Lightforce 40-inch LED light bar: Product Test

SOMETIMES the problem with driving the latest model 4x4 is that the aftermarket industry can take a while to catch up. As was the case with our facelifted 2017 Patrol Ti-L, as we were unable to get a bullbar to fit the revised front end. They’re available now, but at the time it meant we had nowhere to mount a set of auxiliary driving lights to the front.

A compromise was to mount an LED light bar on a roof rack, and there are plenty of options available. However, we didn’t want one of the many cheap and generic LED products, so we went with quality from legendary Australian company Lightforce.

As well as its range of exceptional round, LED, HID and halogen driving lights, Lightforce does a line-up of LED light bars in various lengths and in single- or double-row to suit many applications.

We fitted a Lightforce CB40XP single-row 40-inch bar to an Ironman 4x4 alloy roof rack, and our good mate Phil at Ontrack Automotive in Ferntree Gully took care of the wiring.

The CB40XP kit includes the light bar, a pair of stainless steel mounting brackets, and a full wiring harness with switch and relay. There are optional brackets available to mount the bars to other surfaces, but the supplied brackets were perfect for our rack mount.

The ‘XP’ in the name indicates the bar is dual-wattage, meaning it utilises both 10W and 3W LEDs to punch light out (forward from the 10W LEDs, and broader from the 3-Watters). There are two 3W Osram LED chips at either end, then two 10W chips and more 3-Watters filling in the centre of the bar.

This makes it an all-in-one combination lamp that blasts light out beyond 600m to the front of the vehicle, as well as to the sides where you’ll be looking for animals ready to run in front of your car.

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The LEDs are cased in an extruded aluminium housing anodised for protection against the sun and elements. The bar is IP69K rated against dust and moisture ingress, and there’s a Gore-Tex breather to let moisture out. So it’s made to cope with the worst conditions and be submersible to three metres.

The Lightforce bar has a strong and very usable light for general night driving, both on- and off-road. It also has that usable spread of light, which is a great compromise for a single light bar.

Lightforce driving lights and light bars are available at select stores nationally and are covered by a three-year warranty, which is more dependable than anything from your cheap eBay fly-by-nighters.

RATED
Available from: www.lightforce.com
RRP: $899.80
We Say: Quality product, amazing light output.