Added driving lights/LED light bars (pics)...

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Insighter

Active Member
I had my 12v shop put on some LED light bars/driving lights on my 2020 Clarity Touring. They are 1800-lumen 6" LED light bars frome LED Outfitters.

They are combo spot/flood lights, and, after testing them last night, I now know I should have picked a version that was just spot lights. They tend to light up the canopy of shorter trees as I drive. They just throw too much light everywhere, which would probably annoy oncoming traffic (something I will not do), so I will replace them. Here are some links. The first link is the ones I bought, the second is the replacements I've ordered:

https://www.ledoutfitters.com/offroad-led-lightbar/30-watt-work-light/
https://www.roughcountry.com/6in-led-light-bar-70707bl.html

My installer cut an opening in the plastic grill behind them so they wouldn't stick out. The ones I ordered look very good, like they belong on the car. They are 6000K color temperature and match the lights on the car (they are not more yellow or more white, though the color looks a bit off in the photos, they do not look different in person). Here are some photos of the ones currently installed (the ones I'm replacing):
...IMG_5137.webp IMG_5138.webp IMG_5139.webp
 
JFon101231 said:
Look fwd to pics showing light throw when replaced
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I don't think the replacements will look much different in photos. They will be almost exactly the same size and shape. I'm only replacing them to get spot lights (the current ones are a combination spot/combo), and brighter lights. I'll take photos, but I think the only additional photos that will really matter, I think, are the ones that show how the lighting looks from inside the car (how bright it is and where it shines). I will try to take photos that show that as realistically and usefully as possible.
 
JFon101231 said:
Yes, sorry, that's what I meant by light throw.
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Oh, I'm sorry, I read it too quickly and missed where you said throw.

The real question for me is the brightness and angle of the light. Hopefully I'll be able to show that effectively in the photos. I can tell you that, with the current ones, they definitely weren't bright enough to make much of a difference for me (the driver), and I do think they would be annoying to oncoming drivers, even angled downward a bit, because they have the flood lighting. I'm expecting that the new ones will be much better, but, of course I will have to wait and see.

I came from a Toyota Prius Prime Advanced, and the difference in the amount of light between the stock headlights on it and the Clarity is night and day. My Prius Prime's lights are FAR better. The brights are amazing, too. They don't merely re-angle the light (like the Clarity), they add much more light at a higher angle. Being used to the lights on my Prius Prime, the lights on my Clarity seem dim.
 
I agree, I'm "okay" with the lows but IMO the high beams are basically useless. My other vehicle is a pickup and the comparison is night and day (no pun intended)
 
I had the LED light bars I originally purchased swapped out for newer ones (photos below). The new ones are Rigid Industries 6" "Fog" lights that are SAE compliant. At $440 for the pair, they cost much more than the original lights, but are also much better lights in every respect and have a lifetime warranty. Here is a link to them:

https://www.rigidindustries.com/sr-series-6-fog-light-sae-compliant-pair-906703.html

The SAE compliance is important because it means they are street-legal and you don't have to have covers on them when they're not in use. "SAE" is stamped in the glass, which apparently lets cops know they are legal if they were to question them. I'm not sure what all SAE approval entails, but I'm pretty sure it involves the lenses, brightness and where the beam of the light. The SAE-approved lenses on these match the lights on the Clarity very well. They light appears to be exactly the same color (color temperature) as the Clarity's daytime running lights. In other words, they look right at home on the Clarity.

They are much brighter than the original lights, and they cast the light in a much more useful pattern. They are very well-built. The price seemed high after the first lights I bought, but the price isn't high compared to what the factory lighting on modern cars costs. I will be posting some video that shows how they light up the road. For now, I'm just adding some photos of the lights.

These lights do not blind oncoming drivers. I checked, and had a friend check, and we agree that when you are approaching my Clarity from the opposite direction, these lights appear to be about as bright as the Clarity's daytime running lights, and less bright than the headlights.

At 2640 lumens for each bar, I'd say these Rigid Industries "fog" lamps are exactly the right brightness. They bring my Clarity's lighting up to the same brightness and functionality as my Toyota Prius Prime Advanced's factory lights (which are by far the best lights I've ever had on any car). They do use about 3 amps of electricity. I have them wired to only come on when my headlights come on (and not when only my daytime running lights or parking lights are on). There is an override switch that lets me turn them off. (I don't know why they call them fog lamps. They do come with amber lenses you can clip onto them, but I don't intend to do that.)

You will probably notice I had some under-car lighting installed on the sides of the car. I had amber LED light strips installed on each side. They look much brighter in the photos than they actually are. I added them to make my Clarity more visible to other cars, but I also like the look of them. They are legal here in California, but maybe not in other states. I can turn them off. Certain colors are illegal in California, and the lights can't flash. I chose amber because that is the color of lighting that you would normally see on the sides of a vehicle. I don't want them to be confusing to other drivers. I'll post more about them in another thread with more photos.
bars-driver-side-night.webp bars-front-night.webp bars-passenger-side-night.webp
 
Here are the most important pics. They show the difference in the amount of light these Rigid fog lamps put on the road ahead of you. These are actually still frames from my dash cam that show the difference in light output at the same point on the same dark road at the same time. The second photo shows what you see with the lights on. The lights add a lot of light to the left and right beyond the edges of the road. The dashcam tries to adjust to the light available, so these photos aren't precisely representative of the light difference. In actuality, you get a bit more light from the Rigid fog lights (and more than a bit more beyond the right and left edges of the road). This is really great for seeing bicyclists, pedestrians and animals on the side of the road (as well as traffic signs). The difference in light at the center of the road ahead is very noticeable and great. Note that these lights do not blind or even annoy oncoming drivers. Angled properly (as they are in the photos below), these Rigid fog lamps are no brighter to oncoming drivers than are they Clarity's L-shaped daytime running lights, and less bright than the Clarity's headlights (meaning less bright than the low beams). I am completely satisfied with them:
Rigid-Fog-Lights-off.webp Rigid-Fog-Lights-on.webp
 
Insighter said:
Here are the most important pics. They show the difference in the amount of light these Rigid fog lamps put on the road ahead of you. These are actually still frames from my dash cam that show the difference in light output at the same point on the same dark road at the same time. The second photo shows what you see with the lights on. The lights add a lot of light to the left and right beyond the edges of the road. The dashcam tries to adjust to the light available, so these photos aren't precisely representative of the light difference. In actuality, you get a bit more light from the Rigid fog lights (and more than a bit more beyond the right and left edges of the road). This is really great for seeing bicyclists, pedestrians and animals on the side of the road (as well as traffic signs). The difference in light at the center of the road ahead is very noticeable and great. Note that these lights do not blind or even annoy oncoming drivers. Angled properly (as they are in the photos below), these Rigid fog lamps are no brighter to oncoming drivers than are they Clarity's L-shaped daytime running lights, and less bright than the Clarity's headlights (meaning less bright than the low beams). I am completely satisfied with them:
View attachment 8482 View attachment 8483
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Wow!
 
JFon101231 said:
Looks great. Havent looked at my car yet I'll be honest, how did you mount them?
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There is a recessed area on the underside of the bumper on both sides of the front license plate. At the back of this recessed area on the bumper, there is a plastic grill. They had to cut part of that away so that the lights could mount far enough back to look right. The lights come with L-shaped brackets, and those are mounted to the vertical surface at the top of the recessed area. The installer used some spacers and rubber washers to mount them in a way that positioned them well.
 
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