help/suggestions with fog lights

[Chrome_Pony]

I unfortunately didn't really like the look of the factory safari bar as it covered the Bronco logo so I went with this one not really thinking ahead because initially I only had intentions of adding fog lights but after seeing Broncos with the backlit bumper bars I really liked the look. I saw this modular light bar bracket from where I got the bumper bar from. The light bar seems to work with both the bumper bar I have as the same bumper is shown in 2 pictures as well as with individual lights. From my bumper to the bottom of the bar I have roughly 7-1/4". The bar probably sits 1" above the bumper leaving about 6-1/4" clear. Do you think individual lights from Diode, Baja, etc would work? If so what kind? As I said I am really looking for something that is backlit and functional as a combo light but for me its honestly more about the look of having backlit fogs and bumper lights as I'm driving down the road.

Any of the pods from Diode Dynamics will fit, their SS5s would fill the ~6.25" gap the best. SS3s would look more or less like the Cactus bronco you posted. SS5s are one row of LEDs bigger, and would fill the space better, see below for size.

Baja Designs has the Squadron XL/XL80 pods, but are not backlit. For backlit, you'd need the LP4s or LP6s which would look pretty badass in there, with the old school round profile, but side and front throw LEDs and backlit.

Squadron XL/XL80

KC Hilites Slimlite LED is a 6" LED that would look pretty awesome in there as a pair. Not backlit, though.

@IXxMcCoyxXl has a set of these on his. Looks great.

Rigid has the Radiant square pods that would fit that are backlit, and would look mostly identical to the Cactus bronco above. Or the Rigid (NOT the Ford Performance Rigids) Radiant rounds below:

There's a ton of choices, narrowing it down by budget, features and shape is probably a good idea.

I would suggest a pair of SS3 Pro SAE Fog amber backlit, alongside a pair of C1 Pro Spot amber backlit for the modular bumper, and a pair of SS5s for the prerunner for a good balance of backlighting and output.

Or if you're okay with just the modular bumper fog area being backlit, swapping the SS5s for a pair of the KC Slimlite LEDs for the old school round KC look.

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[JdH23OBX]

Any of the pods from Diode Dynamics will fit, their SS5s would fill the ~6.25" gap the best. SS3s would look more or less like the Cactus bronco you posted. SS5s are one row of LEDs bigger, and would fill the space better, see below for size.

Baja Designs has the Squadron XL/XL80 pods, but are not backlit. For backlit, you'd need the LP4s or LP6s which would look pretty badass in there, with the old school round profile, but side and front throw LEDs and backlit.

Squadron XL/XL80

KC Hilites Slimlite LED is a 6" LED that would look pretty awesome in there as a pair. Not backlit, though.

@IXxMcCoyxXl has a set of these on his. Looks great.

Rigid has the Radiant square pods that would fit that are backlit, and would look mostly identical to the Cactus bronco above. Or the Rigid (NOT the Ford Performance Rigids) Radiant rounds below:

There's a ton of choices, narrowing it down by budget, features and shape is probably a good idea.

I would suggest a pair of SS3 Pro SAE Fog amber backlit, alongside a pair of C1 Pro Spot amber backlit for the modular bumper, and a pair of SS5s for the prerunner for a good balance of backlighting and output.

Or if you're okay with just the modular bumper fog area being backlit, swapping the SS5s for a pair of the KC Slimlite LEDs for the old school round KC look.

Thank you for the input. A lot of good information. I like the idea of a pair of SS5s for the prerunner...think that solves the issue with a bumper bar light not fitting. On the other hand I do like your suggestion of the old school round but I would want it backlit. The ones Rigid makes are nice but they seem like they are on the larger side. Would they fit in the 6.25" space? For the modular bumper my thoughts were to have 3 lights to fill in the entire area. A pair SS3 Max Yellow SAE fog for the first light, either SS3 Pro White SAE fog or SSC2 Pro White SAE fog for the second light and SSC2 Pro White combo for the third light. Any suggestions on pillar lights if I do decide to get them? Manufacturer? Square? Round? Size?

 

[Chrome_Pony]

The Rigid 360s rounds are available in 4" or 6" backlit, it'd come down to a matter of taste for whether the 4" or the 6" fill the prerunner bar space better (or maybe budget, but you don't seem particularly concerned, so leaving that aside).

4"

6"

As for the modular bumper fog space, 3 lights is best to fill it.

SS3 Pro SAE Fog White lens, SS2 Pro Amber lens wide, and an SS2 Pro Spot in either white or amber would be my recommendation. There are also slip on lenses you can add (and you should, the recessed lens and raised bezel makes it hard to clean) and change the color if you wanted to get all white with amber backlighting.

The SS2 Sport output is somewhat of a letdown. You could get away with an SS3 SAE Fog Sport, but the SS2 Sport needs more output, in my opinion.

For Diode Dynamics lights, the lens doesn't matter, they are interchangeable within model series if you want to switch later, it's the output you need to make your decision on. I had to swap my SS3 Pro SAE driving lens in my flushmounts because it hot-spotted too much and washed out my camera.

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

Thank you for the input. A lot of good information. I like the idea of a pair of SS5s for the prerunner...think that solves the issue with a bumper bar light not fitting. On the other hand I do like your suggestion of the old school round but I would want it backlit. The ones Rigid makes are nice but they seem like they are on the larger side. Would they fit in the 6.25" space? For the modular bumper my thoughts were to have 3 lights to fill in the entire area. A pair SS3 Max Yellow SAE fog for the first light, either SS3 Pro White SAE fog or SSC2 Pro White SAE fog for the second light and SSC2 Pro White combo for the third light. Any suggestions on pillar lights if I do decide to get them? Manufacturer? Square? Round? Size?

I'd say if you are getting Diode Dynamics fogs go with the Diode Dynamics SS5. They have an RGB Backlight and we also provide a FREE harness with our pillar kits

Fog Kit: https://www.4x4truckleds.com/diode-...ckets-for-2021-ford-bronco-hd-modular-bumper/

SS5 A-Pillar Kit: https://www.4x4truckleds.com/diode-dynamics-stage-series-ss5-ditch-light-kit-for-2021-ford-bronco/

I say buy the pillar kits because you get our harness free. If you wanted 4 lights, get 2 kits. You save some cash that way. They don't HAVE to be installed on the a-pillars.

 

[TheeBullhead]

Can't go wrong there. And it's 15% off right now!

Thanks! I got them installed today and so far, so good!

One question…what is the proper way to bundle and secure the extra wire from the harness. Right now I have them folded over with multiple zip ties and then zip tied to the top of the crash bar. It seems to work, but I’d like to know what the pros do.

I’d appreciate any pics anyone would like to share. Thanks!

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

Thanks! I got them installed today and so far, so good!

One question…what is the proper way to bundle and secure the extra wire from the harness. Right now I have them folded over with multiple zip ties and then zip tied to the top of the crash bar. It seems to work, but I’d like to know what the pros do.

I’d appreciate any pics anyone would like to share. Thanks!

Whatever works best for you. There's no right or wrong way. Just whatever way you find the best.

What we do at the shop is from the passenger side we pull all the extra slack over to the driver side. And then we pull the harness straight up near the headlight to the upfitters. We pull all the slack we can and throw a zip tie on the driver side nad passenger side to keep wires from falling. Then at the top of the engine bay, we throw anothe zip tie to keep the slack from falling back. Then we tend to fold up the extra wires after we connect the upfitter and we put them on the side of the battery in that cavity. Out of the way and easy to get to if we need to extend the wires for some reason.

 

[TheeBullhead]

Whatever works best for you. There's no right or wrong way. Just whatever way you find the best.

What we do at the shop is from the passenger side we pull all the extra slack over to the driver side. And then we pull the harness straight up near the headlight to the upfitters. We pull all the slack we can and throw a zip tie on the driver side nad passenger side to keep wires from falling. Then at the top of the engine bay, we throw anothe zip tie to keep the slack from falling back. Then we tend to fold up the extra wires after we connect the upfitter and we put them on the side of the battery in that cavity. Out of the way and easy to get to if we need to extend the wires for some reason.

Thank you! That’s super helpful. I might try that to clean things up tomorrow.

 

[Brian_B]

These guys answered one of my questions on Christmas day - I had sent it out not thinking much about it after dinner certainly wasn't expecting a reply for a day or two. But there it was. I pulled the trigger - looking forward to it.

Before

After

 

[JdH23OBX]

Before

After

Is that Ford Hood protector Aeroskin II trail armor by Lund?
The lighted Bronco letters look nice. Did you install them yourself? Is it an easy install? Watched a YouTube video…..Seems like a pain to install.

 

[Brian_B]

Is that Ford Hood protector Aeroskin II trail armor by Lund?
The lighted Bronco letters look nice. Did you install them yourself? Is it an easy install? Watched a YouTube video…..Seems like a pain to install.

It is the Ford Aeroskin iI and those are the Oracle letters.

The letters weren’t that bad at all, just a lot of wiring work since they just come with short leads and no harness. If I would have used crimp connectors it would have been quick and relatively painless but I was stubborn and decided to solder my own harness up. But the grill was ridiculously easy to get off and the letters easy to install.

Putting them on a Bronco Sport - now that was a challenge.

 

[JdH23OBX]

It is the Ford Aeroskin iI and those are the Oracle letters.

The letters weren’t that bad at all, just a lot of wiring work since they just come with short leads and no harness. If I would have used crimp connectors it would have been quick and relatively painless but I was stubborn and decided to solder my own harness up. But the grill was ridiculously easy to get off and the letters easy to install.

Putting them on a Bronco Sport - now that was a challenge.

How is the aeroskin holding up? I see you live in CA. I’m wondering because I live in NY and with the weather we get here I’m not sure how long the double faced tape would hold up.

For the Oracle lights did you have to drill out and remove each letter in order to install the new backlit letters? I was looking for install instructions on Oracles site but I couldn’t find any. Does Oracle provide installation instructions with the letters?

 

[Brian_B]

How is the aeroskin holding up? I see you live in CA. I’m wondering because I live in NY and with the weather we get here I’m not sure how long the double faced tape would hold up.

For the Oracle lights did you have to drill out and remove each letter in order to install the new backlit letters? I was looking for install instructions on Oracles site but I couldn’t find any. Does Oracle provide installation instructions with the letters?

I've only had the Aeroskin on for a couple of months, but so far so good. I have had the same thing on the wife's Bronco Sport for a couple of years now - no issues at all, even with car washes and such. So I think as long as you follow the installation instructions and make sure everything is clean and use the adhesion promoter - should be good with the 3M VHB tape - it's good stuff. If you were really worried about it, you could throw in some RTV next to the tape - that's how the door molding and other pieces mount.

I watched some Youtube videos on the Oracle letters - I tried to salvage the letters by being really careful around that plastic rivet they use, but ended up just using the stepper bit and drilling them out anyway. If you are careful and use the right bit, it doesn't destroy the letters. The Oracle letters use the same 3M VHB tape as the Aeroskin does to go back on.

I don't recall exactly which video I had watched, but here's a good thread on the installation and it has a video link in it as well. The hardest part is just the wiring (and even that is straight forward, just tedious), getting the grill off and the old letters out and new letters on was all pretty easy.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...install-for-beginners-diy-how-to-video.43653/

 

[JdH23OBX]

I've only had the Aeroskin on for a couple of months, but so far so good. I have had the same thing on the wife's Bronco Sport for a couple of years now - no issues at all, even with car washes and such. So I think as long as you follow the installation instructions and make sure everything is clean and use the adhesion promoter - should be good with the 3M VHB tape - it's good stuff. If you were really worried about it, you could throw in some RTV next to the tape - that's how the door molding and other pieces mount.

I watched some Youtube videos on the Oracle letters - I tried to salvage the letters by being really careful around that plastic rivet they use, but ended up just using the stepper bit and drilling them out anyway. If you are careful and use the right bit, it doesn't destroy the letters. The Oracle letters use the same 3M VHB tape as the Aeroskin does to go back on.

I don't recall exactly which video I had watched, but here's a good thread on the installation and it has a video link in it as well. The hardest part is just the wiring (and even that is straight forward, just tedious), getting the grill off and the old letters out and new letters on was all pretty easy.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...install-for-beginners-diy-how-to-video.43653/

Where did you purchase the Aeroskin from? Does the adhesion promoter and everything else needed to install come with the Aeroskin or did you need to buy anything extra? Just curious as I may consider buying this now.

 

[Brian_B]

Where did you purchase the Aeroskin from? Does the adhesion promoter and everything else needed to install come with the Aeroskin or did you need to buy anything extra? Just curious as I may consider buying this now.

I got mine at the dealer since I was getting other parts at the same time, but it's available online as well.

https://accessories.ford.com/bronco-2021-aeroskin-ii-black-textured-trail-armor-hood-deflector

It does come with a little packet of the promotor which is only good for this one install - like a alcohol swab thing. You do not need to buy anything extra, other than making sure your paint is clean and dry.

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