DIY: Baja Designs Squadron-R Sport, 14+ Mount Kit & Bezel

My budget only allowed for the Squadron Sports, haha. Realistically for what I do and how often I drive my truck the Sport's are way more than what I need and expected. I can't imagine how the Pro's are!
Thanks!

Thanks! Excellent point with the lenses, I bought both Amber and Clear, that way if I change my mind I have them on hand. Not sure if you installed them yet but let me know how you like them. Also I'm sure some of the guys on here would appreciate some night output pictures with the Clear lenses. I hope to post some with the Amber lenses this weekend.

 

my lights come next week, hope to get them installed next weekend. i'll post before and after night pics.

 

Hey Moto it's all good! I understand busy.
I wasn't aware that you had to remove the entire setup just to change the lenses. So yeah don't do that.

I'll have to review your link later, just got slammed at work.

 

https://youtu.be/G5NtPJ4Ozek

Just a little sample of squadron pros with amber conering lens, I should have taken a wide view of but y'all get the idea.

 

haha do you get pulled over? The pro's were on my list but I think I may go for the sport

 

Love your truck, your attention to detail, and your write ups. Kind of been thinking about going back to an OEM bumper lately and if I do I very well may copy you here. Great write up as always!

 

Thanks man! I wish my truck was half as BA as yours!

Any issues with the Go Rhino or just looking for a different look?

 

They look good!

 

No issues at all, just considering something a little less uh..underbitey.

 

@WatTundra @WarEagleSteve
I updated the original post with some night comparison shots. Here are some more...

These two are at a dead end, showing the cutoff/brightness from my Morimoto D2S projectors compared to the Baja Designs Squadron Sport's....



These are along a dark road:

 

I had them for 7 months, I use them regularly and I have only been flashed 3 times, I do have them slightly pointed down and I never been pulled over for them, I have gotten plenty of compliments like........"man those are bright ass fck" lol

 

You are going to cause me to spend ALL the money! I don't need to see this thread until later this year HAHA. Amazing comparison with a huge difference.

 

Love the mounts on the BD's, I have the Rigids on both the trucks (4Runner and Tundra) and I love them but the mounts suck. The mount for the Tundra isn't sturdy enough, you see the light bouncing when you hit bumps in the road. I'm going to take them off and weld in a gusset to see if that helps.

One thing to remember is the Rigids are DOT legal as the BD's are not.

 

Rigids are ONLY DOT legal is you buy their SAE compliant version. They tint the lens and diffuse the light so much to make it compliant.

 

Yes that's what you get with the fog light kit the DOT legal duallys unless you switch them out.

 

The BD mount is great, I agree. I don't have any experience with the Rigid mounts to compare, but I have zero complaints with the BD mount.

The SAE Rigid lights initially got my attention, I wish BD had a DOT compliant lens, but I'm still happy with my decision. I don't use them with oncoming traffic as a precaution. Can't wait to use them in thick fog/snow!

 

They are a fantastic upgrade from stock either way you go, I travel on back roads going to work and they are great at spotting deer and getting through fog.

 

So I ordered my Squadron Sports with clear driving/combo lens from Baja Designs. I got the driver's side installed yesterday. What a huge difference! Insanely bright. Here is the difference between stock (and pics really don't do it justice):


I ran into an issue with the passenger side install. One of the brackets was bent too much, so the bolt did not have enough clearance to thread into the housing. I called Baja and they are over nighting a modified bracket (and another star washer since I was sent only 3). Why modified and not new? While looking into the issue for me, they learned their manufacturer bent all passenger side brackets too much. Instead of remaking the brackets, they are drilling out the brackets with larger diameter holes. Seems like a sufficient solution to me, as the excess bend in the brackets doesn't affect installation other than preventing the bolt was passing through.

So expect this issue if you haven't installed yours yet, or if they're already in transit:


Once I get the modified bracket, I'll install passenger side with some installation tips I have, then post night pics.

 

Well the one looks great. Thanks for posting your install in here. My batch must have been alright, I didn't notice any issues. Very odd because I have horrible luck with things haha.

Well it sounds like they are taking care of ya, good stuff!

 

Probably going to have to add these when I upgrade to the 18 headlights. nice!

 

Thanks for the write up. But damn these look too bright to run on the streets! A lot of light goes up unto people's eyes.

 

Sure thing! As a precaution I'm not running them with oncoming traffic. For me they are more for thick fog, maybe heavy snow, and the occasional back road.

 

I installed the Squadron Sports with the clear driving combo lenses a couple of weeks ago. They are really well made, and the light output is incredible. I have the stock headlights on my 2017 and when I turn on these fogs the light on the road looks more like my other car that has HIDs. I need to take them back out and angle them down some, the pattern is too high to use with other cars around. But on back roads or anywhere I would use high beams, these are so much better than the stock headlights.

 

Installation tip: you do not need to remove any screws or bolts from wheel well. This is how I did my install:
1) Remove the OEM fog light housing by gently inserting screwdriver between black housing and bumper, then pry housing down. Should pop out easily.
2) Undo clips on fog light housing. On one side of the housing, there are two clip/inserts. Release them.
3) Remove screw. There is one screw on the opposite side of the fog light housing from the clips you just released. Removing this screw is a little tricky, but I did it with a large phillips head screw driver, working slowly at an angle careful not to strip the screw. Once you remove the screw, then you can remove the front of the fog light housing and set it aside.
4) With only the back 1/2 of the housing, you can now insert the fog light into the bumper, which gives you easy access to the electrical connection.
6) Unclip electrical, remove rest of fog light.

 

Thanks @MotoTundra , just ordered the same setup as you, but I got clear combo for my second pair. How are the lights so far? Able to run them on the streets?

 

Careful doing this. You can break the clip in the rear. The proper way to remove these is to un-clip everything from behind.

 

I'll chime in...in my opinion they're too much for street use. I even had my neighbor pull in front of me in his accord, and he said it was overpowering his auto-dim rearview mirror.

no fogs:


with fogs (squadron sport clear combo lens):

 

That’s what I figured. Thanks for your input. Main reason I got it for is off-road since I don’t have any light bars.

 

@MotoTundra do you think yours are too bright for street use?

 

So far so good. No complaints!

I haven't been using them on the street. Fortunately my retros are pretty bright. These are more for inclement weather or maybe the occasional desolate backroad. I do plan to use them in thick fog and heavy snow, using discretion with oncoming depending on how thick the fog/heavy the show. However that opportunity hasn't presented itself yet!

They are bright! If you want to run yours fogs all the time I think the Morimoto XB would be much more polite to oncoming.