bumper lights vs ditch lights

is there a best setup?

I have an ARB bumper. Stock you can put their lights which I believe are a basic fog, turn signal, DRL.

however, companies make brackets to fit Baja Designs or Diode Dynamics
That I believe fits SSC2, and a fog. So maybe a good fog, and I don’t see what purpose there would be having an SSC2 in any pattern down there.

versus in the ditch position.
I think SSC2 in the ditch position would work well pointed forward in SAE driving configuration. Maybe not the half and half split version they offer.

is there any method to the madness? There are so many different light options, in so many different positions
Not to mention roof rack lightbar if you have one, which I hear is good but can glare off the hood.

what I know so far for a fact is:
-DD fogs are superior
-stock lights do not illuminate ditches next to you, or pulling over to help a car
-stock high beams do not shine out the brightest or farthest

what setup do you run and why?

is there such thing as too many? I have not seen any zombies at the grocery store parking lot yet

 

Do you ever use the search function?

 

yes

 

I run DD ss3 max Fogs, DD ss3 pro ditch lights, and I have a 30 inch rigid combo bar in my bumper. I use all of them more than I think. I'd only ever buy yellow or amber Fogs, the ditch lights in yellow have proven to be extremely useful in white out conditions (I'm up in the mountains 2-3 times a week during the winter) and the 30 inch bar does the job when I need more light while out in the sticks during the night.

If I didn't do any of that, upgraded head lights and a good fog light would be all I needed

 

I personally hate Ditch and bumper lights because they make the hood bright and reflective. Bumper is the best
Old setup

new

 

Is that just a lightbar in pic2 w/ empty fog holes?
Why’d you switch away from the ARB?

I am eyeing a Sherpa rack which would allow for lightbar cutout but like you said, hood glare
and the last rack I had/sold (Hooke Road) would buffet and made a ton of wind noise on the highway even with fairing adjusted and rubber strip…

 

Yeah just a light bar until I buy some cube lights to fill the fog holes.
I sold the arb to get something less bulky with better clearance

got an allpro which was okay but it sucked taking on and off for maintenance due to the annoying 2 piece design. And didn’t fit that great or look that good.
Sold the allpro for a used pelfreybilt which fixed everything bad about the allpro.

I will say there is nothing wrong with ARB. I just wanted more clearance and maybe something prettier. Arb is definitely the best option for light trails/every day driving

 

Diode Dynamics Stage Series C1s, model DD6850P, in an SAE lens pattern on my 2.5gen Tacoma w/ ARB "Deluxe Bar" (model 3423140) bumper. I cut out holes in the bumper with a mini wheel-grinder (Milwaukee 2522-20) and then sized the hole to final dimensions using a 1/4" collet straight die grinder with carbide grinding bit. Mounting is straightforward so long as you cut the main hole & drill the 2 small bolt holes accurately. After solvent wiping, I rattle-canned the cut edges & bolt holes with 2 coats of matte black to give some rust protection.

If you make this mod, pay close attention to where you cut the hole to avoid putting it where the reinforcing steel behind the bumper interferes with installation of the light body. The tolerances are probably about 1/2" to 3/4" in all directions. There is a very large open/available area farther down the bumper, towards the tapering point at the wheel well, but I didn't want to have the light body that close to the tire spewing lots of water/mud/pebbles at it.

The SAE light pattern is OK but probably not ideal for side-firing direction as it is too concentrated. DD's have awesome replaceable / interchangeable lenses, so I'm going to buy a set of Wide lenses and put them in. Once I do that I'll post night time shots of the lights in action.

I mainly wanted these for side coverage when driving in the country where it is sometimes pitch black. Without side light coverage, at low speeds on very sharp turns it often feels like I'm turning into a black hole.

These DD Stage C1's have a nifty amber back-light feature. Once I get them wired up I'll have the amber backlight wired to the headlight circuit. The side-of-bumper location is ideal for an amber marker light.

The main white beam on the Stage C1's will be wired to the headlight hi-beams, and I'll also install the Fog Lights Anytime mod. That way I can use the high-beam stalk to quickly & easily go from full illumination to normal low beams for the occasional car I might encounter on country roads.

 

that is a tricky one
to figure out which side-firing light pattern to pick

yellow probably > white

idk if there's enough room in there to put a mount for swivel adjustability
kinda like how the ARB bumper fog replacement brackets to run pods (Paranoid Fabrications) still allow for aiming
best light is no good without aim

I see 1" C1 flushmount only comes in Flood or SAE Fog
their pic makes it look like SAE fog is better to choose



unless luck turns out good and ARB happened to design the flat sides just right, so a flushmount (without adjustment) and dispersed light pattern works fine
definitely cheaper and simpler install that way

 

You know I have both... but both are aimed slightly different and serve different reasons for me. But I'd stick them in the bumper they also make really good screw you lights.

as you can see there is some reflection off of the hood area but it's not bad. the bumper lights are nice for trail drives.

also sorry for the crap pic only one I have of all the lights on the truck on. and visible.

heck i should go take a new pic because those aren't even the same lights that are on the bumper now.

 

is it just me or do you have Paranoid Fabrications mount to put LED pods (small and big) into the fog pocket triangles

also, if your goal is to have a screw you light
have I got the product to show you (which has more functions than just that)
it can be aimed individually

I need to find out which ones of these are good. If they're worth it. If they can lock forward as driving light.
If they're worth buying cheap used or wear out and flop around

Holy Jesus

man said, "Yes"

I wish there was an all tube bumper, not hybrid, but with full hoops
but that is definitely appeal of hybrid with more room for those
vs ARB

does it ever get to a point where it feels like too much?
I had that happen before in a garage. Put more lights to work on the car.
T8 fixtures, commercial, $7ea, place switched to LED for efficiency
put so many of them, beyond the spacing guidelines
that it was so bright in the garage I had to put on sunglasses. Then took some down to stop that.

 

yes, they are the paranoid fab brackets, have them for the "turn signal" pocket and have them to mount the DD lights in the Foglight holes after replacing the Fog light bulbs in my ARB lenses again despite ARB telling me they can't be replaced but they will sell me a complete ARB foglight kit to replace the dead bulbs.

 

- In my opinion the SAE Fog pattern definitely isn't right for the oblique/side mounting location on the ARB. The horizontal spread is good but the vertical dispersion is designed (properly) for forward fog throw. Very narrow band with a sharp upper cut-off. The result is that when driving on average 2 lane roads, the side lighting is both gappy (lacking coverage close to the vehicle) AND distractingly bright.

- I contacted DD & confirmed that yes, the "Wide" pattern lens (which can be purchased separately & easily DIY swapped-out for $15 per unit) will work in the Stage C1's (model DD6850P). IMO "Wide" will be ideal as it eliminate the overbright hot band of the SAE Fog pattern.

- I'm hopeful that with a more dispersed "Wide" pattern, there won't be any need for angle adjustments on the C1s. If up/down angle adjust is needed to optimize the throw & coverage I would then just fashion some kind of wedge-shaped rubber shim blocks, if need be also wallowing out the bolt mounting holes a little to allow them to angle downwards a few degrees.

 

yeah I have those
probably will run em (ARB)
I wonder how long yours lasted.
Yes they're sealed beam non replaceable. Once it gets to that point I'll look at brackets and LED.

I'd guess adding LED to turn signal makes it no longer a turn signal and now a 2" pod in beam of your choice, pointed sightly outwards.
Or, they probably do make LED turn signals that fit in that

 

Here is a daylight pic of mine

 

They aren't sealed, you can open them up.standard fog bulb. Just need to cut in spade terminals and then a small slit in a rubber grommet or slide it over the spade terminals