Blinded by Auxiliary/Fog Light Prices

[GUJeeper]

Have LED auxiliary/fog lights always been so expensive? Has anyone found cost effective lights that aren't junk? I'd love to hear your opinions about brands/models you have experience with. Thanks!

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[Levi.Butler]

Expensive is such a relative word.

Your picture plus your location leads to me believe you're DoD in some way. Expensive for an E1 and expensive for an O6 are COMPLETELY different things... although the E1 is probably going to be the one spending more money on stupid shit! HAHA!

All that just to ask, what do you mean by 'expensive'? We've got to know what price range you are considering in order to help make suggestions.

 

[kevman65]

Lots of recent events have made things more expensive. LEDs are mounted to a basic computer chip. Computer chips are getting scarce at all levels. Supply and demand kick in.
Plus more people have been modding vehicles during the "pandemic" for something to do.
Again supply and demand.

The better, more well known names have been expensive for awhile. Old halogen KC's weren't cheap for what they were.


If you're looking at larger (9" or 6") try stepping down to a 4" or 3" and the price will drop.
Won't have the same cool factor, but about same light output from same company.

 

[BAT]

Just put in some DD SS3 Yellow Fog Pods on my JT. Now for what I paid for the truck I don't think I should have had to replace my fog lights but the Halogen lights that Jeep put in the Sport S was absolute useless junk. After pulling them I would think they might have cost them $1 to manufacture those things (LOL). The DD SS3 Pods were not cheap they were about $200 but the light they put out is incredible compared to what I had before. I only went with the basic sport model pod. There is also two other levels beyond that which put out even more light. But as mentioned above by others cost are only going to continue going up for some time.

 

[GUJeeper]

Retired E8. Expensive certainly is relative! I have bounced around the ridiculous idea of BD LP6s, or 4 XLs or Squadrons, but The KC slimlites are priced much more aggressively. I'd like to do a row of smaller, say 4 inch lights, perhaps 3 or 4. $500 seems to be the best I'm going to do for this number of lights using KCs or 4inch Rigids. I guess I'm sticker shocked because in the past I used simple KC daylighters in halogen.

 

[GUJeeper]

Are DDs quality in your opinion?

 

[Free2roam]

Just put in some DD SS3 Yellow Fog Pods on my JT. Now for what I paid for the truck I don't think I should have had to replace my fog lights but the Halogen lights that Jeep put in the Sport S was absolute useless junk. After pulling them I would think they might have cost them $1 to manufacture those things (LOL). The DD SS3 Pods were not cheap they were about $200 but the light they put out is incredible compared to what I had before. I only went with the basic sport model pod. There is also two other levels beyond that which put out even more light. But as mentioned above by others cost are only going to continue going up for some time.

Any issues on any reprogramming? Yellow or clear?

 

[kevman65]

KC, DD, Baja Design

Remember to factor in the harness cost too, unless you are an electrician and have the stuff laying around.

 

[BAT]

Any issues on any reprogramming? Yellow or clear?

The DD pods are extremely well built and heavy duty. Their customer service is very responsive. I you are using them to replace your JT fog lights just make sure you get the right bracket. Changed my bumper to RR Arcus and the kit recommended did not work. Expressed me the bracket needed and installation was a breeze after that. Due to the nature of the bumper and the way the lights sit in it I don't get the full benefit of the pods but what I have now is 100X better than what I had before for fog lights. If replacing factory fog lights these were completely plug and play.

 

[MHulsey91]

Retired E8. Expensive certainly is relative! I have bounced around the ridiculous idea of BD LP6s, or 4 XLs or Squadrons, but The KC slimlites are priced much more aggressively. I'd like to do a row of smaller, say 4 inch lights, perhaps 3 or 4. $500 seems to be the best I'm going to do for this number of lights using KCs or 4inch Rigids. I guess I'm sticker shocked because in the past I used simple KC daylighters in halogen.

I have some Slimlites mounted on my front bumper using the quadratech mounts. If you are looking for a fog light then the Slimlites are not the answer. They are great spot/ offroad lights with a long beam throw. I reached out to KC a few weeks ago and they are in the process of designing a Flood beam for the Slimlites line.

I have seen allot of people run the DD for fog lights on here and the general consensus on those is that they are great fog lights. For my fog lights I just picked some up off of Amazon. Looking back I wish I would have spent the extra money and got either the KC fogs or the DD fogs.

I have considered Baja Designs but I already had the KC Slimlites that I took off my JKU. Plus the Baja Designs are higher on the price range.

Prices keep going up on everything it seems like. as stated above the microchip market is stretched thin and that doesn't help anything.

In the end it comes down to what you like and what is in your budget. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Erievon]

Yep, relative is exactly right. I have a set of Baja Squadrons up on the a-pillars and feel they were worth every penny. Could go amazon knock offs for 1/4 the price, but the output might not be nearly as good, and if it fails, well...even if they're cheap they're a a waste of money if they don't work/last as intended.

 

[GUJeeper]

I have some Slimlites mounted on my front bumper using the quadratech mounts. If you are looking for a fog light then the Slimlites are not the answer. They are great spot/ offroad lights with a long beam throw. I reached out to KC a few weeks ago and they are in the process of designing a Flood beam for the Slimlites line.

I have seen allot of people run the DD for fog lights on here and the general consensus on those is that they are great fog lights. For my fog lights I just picked some up off of Amazon. Looking back I wish I would have spent the extra money and got either the KC fogs or the DD fogs.

I have considered Baja Designs but I already had the KC Slimlites that I took off my JKU. Plus the Baja Designs are higher on the price range.

Prices keep going up on everything it seems like. as stated above the microchip market is stretched thin and that doesn't help anything.

In the end it comes down to what you like and what is in your budget. Just my 2 cents.

Great looking truck!

 

[Rubi_Rhod]

I also went KC here. The SlimLites and their gravity fogs are a solid “value” for the cost.
I too was balking at the price, but looking at a reputable maker, I found Hella made some LEDs from their “ValueFit” line. And we’re about 1/4 the cost of the SlimLites. However, the light output was 1/4 as well. So i went for the KCs as I saw I was getting my money worth.
Their fogs are also unbelievably good and a perfect pattern and I use them all the time.
I have also had Baja Designs and they are very high quality and exceptionally bright. However they are a bit more spendy per lumen than the KCs so I said I’d give KC a chance and go with their lineup.
I bought this Jeep to hopefully be with me for years to come, and I am anything but nice in wear and tear so I want to be one and done. Buy once, cry once. No sense spending this kinda money on a truck, and have a bunch of cheap lights and accessories that fail, break or crap out and leave me having to repair and mend and lose time out from the rest that I want to do.

 

[GUJeeper]

I also went KC here. The SlimLites and their gravity fogs are a solid “value” for the cost.
I too was balking at the price, but looking at a reputable maker, I found Hella made some LEDs from their “ValueFit” line. And we’re about 1/4 the cost of the SlimLites. However, the light output was 1/4 as well. So i went for the KCs as I saw I was getting my money worth.
Their fogs are also unbelievably good and a perfect pattern and I use them all the time.
I have also had Baja Designs and they are very high quality and exceptionally bright. However they are a bit more spendy per lumen than the KCs so I said I’d give KC a chance and go with their lineup.
I bought this Jeep to hopefully be with me for years to come, and I am anything but nice in wear and tear so I want to be one and done. Buy once, cry once. No sense spending this kinda money on a truck, and have a bunch of cheap lights and accessories that fail, break or crap out and leave me having to repair and mend and lose time out from the rest that I want to do.

Solid advice. Thanks. Your truck look great with those lights!

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