The best off-road ditch light kit?

[TRD PANTHER]

Will probably use Ronin brackets and DD SSC1s or BD S1s on my 4Runner for the lower profile look

I was thinking about the same setup, but mounting them under the side view mirrors. Has anyone did this? Pros and cons?

 

[TRD PANTHER]

I was thinking about the same setup, but mounting them under the side view mirrors. Has anyone did this? Pros and cons?

From Ronin’s website:
2010 - Current Toyota 4Runner Ditch Light Brackets (5th Generation) – Ronin Metalworks LLC

-Provides the full functionality of a true ditch light and eliminates the wind noise and hood glare, opposed to a traditional hood mounted bracket.

-Will still allow the mirror to be folded in, on tight trails and will still stay within the confines of the folded mirror.

 

[FiveO4Runner]

From Ronin’s website:
2010 - Current Toyota 4Runner Ditch Light Brackets (5th Generation) – Ronin Metalworks LLC

-Provides the full functionality of a true ditch light and eliminates the wind noise and hood glare, opposed to a traditional hood mounted bracket.

-Will still allow the mirror to be folded in, on tight trails and will still stay within the confines of the folded mirror.

I like this location,


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[spartacus]

Interested in why that is?


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There has been a huge marketing push for brighter lights for everything because of the false narrative that brighter is better and safer.
High country roads with blind curves or long sweeping curves blinding on coming traffic.
Two cars parked on the road with the car in the back shining ditch lights for the ding bat changing a tire in the vehicle upfront, without realizing that the blinding light is putting the life of his buddy in danger.

 

[Humble Leader]

There has been a huge marketing push for brighter lights for everything because of the false narrative that brighter is better and safer.
High country roads with blind curves or long sweeping curves blinding on coming traffic.
Two cars parked on the road with the car in the back shining ditch lights for the ding bat changing a tire in the vehicle upfront, without realizing that the blinding light is putting the life of his buddy in danger.

people need to understand how dangerous it is to be using offroad lights on a road where others could be traveling... I have ditch lights and I have amber covers over white s2 pros. they are so effing bright, even with the amber covers. I can't even look at them head on with sunglasses and they are pointed slightly down. pure white with no cover are unbearable to look at head on and can easily disorient someone... I ended up purchasing the black covers... I might swap to amber lens and throw them on to be 100% sure I can not accidentally turn those lights on when I don't want them on. they are exceptional when used properly and safely, which are very limited use cases on public roads

the WORST are folks who use their lightbars on highways

 

[FiveO4Runner]

people need to understand how dangerous it is to be using offroad lights on a road where others could be traveling... I have ditch lights and I have amber covers over white s2 pros. they are so effing bright, even with the amber covers. I can't even look at them head on with sunglasses and they are pointed slightly down. pure white with no cover are unbearable to look at head on and can easily disorient someone... I ended up purchasing the black covers... I might swap to amber lens and throw them on to be 100% sure I can not accidentally turn those lights on when I don't want them on. they are exceptional when used properly and safely, which are very limited use cases on public roads

the WORST are folks who use their lightbars on highways

I couldn’t agree more, in no way should light bars, ditch lights, or any of the sort be used on an on road setting. The only time I use them on road is of course when no one is around on dark country roads that have zero street lights. I obviously immediately switch them off when seeing the first signs of another vehicle as to not blind them.

I can see how brighter May not always be better in certain scenarios, but it sure helps see those road hazards, animals, etc., in other scenarios.

I like having the extra lighting there when I need it, but of course there is a time and place for it also. Some people think looking “cool” takes priority over the safety of everyone else on the road.


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[spartacus]

people need to understand how dangerous it is to be using offroad lights on a road where others could be traveling... I have ditch lights and I have amber covers over white s2 pros. they are so effing bright, even with the amber covers. I can't even look at them head on with sunglasses and they are pointed slightly down. pure white with no cover are unbearable to look at head on and can easily disorient someone... I ended up purchasing the black covers... I might swap to amber lens and throw them on to be 100% sure I can not accidentally turn those lights on when I don't want them on. they are exceptional when used properly and safely, which are very limited use cases on public roads

the WORST are folks who use their lightbars on highways

lots of folks drive with their led fog lights on. They are only allowed during inclement weather by DOT. Their fog lights are brighter then their head lights.

 

[FiveO4Runner]

lots of folks drive with their led fog lights on. They are only allowed during inclement weather by DOT. Their fog lights are brighter then their head lights.

Do you have a link to this information?, I searched and didn’t come across anything stating this. Thanks!


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[Ripper238]

Do you have a link to this information?, I searched and didn’t come across anything stating this. Thanks!


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§ 393.24/§ 393.25 DOT Pertains to commercial vehicles.

Which states:
Auxiliary driving lamps and front fog lamps. Commercial motor vehicles may be equipped with auxiliary driving lamps and/or front fog lamps for use in conjunction with, but not in lieu of the required headlamps. Auxiliary driving lamps shall meet SAE Standard J581 Auxiliary Upper Beam Lamps, July 2004, and front fog lamps shall meet SAE Standard J583 Front Fog Lamp, August 2004.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2010-title49-vol5/pdf/CFR-2010-title49-vol5-sec393-23.pdf


Individual state laws can vary. For example CT Statutes 14-96o:

(b) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not more than two fog lamps mounted on the front at a height not less than twelve inches nor more than thirty inches above the level surface upon which the vehicle stands and so aimed that, when the vehicle is not loaded, none of the high intensity portion of the light to the left of the center of the vehicle shall, at a distance of twenty-five feet ahead, project higher than a level of four inches below the level of the center of the lamp from which it comes.

 

[FiveO4Runner]

Threw this together for further comparison between a few brands, mainly entry level, but I also included LASFITs HP because it is priced similar to the entry level price of the others.

Top left: LASFIT Sport
Top right: LASFIT HP
Bottom Left: Baja Designs Squadron Sport
Bottom right: Rigid D-Series

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[Grug556]

There has been a huge marketing push for brighter lights for everything because of the false narrative that brighter is better and safer.
High country roads with blind curves or long sweeping curves blinding on coming traffic.
Two cars parked on the road with the car in the back shining ditch lights for the ding bat changing a tire in the vehicle upfront, without realizing that the blinding light is putting the life of his buddy in danger.

Agreed brigher doesnt always equate to more light hitting the desired beam focus area. Often the cheap shit bright lights (please note I am not listing any brands associated with any of my comments above) have poor diffusion of the light beam pattern with more light scattering.

In order to actually measure the lights one would ideally need to measure specific lumen output at a specified range on target with possibly measurements on Kelvin of bulb type along with possible temperature at operating on the heat sink on the back.

The above would be easy to do. I have the equipment to do this. The stuff I have is lab grade. I have Baja XL80s. If somebody wants to send me a light I can hook it up and compare and present the data above.

Another test would be to confirm the actual IP rating of the housing for water and weatherability long term viability. That is a slightly harder test as accelerated testing with pressure may not equate to results from actual timed exterior exposure with periods of high temps, flash freeze and thaw etc.

These things can get trickier than you think.. theres always more to lights..than just the light!

 

[Xtremluck]

my lasfit driving optics are better than the Baja designs SAE optics. :shrug:

now, my baja designs XL pro's are ridiculously bright and totally wash out the lasfits.

I agree the BD SAE lights were horribly designed and their attempt to fix it by sending owners those "blinders" to control light was a joke. However, we are talking about offroad only lights which imo BD excels at.

 

[Xtremluck]

Paid, yeah definitely not paid. But I have no problem fully disclosing that these were sent to me to try out. If you don’t want to take my review “seriously”, not much I can do about that.

Cmon guy, what was part of that agreement of them sending you out free product?

 

[FiveO4Runner]

Cmon guy, what was part of that agreement of them sending you out free product?

I literally took a shot in the dark, emailed them and asked to test their lights in an exchange for an honest review because I wanted to start reviewing products. Start a YouTube channel etc. No agreement, nothing signed no coercion or asking me to only talk good about them.

I have no problem taking screenshots of the emails and PM’ing them to you, seeing as how you still think there is something in this for me. Let me know, nothing to hide on my end, I understand the skepticism on your end though.


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[Humble Leader]

Cmon guy, what was part of that agreement of them sending you out free product?

at least he got the product for free though! I paid full price for my baja s2 pros ditch lights and squadron R sport fog lights for my 4runner like a chump hahahaha. I feel like when it's your hard earned money out there you are much more critical of the product, as you should be

I'm glad the OP posted his review and disclosed product was given for free. it's good information to have when decided on where to drop your hard earned coin

general contribution to this thread: if you have the budget for it, bajas are exceptional lights. just don't be a dumbass like me and turn them on staring straight at them from 2 feet away to see if they work

 

[honda250xtitan]

easier said then done

 

[FiveO4Runner]

at least he got the product for free though! I paid full price for my baja s2 pros ditch lights and squadron R sport fog lights for my 4runner like a chump hahahaha. I feel like when it's your hard earned money out there you are much more critical of the product, as you should be

I'm glad the OP posted his review and disclosed product was given for free. it's good information to have when decided on where to drop your hard earned coin

general contribution to this thread: if you have the budget for it, bajas are exceptional lights. just don't be a dumbass like me and turn them on staring straight at them from 2 feet away to see if they work

I agree with this but unless your pockets go very deep it can get very expensive to constantly purchase products to review. These bigger companies and channels have endless budgets to get and review products. Like I said, took a shot in the dark and LASFIT trusted me enough to send them out, especially when I initially had zero “followers” to make it beneficial for them.

BD are fantastic lights, and really the only other lighting I have run. I know the quality, longevity, and excellent warranty they provide. All I can do is give my initial impressions of the LASFITs and update this thread if anything changes.

I would never build a platform on lies, that may work for a little while but sooner or later it will crumble.I agree that it would be hard to remain unbiased while also turning a profit as it is beneficial for you now to say good things.


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[Grug556]

at least he got the product for free though! I paid full price for my baja s2 pros ditch lights and squadron R sport fog lights for my 4runner like a chump hahahaha. I feel like when it's your hard earned money out there you are much more critical of the product, as you should be

I'm glad the OP posted his review and disclosed product was given for free. it's good information to have when decided on where to drop your hard earned coin

general contribution to this thread: if you have the budget for it, bajas are exceptional lights. just don't be a dumbass like me and turn them on staring straight at them from 2 feet away to see if they work

Guy I paid full price for Baja XL80s:frusty::yo:.. then imported them into Canada with tax and duty.. so yeah they weren't cheap. Between the XL80s, the Baja light bar and the baja squadron pro fog lights I've got maybe $5K in lights so far.

Not cheap! But often times you get what you pay for. I am happy with my purchases. If some other manufacturer feels they can offer a product for a tenth or less the price of bajas and claim they are as good or better in performance, why not do basic testing. My thoughts are under detailed lab like testing the lights above will not be comparable when spectrally analyzed. But that is yet to be fully determined.:tea:

 

[Humble Leader]

I agree with this but unless your pockets go very deep it can get very expensive to constantly purchase products to review. These bigger companies and channels have endless budgets to get and review products. Like I said, took a shot in the dark and LASFIT trusted me enough to send them out, especially when I initially had zero “followers” to make it beneficial for them.

BD are fantastic lights, and really the only other lighting I have run. I know the quality, longevity, and excellent warranty they provide. All I can do is give my initial impressions of the LASFITs and update this thread if anything changes.

I would never build a platform on lies, that may work for a little while but sooner or later it will crumble.I agree that it would be hard to remain unbiased while also turning a profit as it is beneficial for you now to say good things.


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I think you did the right thing. you're 100% right that it does get expensive to buy and test products, not to mention time consuming if you don't do it for a living. in fact that's why we have these communities such as forums and youtube. if enough people purchase a product and do a write up or video about it there is now a library that can be referenced by people in the future looking to do the same mod. there's nothing wrong with getting a product for free and doing a review on it - free reviews, purchased reviews, youtube instructionals have all helped me significantly and I'm thankful for that.

whether or not the product was obtained for free is an important disclosure. that doesn't take away from your credibility or the quality of the work you've put into the review - but that fact is something people like to know. starting out a youtube channel is time consuming, making a successful youtube channel is even harder. free products are a significant component of starting out and that is 100% OK. many companies won't authorize a review unless they can edit the script first, negative reviews, not allowed, contracts galore. people will be skeptical because of all the BS out there and as they should be, everyone is hustling trying to make it in this ridiculous world. Keep grinding and putting out good content

 

[Humble Leader]

Guy I paid full price for Baja XL80s:frusty::yo:.. then imported them into Canada with tax and duty.. so yeah they weren't cheap. Between the XL80s, the Baja light bar and the baja squadron pro fog lights I've got maybe $5K in lights so far.

Not cheap! But often times you get what you pay for. I am happy with my purchases. If some other manufacturer feels they can offer a product for a tenth or less the price of bajas and claim they are as good or better in performance, why not do basic testing. My thoughts are under detailed lab like testing the lights above will not be comparable when spectrally analyzed. But that is yet to be fully determined.:tea:

the duty up to canada is ridiculous. shipping, FX and then duty really makes things expensive. I always try amazon if I can. overland outfitters and greenlane are my go to's if I'm looking for something that doesn't have to cross borders. I got hammered on a rago tray I bought directly from rago but I had no other choice. the lab testing is important, that's what I look for too. you say your light is waterproof, well let's see about that. but the flip side is well I just paid hundreds for these lights, I'll believe baja that they are waterproof and will survive being buried in snow during the winter.

now if I had a successful youtube channel that could finance these purchases I'd 100% do it. but I don't see many people testing their $500 baja lights lol. many of the videos and reviews are installs and instructionals and some long term use updates. which is fine for most people but if you're up in the slush and snow and road salt, seeing durability testing would be helpful