Baja Designs Lights - Information
Visit
KLM's Baja Designs Store for our full line of Baja
Designs Lights.
 A
Lumen is the total output of light by a source. This is different from
candlepower, which only measures the light brightness from a single point within
a beam of light. Candlepower ratings can be deceptive and/or misleading since
the user is rarely told at what point the measurement is made. For instance, a
tightly focused beam of light may rate a high candlepower but if that light only
falls on a few square inches yards away, the light is generally less than
useful. An extreme example of such would be the candlepower measurement of a
laser pointer. While the candlepower would be extremely great, the light would
be near useless for illumination. A 35 Watt HID bulb is rated at 3800 Lumens.
Color Temperature is a measurement in Degrees Kelvin that indicates the hue
of a specific type of light source. Many people have the misconception that
color temperature is a rating of the brightness of the bulb or HID kit. This
belief is completely false. The reality is that the higher the color
temperature, the less useable the light output.
A perfect example would be a black light. This light has a color temperature
of approx 12,000k and has almost no useable light or lumens output. Higher K HID
kits such as 7000k, 7500k, etc. have been manufactured for that distinctive
blue/purple look as opposed to actual useable light that they produce.
The
standard HID color temperature is about 4300 K, which is approximately the same
color temperature as sunlight. This is the most efficient color for the human
eye. Halogen bulbs have a color temperature of around 3200K, which makes them
appear more yellow in color.
All 35 watt HID lamps of the same color temperature are going to have the
same lighting output – 3800 Lumens. This is why the design of the lens and its
optics are the most important factor in an off-road light. If the light does not
illuminate what you need to see, then it is not doing the job you need it to do.
Lighting Patterns and Optics
Most lights on the market were designed for on-road vehicles where lighting
challenges are much simpler. Because an off-road car typically has considerably
more suspension travel and body pitch, and also faces a greater variety of
terrain (hills, ditches, holes, dunes, rocks, etc); lights that work well on a
street vehicle are not necessarily optimal on an off-road vehicle. The best
off-road lighting system consists of multiple lights of different beam patterns.
Wide, smooth patterns that cover the terrain near to the vehicle, and more
narrowly focused lights for high-speed/distance.
There are several different shapes and sizes of lights - round, square,
rectangle, elliptical, etc. The most commonly used shape in off-roading is a
round light in various sizes from 2” to 9”. As a basic rule, the larger the
reflector the more light distribution you will get. However, because there are
so many different applications, there is a need for the smaller lights as well.
The elliptical and rectangle shaped lights are primarily used where space is
limited or a certain “style” is desired.
There are three basic “patterns” of lights commonly used - “Flood” (Fog),
“Driving” (Euro), and “Pencil” (Spot). A “pattern” describes the type of light
distribution. In describing these different patterns we will refer to two key
terms - “sharp cut-off” and “hot spot”. A “Sharp cut-off” is where the light
distribution drops off dramatically creating a horizontal or vertical line into
darkness. With the pitch and roll of the vehicle the sharp cut-off affects your
ability to see where you need to see. A “Hot spot” is when there is an intense
concentration of light in a small area. Hot spots can be very distracting while
driving off road; your eyes tend to focus on just that spot bouncing out in
front of you.
A Flood light should be mounted as low as possible on the vehicle. These
lights are typically designed for use in heavy fog or dust. They have a very
sharp cut-off at the top of the pattern but have wide peripheral distribution.
In this case a sharp cut-off is designed into the pattern in order not to have
the light reflect off the fog or dust back into your eyes but rather cut below
the fog or dust. These lights should not be considered as a main light source
for off-roading. If space and power permits they would be useful for the
conditions described above.
Driving lights are used for 75% of the driving conditions off road. This is
your main source of light; therefore the light distribution is critical. The
ideal Driving light would not have any sharp cut-offs or intense hot spots. You
want to have smooth transitions from light to dark along with putting light
where you need it. These lights give you good peripheral vision along with
decent distance.
Pencil lights are designed to illuminate the trail way up in front of you. In
order to achieve this, the light distribution is concentrated in a small area.
The ideal Pencil light would offer great distance illumination without that
intense hot spot. Whenever possible, this light should be mounted high on the
car. We recommend that you turn off the Pencil lights when driving in tight,
technical terrain so the light doesn’t distract you.
With all of this said, it should be clear that there is a lot more to a light
than how bright it is or how cool it looks.
Purchase Baja Design Lights
Wire
Your Light Bar!
To further simplify your
Modular Light Bar installation, we offer a universal
wiring harness kit and two power "splitter" kits. The
wiring harness is designed specifically for routing
power to the top of your vehicle. The Splitter Kits plug
directly into the wiring harness allowing you to switch
any number of lights in any configuration you choose
(switches not provided.) Each light comes with 10" of
wire cable from the back. See the example below.
 Wiring
Harness Kit
• 8’ extension with 2 power and 2
ground leads using sealed weather-pack connectors
• 1 end left un-terminated for
routing through tubing
• Wire terminals and tube
grommets provided
• 14 gauge wire to handle high
current loads
• Detailed installation
instructions included
2 & 3 Way Splitter Kits
• Splits one
harness power lead into two or three
• Plugs directly
into Wiring Harness Kit (above) using sealed
weather-pack connectors
• Offset
connector lengths
• 14 gauge wire
to handle high current loads
If you build a 5
light bar as shown above and would like to switch the
two "A" lights separately from the three "B" lights. You
will need:
1 Wiring Harness
Kit - Runs power to the
light bar.
1 2-Way Splitter
Kit - Joins one of the
two connectors from the Wiring Harness Kit to the "A"
lights.
1 3-Way Splitter
Kit - Joins the
remaining connector from the Wiring Harness Kit to the
"B" lights.
SAMPLE LIGHT BARS
Shown below are
three sample light bars along with the kits that go into
building them. The lights must be purchased separately.
There are many lens, bulb, and color options available.
Give us a call to order or visit our online store to buy
lights and accessoreis.
 Parts
List
Parts List
•
2 Fuego Ring Kits
•
3 Spacer Kits
•
1 Mount Kit (Clamp-on
Shown)
 Parts
List
•
1 Mount Kit (Clamp-on
Shown)
MORE LIGHT BAR IDEAS
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