Visibility Meets Style: The Ultimate Guide to Underglow Kits for Cars

If you are tired of traditional yellow lighting and want to give your vehicle a distinctive look while also enhancing your safety and that of others in the traffic, you might consider an underflow car kit. This popular accessory is stylish and convenient because it can be mounted under the body of a motor vehicle to cast a bright halo on the ground around it. Besides aesthetics, it also offers many benefits, such as improved visibility and safe lighting.

Types

Increase your visibility to pedestrians and other drivers, especially in low-light situations while enhancing the appearance of your vehicle with a premium underglow kit. Choosing the right type can help ensure you get the effect you want.

LED Underglow Lighting

The LED underglow lighting is one of the most popular car accessories options for adding a stylish, futuristic look to any vehicle. Unlike traditional neon tubes, LED lights are brighter, more energy-efficient, and offer customisable features like colour-changing effects and music synchronisation. An LED underglow kit can these days be found in many different types to suit everyone’s needs.

The single-colour LED strips emit one consistent colour, usually the most budget-friendly one. RGB LED strips can change colours via a remote, Bluetooth, or app. Chasing or Flowing LED lights create dynamic effects like pulsing, strobing, or colour waves. Music-Sync LED kits react to sound and beat patterns for a club-like effect. Last but not least, the Wheel Well and Interior Glow complement under glow lighting for a full lighting setup.

The best part about LED underglow kits is that you can choose from different colours and patterns and easily adjust brightness, colour, and modes. Most kits are weather-resistant for outdoor use, and they consume less power compared to neon. These often come with adhesive backing or mounting brackets, making for a simple installation.

Neon Underglow Lighting

Available in a range of different hues, the neon underglow lights can be found in glass tubes. They work by using gases inside the tubes, and once the current passes through, they produce the light. Using coloured glass is also a way you can find other neon colours besides the usual yellow, red, blue and green.

They’re known for the warm and soft glow in general, but what many consider to be a drawback is the more complex installation plus the fragile nature of the tubes, making the neon underglow lights more delicate to work with and use.

Some kits only have one colour, while others give you the flexibility of full customisation via remote. Some systems flash or change colours to match the beat of your music. The higher-end kits that allow control via smartphone apps, like the versatile LEDs, are usually more durable as they’re waterproof and shockproof fit for rainy or off-road conditions.

Laws on neon underglow lighting vary by location. Some places allow them as long as the lights aren’t red or blue, to avoid confusion with emergency vehicles, while others ban them entirely. Therefore, always check your local regulations before installing underglow on your vehicle.

Additional Buying Considerations

Besides being familiar with the different types, there are also some additional factors to take into account when choosing.

Length

The total length of the LED lighting strips included in the kit is one of the primary aspects to consider. The optimal size will depend on the size of your car. If you have a huge vehicle, look for an underglow light kit with strips at least 5 feet long, or buy a package with several light strips.

Construction

Next, the construction of the light strips. The LED connections should be strong enough to withstand weather and road debris, but also flexible enough to wrap around the truck’s underbody.

Beam Angle

The beam angle of the lights is a component that influences how the lights will hit the road, enhancing the visibility and aesthetics of your LEDs. Auto experts advocate looking for a vehicle under glow LED light kit with a beam angle of around 120 degrees for optimal illumination.

Controllers

The underglow kit can be controlled via a variety of controllers, including RGB and addressable options. Most controllers included with complete under glow kits do not have all you need, therefore you should use a different controller, such as the 44 key RGB controller or the SP108e which is a Wi-Fi with phone app controller for addressable LEDs.

If you want to replace the controller that came with your underglow car kit, you’ll need to cut the wires from the old controller and often solder a plug that matches the one on the controller to join them. So, keep that in mind. If you’re creating your kit, you’ll need to purchase a controller and connect it to your LED strips.