Installed Triple Fogs - DD SS3 Pros

[FmaxTurboSi]

Sounds good! Thank you. Will most likely go with BD pro’s again. I’ve been pleased with your products for the last 5 years, so why change it lol.

Diode Dynamics are a great candidate if you’re solely driving in flat and narrow conditions. If your adventure involves elevation change and would prefer to drive in a more aggressive way the sharp and horizontal cutoffs will have you wishing for a more transitional spill light like we have here at Baja Designs. While our competitors seem to design an optic based on optical software measurements, here we intentionally sacrifice candela, peak beam and any additional DOT/SAE “standard “and redirect the light to what is ideal for the best driver experience. We design and test our lights in different environments to ensure that our lights perform and give you the most usable beam pattern when you need them the most. If you are serious about off-roading there simply isn't any contest between Baja Designs and Diode Dynamics. Please feel free to let me know any questions you may have.
Best,
Brahian

Must say John @Specialtyperformanceparts is top notch when coming to custom service.

John certainly wow’d me with his extensive and informative reply the other day. Def earned my business after that.

 

[SurfRaptor]

I’m torn between this setup and the Baja designs triple pro kit. That kit has 2 of the bigger square lights and then one smaller one while the setup in this post has 3 of the big square lights. Excuse the lack of terminology. But just curious if 3 of these are brighter than 2 and one smaller like in the BD setup.

Offroad Alliance Triple Bezel Fog Light Kit w/ Baja Designs Squadron Lights: 17-20 Raptor

Offroad Alliance Triple Bezel Fog Light Kit w/ Baja Designs Squadron Lights: 17-20 Raptor Our in-house designed Gen. 2 Ford Raptor fog lights give you an OEM-quality finished look and the light you need to play at night. Order your parts from Offroad Alliance.

offroadalliance.com

 

[RotorOver]

I’m torn between this setup and the Baja designs triple pro kit. That kit has 2 of the bigger square lights and then one smaller one while the setup in this post has 3 of the big square lights. Excuse the lack of terminology. But just curious if 3 of these are brighter than 2 and one smaller like in the BD setup.

Offroad Alliance Triple Bezel Fog Light Kit w/ Baja Designs Squadron Lights: 17-20 Raptor

Offroad Alliance Triple Bezel Fog Light Kit w/ Baja Designs Squadron Lights: 17-20 Raptor Our in-house designed Gen. 2 Ford Raptor fog lights give you an OEM-quality finished look and the light you need to play at night. Order your parts from Offroad Alliance.

offroadalliance.com

About double the wattage/lumens on the bigger lights no matter what the brand, so yes it should be brighter using the three 3" lights.

 

[SurfRaptor]

About double the wattage/lumens on the bigger lights no matter what the brand, so yes it should be brighter using the three 3" lights.

Does BD make a kit that will fit 3 of the 3" lights or is this just strictly a DD S3 setup?

 

[RotorOver]

Does BD make a kit that will fit 3 of the 3" lights or is this just strictly a DD S3 setup?

I'm not sure about BD, but I know @Specialtyperformanceparts fog mount can handle any brand of 3" light. The BDs probably fit the best with that setup since they are a hair smaller than the others and frame nicely inside the frame pocket. I went with the DD S3s because I like their lens technology and performance, but they don't fit as well as the BD squadrons.

 

[SurfRaptor]

I'm not sure about BD, but I know @Specialtyperformanceparts fog mount can handle any brand of 3" light. The BDs probably fit the best with that setup since they are a hair smaller than the others and frame nicely inside the frame pocket. I went with the DD S3s because I like their lens technology and performance, but they don't fit as well as the BD squadrons.

Thanks for this info. One last question, are most people disconnecting the fog light switch and rewiring so that it uses the up fitter switches? This way all aftermarket lighting is in one centralized location? For example, removing the fog lights and putting them into Aux 1 and starting from there? or is the consensus to just leave it alone in the current positions? It seems like when I want lights, I want them all so I'd like to only have to go to one place to use them.

 

[RotorOver]

Thanks for this info. One last question, are most people disconnecting the fog light switch and rewiring so that it uses the up fitter switches? This way all aftermarket lighting is in one centralized location? For example, removing the fog lights and putting them into Aux 1 and starting from there? or is the consensus to just leave it alone in the current positions? It seems like when I want lights, I want them all so I'd like to only have to go to one place to use them.

No problem, glad I could help. As far as wiring, you have a few options, but my philosophy was to run them all separately. I wanted a pair of SAE fogs to run in inclement weather on-road, so it doesn't make sense to wire them with the other lights unless they are all SAE. And another reason is in Georgia you can only run one pair of fogs at a time on the road, so it made a lot of sense to run that to the OEM fog switch, plus it saves an upfitter for something else. I then wired a set of pro drivers and pro spots to Aux 1 & Aux 2 respectively to allow selective control, but they could have easily been run off of one switch. Here's a link to a video I made demonstrating the lights and it shows how nicely you can control the lighting.

I also went all yellow on the these three pair with the idea I'd have a whole set for inclement weather, dust off road and I'm planning three pairs of white DD SS5s on a bumper mount for clear air/high speed off road. These three pair are a pretty high draw, so I'll run them on seperate harnesses with their own relays, but control them all off of one upfitter. Again, lots of options though.

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

What brackets

He went with our KR Off-Road brackets and our complete kit: https://www.4x4truckleds.com/diode-...off-road-brackets-for-2021-ford-f-150-raptor/

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

I've done other installs but have steered away from electrical related installs. How hard was the wiring part? Did 4x4truckleds include instructions for wiring?

It's very easy. We provide an all-in-one wiring harness that is a no-brainer. It's got the the connectors for the lights already on them so you just plug the into the back of the light. You then just splice on the other end of our harness to your upfitters (we have pre-installed weatherproof/heat shrinkable wire connectors on the end). So very easy. Our instructions are included as well which guide you the whole way.

We also provide OEM pigtails so that if you have the factory Rigid fogs you are replacing, you can just utilize your factory wiring already in place. This means you can use your factory fog light switch as well as Aux 1 (which is already ran to the fog pocket).

This is what our wiring harness looks like for example on a Diode Dynamics kit:







Plugs right into the lights. Then 4 wire leads for 4 upfitters (in this case since it's a Diode Dynamics kit which also has back-lighting).

And these are what the factory pigtails look like if you want to re-use your existing fog switch:



All part of the kit. We've got kits for Baja Designs, Diode Dynamics, Rigid Industries and Morimoto available: https://www.4x4truckleds.com/vehicle-specific/ford/ford-f-150/2021-f-150-raptor/fog-lights/

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

hows the light output? i've always had BD squadron pro's, but on paper the DD's seem better. I'm considering going ss3 max.

So here is our "spiel" we give people when they ask.

Baja Designs makes a better quality light. Their finish is better and the light takes more abuse. They also include a lifetime warranty.
Diode Dynamics makes a brighter light though. Their finish isn't as durable as the Baja Designs lights (powder coating instead of an anodized housing). And you only get an 8 year warranty.

Diode Dynamics are less $$ though.

Baja Designs Squadron Sports are 3150 lumen each
Diode Dynamics SS3 Sports are 2262 lumen each

Baja Designs Squadron Pros are 4800 lumen each
Diode Dynamics SS3 Pros are 5796 lumen each

Diode Dynamics also has an SS3 Max which are 7920 lumen each

So when it comes to the Pros, Diode Dynamics SS3 are brighter.

Baja has 4 patterns basically. Spot, Wide, Work/Scene and then a combo pattern they call Driving/Combo (it's both a spot AND a wide pattern)
Diode has 5 patterns. Spot, SAE Fog (Wide pattern)... they then do things a bit different. They have a Flood pattern (similar to the work/scene from Baja) but also add in a Driving pattern now also (which is similar to a high beam. It's kind of like a wide spot pattern). Their combo pattern is both a driving and a flood pattern.

Diode also offers a back-light option, so you can have the lights back-lit if you wanted for ambiance.



When it comes down to it. We find more Raptor owners choose Baja Designs over Diode Dynamics for the warranty and quality of the housing. Diode Dynamics gets chosen by folks who don't plan to really off-road a lot and want a brighter street legal light (as they have a brighter street legal fog light, whereas Baja Designs SAE Fog was designed to be JUST a fog light, not too bright at all since that's what the other lights would be for).