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POV Lighting. Has anyone used the "Stingerz" style of lighting on theirs?
Hello All,
Looking at lighting up my 2008 GMC Sierra and found some really neat ideas on Youtube for lighting mounts. The obvious best was a Whelen Slimlighter in both the front and rear windows but that's a little hard on my bank account at $700 for both.
Has anyone tried the Stingerz brand of LED lights? What was your experience with them? It looks to me like I could make a very bright lighting package that's not very noticeable when off for about $225 from them. I also like the idea of using heavy duty 3M tape instead of screws to attach the lighting strips.
Thanks for the help!
Brent
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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Brent, I've not heard of Stingerz, but get whatever works best for you. You don't need the top brand to be seen.
Just remember always that those lights don't give you the right of way. Drive defensively and give all motorists additional respect when you use your lights. Sorry to sound like I'm preaching, but it's important. Nothing scares me more than to hear one of our guys say he wants to put lights on his car or his truck. I'm fortunate to live directly across the street from the station or I suppose I would too.
Stay safe!
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Permalink Reply by Brent Lytle on
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I totally understand your concern Norm. The main reason I am looking to add lighting to my POV is nighttime calls as I live 3 miles from the station. I work right in town during the day. Considering I live that far from the station I end up driving to calls part of the time and I want a little more visibility, not only when driving to calls but also when parked on the side of the roadway. We're in a very rural area with very few calls so I don't want to put a lot of money into a set up but I would like some added visibility when responding.
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Sounds good. Visibility on the roadside is a big issue, so best of luck on building your system. You might think about doing it a little at a time.
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Permalink Reply by Curt Raue on
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If people are going to move out of your way, they will do it whether you have a thousnad dollars worth of lights or a small rotator on your dash and your four ways going. If you're worried about being able to get to calls faster, perhaps you should save your money to get new tires or replace your brakes. No one is going to care how cool the lights on your vehicle look if they have to come cut you out of it because you got in a wreck on the way to the station. I understand that if your a dedicated volunteer you need to push the limits of "normal driving," but you also need tobe very concious of your limits and keep in mind that you don't do any good if you don't get there.
I'm not trying to sound like a jerk, I and several other guys on my department have learned these lessons in not so enjoyable ways.
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Permalink Reply by Austin on
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Ok there's a couple things that need to be mentioned.
1. Stingerz "emergency lighting" is a sister company that produces accent lighting. Pretty much theyre selling the accent lights they use for motorcycles and cars, as emergency lighting.
2. Stingerz uses gen 1 LEDs. During day time responss they will useless because the sun will wash them out. If gen 1 LEDs are used as secondary lighting, they "might" be doable. However, if you have tint, they are useless.
3. From the looks of it, they aren't using any type of useable optics. At best, a cheap knock off of TIR optics. Reasonably, tir3 or lin3 or above need to be used with emergency lighting.
4. 2 Slimlighters shouldn't cost $700. If someone is trying to charge you that much for them, they're ripping you off. I'm guessing you looked at galls? Try siren net, they are more reasonably priced.
5. If you can't afford one of the top 3 brands, there are several other brands to consider. Personally, I prefer Adavance warning lights. You could get avulture quad dash light ,a RX-44 (or two RX-42) warning bars, AWL 4x switch (to control the lights) and a used HLF (head light flasher, one of the best investments you could make) all for around $250 and have an effective package. On top of that, the dealer (Tom) has great public relations and a 2 year no hassle guarantee.
Also, in response to another post that suggest that a single beacon could be as effective as a full set up, or even a single avenger, that simply isn't true. Or the idea of using your 4ways while responding... That's just stupid and dangerous. Your more likely to get into a crash because your using 4 ways then not. Use them as turn singles like they're designed for.
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Brent,
Since Austin mentioned another brand I'll throw in my recent purchase: SpeedTech Lights. They're a bit pricey, but less than some of the best known brands. And they're 100% third generation LED's, as bright as they get. They put a lot of their stuff on sale for 10% or 20% off now and then. I think their website is probably speedtechlights.com. We outfitted a Tahoe for the department and they're sharp.
Again, most importantly, drive safely!
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No disrespect towards Brent, as he may of actually gotten good luck with stl, but in mine and many other individuals experience, they are less then professional.
Their customer service is less then desirable. A department I know got a car outfitted with STL products. When their lights started failing less then 6 months later, they contacted STL and they not so politely told them to screw themselves.
The second issue is the quality of the lights themselves. They have a reputation of failing in less then a year, along with having significantly less light output then the major brands. Personally, I don't want to put a chunck of money into something that I may have to replace in less then a year.
Again, no disrespect towards Brent, I just don't want someone to lose money. Been there, done that.
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Permalink Reply by John Trueman on
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I saw someone else reccomended speedtech lights already but I thought I'd give my .02 anyway. On my truck I've got all stl except for a whelen dual talon dash light. My grille lights, deck lights, traffic advisor, and mini bar are all from stl. I definately reccomend them. My setup may sound a bit excessive but I respond directly to the scene on all med calls and some car wrecks so a simple dash light would not work. i also reccomend that if your going to have more than 1 or 2 lights, go ahead and wire it up right and get a switch box. It will make your life easier than having to deal with cig lighter plugs. Plus your outlets are limited on the amps they can handle.
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Permalink Reply by Derek J Sinesi on
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I think that's just what all your apparatus operators want to see at night rolling up on the scene. A whole bunch of blue strobe and LED lights going. You are right your POV will be seen and also blind every driver going by and every apparatus operator coming into the scene. Brighter is not always better for all involved so think of that when decking out your POV. Day time is not a problem. Not trying to be negative here but I live 2.5 miles from our station and most of the time go straight to the scene and I hardly ever run my light. Just like Norm said drive safe; cause you are no good to nobody if you never get there in the first place!
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