Quadratec Gen II vs. Gen I Stealth LED Interior Mount 50” Light Bar

by Cristofer Maximilian
Special to Torque

I’d like to think I was an early adopter of Quadratec’s Stealth LED Interior Mount 50” Light Bar. At the very least, I believe I was the first person posting photos of it on the internet. Anyway, I bought it for my 2020 Wrangler JL Rubicon because I wanted a light bar, but I didn’t want to deal with added driving noise or increased drag (and thus reduced fuel economy).

Well, I loved it from day one. The installation was simple, both the amber and white lights were bright, there was minimal glare on the hood (so it was angled well), and it looks awesome.

Recently, Quadratec released its second generation of the Stealth LED Interior Mount 50” light bar, and coincidentally, I also recently acquired a Wrangler JL Rubicon 392. This came after I spent a year and a half with a Gladiator and another six months with a Wrangler JK Rubicon, so needless to say, I was quite excited to be back in a JL—especially one with a 6.4 liter V8 engine.

First, a quick side note. I had the first-generation interior light bar on one of my Jeeps. I also mounted an external light bar with six individual spots on it, and then I installed a slim external light bar on the JK—so I’ve had some time to test each setup.

I’m a big fan of everything I’ve installed, but based on the fact this is the third time I’ve utilized the interior light bar, I think it’s pretty clear which one is my favorite.

So, after utilizing the first and second generations of the interior light bar, I’m also in a good position to talk about why I’m so happy Quadratec didn’t stop development with its first generation.

While the Gen I light bar was great, it did have some issues that have now been fully resolved.

The first issue was light leaks. The seals on the Gen I bar didn’t quite reach the windshield, which meant there was quite a bit of light that would spill down onto the dashboard. It wasn’t challenging for me to resolve; I just bought a bit of extra weather stripping, glued it on, and that was that.

However, I do all the work on my Jeeps, and I don’t mind a bit of extra labor. That may not be true for others out there, and it can be really annoying to buy something and then have to troubleshoot the product once installed.

The Generation Two seals are larger and fit right up against the windshield straight out of the box. I even have a Jeep with Adaptive Cruise Control, and the seals on the Gen 2 work great.

The second big improvement was the brightness of the light bar itself.

I found the white lights on the Gen I light bar to be plenty bright, but the amber lights were not as bright as I would have liked. They worked to improve the visibility of my Jeep to other vehicles, but they lacked the power to illuminate the road/trail ahead.

This new generation light bar is significantly brighter. While lumens and percentages of increase are interesting to hear about, it was hard for me to picture until I turned it on for the first time. The new amber lights are bright. They cut right through fog and dust and eliminate the need for additional amber lights elsewhere on the front of the Jeep.

And finally, how and where the new generation of this light bar sits makes it feel like it takes up less windshield space. While I’ve been assured that the physical dimensions are the same, it legitimately feels slimmer than the previous version. It could just be my imagination because the bar is better in other ways, but I felt it was worth noting.

While the price of the Stealth Interior Light Bar has always been very fair (I would have happily paid more for it than I did), with this new generation, Quadratec also somehow figured out how to lower the price. I’m not sure how or why, but I can’t say I’m upset about the cheaper cost.

Quadratec did a great job improving an already great product. So, if you’ve been on the fence about a light bar purchase, this new generation definitely gives you a reason to take the plunge.

I’m already excited about a Generation Three version with white and amber daytime running lights. Kidding. But if the product development team at Quadratec is listening, I don’t think I’m the only one who’d love that as a feature.