The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

If you want to have them on normally as you drive, the sport has less scatter to oncoming traffic.

 

They’re on a 2-3 week backorder.

 

I was wondering the exact same thing...here's what I gathered from @crashnburn80 and @Too Stroked and a bit of research in other threads:

1. The Pros run hotter, which make them better for snow/ice by preventing buildup on the lens.
2. While the Sports have a sharper cutoff, they also have a shorter beam pattern, so not as much illumination.
3. Also, the softer cutoff on the Pros blends a little nicer with the headlights.
4. Even though the Pros put out a little glare, it's not bad enough to be blinding or affect vision in snow/fog.

So all in all, the Pros seemed like they'd be more useful as fog lights when fog lights are needed. I'll be able to confirm all this when mine arrive!

 

Thanks for the response, seems like what I have came up with as well. Seems like the Pros are the way to go unless you want to save $. So mad I missed out on that 15% off sale! Will probably wait till they have another since this "technically" isn't a must-have on my list.

 

Pretty much hit it right on the head. The only thing I'd add is that if you like to run with your fogs on all the time, the Sports are probably a better choice.

 

At this point I'm amazed that BD is still selling these lights for over $300 a set. They must be depending solely on their hype to carry them through and offset their R&D and tooling costs. If I were them, I'd liquidate all of the inventory at cost and start developing a real competitive entry from scratch. These will just give the company a bad name for anyone who buys them as their first pair of Baja Designs lights.

 

Not going to lie, been researching like crazy for a couple of weeks, was almost set on BAJA DESIGNS until I came across a YouTube video on the Diode Dynamics SS3 PRO’s and was sold! Now for the waiting game lol!

 

You can see in the Diode Dynamics SS3 post in this thread the video is accurate, the Pros are light years ahead. Especially after the performance robbing SAE optic fix.

 

Measured the SS3 Pros with a new FLIR camera. Measurements after ~20 min runtime in 63 degrees F ambient.

Back


Front 6000k Pro w/clear spot optic


You can see the bodies are quite toasty. The yellow optics would run hotter on the lens than the clear tested here. The thermal spot on the wall in the upper right was when the spot beam was pointed while the lamp heated up.

 

Is that in the Sun or in the Shade?

 

63 ambient? As measured by the smart garage door’s digital thermometer, in the garage.

 

Have you done the same with the sports for comparison?

 

I plan on it! I may get them posted tonight.

 

Cool! Just for anyone concerned - like all our products, the SS3 is age-tested in 85C ambient temperatures (185F). It has a circuit built in to reduce power draw if it overheats as well. The high heat is intentional, and fully within the operating specs. Thanks!

 

I view high heat as a plus in the fog application and didn’t intend for the post to be alarming in any way. There were 2 traits that prevented me from switching to LED fogs for the longest time. High color temp and lack of heat. Without heat the fogs freeze over in snowy conditions, which is my primary use case, making the product worthless to me. The SS3 Pros run hot, which I like for this application and makes me confident they will perform in the snow when needed. A few have now started to offer selective yellow, which is better for poor weather conditions than high color temps. The SS3 Pros combination of hottest fog, selective yellow color and best in class output by far make the Pros an easy choice for my needs.

 

I’m actually considering two sets, one for my Tacoma and one for my Dad’s 2-door JK. The “fog lights” that come on it are pathetic.

 

If it has the LED package, you can see the wrangler fogs in post #730 here.

 

nope, just the base halogen.

 

The SS3 Pros will be a huge upgrade, and the only LED fogs I’d consider running up in Alaska.

 

These were run for over an hour and tested at 61 degrees ambient.

SS3 Sports, 6000k spot optic




Comparing the Sports to the SS3 Pros, the Pro body is about 67 degrees hotter and the Pro optic is almost 30 degrees warmer than the Sport in 6000k spot.