This thread and Joel's work have merit; lest we forget it:
http://www.wranglerforum.com/f33/rallylight-hella-headlight-upgrade-install-73538.html
Those are broad questions.
I'm not a huge fan of lights up by the A-pillar but can see the usefulness of them in a couple of situations:
1. A couple of smallish lights pointed down and away from the Jeep to see the sides of the road in really tricky areas with dangerous side obstacles.
2. A pair of sharp focus pencil beams for use when you're plowing your way through tall grass or you've been doused with mud and can't get out yet to clean your headlights.
As for patterns and whatnots on the bumper, I personally like a set of floods up there for trail use and a set of driving (Euro) pattern for auxiliary highbeam use. Some could be fluted and that isn't always an indicator of how the beam will actually work. I'd just stay away from anything with hokey claims, weird lenses/reflectors, claims of extra light from bulb coatings, etc.
Bosch Compact 100s come in a few flavors and work great. Hella Rallye 4000s in the Euro pattern have a wonderful spread of light. Cibie 5.75" convex H1 reflectors in a simple Grote bucket yields you one of the best set of driving lights you can imagine and won't cost much.
What are some thoughts on the jw speakers, they worth the money??? Stuck between the trucklites 2 and the jw
I haven't installed or tested the new Speakers yet but I have them on my bench. The heatsink area is smaller than their previous iteration and the lens is plastic; but other than that, they look the same as the old ones.
So, extrapolating from that, let's assume that the light pattern will be about the same as the old ones.
If that's the case, and that's a big if, there are differences in the beam pattern between the Trucklites and the Speakers.
The Trucklites have a very broad spread of light and maybe a bit too much foreground lighting to be considered perfect for fast highway speeds. They have amazing highbeams but a weird "X" artifact from each light that some find distracting.
The old gen Speakers that I had produced a predictable spread of light, fairly broad and even but not nearly as wide as the Trucklites. The highbeams were also quite good.
The Speakers did not have superfluous amounts of foreground lighting and were well-suited for the highway in that regard.
Foreground lighting ---- if you're going fast you don't want it because it tends to constrict your pupils and you won't see as far.
If you're going slow and picking your way along a trail, along a twisty road with deer, you'll like it.
So, pick a winner? It's up to the user.
For me, I'd go with the Trucklites for where I live and how I drive. I'd be perfectly happy with the Speakers though and would just use my supplemental lights more often...