Fog Light Durability and Advice

[Mister Pinky]

Hello all,

I’m going to either end up buying a set of Rigid or Baja Designs lights soon for the bumper pocket. As we all know, we have some fantastic vendors on here offering some great products.

I’m concerned about long term durability of these lights, specifically in regard to corrosion. I live in Ohio, where we do our damndest to put down the most corrosive crap you can find just short of dipping your vehicle in acid. Heaven forbid, if you can’t do 75+ down a slick interstate in the middle of a snowstorm, that’d just be ridiculous and un-American.

Anyway, this means my lights will constantly be pounded by garbage being slung from the wheels. I’m hesitant to spend $1k plus on lights that won’t last.

With that in mind, I’m leaning towards the ORA bracket even though everyone else’s bracket looks spectacular too. I like the finished look of it. Is it as adjustable as everyone else claims theirs is? Is there a downside vs. the competition?

As for the actual light types, I could use some recommendations. I know I definitely want an amber light to run all the time as a fog light. I’m prepared to aim these down as they are mostly not SAE rated, which is fine.

I liked the idea of the combo lights, as well as the spots, but am open to suggestions. I plan on buying the higher grade “pro” lights, assuming I get good feedback on durability.

What have you all got?

 

[Oldfart]

I'm not real knowledgeable about Rigid, but BD has a limited lifetime warranty. They really stand behind their product. The Pro level lights get you more output, but it's the same quality build as their other lights. I got a pair of Squadron white SAE to run all the time and have an amber lens I can pop on for snow or fog, a pair of Sport Combo's, and a pair of Pro Spots all mounted on KD Fabworks brackets that are SS and powder coated from @Nick@Apollo-Optics. I'm very happy with everything I got. Great fit and finish on everything. It takes some time to get everything lined up just right. I slotted the BD mounting brackets slightly, on the outside most pair, to get that pair of lights to ride slightly higher, which I think looks better.

I also put a pair of BD S2 Pro's on the rear for my reverse lights, they work VERY well. I'm anxiously waiting for someone to run up my ass with their high beams on so I can see how they work as an ******* deterrent.

 

[Nick@Apollo-Optics]

Appreciate you sharing the pictures, @Oldfart!

@Mister Pinky, I'd be glad to help you get a setup dialed in here at Apollo Optics.

As far as the lights go, I tend to think the fit and finish of Baja Designs allows them to stand up the elements better. Powdercoated housings with stainless hardware goes a long way in the fight against corrosion. Additionally, our brackets are fully adjustable as you can see in the pictures above, are stainless steel, and powder coated.

We can use SAE lights for on-road use or go with all off-road lights and you can just aim them down and appropriately for use in traffic.

Happy to go over options with you at your convenience and there are some nice Black Friday rebates going on right now. Save $150 via mail-in rebate on top of our Black Friday pricing.

Feel free to send me a PM if I can help!

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

I'd recommend our Triple Fog Light Kits from Baja Designs. Baja Designs are made out in CA and offer a lifetime warranty. So if you ever had issues, you are covered. I'm here on Long Island so not only do we have the winters you have, but we're surrounded by salt water. I've never had issues with my Baja lights. Yes over time they will fade from the salt (the bezels that is) but the lights work great. You can always swap out bezels/lenses as well.

You mentioned a bezel kit, while we don't sell a bezel kit, we make our own brackets here which offer you complete adjust-ability over where the lights aim. Because we want them to last, we make our brackets out of stainless steel right here on Long Island. On top of that, we powder coated them black for extra durability. AND we're the only ones who offer a lifetime warranty on our brackets, no matter what. We call it our Raptor Lifetime Guarantee. As long as you own your truck, our brackets are covered (no matter what).

We've got some amazing Black Friday deals. We happen to be one of the largest stocking dealers so we have a warehouse FULL Of Baja (especially now during the sales).

https://www.4x4truckleds.com/vehicl...2017-2018-f-150-raptor/triple-fog-light-kits/

 

[JohnyPython]

I’m happy with my BD SAE fog light output. I did swap the SAE lens for amber combos (a big no no for warranty compliance-there, said it)

I usually run them most of the time and I like the look of the amber even though it’s different from the oem amber.

The Pro combos are excellent and really light up the road. I plan to get some S1s on the end and S8 behind the grille for neck sunburns and mofos with their hi beams on.

The city brines and salts the shit out of the roads here. What every you get, rinse them with fresh water as much as possible. There is a fender liner extender available somewhere - I think Off-road Alliance. Maybe a wipe down with Fluid Film.
I might make my own at some point.

 

[Oldfart]

The city brines and salts the shit out of the roads here. What every you get, rinse them with fresh water as much as possible. There is a fender liner extender available somewhere - I think Off-road Alliance. Maybe a wipe down with Fluid Film.
I might make my own at some point.

We are big on that damn brine here too. I thought the salt was bad!

 

[CoronaRaptor]

Not to get too scientific here, but you're not driving in reverse most of the time. Driving forward, the force of gravity with motion allows most of the road debris to go behind the wheels, hence why mudflaps are placed at the rear of the wheels. Now, obviously there is some road debris that spins off of the tires and lands in the front, but it's minimal. My BD lights in my rear bumper have been beat on for 6 years now and are flawless, I do spray them with fluidfilm as well and do wash them all the time, like @JohnyPython mentioned. In other words, don't worry so much about that area, unless it builds up with slush and freezes, dont kick at it as hard as you normally might, in that case.

 

[OffroadAlliance.com]

Hello all,

I’m going to either end up buying a set of Rigid or Baja Designs lights soon for the bumper pocket. As we all know, we have some fantastic vendors on here offering some great products.

I’m concerned about long term durability of these lights, specifically in regard to corrosion. I live in Ohio, where we do our damndest to put down the most corrosive crap you can find just short of dipping your vehicle in acid. Heaven forbid, if you can’t do 75+ down a slick interstate in the middle of a snowstorm, that’d just be ridiculous and un-American.

Anyway, this means my lights will constantly be pounded by garbage being slung from the wheels. I’m hesitant to spend $1k plus on lights that won’t last.

With that in mind, I’m leaning towards the ORA bracket even though everyone else’s bracket looks spectacular too. I like the finished look of it. Is it as adjustable as everyone else claims theirs is? Is there a downside vs. the competition?

As for the actual light types, I could use some recommendations. I know I definitely want an amber light to run all the time as a fog light. I’m prepared to aim these down as they are mostly not SAE rated, which is fine.

I liked the idea of the combo lights, as well as the spots, but am open to suggestions. I plan on buying the higher grade “pro” lights, assuming I get good feedback on durability.

What have you all got?

For that OEM fit and finish look, our bezel kit is awesome! There are plenty of different fog light brackets out there that suspend up to three pairs of lights in the bumper opening. We even make one of them. Our bezel kit is mounted directly behind the bumper opening and you can absolutely adjust the lights in the openings. There is more light adjustment in the universal brackets that suspend the lights, but at some point if you really start adjusting the lights way out to the sides or up/down you're lighting up the backside of the bumper. This is a forward facing fog light kit afterall.

For protecting the backside of the lights, we created a product called Light Guards. It's a fender liner extension designed to protect the backside of the lights. And it works with ANY brand, ANY make of fog light kit. It's a great solution to protect the backside of the lights so no worries there about damage.

Brands like Baja Designs and Rigid are very robust lights and are backed by a lifetime warranty. So if they do fail, break or corrode, you're covered! And they come in a wide array of lenses so it's easy to meet all of your needs with amber, etc.

We've got some great sales going on right now plus we're throwing in some awesome freebies. And if you go with Baja Designs, there's up to $150 in rebates on a triple fog light kit. Now's the best time of year to get your truck hooked up with some lighting!

Let us know if we can assist


888-466-8991

OFFROADALLIANCE.COM

 

[DanT]

Adam at www.4X4truckleds.com set me up last Black Friday with their Triple BD Squadron. Give him a shout!

 

[Mister Pinky]

Dammit.

I like all you vendors on here! You’ve all been over the top helpful, how do I choose just one?!