermarket bumper really.

Pics for reference.

View attachment 444290View attachment 444291View attachment 444292

What’s your use case?

because every light and position has an optimal use.


I use my pillars to have higher up lighting, that pushes farther, and they’re not as easily obstructed as the lower height lamps. My bumper pocket lights are SAE fogs and amber driving combo sports which- both pairs are aimed low, and one pair pointed a bit outboard. I found the wide corner could wash out in fog, and the combos will to a lesser degree but aiming them low helps control that. The SAE have a pretty wide spread anyway.

In rain, the a pillar lights make it worse, so they’re frequently off in rain or heavy dust. The LP9’s are pretty close to level, so they push quite a long way on flat ground. But if you’re facing whoops, or undulations the pillars still let you see further up where the bumper level lights can get blocked.

if you do a set of pillar lights, get spot lenses to minimize the glare off the hood.

 

[Nex]

I had XL in combos on my a-pillar. Spot would be better on the a-pillar for sure. Less hood glare.



As Smurf asked, what is your use? Higher up spots will help give dimension to upcoming road hazards. A-pillar does give off more wind noise. So if mostly on road use than a light bar setup might be the way to go.

You can add a bar as smurf did to add lights to the front without replacing the bumper. So no limit to what you want to accomplish. This is my current set up until @Baja Designs comes out with the long awaited LP15s...

 

[smurfslayer]

This is my current set up until @Baja Designs comes out with the long awaited LP15s...

How about it @Baja Designs ...

 

[BoostCreep]

I had XL in combos on my a-pillar. Spot would be better on the a-pillar for sure. Less hood glare.

View attachment 444336

As Smurf asked, what is your use? Higher up spots will help give dimension to upcoming road hazards. A-pillar does give off more wind noise. So if mostly on road use than a light bar setup might be the way to go.

You can add a bar as smurf did to add lights to the front without replacing the bumper. So no limit to what you want to accomplish. This is my current set up until @Baja Designs comes out with the long awaited LP15s...

View attachment 444339

What’s an LP15??

 

[BoostCreep]

I had XL in combos on my a-pillar. Spot would be better on the a-pillar for sure. Less hood glare.

View attachment 444336

As Smurf asked, what is your use? Higher up spots will help give dimension to upcoming road hazards. A-pillar does give off more wind noise. So if mostly on road use than a light bar setup might be the way to go.

You can add a bar as smurf did to add lights to the front without replacing the bumper. So no limit to what you want to accomplish. This is my current set up until @Baja Designs comes out with the long awaited LP15s...

View attachment 444339

I wasn’t too familiar with pillar lights until I tossed my extra S2 pros on just to see if I might like them. I was shocked how the S2’s on the pillars put out more effective light than my squadron pros on the bumper, which are 2X the lumens. The pillars really project into the holes like you and @smurfslayer are saying, so I’m sure XL80s are great there.

I’m a bit nervous about outward viability with XL80s though, do they block your view when driving?

Loved the S8 bar I had behind the grill on my Gen 2 but don’t love the behind the grill options for Gen 3, and am not sure if I want to go with a light bar or not.

My fog lights are good enough for anything I encounter on actual roads, so these are for running trails at night, usually 20-60mph, CA/AZ desert typically.

 

[shigman]

XL80s from the driver seat in the rain. They do block visibility but not near as much as you’d think. The combo beams do hit the hood which isn’t great, but they do put out a lot of light.

In heavy dust the xl80s on the pillars are useless. It really depends on the use case.