Opinions on SAE lighting

[raptor36]

I am probably going to be picking up a pair of SAE/DOT approved pod lights within the next month (fingers crossed for a 2020 BD Black Friday promotion).

I want some feedback on the following lights. Also, recommend any light that has not been mentioned if you want.

Baja Designs


Rigid Industries:


Diode Dynamics:

I am partial to Baja Designs. I currently run their ONX+ and S1 lights. I have experience with many other companies (Rigid, VisionX, KC).

Not trying to start crap. But, I am not fully convinced BD has the best SAE. Seems like the scientist’s had a slight fumble out the gate. I dunno. I am no expert. I am willing to grab a pair of BD SAE and try them out

I don’t need these SAE pods to blind the **** out of anyone. I have plenty of other lights for that purpose. About $2.5K just in forward projection. I just need something to help my poor OEM headlights. That’s it.

Opinions. Discussions please. Specialty performance parts did a great Rigid Vs BD video not too long ago. Thank you for that sir.

Whoever I decide, based on this thread, will be posted at the end


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[Oldfart]

I am also very partial to BD because of great past experience with them with my bike lighting. I have BD Squadron Racer Spots, Pro Combo's, and SAE wide cornering in white with Fabworks brackets, I got everything from Nick@Apollo-Optics. I run the SAE's pretty much all the time. If you are expecting them to reach down the road, you will not be impressed. If you want them to give a nice fill and really help on dark back roads for cornering and warning you that critters are crossing, you will be happy with them.

 

[Droid]

Rigids seem to be the brightest of these...

I have the amber BD item.... I do like them as fogs (in yellow), but they're not a huge difference over the headlights. Nice to use to increase visibility of truck to others though.

See this post for garage pics of my BD yellow SAEs vs Squadron Pros and Hi/Lo beam (all with same camera settings).
https://www.fordraptorforum.com/threads/lights-for-stock-bumper-sae-fogs-plus.77975/#post-1519031

 

[JohnyPython]

I got the BD SAE fogs and they’re perfect in the city. They work well in foggy conditions without sunburning other drivers.

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

Okay so first... the image you posted of the Diode Dynamics lights says "Made in the USA" which is incorrect. Diode Dynamics does not make their SS3 lights here in America. They now advertise them as "Assembled in America" which could basically mean they put the lights in a box with a wiring harness and "assembled" the kit. So just keep that in mind.

Baja Designs SAE lights are nice. They are NOT going to light up the world, as they are NOT designed to do so. They are SAE FOG lights. Intended to be used as fog lights and not cause glare to other drivers. Their purpose is NOT to light up the road like Christmas. As long as you understand that, you'll love them.

The marketing you see with Diode always puts their "PRO" light against the Baja SAE light. And Baja's SAE light is based off their Sport model so the lumen count is naturally going to be less then the Diode "Pro" light.

I really like the Baja Designs SAE lights for FOG light use. But they are not going to be good for lighting up back-roads, so don't expect them to.

Usually folks will use our "Build Your Own" Fog kit and will put a set of SAE lights in there, for regular street driving. They'll then add in a few pairs of Squadron Pros to REALLY light things up. It's a REALLY nice setup that way. Perfect lights that are not crazy bright for fog use/everyday driving, and then some badass lights for lighting up the world.

They didn't "fumble out of the gate" they designed their light to not be something that you won't get in trouble with. Right now, Diode is taking a lot of heat with the NHTSA over one of their other products and they went from "Made in the USA" to "Assembled in the USA"... so it makes you wonder.

YES, Baja ran into a slight issue with their SAE light and QUICKLY corrected it.

Are the Diode lights bright? Yeah, they are. Not as bright as the Baja Lights though. Baja's have more lumen output.

We've sold Diode Dynamics, Rigid and Baja Designs for years. Baja is our #1 go to lighting product for many reasons (quality for 1, customer service #2, C... they have lots of options available and 8, they build their stuff here in America and have inventory available).

Hope that helps you decide. Shoot me a message if you want help understanding the various components/workings of each light. Happy to explain them as we've taken apart everything we sell (I like to see how things work)

 

[snt505]

I went with the Rigid SAE. They have better output than BD on many comparisons I've seen with a solid cutoff. I would be interested to try the Diode Dynamics but didn't fit my application.

 

[rayofsi]

i previously had rigid sae in my raptor
tried Baja sae before then fixed it, i returned those
currently running diode dynamics pro sae

Very happy with the Diode dynamics.

I run a mix of baja, rigid and diode dynamics lights on my trucks, not biased between the brands.

Baja XL80, Rigid Adapt 40, 3 pairs of Diode dynamics SS3, 3 Baja S2's on my raptor, Baja S1 pair, Rigid Q-Sae 2 Pairs.

Baja S8 40", 2 pairs Diode Dynamics SS3, 2 Diode Dynamics SS12, 4x Rigid SR-Sae Fog lights, 2 Pairs Baja S1 on my 4runner

Most of them are installed, if not, they are in boxes to get installed. No bias here.

Diode Dynamics SS3 pods are the best Pods.

also to add the Baja Sae Lights are not properly engineered. They just added a cutoff shield to block the extra light that made them not true SAE lights previously. a cheap fix to a bad design.

No Debate that Baja makes quality stuff. But their SAE pods were done very poorly. For the longest time they denied any issues with their SAE pods, they claimed they were fine. Until they eventually fixed it.

i also still have a bunch of baja non-sae pods, a pair of baja LP6, a baja onx6, and probably a few various bars around, including a bunch of piaa, aurora, some other rigid pods. Its hard for me to settle down without using them personally

 

[Christyle]

SAE lights sure seem like a waste of money to me, but if you're already at $2.5k, what's a little more.....

 

[Smokyray]

Thanks to all y'all for posting valuable data and feedback.
One of my few gripes with this Bad-A** Truck is the OEM lighting.
Im looking for an SAE DRL/Fog Light I can run all the time instead of the lame OEM Headlight DRL.

After a lot of Cranial banging I've narrowed it down to the Rigid SAE yellow Fogs and the DD 6" Amber light bars. Amazon has both as does ebay.
Black Friday/Cyber Monday isnt far off...

Smokey

https://www.diodedynamics.com/stage-series-6-sae-dot-amber-light-bar-pair.html

 

[Oldfart]

SAE lights sure seem like a waste of money to me, but if you're already at $2.5k, what's a little more.....

I would agree with you if most all of your driving is on the highway. I live in a very rural part of the mountains. Lots of hilly, wooded, twisty back roads that are a bitch to see very well on when driving at night. I have to say the BD SAE's make it easier, and more relaxing, to drive in the boonies when it's dark. Their wide spread makes it way easier to navigate in the dark, and also help give you a little more warning for when a white tail is going to jump out in front of you. It's nice with the SAE's that you can just leave them on, and run your brighter lights when you can. I am definitely happy with mine and would buy them again.