**OPINION NEEDED*** A-pillar vs Behind Grill

[MDRAPTR]

So I currently have 2 Baja S-2 pro on my A-pillar. For Country backroads / night driving but I’m thinking about going for a cleaner look. Will the behind the grill lights give me same width on country roads. I do t want to take down the S-2’s and not get the coverage I currently have?

Please give me opinions….

 

[smurfslayer]

Depending on _where_ you are in MD, the DMV are not terribly friendly to off-road lights. Last I knew, MD still had the one time, point of registration inspection, where VA does it annually. They have similar requirements in that connected lights must work, and be generally road legal. I mostly had issues at inspection stations in VA. I’d keep covers handy if you have non SAE lights.

That said, both have their place but for A pillars you are WAY, WAY, WAY, WAY underpowered. S2’s are for reverse / rear running lights. For A pillars you want something like the B/D LP4’s or XL80’s.



I’d suggest if you’re worried mostly about roadside critters, I’d get a pair of squadron pro wide corners, to go with your squadron pro spots, and amber combos, to complement your XL80s that you put where the S2’s are, which you’ll move to the rear bumper with a relay going to an up fitter and tied to the trailer harness for reverse activation as well.

But that’s just me.

 

[MDRAPTR]

Depending on _where_ you are in MD, the DMV are not terribly friendly to off-road lights. Last I knew, MD still had the one time, point of registration inspection, where VA does it annually. They have similar requirements in that connected lights must work, and be generally road legal. I mostly had issues at inspection stations in VA. I’d keep covers handy if you have non SAE lights.

That said, both have their place but for A pillars you are WAY, WAY, WAY, WAY underpowered. S2’s are for reverse / rear running lights. For A pillars you want something like the B/D LP4’s or XL80’s.

View attachment 466175

I’d suggest if you’re worried mostly about roadside critters, I’d get a pair of squadron pro wide corners, to go with your squadron pro spots, and amber combos, to complement your XL80s that you put where the S2’s are, which you’ll move to the rear bumper with a relay going to an up fitter and tied to the trailer harness for reverse activation as well.

But that’s just me.

I’m in the boons… 5 miles south of PA line about 1 hr from Baltimore . People don’t give a shit up here. I’m tired of the Apillar look for me. I would move the S2’s to the Rear.

 

[Nex]

Behind the grill will block cooling to either the radiator or intercooler. Plus the light output is blocked more behind a grill.

You would be best served calling @Specialtyperformanceparts and upgrading the factory fog lights to some BD Squadrons. Get the sports in a combo lens.

 

[smurfslayer]

ok, so as long as you aren’t south of b-more or the DC corridor, you should be ok... although MSP are alpha hotels throughout the state...

The lights down low aren’t going to project as far without being obstructed. An S8 grille light is ok, but as @Nex pointed out, you’re giving up some cooling capacity. Towing something really heavy is probably a hard no. However, the S8’s throw light at headlight level, so while you lose some output due to the grille, it’s still plenty bright and throws respectably. The A pillars will throw won’t be obstructed as easily and you can get awesome distance.

Any supporting vendor on here can help !

 

[MDRAPTR]

ok, so as long as you aren’t south of b-more or the DC corridor, you should be ok... although MSP are alpha hotels throughout the state...

The lights down low aren’t going to project as far without being obstructed. An S8 grille light is ok, but as @Nex pointed out, you’re giving up some cooling capacity. Towing something really heavy is probably a hard no. However, the S8’s throw light at headlight level, so while you lose some output due to the grille, it’s still plenty bright and throws respectably. The A pillars will throw won’t be obstructed as easily and you can get awesome distance.

Any supporting vendor on here can help !

Yeah I almost never towing..my Raptor is a mobile sales office. I basically live in it. Still evaluating. Not sure WTH I want to do

 

[Nex]

LP15s FTW.

You can get a light bar like @smurfslayer has also.

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

So I currently have 2 Baja S-2 pro on my A-pillar. For Country backroads / night driving but I’m thinking about going for a cleaner look. Will the behind the grill lights give me same width on country roads. I do t want to take down the S-2’s and not get the coverage I currently have?

Please give me opinions….

So the Behind the Grill Kits will give you a tremendous amount of light. Yes, part of that light gets blocked by the grill but you have 6x pod lights back there it REALLY lights things up.

The S2 you have on your pillars are not that big so they can only throw light so far. If you did some Spots and Wide Cornering you'll get a lot of light output in a variety of places.

Keep in mind this is for OFF-ROAD use only as it's WAYYY too bright for others on the road. But it'll REALLY light things up.

The nice part is the lights have a STEALTH look so they are nice and tucked.

Use coupon code RAPTORFORUM and you'll save 10% on our kit

https://www.4x4truckleds.com/shop-all/kr-off-road-behind-the-grill-kit/

We offer our kit with Baja Designs or Diode Dynamics lights.

Shown here are some examples with Baja Designs Lights







Here is an idea on how everything is assembled with our included harness. Nice and clean. This is our KR Off-Road bracket which allows you to run a variety of brands of lights and raise/lower the entire assembly as you need to. Made out of Stainless Steel + Powder Coated Black (for that stealth look)

 

[smurfslayer]

Yeah I almost never towing..my Raptor is a mobile sales office. I basically live in it. Still evaluating. Not sure WTH I want to do

It’s unanimous. You need MORE POWER and that means bigger and more lights. When you think you have enough lights, check back in and we will disabuse you of that misunderstanding.

And hurry up. We’re looking forward to living vicariously through your build thread.

 

[Big Blue]

Over the years and several Raptors, I have done lots of light options. I had dual behind the grill light bars and a-pillar mounts on my first Raptor and have scaled down with each following Raptor. Between behind the grill or a-pillar I prefer behind the grill. I prefer the cleaner/stealth look of behind the grill and while you lose some lumens because of the grill blockage, its projection is also lower to the ground and provides better close street/trail visibility than a-pillar mounts which can cut off close ground level lighting. I also like how the behind the grill lighting projects in front of the truck, while a-pillar lights project over the hood.