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Baja Designs lights vs. KC lights. Which set up will be best?

J.Ralston

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Does anyone know the difference between the OnX6 and S8 light bars made by Baja Designs? I’m still deciding on what off road lights I want to go with on my 2021 Rubicon but don’t know how the 2 light bars differ? As of right now, the list below will show all of the options that I am considering doing to my Jeep.

If I go with Baja Designs, I’m looking at adding a
50” OnX6 light bar across the top, with either the
OnX6 50” LED/Laser Hybrid light bar.
OnX 6 50” LED Driving/Combo either arced or straight light bar.
OnX6 50” Racer Edition LED light bar.
Then on the A pillars there will be mounted on each side,
2, XL Laser High Speed spot lights.
And then on the front bumper will be a total of 4 or 6, LP9 lights.
2 or 4 LP9 Racer Addition LED lights. If I’m able to do so, there will be 2 mounted on the bull bar and 2 mounted on the bumper in front of the winch. And then there will be 2 LP9 Pro LED Driving/Combo lights mounted to the bumper.

With the light bar portion though, I don’t know how the S8 light bar compares to the OnX6 light bars above, that I am thinking about choosing?

My other options will be KC lights. With them, I will be going with the,
KC 50” Gravity LED Pro 6 light bar or the
KC 50” Pro 6 Gravity LED -8 Lights - light bar (I don’t know the difference between the 2?)
On the A pillars I will have mounted either,
2, KC 7” Pod HID Spot beam pod lights or
2, KC Gravity LED Pro 6 Spot beam single pod lights.
Then on the front bumper will either be 4 or 6 lights.
Either 2, or 4, KC 7” Pod HID Spot beam pod lights mounted on the bumper in front of the winch and then on top of the bull bar.
And then 2, KC 7” Pod HID Spread beam pod lights mounted on the sides of the front bumper.
Or
Either 2, or 4, KC Gravity LED Pro 6 spot beam single pod lights mounted on the bumper in front of the winch and then on top of the bull bar.
And then 2, KC Gravity LED Pro 6 spread beam single pod lights mounted on the sides of the front bumper.

Later on in Phase 2 of my build, more off road lights will be added to the sides and rear of my Jeep but I’m still designing the specific set up that I want with that portion of the build.

In the past, I used to run 4, Piaa 80 racing series off road lights. 2 were spot beams and 2 were spread beams but now, I want to turn night into day. Which set up in everyone’s opinions would be the best set up to go with?
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Arterius2

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Don’t do light bars man.. looks tacky and pretentious. They don’t really work and give off a whole bunch of glare. High mounted lights reflect off rain, dust and snow and you won’t be able to see shit anyways. I suggest do 2 rounders on the bumper and done.

Nobody ever needs that much light, unless your intention was to blind the other person.

P.S I removed my cowl lights and relocated them to my bumper due to hood glare.
 
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J.Ralston

J.Ralston

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Don’t do light bars man.. looks tacky and pretentious. They don’t really work and give off a whole bunch of glare. High mounted lights reflect off rain, dust and snow and you won’t be able to see shit anyways. I suggest do 2 rounders on the bumper and done.

Nobody ever needs that much light, unless your intention was to blind the other person.

P.S I removed my cowl lights and relocated them to my bumper due to hood glare.
The reason why I am adding so many lights or am wanting too is for a few reasons, in addition to off roading at night. But also for professional video production and need to have multiple options available to me to set up different shots for various conditions, locations and so on. The other reason is that I plan on volunteering my time to aide in search and rescue of missing people and/or search and recovery of missing people. The more lights allows me and others to see someone in any direction and in the event that a lost person who is still alive and is still able to be mobile, if they see the lights on the Jeep, they will know where help is and if able, can travel towards us, in the direction where they see my lights. The last reason is because I plan on also subcontracting out myself, Jeep and video equipment to zoologists and cryptozoologists who want to go out into remote locations and study the wildlife in their natural environment. With the Jeep, should a situation arise where a predatory animal be close by, I want to floodlight the entire area and with as much light in every direction and as far out as the light can go so any predatory animals can be seen but the lights may possibly prevent them from seeing us. So there are several reasons as to why I’m being a little overkill on the lights.
 

Arterius2

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The reason why I am adding so many lights or am wanting too is for a few reasons, in addition to off roading at night. But also for professional video production and need to have multiple options available to me to set up different shots for various conditions, locations and so on. The other reason is that I plan on volunteering my time to aide in search and rescue of missing people and/or search and recovery of missing people. The more lights allows me and others to see someone in any direction and in the event that a lost person who is still alive and is still able to be mobile, if they see the lights on the Jeep, they will know where help is and if able, can travel towards us, in the direction where they see my lights. The last reason is because I plan on also subcontracting out myself, Jeep and video equipment to zoologists and cryptozoologists who want to go out into remote locations and study the wildlife in their natural environment. With the Jeep, should a situation arise where a predatory animal be close by, I want to floodlight the entire area and with as much light in every direction and as far out as the light can go so any predatory animals can be seen but the lights may possibly prevent them from seeing us. So there are several reasons as to why I’m being a little overkill on the lights.
Wow, that's pretty awesome! :like:
Sounds like you can probably write off some of that spending there, in that case I'd go with the Baja Designs..
 

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Hi OP,

The biggest difference between the S8 and OnX6 line is the reflector size. The OnX6, XL, and LP series of lights all feature our proprietary High Speed Spot reflector. The depth and overall size of this reflector make it ideal for longer distance applications. On the other hand, the S8, S2 and Squadron all use a smaller, shallower reflector better suited for near and midfield applications.

The S8 also uses a lower power LED, so the power draw and lumen outputs will be lower. They are still very powerful units, however!

Your setup looks great, and definitely very potent. Either selection of LP will be great on the bumper - providing great distance, as well as nearfield due to the combination of different output LEDS.

As for the roof selection - it is dependent on how far you want to see and the driving style. All of your selections above are very tight spot patterns, with the Laser being the tightest. The tighter pattern will produce very little hood glare compared to one of our wider lens options, and in contrast to most of the cheaper light bars you will see on Amazon and such (they typically use wider, general-use optics which are not suitable for roof mounted light bars).

Let me know if you need additional support in selecting your lighting package. I can set you up with a salesperson that can walk through all the notable details.
 

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J.Ralston

J.Ralston

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Hi OP,

The biggest difference between the S8 and OnX6 line is the reflector size. The OnX6, XL, and LP series of lights all feature our proprietary High Speed Spot reflector. The depth and overall size of this reflector make it ideal for longer distance applications. On the other hand, the S8, S2 and Squadron all use a smaller, shallower reflector better suited for near and midfield applications.

The S8 also uses a lower power LED, so the power draw and lumen outputs will be lower. They are still very powerful units, however!

Your setup looks great, and definitely very potent. Either selection of LP will be great on the bumper - providing great distance, as well as nearfield due to the combination of different output LEDS.

As for the roof selection - it is dependent on how far you want to see and the driving style. All of your selections above are very tight spot patterns, with the Laser being the tightest. The tighter pattern will produce very little hood glare compared to one of our wider lens options, and in contrast to most of the cheaper light bars you will see on Amazon and such (they typically use wider, general-use optics which are not suitable for roof mounted light bars).

Let me know if you need additional support in selecting your lighting package. I can set you up with a salesperson that can walk through all the notable details.
Thank you very much! I spoke with and received an email from JD. He was really helpful and emailed me a quote but I have changed out the A pillar lights since then. Originally they were going to be LP9’s as well.
With the different OnX6 light bars, I realize between the standard and racing edition is more of a lens design where the racing edition gives you a constant and tighter pencil beam across all the reflectors. I then understand that the laser/led hybrid is a mix of laser and led lighting thus the hybrid term. But with the led portion of the lights, are they more the original OnX6 led lights or are they the racing edition led lights?
 

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I just recently installed 4 amber LP4 Pros on the front bumper and 2 pairs of white Squadron Pros on the a-pillars. The build quality and light output is worth every penny.

I'm mostly chiming in to mention that I wanted each pair of lights to be controlled independently. I have the factory aux switches, but was wanting the lights to be easier to use on the fly and needed more switches, so I installed the SwitchPros programmable panel and controller.

Here's a pic that doesn't do the brightness any justice, but also shows the switch panel and the 4 out of 8 switches that I'm using to control all 8 lights. You'll want to look into one of these systems for the kind of setup that you described. SwitchPros also has a newer 12 switch programmable system.
Jeep Wrangler JL Baja Designs lights vs. KC lights. Which set up will be best? 20210131_185424
Jeep Wrangler JL Baja Designs lights vs. KC lights. Which set up will be best? 20210127_195638
Jeep Wrangler JL Baja Designs lights vs. KC lights. Which set up will be best? 20210127_200435
Jeep Wrangler JL Baja Designs lights vs. KC lights. Which set up will be best? 20210218_223121
 

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Does anyone know the difference between the OnX6 and S8 light bars made by Baja Designs? I’m still deciding on what off road lights I want to go with on my 2021 Rubicon but don’t know how the 2 light bars differ? As of right now, the list below will show all of the options that I am considering doing to my Jeep.

If I go with Baja Designs, I’m looking at adding a
50” OnX6 light bar across the top, with either the
OnX6 50” LED/Laser Hybrid light bar.
OnX 6 50” LED Driving/Combo either arced or straight light bar.
OnX6 50” Racer Edition LED light bar.
Then on the A pillars there will be mounted on each side,
2, XL Laser High Speed spot lights.
And then on the front bumper will be a total of 4 or 6, LP9 lights.
2 or 4 LP9 Racer Addition LED lights. If I’m able to do so, there will be 2 mounted on the bull bar and 2 mounted on the bumper in front of the winch. And then there will be 2 LP9 Pro LED Driving/Combo lights mounted to the bumper.

With the light bar portion though, I don’t know how the S8 light bar compares to the OnX6 light bars above, that I am thinking about choosing?

My other options will be KC lights. With them, I will be going with the,
KC 50” Gravity LED Pro 6 light bar or the
KC 50” Pro 6 Gravity LED -8 Lights - light bar (I don’t know the difference between the 2?)
On the A pillars I will have mounted either,
2, KC 7” Pod HID Spot beam pod lights or
2, KC Gravity LED Pro 6 Spot beam single pod lights.
Then on the front bumper will either be 4 or 6 lights.
Either 2, or 4, KC 7” Pod HID Spot beam pod lights mounted on the bumper in front of the winch and then on top of the bull bar.
And then 2, KC 7” Pod HID Spread beam pod lights mounted on the sides of the front bumper.
Or
Either 2, or 4, KC Gravity LED Pro 6 spot beam single pod lights mounted on the bumper in front of the winch and then on top of the bull bar.
And then 2, KC Gravity LED Pro 6 spread beam single pod lights mounted on the sides of the front bumper.

Later on in Phase 2 of my build, more off road lights will be added to the sides and rear of my Jeep but I’m still designing the specific set up that I want with that portion of the build.

In the past, I used to run 4, Piaa 80 racing series off road lights. 2 were spot beams and 2 were spread beams but now, I want to turn night into day. Which set up in everyone’s opinions would be the best set up to go with?
I found a good setup for you on IG today.

It could probably use more side, under, and rear lighting though...

Jeep Wrangler JL Baja Designs lights vs. KC lights. Which set up will be best? 029BBD6A-DD96-4DB2-BBCF-E73105295C7C
 

Arterius2

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I just recently installed 4 amber LP4 Pros on the front bumper and 2 pairs of white Squadron Pros on the a-pillars. The build quality and light output is worth every penny.

I'm mostly chiming in to mention that I wanted each pair of lights to be controlled independently. I have the factory aux switches, but was wanting the lights to be easier to use on the fly and needed more switches, so I installed the SwitchPros programmable panel and controller.

Here's a pic that doesn't do the brightness any justice, but also shows the switch panel and the 4 out of 8 switches that I'm using to control all 8 lights. You'll want to look into one of these systems for the kind of setup that you described. SwitchPros also has a newer 12 switch programmable system.
20210131_185424.jpg
20210127_195638.jpg
20210127_200435.jpg
20210218_223121.jpg
I love that look, do you have a day time shot of your setup?
I’m looking to install a set on Mopar Bumper and just wanna get some ideas on how you are attaching yours. (I’m assuming yours just go into the accessory holes already there.)
 

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I love that look, do you have a day time shot of your setup?
I’m looking to install a set on Mopar Bumper and just wanna get some ideas on how you are attaching yours. (I’m assuming yours just go into the accessory holes already there.)
I originally wanted the outer pair of ambers to be mounted on top of the bull bar, but there's not enough room to fit even the thinnest Anzo bar clamps with the inner ambers riding so close to the bar.

I used one of the factory torx bolt locations for the outer pair. I drilled the bumper for the inner pair, because I wanted the lights to be centered with the opening of the bull bar.

Let me know if you'd like any specific pics.

Jeep Wrangler JL Baja Designs lights vs. KC lights. Which set up will be best? 20210128_132835_resized
Jeep Wrangler JL Baja Designs lights vs. KC lights. Which set up will be best? 1617217735790392056804245550934
Jeep Wrangler JL Baja Designs lights vs. KC lights. Which set up will be best? 1617217799949225903189719490211
Jeep Wrangler JL Baja Designs lights vs. KC lights. Which set up will be best? 16172178511902598362330973019143
Jeep Wrangler JL Baja Designs lights vs. KC lights. Which set up will be best? 16172179163635402242955721663852
 

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Thank you very much! I spoke with and received an email from JD. He was really helpful and emailed me a quote but I have changed out the A pillar lights since then. Originally they were going to be LP9’s as well.
With the different OnX6 light bars, I realize between the standard and racing edition is more of a lens design where the racing edition gives you a constant and tighter pencil beam across all the reflectors. I then understand that the laser/led hybrid is a mix of laser and led lighting thus the hybrid term. But with the led portion of the lights, are they more the original OnX6 led lights or are they the racing edition led lights?
The Hybrid blends 2 high output/intensity LEDs and 2 of the distance oriented, Racer Edition LEDs with 2 laser chips to give a nice blend of three different beam angles and outputs.
 

Arterius2

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I originally wanted the outer pair of ambers to be mounted on top of the bull bar, but there's not enough room to fit even the thinnest Anzo bar clamps with the inner ambers riding so close to the bar.

I used one of the factory torx bolt locations for the outer pair. I drilled the bumper for the inner pair, because I wanted the lights to be centered with the opening of the bull bar.

Let me know if you'd like any specific pics.
Looks great!
Drilling those holes answered my questions, thanks. I was wondering why the inner pairs were a little closer together than the stock locations.

I was a little torn between mounting them upside down on the bull bar or bolt them to the bumper, since I have the warn bar I can probably just use the stock holes.
 

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Looks great!
Drilling those holes answered my questions, thanks. I was wondering why the inner pairs were a little closer together than the stock locations.

I was a little torn between mounting them upside down on the bull bar or bolt them to the bumper, since I have the warn bar I can probably just use the stock holes.
If my bull bar was another inch or so higher, or I chose a smaller diameter lamp like the XL80's, I would've used the Maximus-3 bracket (or the like). It mounts to the Mopar steel bumper at factory locations, but places the lights closer to where I drilled for mine.

In my opinion, it would look cleaner if you mounted them to the bumper. Whether you use existing holes or a bracket like I mentioned above, it'll look better with an uninterrupted bar.
 
 



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