Name-brand Auxiliary Lights vs. Cheap Substitutes

Alright, I couldn't find anything from searching through the forum so I thought I would ask for some input on the matter of name-brand lights vs knockoffs/cheapos. I have been using some Amazon Nilight Light pods for around the past year as auxiliary lights. They have worked great when I needed them and haven't had any issues with fogging up or moisture getting inside until just recently.

I had an aftermarket bumper installed with 4 light pod locations which I filled up with Nilight light pods - 1 set of regular white, and 1 set of yellowish/amber. I also have a set of ditch lights from Nilight too. Additionally, I also have a set of some super serious cheap lights from a know-nothing company called BigLion that is on the back of my truck as reverse lights. So all-in-all I have 8 "extra" lights on my truck. Out of those 8, one of my reverse lights is just starting to fog up, and one of my front bumper lights too. Strangely enough, none of the other lights are even showing signs of wear apart from these two. Because of this, I would love to know if anyone has ever had cheap lights like Nilight or some other brand, then switched over to something pricier like Rigids or even Baja Designs, then noticed any drastic differences.

I like to call myself frugal rather than cheap, but choosing $32 lights over $200 lights seems like it makes a lot more sense when I am only going to be using them about 15% of the time I am driving. Anywho, give me some knowledge and you could be rewarded with a liked post

 

Following, I also been thinking about this instead of spending 2k on lights. I could use the extra $$$ for performance in suspension and HP

 

I'm in the same boat, I historically would spend out for high end lights, Cibie, Hella, etc. But the current crop of LED's are just too rich for my blood and I'd be terrified of them getting stolen.

I do have a set of BD Squadron's in my winch bumper, they're great lights. When I went for a longer range "high" spot light, I settled on AuxBeam's. I haven't had them long enough to vouch for them, but I'm very happy with the output of the 7" lights I have mounted now.

 

Would you mind sharing a picture of your setup?

 

Nothing wrong with more affordable lighting, especially where a rock chip might take out your light. I have used several sets and just replaced whatever leaked, still came out much $$$ ahead over the years. Usually the second one holds up and I end up with a replacement for rock damage. Ymmv!

 

Which lights do you have on your truck right now?

 

@TundraPHX @TRDFerguson - can attest to going from cheapies to quality auxiliary...maybe they'll chime in here. Me, I've elected to go with Baja Designs for all of my aux lighting w/ the exception of rock lamps, those I went with KC Cyclones V2.

But, IMHO - skip the cheap stuff and stick with the known vendors (Baja Designs, Diode Dynamics, Rigid Industries, KC to name a few) Also I was highly impressed with the TOMAR kit on @KevinK 's truck.

Summoning @memario1214 of Hotshot Offroad who can certainly help you navigate what you're trying to accomplish...

Cheers

-JS

 

I feel attacked.

 

As mentioned, stick with the reputable stuff...Rigid, Baja, etc. Some of the cheaper lights have horrible or misaligned optics. If they are used as fog lights, they have to be street legal, and I don't think any of the cheap ones are.

 

If you do go with the more reputable brands which one do you prefer rigid or Baja. When I was in highschool everyone loved rigid industries. But now I’m getting back in the truck seen especially prerunner everyone goes for Baja

 

I too was in the same boat. Started with the cheepies because with 4 kids I couldn't justify the cost of the name brand stuff. Over time I seen their advantage. In the last 6 months I have upgraded though from the no name entry level stuff to the mid tier brands and I couldn't have been happier. The two brands that I have found that I have found to be a great compromise between performance and price have been Lazfit and Auxbeam. I have Auxbeam Amber pods in my factory fog spots and am super happy with them. Then I have Lazfit pods for my ditch lights. Was so impressed with them I went with a 41" Lazfit white bar in my hood bulge and a 32" Amber in my lower bumper. Light output is awesome and didnt break the bank.

 

What grill is that in your truck?

 

There is a build quality difference, and an output/pattern difference. That can't be disputed. Is it worth the cost, that's a personal choice. I have a pair of auxbeams under my Silverado that I resealed before I installed them, and they have held up great over the 5+ years they've been on the truck.

For the Tundra, I'm stepping up to Baja Designs for auxiliary backup lights, and Diode Dynamics up front. I splurged on the 42" DD combo bar, and it throws an amazing amount of light.

 

It's a Limited grill that I Line Xed. Couldn't stand the chrome SR5 grill she came with

 

Early on I cheaped out on lighting (light bars, pods) but usually within a year's time the lenses either fogged or condensated. Nothing looks worse than having condensation in your lights. I now have a combination of Baja and Plash (Texas owned and operated) lighting but have managed to keep 2 Rough Country flush-mounted pods in my rear bumper (no condensation yet) and a couple of Infinite Offroad pods in my front bumper (lifetime warranty).

The cheaper pods and light bars give off bright light and that will do the trick for a short time but they just don't last long. The more expensive lighting gives off bright light and will do it for longer - not to mention companies like Baja deliver specific light patterns you won't find in most cheap light selections.

 

Lots of secondary lights on the truck, but don't have a bunch of photos right now. Front and rear fogs, bumper mount secondary brake turn tail, bumper mounted 4 corner marker lights, running board lights, puddle lights, bumper mount ditch lights, overhead secondary front and rear marker and turn, secondary overhead brake, secondary bumper mount front turn and fog. Cab lights and bulge bar still waiting for me to find the time. Trust me, I have lights and use them regularly without problems. I'm not going to spend time searching each unit right now. Sorry!
Edit: forgot overhead front and rear work lights, switchback Lasfit amber/clear fog/driving, bumper mounted Hella driving lights, auxiliary bumper mount reverse/work lights, and bed lights.

 

I have a bunch of Nilight stuff on my trailers for aux lights, cheap stuff that's decently bright for $35, but I'm unsure I'll go cheaper as such with my truck once I get to doing the front lights. Been eyeing the Hella Black Magic ones though.

 

Yep. Just go straight to the (4) LP6 setup or the 40+ inch onx6. Skip the in between spending. You’re gonna want more. Trust me.

 

The lights in question @jojo9878 :





Good feedback so far tundies. I think if another one of my lights fogs out I'll try out auxbeam. I also have been wanting to get a roofrack and hopefully a lightbar so we will see,

 

It all depends on what you want the light to do. I have had a nilight 30" bar in my grille for about 3 years now with zero issues and I have been happy with the output to an extent... my problem with the light was the fact that it doesn't throw light farther than my high beams. For low speeds it puts off a stupid amount of flood light, but, if you are primarily using it on back roads or higher speed scenarios, it doesn't get you much. Recently I put on a full bumper with a full array of new lights in addition to the bar in my grille. The new bar in my bumper is an Ironman4x4 brand (mixed opinions on them around here so take that how you will) but the difference in light output is staggering. I posted a couple pictures here https://www.tundras.com/threads/ultimate-lightbar-pod-thread.88038/page-4#post-3051224. My camera does a decent job showing the difference but it cannot show you the difference in what I can see with my eye, basically once the Ironman bar is flipped on I legitimately cannot tell the difference if I was to turn all the other lights on and off, it washes all the rest out. I also no longer have the ability to "outrun" my light as it easily throws usable light ~3 times farther than my high beams now in a much larger spread as well.

TLDR: A higher quality light bar will do a much better job of throwing light farther, cheap options just can't match the optics of the established "name brands" (Ironman4x4 is also not really on that list but I am happy with mine ).

 

Business up front, party in the rear.

I would recommend anyone with lighting questions ask @memario1214 in pm or on the phone for the straight dope.

 

I'm running BajaDesigns, only negative is cost. Positives are
1. Customer service
2. Build quality
3. I believe what they cal u service, ie broken, or cracked lense, simply replace the lense and gasket. Wish you went with different color lense again just change them out. Want to go from spot to driving combo, change the lense.
Anyway just an old farts opinion.

 

I’m slowly switching all my lights over to BD (except fogs - those are staying DD.. unless a pair of new BD SAEs fall in my lap). I used to get into debacles with @BiggHertz over lighting and power distribution modules but have slowly learned the value of a quality item in this department.

I too like to think of myself as frugal but it probably comes off as cheapness. Still won’t pay over $350 for a pair of lights or light bar. Good thing about BD is that they will service a light (even if you buy second hand) so long as they still manufacture that light. They have a good presence on this forum and seem to do honest work. They’re only a short drive from me, so planning on heading up there one day to drop off my new-to-me XL Pros for an upgrade to XL80s. Maybe I’ll get lucky and pick up a scratch/dent 50” onyx6

 

Personal preference. There are videos showing comparisons and some of them show that the Rigids are brighter.

 

Yep, buy once, cry once, for lighting.

A lot of things can be upgraded in stages effectively because there’s a strong used parts market for things like suspension and bumpers and wheels. But almost nobody is buying used lights.

 

I see this a lot up here in pnw. Rigs with cheaper lights end up having enough water in them you could put a goldfish in.

Diode dynamics are great value and awesome optics. I’m running them for fogs and spots but will be moving over to Baja designs just because my ocd isn’t happy running two brands.

Buy once dry once for sure as mentioned above. Decide how much light do you actually need. Will you be doing a lot of night runs etc? I have enough for the daily use but night runs at speed is another story.

 

I see what you did there

 

Lol thank you

 

Also,
Lights work well to light up kids soccer field when the league and the parks don’t align on scheduling facilities….