| Stanae86 |
Hi Everyone,
I did some searching on the forums but don't see anything about whether any company ultimately came out with a light bar for the X. There were some early discussions about how Westin makes one for the Pilot, but not the MDX and questions about whether it would fit the MDX.
Searching Westin's page, they still don't list a bar for the X. Anyone find a light bar that will work? I don't want a full bull or brush guard because the bar's purpose is mostly for mounting a set of auxillary fog lights and maybe making people parking, think twice about getting THAT close.
Thanks in advance for any help. :) |
|
|
| Stanae86 |
Welp, didn't get any replies, so I went out and got a Westin Safari Bar banking that the Honda Pilot one would fit since the Pilot is based on the same chassis as the MDX. Install took about 45 minutes by myself, including trimming the splash guard under the car.
Fits perfect:
Brackets are heavy duty. 1/4" plate with good bracing (don't mind how dirty they are in the picture, that's the power from the rubber gloves I was wearing during the install):
Bracket bolts to the lower radiator support with 4 bolts. Three of the bolts are existing bolts on the car and one bolt is supplied by Westin. The bar is very sturdy and I wouldn't have any qualms about having to stand on it or anything like that.
Now onto shopping for a good set of fogs... |
|
|
| midnightMDX |
| wow, looks good. Glad to see that it worked out so well. |
|
|
| phins2rt |
| Looks good. How much for the bar?? |
|
|
| Stanae86 |
I picked it up from the local Kragen Auto Parts store (one of Westin's authorized dealers per their dealer locator on their website). It cost:
$119.99 for the bar
$ 78.99 for the installation kit (bracket and bolts)
Total after California tax was $214.40
Not sure how that compares to the larger grill guards, but like I said, I wanted something small that I could just use for mounting up some auxillary fogs...
I should add that I was very impressed by Westin's thoughtfulness put into their product. The install kit came with a few extra plastic tabs that hold the splashguard in place and that you sometimes break when removing them. It's the small stuff like that, that makes me go back to the same company when I can. Cheers to Westin!
More pictures to come. The Hella 500s should be here any day. |
|
|
| Stanae86 |
Any day was yesterday, so I installed the Hella's last night. Here is the finished results:
 
No clearance problems with Hella 500 series fogs (6 3/8"Dia. x 6 7/8" H x 2 5/8"D):
 
More pics of the brackets (third picture is taken from the back of the car shooting forward. The three big bolts were existing bolts on the car. There is a fourth smaller bolt that you cannot see and that was supplied by Westin in their installation kit. So, there 4 bolts total holding the bar onto the car):
  
Night shot:
So there you go. If you don't want a full grill guard or bull bar and you're looking for a light bar or safari bar, Westin's Honda Pilot bar fits the MDX (mine is a 2005). I've written them with pictures and told them, but no telling if they'll update their applications list now that the new model MDX it out.
Hope this helps! |
|
|
| attomica |
| That looks really good! Just curious...why did you feel you needed auxiliary lights? |
|
|
| Stanae86 |
Half to increase visibility of the MDX to other drivers and half to get more light for my wife that drives the car in some thicker fog at times. The OEM fogs don't really do anything.
I'm going to install some rear fogs as well, I just haven't figured out exactly how to do it yet. I had wired up the second set of brake lights to turn on, and by relay, shut the first filament off, but it looks like when the brake light is on, both filaments in the bulb are on, rather than one turning off and a brighter one turning on. By wiring it so that the parking light filament turns off, it goofs with the lightbulb sensor and makes the computer think a bulb is burnt out, and it ends up not being any brighter. I'm hesitant to wire up both filaments to turn on for any extended period of time, because I don't know if the housing will get too hot. I may end up just adding a Hella rear fog under the bumper. Not quite sure yet.
After having driven in thick fog and seeing how much more visible people are with rear fogs (Volvo, Benz, Audi), I want them on the MDX. My Audi has it already and I've told my wife that when it's foggy, to turn on both the front and rear fogs, everything helps. |
|
|
|
