Cheap vs. Expensive Lights

[Easy-v]

Can you be more specific about what the value of my vehicle has to do with what I spend on lights? What is the specific performance difference between the Amazon brands and Baja / Diode?

Diode ditch lights are approx. $260 (https://www.diodedynamics.com/stage...itch-light-kit-for-2021-2024-ford-bronco.html)
Diode lightbar kit is approx. $1,700 (https://www.diodedynamics.com/ss5-windshield-crosslink-lightbar-kit-for-2021-2024-ford-bronco.html)
Diode pocket fog lights are approx. $869 (https://www.diodedynamics.com/stage...for-2021-2024-ford-bronco-w-steel-bumper.html)

So again the question is why should I spend $2,829 instead of $400? I could replace the amazon kit 7 times for the cost of buying from Diode once.

I initially bought Oracle fogs. The lenses fogged over, as well as started to have bubbles in the lenses too. All 6 lights/2 banks were capable of only being wired either a single switch for both banks or one bank per switch. Eventually, one bank's wiring started to flake out and appeared to be a lose connection. Contacting Oracle - long story short- led nowhere.

Replaced with RIGIDs from @SPVPARTS - which included their fantastic wiring harness. Their service was fantastic, and when I contacted them the owner called me directly to resolve the issue.
Was it more expensive than the $300 oracles? Yes
Was it worth it? In my opinion, yes, as I have not had any issues with the Rigids, unlike the Oracles.
Additionally, the Rigids allowed mixing of drive, spot and fog customization across switches as well.

To me the extra money was well spent. Buy once cry once....

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[userdude]

Funny everybody's mentioning Rigid but not Nacho Lights, which are some of the folks that started Rigid. Note: You will still need a Brinks truck of cash for these. I assume they're very nice, though.

https://www.nachooffroadtechnology.com/

 

[SPVPARTS]

I initially bought Oracle fogs. The lenses fogged over, as well as started to have bubbles in the lenses too. All 6 lights/2 banks were capable of only being wired either a single switch for both banks or one bank per switch. Eventually, one bank's wiring started to flake out and appeared to be a lose connection. Contacting Oracle - long story short- led nowhere.

Replaced with RIGIDs from @SPVPARTS - which included their fantastic wiring harness. Their service was fantastic, and when I contacted them the owner called me directly to resolve the issue.
Was it more expensive than the $300 oracles? Yes
Was it worth it? In my opinion, yes, as I have not had any issues with the Rigids, unlike the Oracles.
Additionally, the Rigids allowed mixing of drive, spot and fog customization across switches as well.

To me the extra money was well spent. Buy once cry once....

Thank you for your kind words and positive review!

A lot of people don't take into account the cost of actually having access to customer service anymore, until they have a problem and can't get ahold of anyone. I hear about this issue a lot lately and it seems that many companies are starting to really skimp on that.

So, when shopping for new lighting, it's not just about the cost of the lights themselves, but also about the ability to get help when you need it. Many customers simply don't think about that when purchasing. We do pride ourselves on trying to stand apart from the rest when it comes to that specific area, though.
We also spend a great deal of time just walking through options with customers to help them figure out what is going to be the best setup for their specific needs and wants, as well as what will fit within their price range.
Anyone can buy cheap lights on Amazon, but they won't come with any of that extra help, though.

I'm so happy we were able to help you get the setup that you really wanted and were able to troubleshoot any issues you were having. If you ever need any assistance with anything else, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.
You can always call or text us anytime at (317) 934-6778.

Thank you again for allowing us to earn your business!

-Sidney @ SPV Parts
Specialty Performance Parts | SPV Parts | Ford Performance Parts

 

[Anvilair1973]

My RC set up was under $400 but I use it for fog and rain for added visibility for myself and other drivers to see me only. I do not wheel at night. However, if I was bombing desert roads, wheeling at night or had a back road evening commute home, I would probably drop some coin on a more serious set up. It is all what you need and makes sense!

Link to my Amazon review/set up Here

 

[Mr Bacon Jr]

Photons are photons. Long as you have the quantity in the direction you want, cost of the lights doesn't matter
Cheap can work. Installed two sets of ditch lights and dash cam - all for less than $90 total. The lights are hefty aluminum housings w black powder coat and well sealed
A-pillar ditch lights - 2" round - AUX 3
Low ditch lights - 2 x 3" - AUX 4
Dash cam - powered from mirror

@Mojave Norte - What lights do you have on the DV8 caps on the crash bar stubs? Any chance you could post up a pic of the interface between the light and the cap?

 

[Rich o]

I’m genuinely trying to understand - could I not just replace them at that point and still be ahead? And then when those rust out and fail, replace them again? And then 4 more times on top of that? I‘m just struggling to see how the name brand lights are worth so much more - I’d happily pay 2-3x the cheap options for better quality.

Think about itif they fail you when you need them the most . You buy once cry once. I like bargain hunting also and sometimes the cheaper option is better on the pockets but let's say the cheap lights catch fire and burn your rig to the ground and your stuck 150 miles from nowhere... What if you went cheap on bullet proof vests ... They only have to fail once .

 

[nolimits]

I've put @Baja Designs on both rigs- integrated into front and rear bumper on the ZR2. Front bumper only on the Wildtrack. 3 LP6s in the middle, 2 Squadron Pros on the outside. Well engineered, rock solid kit. And ~40k lumens of light. The Squadrons are great for deer detection/avoidance in Nothern NM, and the LP6s will pierce the snow and dust that we get up here.

I get I could have bought cheap and replaced multiple times over, but the light output and usability is not nearly as good, and I am a big fan of doing a job once and moving on.

High bean->Squadrons>Both>LP6s

I have a BAMF Overland bumper on order and will need some “fog lights”. I drive a lot of 2 lane roads getting home that are hilly, curvy and fairly wooded. Deer are always a concern.

Your video was helpful. Think I may get me a pair of Squadron Pro’s as they really bring the illumination! While I’m not a fan of high price, I am a big fan of end results, durability and longevity.

 

[GroovyGeek]

I see lots of "cry once" responses, "what if they fail in the middle of a trip" and "consider the customer service". A rational person thinks about outcomes probabilistically. The value of something is impact x probability of outcome.

In 12 years I have never had a Nilite, Auxbeam, or Lasfit fail or fog up. And even if they did in the middle of a trip it would merely be a minor inconvenience. So both the probability and impact are very low. The effort of replacement is minute - cut the wire to the old unit and solder in the new one. And I don't need customer service for something as simple as a light. I can solder red to red and black to black as well as anyone. If it does not turn on there are only 3 possibilities - bad solder job, no power on the supply line, or a dead unit.

If I was doing baja style high speed at night I may have different set of requirements and consideratios. For example, I would always spend good money on brand name replacement headlights because even if the probability of failure is small the impact is high. Or if I had not grown up dirt poor I may be more willing to spend less judiciously. Until then I refuse to spend $2000 when I could spend $400 on non critical accessories.

YMMV. I don't think one side will convince the other of the virtue of their approach.

 

[AZ4x4Adventure]

I see lots of "cry once" responses, "what if they fail in the middle of a trip" and "consider the customer service". A rational person thinks about outcomes probabilistically. The value of something is impact x probability of outcome.

In 12 years I have never had a Nilite, Auxbeam, or Lasfit fail or fog up. And even if they did in the middle of a trip it would merely be a minor inconvenience. So both the probability and impact are very low. The effort of replacement is minute - cut the wire to the old unit and solder in the new one. And I don't need customer service for something as simple as a light. I can solder red to red and black to black as well as anyone. If it does not turn on there are only 3 possibilities - bad solder job, no power on the supply line, or a dead unit.

If I was doing baja style high speed at night I may have different set of requirements and consideratios. For example, I would always spend good money on brand name replacement headlights because even if the probability of failure is small the impact is high. Or if I had not grown up dirt poor I may be more willing to spend less judiciously. Until then I refuse to spend $2000 when I could spend $400 on non critical accessories.

YMMV. I don't think one side will convince the other of the virtue of their approach.

One of the best replies so far.

Would love to see an actual example of a light burning a car down, and not due to install incompetence.

I drive a 64 Impala with original lights. A flashlight would be brighter. If I have trouble seeing on a rural dark road, I slow down. 30 years of driving jeeps off road and none ever had anything but factory lights. I am still alive.

No idea how people survived so long without these $2000 lights added onto their vehicles.

Want to flex, go for it, don’t try to force your regrets onto others asking legit questions.

 

[V1Rotate]

A big issue I have run into with cheaper lights besides quality/Leaking/early death/low reliability is Noise. they components are not as well shielded, some lights will make the radio hum or produce alternator wine in the stereo, also causes interference with GMRS/VHF/UHF radios that is maddening. My Mabbet dome lights I tried would also turn on any time my VHF or GMRS radio transmitted. that was crazy.

Happy with my gear form Baja Designs/Rigid

I’ve had diode dynamics sae fogs on 3 vehicles. I love the output, but they definitely produce noise and make FM radio mostly static.

I made the mistake of thinking DD were high end and well shielded.. as they come with a relatively premium price tag. I like the lights in general and they do produce decent output but In the end every Diode dynamics pod I’ve ever owned (from SSc2 pods, SS3’s and 5’s) have all produced such high amounts of RFI it is obvious they are not well shielded at the minimum.
I’d highly recommend anyone interested in using a GMRS or Ham (uhf/vhf or even hf) radio to stick with companies who have figured this out like Baja and Rigid. I’ve swapped in Rigids using the same exact wiring during back to back tests and they produce no RFI in situations where the DD’s render my UHF/VHF radio almost useless. Most all the LED pods on Rigid’s website list RFI shielding/protection as a feature. At some point I’ll get all my DD’s swapped out.
Careful of the DD “brand ambassadors“ though as they usually follow this up with trying to make sure people think it’s your fault and has to do with your wiring. They can never account for the fact that back to back tests on the same exact wiring reflect otherwise.. they’ll just ignore that part

 

[jacobrdoty]

I think aftermarket lights in general are a pointless waste of money. I cannot think of a singe instance in 40 years of off roading that I ever had a situation where I could not go on because I needed more lights.
If I have or do need more light hand held flashlights work just fine, are cheap, and portable.

It's crazy to think that in 40 years of offroading, you've never done a night run or gone to a camping spot after work to beat the weekenders. Without my DiodeDynamics lights on, it was like I had horse blinders on. As we went up in elevation and things got tight, the ditch lights were crucial for safety.

 

[JerryC]

[Old timer voice] "I wheeled my first gen Bronco at night with the original sealed beam headlights!"

I did actually get halogen replacements and they still sucked.

 

[ScLeCo]

It's crazy to think that in 40 years of offroading, you've never done a night run or gone to a camping spot after work to beat the weekenders. Without my DiodeDynamics lights on, it was like I had horse blinders on. As we went up in elevation and things got tight, the ditch lights were crucial for safety.

I have ditch lights. My point was spending 4K+ to make the trail brighter than the surface of the sun is silly.
I am so glad that what you have works for you. That's awesome! Good for you! Congratulations!

 

[jacobrdoty]

I have ditch lights. My point was spending 4K+ to make the trail brighter than the surface of the sun is silly.
I am so glad that what you have works for you. That's awesome! Good for you! Congratulations!

Love your tone and your attitude portrayed online with other like-minded individuals! It's probably been super successful throughout all areas of your life!


Sigh.

 

[AttackGuy64]

Funny everybody's mentioning Rigid but not Nacho Lights, which are some of the folks that started Rigid. Note: You will still need a Brinks truck of cash for these. I assume they're very nice, though.

https://www.nachooffroadtechnology.com/

Not a knock on Nacho lights, but I have never ever heard of them in my life. They need to fire their marketing team.

Dad joke of the day:

Whose lights are these?

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