4 Baja squadron pro kit or the S8 30’ bar ?

[Dorykiki]

If you had to pick one light , which one yould it be ?
I heard that since the S8 bar seats higher behind the grill it gives a brighter light knowing that the 4 Baja squradron pro have more lumens ?

 

[SilverBolt]

Any light behind the grill is a waste of money. You will lose more light than you can use. 2 cubes on the bumper will have more usable light than a 40" bar behind the grill.

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

I'd go with the Squadron Pro kit. It'll give you great light output for regular driving and bad weather. The S8 is great if you want to throw light further down range.

With whatever setup you decide to go with let us know... we sell (and stock) almost all of the Baja Designs products

 

[gneissday]

Any light behind the grill is a waste of money. You will lose more light than you can use. 2 cubes on the bumper will have more usable light than a 40" bar behind the grill.

I disagree. The 30" S8 behind the upper grill cast more near and distance lighting w/the combo lens than the 4 Squadron pros in the fog pockets. I have the S8 in the upper grill, the Onx6 in the lower grill, 4 Squadrons Pros and 2 KC HiLites in the fog pockets.

To the OP, while you are correct that the 4 Squadron Pros do have more lumens (total of 19,600) compared to the 30" S8 (12,000), the 30" S8 has 436,050 candela (the measure of a light's intensity in a particular direction) vs 304,776 (total 4 Squadron Pros) based on the BD fact sheets available on their website.

Taken from a website I just googled to give a little better explanation:

Candela is more important than lumens in a flashlight, lantern, etc. because candela is the actual measure of brightness in a focused beam. The lumen is a term referring to total light output, and is not a measure of the light when it is focused in one direction.

Comparing Lights Using Candela and Lumens - To compare candela versus lumens, it is always useful to understand that these are terms for entirely different properties of light. They do not mean the same thing. So when shopping for a flashlight or lantern, you should consider the job the light will perform.

If the light’s job is to illuminate a room, a field, or other wide areas, or if power/battery use is a concern, a higher lumen rating is what you want. If the light’s job is to produce a beam that will penetrate fog or smoke, or if you want to illuminate the length of an alley, see what’s in the tree tops and power lines or look at people/objects at a great distance, a higher candela rating is what you want.

Take this however you want, but I can see a very noticeable difference between the S8 and Squad Pros and so I looked into it and this makes sense and helps me understand why I'm seeing what I am with my lights.

BTW, the Onx6 hi-power puts out 509,550 candela for just a 10" bar!! And it's def awesome, but I think the S8 does a bit better because it's placed higher on the truck. Hope this helps.

And if you want to see a good example of this difference, look at photos on the fact sheet for the Squadron Pro and the XL Pro, which both have the same total lumens (4,900), but the XL Pro has over double the candela.

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

Or just put the lower/upper grille kit in and the fog kit... i'll even give you a bulk buy discount if you buy all 3 ... or 4... let's not forget the reverse kit

 

[gneissday]

Or just put the lower/upper grille kit in and the fog kit... i'll even give you a bulk buy discount if you buy all 3 ... or 4... let's not forget the reverse kit

Yep, that's what I did. You can never get enough light, so go for it all!!!

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

I'm still trying to find more places to install lights on my truck... thing is I have no more power available

 

[Hockster]

If you are driving your truck in snow where it will build up any lighting led out front will be a waste. The led's do not heat up enough to keep them from getting covered. You will lost some lighting behind the grill but you will be happy if you are driving in the snow and can still see the lights. I have tons led's on my 2012 and during the snoball runs they were covered in 3 minutes and stayed that way until I stopped to clean them off. They would them cover in 3 minutes again.

 

[gneissday]

If you are driving your truck in snow where it will build up any lighting led out front will be a waste. The led's do not heat up enough to keep them from getting covered. You will lost some lighting behind the grill but you will be happy if you are driving in the snow and can still see the lights. I have tons led's on my 2012 and during the snoball runs they were covered in 3 minutes and stayed that way until I stopped to clean them off. They would them cover in 3 minutes again.

Good point. Living in So Cal, I didn't think about how snow could potentially pack on the lower lights for you guys in colder/wetter climates.

 

[vitaminR]

Is the snow thing a problem with the headlights too? Ive never had LED headlights before.

I'm glad you posted this question OP. I am literally on the fence between an S8 kit behind the grill or the Pro or even unlimited BD kit in the bumper.

I wonder if the unlimited BD bumper kit vs the Pro would just be too long of a throw. I live in the middle of nowhere on windy back roads where deer are usually having a rave in the middle of the road around every other corner.