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Mounting Lights...Opinions/Options needed

9K views 76 replies 11 participants last post by  Lucas J 
#1 ·
So about a month ago I ordered a set of Hella 500 Black Magics. My plan was to mount them to a Matrix when I got it but as of now the Matrix buy is on hold. At some point I will buy the Matrix and mount the Black Magics on it.

What I am debating about is what to do with the lights now.

Should I mount them on the front bumper? My only issue with that is that I don't want the holes in the bumper after I eventually buy the Matrix.

Should I mount them behind the grille?

Should I mount them to the Rola? I think 2 would look goofy.

Should I do nothing and just wait?

Any other options?

What do you all think?
 
#44 ·
How about some pictures of te mounts so I can copy you? ;)
 
#56 ·
#58 ·
#57 ·
I wanna see four of them through the grille...with a saguaro bumper of course
 
#59 ·
yeah I would have to remount the 2 that are there but I think 4 would look sick. If it happens it won't be for a while.

I had a 4runner for a few months before I bought my WK back in 04. I hated it. Its a good sized SUV and I am not a big guy 5'8" but it felt so cramped on the inside and there were so many blind spots. It drove well but overall it just wasn't for me.
 
#60 ·
you know... where Toyota really failed with that rig was the interior... the exterior always had a nice and aggressive design, but the interior has always been behind in ergonomics and design. Any JGC is a far better choice IMO :thumbsup:
 
#66 ·
what about air flow to the psc, trans cooler, ect .. i had 4 daylighters on my xj and the trans got super hott driving up north since there wasn't as much air flowing over the different coolers...... jw....
 
#68 ·
I haven't noticed any issues as of yet. I would say that there is ample air flow.

I'm toying with a set behind the grill or looking at grabbing another grille and fabbing up something similar to the mustang style rally lights in the grille, only debating if I want to put in that kind of labor for a set of offraod lights and a one of a kind look.
This had crossed my mind and I think would look sick but since this was just a temporary mount for me I didn't want to get to complicated. If you have the skill I think you should do it. :thumbsup:
 
#67 ·
I'm toying with a set behind the grill or looking at grabbing another grille and fabbing up something similar to the mustang style rally lights in the grille, only debating if I want to put in that kind of labor for a set of offraod lights and a one of a kind look.
 
#69 ·
Lucas J,
I'd like more details on how you set up the brackets behind the grille Lucas J, it looks really good!
I had originally attempted to make a mount from the bumper through the grille to the outside but the one I did was pretty bad, it wasn't as stable on big drops and rough ground as I wanted and was kind of springy. I ended up giving up and going behind the grille instead a few months ago, much like Fireman310pt's idea. The downside of the inside grille mount is you have to get the alignment perfect before you tighten the screws etc because it is a bit of a pain to adjust the lights once they are inside the grille.


Fireman310pt,
For the behind the grille, I got some L-brackets and braces from lowe's, used self tap screws into the plastic of the grille facade where I had already put in grill mesh, and it worked well. it took only a few minutes to get the spacings all correct. These hella 500s aren't heavy so the grill mount to the plastic works fine but I wouldn't try it with anything beefier. my bracket on the far passenger side is longer and pushing a little at the intake so that it doesn't misalign my passenger side light since it was pushing on it slightly. If I was to do it over again I would have mounted to the bumper steel behind the grille correctly and not messed with the grille plastic at all.
 
#71 ·
Ok, I like how you mounted yours with the floating look, still debating on going with the same light mouned behind the grill when I change over to mesh, still kinda toying with lights kind of like what's on the 2010 mustangs, either the v6 or the GT size, which ever one will fit the best in the slots without too much fabrication. I"m still sketching and looking at the work involved versus the outcome.
Honestly, they look better then they function. I need to find a way to stabilize them better. They are springy and even on a flat road they vibrate a bit. I have to try and reinforce the bracket and if not, then they are going behind the grille. I will take some pics and post up the set up later this week.
 
#70 ·
Ok, I like how you mounted yours with the floating look, still debating on going with the same light mouned behind the grill when I change over to mesh, still kinda toying with lights kind of like what's on the 2010 mustangs, either the v6 or the GT size, which ever one will fit the best in the slots without too much fabrication. I"m still sketching and looking at the work involved versus the outcome.
 
#73 ·
Do you have any light output pics of those HID's?
 
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