- Joined
- Aug 21, 2021
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 10
- Location
- California
- Vehicle(s)
- Triumph Street Triple 765, Maverick
- Engine
- 2.5L Hybrid
- Thread starter
- #1
I want to share the concept of mounting a full size light bar between the headlights in the grille. This is not an accent bar for looks like some other owners have installed. This also should not ever be used around other vehicles.
I commute about 250 miles a week just in the dark, almost all country roads. I work 1pm-1am right now and there are almost no cars on the road during the drive home. The headlights on the Maverick aren't bad. The high beams light up the road to the sides of the car almost like fog lights and the high beams are well directed to shine far down the road. But I definitely wanted the light to be thrown a little further, and to light up the sides of the road better to see animals and light up turns better.
In comes the light bar.. Looking at the possible locations for it, I could mount a cross bar on the roof just to mount the light bar, but that would obstruct my sun roof, and ruin the trucks silhouette. The only spot I have seen other Maverick owners mount a light bar is in the bottom grille, with a 20" bar. I don't personally like how it looks, and I wanted to pack some extra lumens in where I could. Measuring the grille between the headlights I got about 34" at the widest, and tapers down as you go down the grille. Figured it would give me enough space to mount a 32" bar, although tightly. And I was hoping for a cleaner almost "stealth" look.
After some research the Auxbeam 5D Pro 32" ended up looking like the best for my application. It seems to use higher quality LED's than any other budget "Chinese" bar. It also has a very good light spread with a projector for distance, and a combination (mostly spot) beam. I just can't justify the extra money for a more expensive light bar personally. It is a little tall and takes up a fair amount of grille space but most of the airflow for the radiator seems to be through the bottom grille anyways. It is also a little wide, I ended up having to shave down the sides of the grille just to be able to fit the light bar in. Since installing it I haven't seen the coolant temp gauge go any higher than it would before and I have done a couple ~200 mile days to the mountains. If I had the extra money I would love to do one of the Rigid stealth bars. And I might try to swap the Auxbeam out at some point. I also want to add some ditch lights for some extra spread to the sides of the truck.
I have one of the Raptor style grills on my Maverick which helps me a lot with the decision to mount it, as it means I don't need to cut the factory grille to install the light bar. I also think the Raptor grille suites the light bar better. I am extremely happy with how the install turned out. I am not going to make a detailed install tutorial because I am definitely no pro and there is a fair amount of risk when it comes to wiring and cutting. I had to have to take the whole front fascia off, drill the mounts into the a securely mounted plastic piece (behind the grille but in front of the radiator shutters, it seems to be there to make the radiator function like a ram air intake and is just molded plastic), wire the relay to the frame and the positive to the positive terminal next to the jump terminal in the engine bay, and run a fuse tap from the footwell through the bay to the switch that I mounted with the rest of the lighting adjustment by the steering wheel.
Sorry for the rant. Photos are below. The comparison is done at f1.8 ISO6400 Shutter 1/60th on my phone. If you have questions feel free to ask!
Low beam ^
High beam ^
Light Bar + High beam
I like the cyclopes look. Just don't get infront of it because it's blinding..
Not invisible, but I don't think it's too ugly
Trying to keep it looking OEM
Due to the radiator shutters system the light bar cannot be set back any farther than it is here. But the bar still does not stick out any farther than the bumper.
I commute about 250 miles a week just in the dark, almost all country roads. I work 1pm-1am right now and there are almost no cars on the road during the drive home. The headlights on the Maverick aren't bad. The high beams light up the road to the sides of the car almost like fog lights and the high beams are well directed to shine far down the road. But I definitely wanted the light to be thrown a little further, and to light up the sides of the road better to see animals and light up turns better.
In comes the light bar.. Looking at the possible locations for it, I could mount a cross bar on the roof just to mount the light bar, but that would obstruct my sun roof, and ruin the trucks silhouette. The only spot I have seen other Maverick owners mount a light bar is in the bottom grille, with a 20" bar. I don't personally like how it looks, and I wanted to pack some extra lumens in where I could. Measuring the grille between the headlights I got about 34" at the widest, and tapers down as you go down the grille. Figured it would give me enough space to mount a 32" bar, although tightly. And I was hoping for a cleaner almost "stealth" look.
After some research the Auxbeam 5D Pro 32" ended up looking like the best for my application. It seems to use higher quality LED's than any other budget "Chinese" bar. It also has a very good light spread with a projector for distance, and a combination (mostly spot) beam. I just can't justify the extra money for a more expensive light bar personally. It is a little tall and takes up a fair amount of grille space but most of the airflow for the radiator seems to be through the bottom grille anyways. It is also a little wide, I ended up having to shave down the sides of the grille just to be able to fit the light bar in. Since installing it I haven't seen the coolant temp gauge go any higher than it would before and I have done a couple ~200 mile days to the mountains. If I had the extra money I would love to do one of the Rigid stealth bars. And I might try to swap the Auxbeam out at some point. I also want to add some ditch lights for some extra spread to the sides of the truck.
I have one of the Raptor style grills on my Maverick which helps me a lot with the decision to mount it, as it means I don't need to cut the factory grille to install the light bar. I also think the Raptor grille suites the light bar better. I am extremely happy with how the install turned out. I am not going to make a detailed install tutorial because I am definitely no pro and there is a fair amount of risk when it comes to wiring and cutting. I had to have to take the whole front fascia off, drill the mounts into the a securely mounted plastic piece (behind the grille but in front of the radiator shutters, it seems to be there to make the radiator function like a ram air intake and is just molded plastic), wire the relay to the frame and the positive to the positive terminal next to the jump terminal in the engine bay, and run a fuse tap from the footwell through the bay to the switch that I mounted with the rest of the lighting adjustment by the steering wheel.
Sorry for the rant. Photos are below. The comparison is done at f1.8 ISO6400 Shutter 1/60th on my phone. If you have questions feel free to ask!
Low beam ^
High beam ^
Light Bar + High beam
I like the cyclopes look. Just don't get infront of it because it's blinding..
Not invisible, but I don't think it's too ugly
Trying to keep it looking OEM
Due to the radiator shutters system the light bar cannot be set back any farther than it is here. But the bar still does not stick out any farther than the bumper.
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Last edited:
