Choosing an LED Off-Road Light Pattern for Your Vehicle

Some of our most popular LED off-road lights here at Diode Dynamics are our Stage Series Light Bars, which are highly versatile and remarkably durable solutions for a wide range of auxiliary lighting applications.

These LED off-road light bars, which are useful for much more than off-road applications, are available in a wide range of sizes. We offer these light bars in sizes ranging from 6 inches all the way to 50 inches, with 12, 18, 30 and 42 inch models available in between those sizes.

They're also available in both 6000K cool white light and a brilliant amber, for a different level of functionality depending on your intended use. For example, coolwhite light can be useful in some patterns as an auxiliary driving light or an off-road light, whereas some drivers prefer the deeper yellow glow of amber lights for navigating adverse conditions at slow speeds, especially with the SAE Fog and Wide beam pattern.

On the topic of beam patterns, getting the most value out of these off-road LED light bars will require you to decide what is the right pattern for your application, as there are multiple patterns to choose from. Here are some considerations to make when selecting a light bar as an auxiliary light for off-roading.

Selecting an LED Off-Road Light Pattern for Optimum Functionality

Our Stage Series Off-Road LED Light Bars are available in several beam patterns, depending on the size and model you choose. Among the beam patterns available for these light bars are an SAE driving pattern, an SAE fog or wide pattern, a flood pattern and combo patterns that combine two of these aforementioned pattern spreads.

• Driving Light Pattern: The driving light pattern for our Stage Series Light Bars is intended to be used as supplemental high beams and can be used at driving speeds, but it is also useful for auxiliary lighting off-road. It throws a 20Wx8H rectangular pattern that is larger than your typical spot pattern. While it is optimized for driving at higher speeds, some off-roaders might prefer this pattern if they also use their off-road vehicle for on-road driving. The driving pattern in 6 and 12 inch sizes, when installed properly and aimed in accordance with local regulations, meets SAE J581 as a driving or high beam pattern and is legal for on road use.
• Flood Pattern: Many off-road riders will get the most use from the flood pattern offered with our Stage Series Light Bars. The flood pattern throws a 80Wx50H spread of light, and can be used as a work light or a trail light, useful for illuminating wide areas in the woods or on the rocks for mudding or crawling. The flood pattern utilizes a pillow optic modifier to throw an evenly dispersed pattern of light for effective illumination to the area right in front of you.
• SAE Fog or Wide Pattern: Some of our Stage Series Light Bars are also available with a SAE fog or wide light pattern that provides a 100Wx8H spread of light to the road in front of your vehicle. In 6 inch and 12 inch sizes, the fog pattern meets SAE J538 as a foglamp and is legal for on-road use. However, some off-roaders might find this spread useful in some trail applications.

Regardless of the pattern you choose to utilize for your off-road vehicle, all of these lights bars feature our proprietary TIR, or Total Internal Reflection, optics, that not only focus but also direct 100% of the light output where intended, losing almost none to glare or scattering.

LED Off-Road Lights That Are Built to Last

These LED light bars are also built to last and have been extensively tested for reliability. They're housed within a durable powder-coated extrusion that is both physically tough and well-suited to buck corrosion. The LEDs themselves have also been tested to resist corrosion, as well as moisture intrusion and even vibration.

Additionally, our LED light bars have been tested extensively to ensure their reliability in a wide range of extreme temperatures, ranging from -40 to 185 Celsius, all by guaranteeing their performance, even in extreme conditions.

Looking for Something Else? Check Out Our SS3 and SSC2 LED Light Pods

Some off-road riders might be looking for a more compact option or different beam patterns. If you're looking for a spot light or an off-road light in a more compact package, consider our SS3 LED Pods or our SSC2 LED Light Pods, which are the most intense LED pods on the market. Like our light bars, these LED light pods are available in several beam patterns, such as flood, driving, wide, spot and combo patterns and in three different power levels.

They're also compatible with several proprietary mounts, including round and angled mounts in addition to our standard brackets. We also provide hardware kits for flush mounting, to make it easier for you to mount a light pod in your bumper or truck bed, rounding out their already impressive versatility.

To learn more about the different options Diode Dynamics offers for LED off-road lights, please contact us by phone or email at 314-205-3033 or at [email protected], respectively. Also, be sure to follow our YouTube channel where we have over 450 videos, and make sure to subscribe so you never miss out on new product releases!