Lighting Kit Comparisons

[MotuMute]

Do you have Duallys or D2s? I thought Duallys were only available in a spot or flood pattern and that D2s were available in a driving pattern.

If I had just wanted max lumens for offroad, I def would have gone with the D2's (and I do get more than enough with them all on).

Mine are Dually Spots that are used as driving lights. They are aimed down just enough so they are not in oncoming driver's eyes. Together they are plenty bright enough that I have never had LE give me any grief about driving with them instead of having my headlights on (nor has LE pulled me over for having the Whelen Spots on as well).

Why driving lights in this configuration? I spend way too much time onroad and enjoy turning heads. After dusk I sometimes like to extend the fun times of driving around with Dawson's trick LED's glowing, but I don't want the wrong kind of attention while doing it.

http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f81/post-your-lighting-build-pics-let-your-lights-shine-24840/

 

[Wvraptor13]

Thanks big blue!

The problem is the list is so long!

I love night rides. I have a Can-am Maverick and we love to go night rides. So I want to make sure I can go it will be a highlight for me. I have had it for a month, so far winch and mount , mid perch, bak flip, line x.

Still want tire gate,lights and tires.

 

[Towerhog]

I didnt bother with the Raptor kits. The 20" lower grill does require a mounting bracket so yes the 20" Raptor kit would be the one to look at. The 44" kit requires some modification (dont know to what extent) but the guys at BD can send you an email with the instuctions. I just went with looking at the light bars. OnX LED Light Bars . Im making my own mounting plates for the 40" behind the grill. Pretty much just flat stock with a few holes for mounting and some paint.

 

[amphibian]

The 44" OnX that we carry is the PRO series

The 44" kit requires some modification (dont know to what extent) but the guys at BD can send you an email with the instuctions. I just went with looking at the light bars. OnX LED Light Bars . Im making my own mounting plates for the 40" behind the grill. Pretty much just flat stock with a few holes for mounting and some paint.

Sounds like you could save yourself some time and just get the already made kit...

 

[Nick@Apollo-Optics]

If I had just wanted max lumens for offroad, I def would have gone with the D2's (and I do get more than enough with them all on).

Mine are Dually Spots that are used as driving lights. They are aimed down just enough so they are not in oncoming driver's eyes. Together they are plenty bright enough that I have never had LE give me any grief about driving with them instead of having my headlights on (nor has LE pulled me over for having the Whelen Spots on as well).

Why driving lights in this configuration? I spend way too much time onroad and enjoy turning heads. After dusk I sometimes like to extend the fun times of driving around with Dawson's trick LED's glowing, but I don't want the wrong kind of attention while doing it.

http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f81/post-your-lighting-build-pics-let-your-lights-shine-24840/

I can't believe you're able to drive with the Duallys and Whelens on and not get flashed at and attract LEO attention.

And quit posting pictures of those headlights...they are exactly what I want mine to look like and yet after looking at the cost with Dawson, to get them where I wanted was a little out of my current budget.

Sounds like you could save yourself some time and just get the already made kit...

Especially considering the mounts are $10.

 

[AlternativeOffroad]

You don't need to modify anything to mount the 44" behind the grill, if you're talking about the OnX

 

[Towerhog]

You don't need to modify anything to mount the 44" behind the grill, if you're talking about the OnX

I spoke with BD themselves and they said there is a modification with the 44. They didnt specify what to modify. But I do know you have to replace the existing screw and plastic nut with something more substantial.

---------- Post added at 02:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:49 PM ----------

Sounds like you could save yourself some time and just get the already made kit...

Time is all Ive got. I can spend $15 on parts and 1/2 hour labor to make the mount instead of $75 for their mount. Its a no brainer.

 

[AlternativeOffroad]

I spoke with BD themselves and they said there is a modification with the 44. They didnt specify what to modify. But I do know you have to replace the existing screw and plastic nut with something more substantial.

---------- Post added at 02:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:49 PM ----------




Time is all Ive got. I can spend $15 on parts and 1/2 hour labor to make the mount instead of $75 for their mount. Its a no brainer.

Oh yeah, the plastic nut is replaced with something better, but there is no cutting or extra drilling involved. Sorry, I thought that's what you were referring to

 

[MotuMute]

I can't believe you're able to drive with the Duallys and Whelens on and not get flashed at and attract LEO attention.

And quit posting pictures of those headlights...they are exactly what I want mine to look like and yet after looking at the cost with Dawson, to get them where I wanted was a little out of my current budget.

Haha I know they're a bit pricey, but the peeps love to break their necks looking at them go by. Truly have not had one cop give me grief b/c they aren't in driver's eyes.

My real point is to maximize the stock bumper configuration with a front license plate, and am rationalizing my choice of Dually Spots. However, if I did not have Dawson's heads, I would likely have gone with D2 Spot/Floods for more light output offroad.

I have now come to realize that even offroad - with this particular combo, Dually Spots work just fine in conjunction with the 40" E series + Whelens = a very even and well distributed short, mid, and long range pattern.

The key here? The highly configurable Whelens! (which are often overlooked as in the original comparison). They are BRIGHT! And they do a great job of overlapping and filling in the gaps of the the other lights.

 

[amphibian]

I took a few minutes tonight to update the spreadsheet with Hood mount kits, lower grille kits, and 30" upper grille kits.

Anybody know if Rigid or Baja designs makes brackets for the 30" top of the upper grille? I was surprised I couldn't find any.

Let me know if there's any errors or anything I missed.

Definitely glad I did this, interesting to see how the different places you can put lights also seem to have different average $/lumen. Can really help you get bang for your buck if you're on a budget.

Here's some interesting configurations (based on the data collected so far)

"Maxed out OEM Bumper" *based on lumen ratings
99,844 Lumens, $5435

• Baja Designs Squadron Fogs
• VisionX Xmitter Extreme 40" behind upper grille
• M&R Hood Mounts V2
• VisionX Xmitter Extreme 21" in lower grille
• Texas Motorworx Blackhawk 30" in (top) upper grille

"I just dropped $50k on a truck and you want me to spend HOW much on lights?" (Cheapest)
42,750 Lumens, $2500

• M&R Fogs
• M&R 40" behind upper grille
• Vision X Light canon Hood mounts
• M&R 24" bar
• M&R 30" behind top upper grille

"Bang for the buck" (best $/lumen of everything)
81948 Lumens, $3980

• Baja Design Squadron Fogs
• Texas Motorworx Blackhawk 40" in upper grille
• M&R Hood mounts V2
• Vision X Xmitter Extreme 21" in lower grille
• Texas Motorworx Blackhawk 30" in upper grille (top)

"I like it bright, but I have a tendency to break shit" (maximum lumens with lifetime warranty)
87,144 Lumens, $5635

• Baja Designs Squadron Fogs
• Vision X XMitter Extreme 40"
• Vision X Light Canon
• Vision X XMitter Extreme 21"
• KC 30" LZR (not really lifetime, but 23 years is pretty good...)

On average, you're paying about $0.06 per Lumen. The absolute best $/lumen is the M&R Hood mounts V2 (16200 Lumens, $500, $0.03 per lumen)

The big stand-out products strictly in terms of numbers are the Baja Designs Squadron Fogs, The VisionX Xmitter Extremes (all of them basically), and the M&R hood mounts.

I wish there was some sort of efficiency rating on the optics for all of these. Just comparing Lumen ratings more than likely does NOT paint the real picture, but it's all I have to go on.

On my TODO List: I want to add in every bar/light I can find, and just add a column for "includes bracket". Stay tuned.