Roof vs bumper for zone 3 lighting

[jclark]

I've already overcome part of the lighting decisions analysis paralysis... I'm going with Baja Designs for my lighting. And, I've already started by putting XL80 clears on the A-pillars on the 15amp aux switch.

And I've finally landed on a winch capable bumper so I can consider the rest of my lighting. I'm going with the DV8 spec bumper, and it will accommodate a 20" light bar under the winch and 2 3" cube lights in each the fog pockets. It can also accommodate a 10" bar on the bull bar if you don't plan to relocate the camera (I plan to relocate the camera).

Squardon Pro amber and Squadron Pro clear, both wide cornering beam for the fog pockets, on separate 10amp aux switches.

So, now, how to best add lighitng to zone 3. What are the pros/cons of going with a 20" clear combo S8 bar on the bumper versus the 8 linked XLs on the roof? And for each, is there a reason to wire the amber backlight feature of the S8? Should I consider a mix of amber and clear on the roof (on separate aux switches)?

I did not run roof lights on my previous Bronco, and I'm not finding too many night shots with the BD linkable XLs on. If it impacts feedback, this is going on a HPR Raptor (regarding glare, etc. from the hood).

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[Baja Designs]

I've already overcome part of the lighting decisions analysis paralysis... I'm going with Baja Designs for my lighting. And, I've already started by putting XL80 clears on the A-pillars on the 15amp aux switch.

And I've finally landed on a winch capable bumper so I can consider the rest of my lighting. I'm going with the DV8 spec bumper, and it will accommodate a 20" light bar under the winch and 2 3" cube lights in each the fog pockets. It can also accommodate a 10" bar on the bull bar if you don't plan to relocate the camera (I plan to relocate the camera).

Squardon Pro amber and Squadron Pro clear, both wide cornering beam for the fog pockets, on separate 10amp aux switches.

So, now, how to best add lighitng to zone 3. What are the pros/cons of going with a 20" clear combo S8 bar on the bumper versus the 8 linked XLs on the roof? And for each, is there a reason to wire the amber backlight feature of the S8? Should I consider a mix of amber and clear on the roof (on separate aux switches)?

I did not run roof lights on my previous Bronco, and I'm not finding too many night shots with the BD linkable XLs on. If it impacts feedback, this is going on a HPR Raptor (regarding glare, etc. from the hood).

Hey,


Great to hear you're planning to run our lighting on your vehicle! For the best results, we recommend mounting lights below the A-pillar to avoid any glare. If you prefer a roof-mounted light bar, you'll get significantly more output, but some glare on the hood is unavoidable—it just comes down to whether that is something that you mind or not. One of the benefits of our linkable lights is that each light functions independently, allowing you to mix and match clear and amber lenses and wire them separately. The advantage of wiring the back light on the S8 would be that it adds an extra layer of safety, acting like a marker light while also looking great on the vehicle. On my vehicle, I run a 20 S8, and while there are brighter options out there for my use case, it's all the light I need. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know!



Best,
Brahian Herrera | Forum Sales & Support
Email: [email protected] | Phone: (760) 560-2252 Ext 201

 

[jclark]

Hey,


Great to hear you're planning to run our lighting on your vehicle! For the best results, we recommend mounting lights below the A-pillar to avoid any glare. If you prefer a roof-mounted light bar, you'll get significantly more output, but some glare on the hood is unavoidable—it just comes down to whether that is something that you mind or not. One of the benefits of our linkable lights is that each light functions independently, allowing you to mix and match clear and amber lenses and wire them separately. The advantage of wiring the back light on the S8 would be that it adds an extra layer of safety, acting like a marker light while also looking great on the vehicle. On my vehicle, I run a 20 S8, and while there are brighter options out there for my use case, it's all the light I need. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know!



Best,
Brahian Herrera | Forum Sales & Support
Email: [email protected] | Phone: (760) 560-2252 Ext 201

Thanks for the response. My rig is a Bronco Raptor, so I already have marker lights on the grill. But, I'd love feedback on the following lighting plan and considerations.

With the mix of lenses on the roof kit, I'm not sure how to best split up the 8 lights to include both amber and clear versus just leveraging the overall coverage of the 8 - and whether or not I would need amber up top if I have the amber fog and S8 on the grill - thoughts? I could add amber rock guards if I really found myself in a situation where I had to have both the coverage and color (which was my approach to only having XL80s on my A pillar - I carry amber rock guards for those).

And I'm debating between the amber Squardon SAE and Squadron Pro wide cornering for the fog pocket. Use will be for inclement driving conditions - which could potentially include public roads. What is the difference in light distance between the two (in addition to the horizontal cut off)?

Is there anything else I should be considering?

Aux Switch	Location	Zone coverage	Color	Light
1 (10amp)	Fog pocket	1	Clear	Squadron Pro – wide cornering
2 (15amp)	A-pillar	2	Clear	XL80 – combo
3 (30amp)	Roof	3	Clear	KIT for Bronco – linked XLs (8) – mixed lenses
4 (10amp)
5 (10amp)	Bumper	3	Amber	S8 20” combo
6 (10amp)	Fog pocket	1	Amber	Squadron SAE

 

[jclark]

@Baja Designs Is there a kit option that would let me swap out clear for amber if I wanted to run some of the roof bar lights in amber on a separate aux switch? And if I did that, which ones (and which lense pattern) would you recommend knowing I have amber fogs and an amber S820 on the bumper?

 

[Baja Designs]

Thanks for the response. My rig is a Bronco Raptor, so I already have marker lights on the grill. But, I'd love feedback on the following lighting plan and considerations.

With the mix of lenses on the roof kit, I'm not sure how to best split up the 8 lights to include both amber and clear versus just leveraging the overall coverage of the 8 - and whether or not I would need amber up top if I have the amber fog and S8 on the grill - thoughts? I could add amber rock guards if I really found myself in a situation where I had to have both the coverage and color (which was my approach to only having XL80s on my A pillar - I carry amber rock guards for those).

And I'm debating between the amber Squardon SAE and Squadron Pro wide cornering for the fog pocket. Use will be for inclement driving conditions - which could potentially include public roads. What is the difference in light distance between the two (in addition to the horizontal cut off)?

Is there anything else I should be considering?

Aux Switch	Location	Zone coverage	Color	Light
1 (10amp)	Fog pocket	1	Clear	Squadron Pro – wide cornering
2 (15amp)	A-pillar	2	Clear	XL80 – combo
3 (30amp)	Roof	3	Clear	KIT for Bronco – linked XLs (8) – mixed lenses
4 (10amp)
5 (10amp)	Bumper	3	Amber	S8 20” combo
6 (10amp)	Fog pocket	1	Amber	Squadron SAE

@Baja Designs Is there a kit option that would let me swap out clear for amber if I wanted to run some of the roof bar lights in amber on a separate aux switch? And if I did that, which ones (and which lense pattern) would you recommend knowing I have amber fogs and an amber S820 on the bumper?

Since you’ll be using multiple lights, the best setup is to position amber lights lower on the vehicle and keep the clear lights higher up. I’d suggest keeping your roof bar and pillar lights in clear and all the other lights in amber. This setup offers a good balance and should give you all the illumination you need across a variety of conditions.


As for the lights themselves, there are significant differences between the Squadron Pro and the SAE version. The Squadron Pro is designed for off-road use, offering a lot of light output and spill, but it's not street-legal and should only be used on isolated roads or with caution. In contrast, the SAE version is street-legal, with less overall intensity but a sharper cutoff for on-road use. Both have similar horizontal throw, but the Pro produces more output and throws light in all directions.

Best,
Brahian Herrera | Forum Sales & Support
Email: [email protected] | Phone: (760) 560-2252 Ext 201

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