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Old 02-10-2020, 02:21 PM   #1
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Question Anyone running the Baja Designs Amber S2 driving / combo ?

Hi all

Anyone running the Baja Designs Amber S2 driving / combo ?

A cool guy I know who is really into it has organized a number of scientific tests between all different manufacturers of lights, and he said that using an actual light meter, measured distances, charts, etc… that generally dollar for dollar the Baja Designs stuff generally wins, by a mile, comparing similar lights.

For me he recommended the Baja Designs Amber S2 driving / combo - for a lower priced but good quality combination (Spot for ditch plus wide) light.

He said the amber was very pleasing to the eye, and I could angle them out a bit to light up the ditches with the spot beam, plus the wide would be good general illumination.

here is one online retailer of it:

$197 shipped here, for a pair.

https://www.morris4x4center.com/baja...lens-pair.html

thanks,


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Old 02-10-2020, 03:31 PM   #2
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I've been wanting a set of these lights by Baja Designs. Similar to lights you posted but a lot more lumens for less than $20 more.

https://www.amazon.com/Baja-Designs-...1441430&sr=8-4
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Old 02-10-2020, 04:01 PM   #3
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I have used a lot of the lights by BD and they are way better than others available. I have the S2 pros with spot lenses on my Vantage Optics A-Pillar mounts and they are awesome. I also have the yellow covers for daytime use and the black covers for street use. I'd go so far to say that any BD purchase is a one and done smart lighting investment.

Scott Thompson
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Old 02-10-2020, 07:03 PM   #4
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I worked with both Scott/Vantage and Bailey at Baja Designs on my lighting design. After the Vantage Optics HID retrofit I mounted Baja Designs XL 80 driving combo on the bumper. For fogs I'm using XL-R Sports with a wide cornering amber lens in the bumper holes. The aluminess bumper has an angled bend on each side at 15 degress so I installed flush mount S2 Pro's with a wide cornering lens. These are aimed out towards the shoulder for turning (ie., looking for campsites or roads at night) and when paired with the XL80’s I can see wildlife and other objects clearly out the driver or passenger side window. The HID high beam is more than adequate as a long range spot.


Anyway, that didn't really answer your question about the S2 as a driving combo. I like the S2s but they don't really put out enough light IMO as a driving combo. The XL80s put out twice the lumens.
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Old 02-10-2020, 08:43 PM   #5
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Thanks for the replies. Cool.

:-)

Now I am looking at the S2 Pro. Double the light as S2 but not quite double the $

Will also look at the XL80s

Thanks!
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Old 02-20-2020, 10:49 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeH View Post
I worked with both Scott/Vantage and Bailey at Baja Designs on my lighting design.
Nice! I’m sorting out how to improve the lighting situation on mine, and I’m headed down a similar path.

XL-R fogs seems like the right call, but I was trying to figure out if maybe I could cram an LP4 in the bumper, but keep it far enough forward to use the peripheral lighting. Adding S2’s on the side of the bumper instead is a great idea. I’ll probably steal that.

A couple of questions:
  1. Did you get 35 or 55 watt projectors? I’m optimizing for road use, and 55w seems unnecessary.
  2. Are you happy with the XL-R Sport fog lights? If you did it again, would you do those, or go up to the XL-R Pros with a dimmer?
  3. Are the XL80s plus HID projectors overkill? That’s 10x the light output of the standard halogens.
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Old 02-21-2020, 07:47 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by bobthecow View Post
Nice! I’m sorting out how to improve the lighting situation on mine, and I’m headed down a similar path.

XL-R fogs seems like the right call, but I was trying to figure out if maybe I could cram an LP4 in the bumper, but keep it far enough forward to use the peripheral lighting. Adding S2’s on the side of the bumper instead is a great idea. I’ll probably steal that.

A couple of questions:
  1. Did you get 35 or 55 watt projectors? I’m optimizing for road use, and 55w seems unnecessary.
  2. Are you happy with the XL-R Sport fog lights? If you did it again, would you do those, or go up to the XL-R Pros with a dimmer?
  3. Are the XL80s plus HID projectors overkill? That’s 10x the light output of the standard halogens.
I went with the 7.0 Morimoto projectors Mini H1 v7 with Morimoto XB35 AMP ballasts (35W). The XL-R Sports as fogs are more than adequate. And for my application they are either on or off so not that keen on a dimmer. When using the lights offroad, I do not turn off the HID lights. Only reason is if someone comes around a blind turn I can quickly turn the 80’s off and the headlights will be on. So not sure I call it overkill but the 80s definitely wash out the HIDs in the near zone. It's the high beam that's nice if your going over 40 or 50mph. Otherwise, not needed just like most long-distance spot light bar spots on our rigs. We're not racing the Baja 100. The fogs are not DOT approved but the Sport in Wide Cornering is street friendly and I've never had anyone flash their brights at me.


All my lights are on separate switches run through an Spod. Hope that helps.
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Old 02-21-2020, 09:05 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobthecow View Post
Nice! I’m sorting out how to improve the lighting situation on mine, and I’m headed down a similar path.

XL-R fogs seems like the right call, but I was trying to figure out if maybe I could cram an LP4 in the bumper, but keep it far enough forward to use the peripheral lighting. Adding S2’s on the side of the bumper instead is a great idea. I’ll probably steal that.

A couple of questions:
  1. Did you get 35 or 55 watt projectors? I’m optimizing for road use, and 55w seems unnecessary.
  2. Are you happy with the XL-R Sport fog lights? If you did it again, would you do those, or go up to the XL-R Pros with a dimmer?
  3. Are the XL80s plus HID projectors overkill? That’s 10x the light output of the standard halogens.
A couple of things to consider when choosing the build list for your headlights (from me or others)....35 watts is plenty of power for a proper HID projector retrofit assy. My current base offerings are a 45w Hylux ballast which is a great middle ground between power and bulb life. On that topic...as you increase ballast power, you decrease bulb life. Expect a 20% change in output and life between a 35w and 55w setup. That being said all HID bulbs will degrade over time as a byproduct of the design with the xenon gas capsule. OEM D2S bulbs do last longer, but cost many many times more (not really worth the upgrade in my honest opinion, and I do have the OEM bulbs in my personal van).

Baja Designs does now offer an SAE approved street legal auxiliary light now that may be a good option for some people looking for true letter of the law components.
https://www.bajadesigns.com/products/Squadron-SAE.asp

Another option in the market that is becoming a popular choice are the Diode Dynamics SS3 series LED pods. These are also USA made very high quality lights that pack a serious punch in a small package along with SAE compliance in certain configurations.
https://www.diodedynamics.com/off-ro.../led-pods.html

Note- I do have strong affiliations with both BD and DD but none of this is aimed at people spending money with me, rather information on the topic of lighting capitalizing on my exposure to the products (learn from my mistakes!).

Scott Thompson
Vantage Optics
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Old 02-22-2020, 06:56 AM   #9
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That's super helpful. Thank you JoeH and REDOVAL!
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