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How to Choose an LED Light Bar or Pod Mounting Location

Determining the perfect location to mount your new LED Light Bar or Pod(s) is based on many factors: budget, technical abilities, intended lighting use, and finally, personal preference. See our picture gallery below to preview some of these lighting locations.

LED light bar and pod mounting location

The suggested Equipment and Tools

Before you start the process, you will need a measuring tape. This is important because it will provide all the information you will need on the size light bar you will want to get after picking the location. Or it will help you determine the location you want to go with based on the size light bar you want to get. To determine if a bar will fit or not the important measurements are where the brackets will be mounted to the car and the space between the two mount points for the LED light bar. 

Where to mount your LED Light Bar or Light Pods?

Some locations are easier to mount and wire than others. Here is a list of locations that we will review, in order of those that are easiest to mount first:

Front Bumper

bumper mounted lightbar on a Subaru

The easiest location to mount your LED light bar is typically on the front bumper. Often there are already holes in the bumper so purchasing additional mounting hardware is not required. Even if there are no existing holes that will work for your mount location, drilling a bumper is a quick and easy job so you can mount your new light exactly where you want it. From the bumper, it is also a snap to get the wiring inside the engine compartment.

The mounting flexibility of the bumper also makes it suitable for just about any LED light. For example, You could place a 30 inch LED light bar or two 5 inch LED Light Pods on the front bumper.

The cons of the bumper are that the light direction is coming from the same direction as your stock headlights. Though this isn't a huge downside, you won't get the advantage of lighting your way from multiple light angles, which often provides overall better visibility than just one angle.

Lower Windshield Pillar Mount

Ditch mounted stackerz on a Subaru

The lower windshield pillar mount is a great place to mount a pair of our LED Light Pods and offers a greater amount of light angle differentiation from your stock headlights than the bumper mount location, increasing visibility. This location does require additional mounting hardware, such as our JK pillar mount or TJ pillar mounts, but they are pretty economical in price and simply bolt on using the existing mounting holes on your Jeep (no drilling required).

Wiring from the pillar mount location requires some drilling, but it is pretty straightforward and can be easily filled with a cheap plug that you can get at Ace Hardware, Lowe's, or the like, in the unlikely event you decide to remove your lights at some point in the future.

Above the Windshield

Roof mounted dual color light bar on a 5th gen 4runner

Above the windshield is excellent for allowing you to have the greatest amount of light angle differentiation from the headlights, providing the best overall visibility. It also has the room to use the largest of LED light bars, like our 52 inch dual row LED light bar, giving you the most amount of lumens of light than the other locations. This location does require you to purchase additional mounting hardware, and wiring will require some drilling, but if getting the maximum amount of quality light is your goal, then this is the ideal location. Plus, it adds a certain badass look that you might be going for.

A Combination

Kitted out 5th gen 4runner with extreme led lights

Now no one says you have to pick just one! You can combine any of these locations to give you even more light and mean aesthetics. So go ahead, pick your poison!

Extreme LED Logo

Meet the Author: Extreme LED has been helping offroad enthusiasts with their LED lighting needs since 2011. We have built our company to provide you with the best experience from shopping to customer support and ultimately use and longevity of our products. Our high-performance LED Light Bars & Pods are covered by our Lifetime Warranty and with free shipping over $100, you can rest assured that you are getting a high-quality product that will provide long-lasting lighting for your vehicle.

Comments
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12/29/2022 1:39 PM
@Ray Due to the wide variety of vehicles, it’s hard to say for sure. But we’d love to help providing which might work. Just send us a photo and the measurement of where you’ll be fitting the bar and we might be able to help. You might also want to check the https://extremeledlightbars.com/jeep-jk-2007-2017-20-light-bar-hood-mount or we can offer cradle mounts for tight mounting hole options.
8/12/2015 5:00 PM
I would like to place it in the existing holes drilled in my hood for the TJ windshield rests. Any suggestions?