New Raptor owner, lighting advice appreciated.

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Speeddeacon

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Hello, I just picked up an ’18 Raptor so am new to the board. One of the first things I want to mod my new truck is with the lighting, so I thought I’d ask those with experience for their opinion. I’ve scoured the board and read the many posts already which has helped form an opinion, but want some insight from those with experience before making the investment.

The truck will almost entirely be used on the street at night as I’m not a night time adventure driver. I’m not interested in show, in fact the individuals I see using their blinding off road lights on the road in traffic, really irritate me. We live in town, but also drive mountain back roads frequently (35-55 mph), which is where I find the lighting inadequate. Fog is often a factor up in the hills too.

I miss the adaptive lighting like on my car and, like most of us, find it hard to believe that fog lights are missing. I assume it is because many owners prefer the custom aftermarket options.

My preference is to fill the holes in the factory front bumper, which I don’t plan to replace. I like the integrated finished look that the FRL bezels provide, but am not bound to them. I don’t mind paying for quality, but don’t want to overspend for my particular application either.

Wanting to increase the width of illumination for upcoming curves, my initial thoughts are to go with either the Rigid or Baja Designs offerings with a wide/cornering or diffused in combination with a spot in the FRL dual bezel, essentially creating a driving/combo. I would also consider adding the new 10” BD OnX6 Laser Light in drive/combo behind the lower front grill as a one piece solution, as it would probably be a bit cheaper. I think having all three would be overkill for my needs, but that’s where I welcome the insight from others.

For Rigid, I am considering the D2 Pro models or for BD, I’m leaning toward the Squadron Pro. What are your thoughts about my thoughts. Does this sound appropriate for back mountain roads? Are the Pro series overkill for my application? Would the OnX6 make more sense either as a stand alone or in combo with the cubes?

Vendors are welcome to chime in here. I’m wanting to learn and make an educated decision. Thanks in advance.
 
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Speeddeacon

Speeddeacon

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After doing a bit more research I found that our governor signed a law that makes light bars illegal on road last year. So the OnX6 is not a viable option for my intended use.I’ll stick with the bumper fog location alone.

Looking forward to suggestions.



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Uncas

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https://www.fordraptorforum.com/threads/rigid-ss-fogs-xl-hyperspots-snd-ignite.64162/Look at my post on the Rigid setup I used in the fog pockets. The D2 pro side shooters give a nice wide pattern and the D-XL hyperspots throws a long ways. The diffused amber is great for fog. My issue is I deal with a lot of wildlife and this definitely helps spot them on the side of the road. When I lived in Utah, the Rigids kept me from hitting Moose on multiple occasions in my GEN1.
 
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Rick@FreedomMotorsports

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@Speeddeacon

We sell multiple different lights (Baja Designs, Rigid, KC, Vision-X and even the Fordraptorlight bezel kits) but all of Baja Designs and almost all of the Rigids including other brands are off-road ONLY lights. They are not DOT approved. Some states don't have an issue with these lights as long as they are not on while driving on the road. Some states require that you have black covers on the lights when on the road hence why most light vendors make covers in black. They also make them in different colors as amber is known to help in dusty and foggy situations. A blue light works best in the snow so there are covers in blue. I've also heard that red is good in dust but when I tried red it was not that great and went back to amber. What exactly does NC say differently if you can cover them up?

If you are wanting to run the fog pocket lights on the road then I am going to recommend the n-Fab bracket and some DOT approved Rigid cubes. Even thought the bezel is a nice feature, it will use a KC Flex on the end, which is not DOT approved. With the n-Fab bracket you can have 3 pairs of cubes. I would do 2 pairs of the Rigid D-Series SAE Fog Light and get amber covers for one pair. Then I would buy one pair of brighter Rigids D-Series Pro to use ONLY when off-road. That way you can have these pairs on different AUX switches based on your driving environment. When you just want to help during fog, turn on the amber SAE pair and when you want more light turn on the white pair and both for more light. Then when off-road, turn them all on and if you get into dust, flip off the other two pair and run the ambers.

Rigid SAE: https://www.rigidindustries.com/d-series-sae-fog-light-2-504813.html
Rigid Off-road: https://www.rigidindustries.com/d-series-pro-d-series.html
nFab: https://n-fab.com/fog-light-mounts/2018/ford/f-150

Also Rigid has their own kits:
https://www.rigidindustries.com/2017-raptor-triple-fog-light-kit-41610.html
https://www.rigidindustries.com/2017-raptor-triple-fog-mount-kit-ford-oe-raptor.html

I would be more than happy to put together a discounted package for you at BLACK FRIDAY PRICING. Just send me an private message if you are interested.

For the record, I have been through a lot of different lights. Rigid, Whelen, Blackhawks, Baja Designs, KC, Vision-X to name a few and have taken off, sold and purchased different brands along the way. I have settled on Baja Designs as I found these are the very best when off-roading and cannot talk more highly about them. I currently have a 40" Onx6 Amber in my grill, a 40" OnX6 Racer in the bumper, pair of XL80's on the hood pillars (and have amber covers) and KC flex in the bumper too for side lighting. On the rear I have 3 S2 Pros in the 3rd brake light and soon to have 2 Squadron Sports in the rear bumper (have Rigid now). I have a GEN1

Hope that helps?
Thanks,
Rick
 
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smurfslayer

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I have a set of BD squadron sport wide angle outboard, middle I have squadron pro combo, inboard squadron pro spots. To my surprise, I get the most beneficial use out of the wide angle. Particularly spotting the road side critters.

With Black Friday right around the corner, keep an eye out for good deals from the supporting vendors here.
 

Frank N

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I put in a pair of BD S2 sport driving combo and a pair of Squadron Sport spots, for rural living without desert racing, they more than light up the night on the dark country roads, add a bracket and for less than $500 I was set. I do have another set of driving combo I could fit in there, honestly, I don't need them.

I got the lights from 4x4truckleds, one of the supporting vendors here.

IMG_1578.JPG
 

Tomkirkland4

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Give Nick over at Apollo Optics a call. He can get you setup. I drive through the woods and mountains everyday to work. Nick set me up with the FRL bumper kit with a pair of Baja Designs Squadron Pro Driving combo and a pair in spot. Absolutely love them. Tons of light In a very usable layout.

I’m getting rid of the FRL mounts as I’m moving to an aftermarket bumper. I plan to keep the lights and use them on my new bumper. Let me know if you want a deal on the FRL mounts.

Tom


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Speeddeacon

Speeddeacon

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Awesome to hear your experiences. I appreciate your input. Keep them coming.
 
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Speeddeacon

Speeddeacon

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I put in a pair of BD S2 sport driving combo and a pair of Squadron Sport spots, for rural living without desert racing, they more than light up the night on the dark country roads, add a bracket and for less than $500 I was set. I do have another set of driving combo I could fit in there, honestly, I don't need them.

I got the lights from 4x4truckleds, one of the supporting vendors here.

View attachment 115297

That’s a ton of light from those lights!


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SnowDawg

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I'd recommend the SAE Rigid fogs since you can run them legally on the road. They make a huge difference in lighting since they fill in the space to the side and closer than the headlights. I then run 2 amber fogs which are really nice in weather. I also have D2 driving lights which don't seem to be necessary but help pick up wildlife on the pitch black highways. I'd steer someone more towards spot or diffused as a third option instead.
 
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