The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

Your average SUV driver around here drives with fogs on all the time, because, y'know, more light. You get dazzled by the fogs on a regular basis if you are in any kind of sedan or sports car. They consider them to be a kind of driving light. I am pretty sure they are not designed as fogs, with a sharp cutoff below eye height. But maybe it is because the bumper height on SUVs is so high to be able to navigate Costco parking lot.

I only run fogs when required, happens maybe twice a year. Driving around with them on all the time is pretty goofy to me. I also don't understand the people who mount non-SAE spec lights that can cook a hot dog, it is very inconsiderate to other road users.

 

@crashnburn80
Your write ups are phenomenal. Thank you.

I personally like the performance of the stock 3rd gen fog lights. An amber colored would be great, but I don’t want to lose the wide throw they produce.

Is there an ideal aftermarket fog, or bulb, you’d suggest? The KC amber G4 seems like the most likely answer. I’m curious to see what Baja Designs upcoming SAE light will be.

Also, for general night time road auxiliary lighting, do you have any brand/model recommendations? And even truck mounting locations you find more beneficial than others? I’m not a big fan of the aesthetics of giant light bars.

I apologize if you’ve covered those questions repeatedly.

 

Ah. So they CAN be switched on/off independently of the headlights, but people CHOOSE to drive around with that second set of lights on. ::eye roll::

 

Guilty. I did the foglight anytime mod just so I could use them as DRL.

 

If our paths should ever cross, I will cut you.

Kidding! (...mostly)

 

DRLs are a great idea, there is no doubt they save lives. Pretty sure you can just ask your dealer to program your truck to act like a Canadian one, he will probably cooperate. People used to do that all the time up here when they were importing vehicles from the States because DRLs are required to pass import inspection.

You should write your Transportation department and demand that DRLs be law. Also get them to do something about the goofy headlight beam requirement that illuminates the birds in the sky, and make it more like the Yurp-spec lights.

 

Do you have a link for the foglight anytime mod? I want it for use when I run high beams. Thanks
(Oh, I have a Gen 3...not sure if that makes a difference)

 

Just google it. It’s very simple, on the second gen at least. Takes 10 minutes

 

I like my DRLs, first vehicle I've had with 'em. I only wish I had something similar in the rear, like a red tube light (hopefully wouldn't be confused with a brake light). I've only been in 3 noteworthy accidents in my life, and in all 3 cases it was because I was struck from the rear (hence the pic in the sig line). Might be nice to get people's attention back there.

 

Quite honestly, most of the OEM auxiliary lights one sees out there are more for decoration than useful lighting. A couple of my Ford F-150's (my 1997 and 2005 for instance) actually had very effective true fog beams. Once the bean counters figured out that "real" lighting cost more money though, both versions were discontinued and replaced with far less effective lighting in two model years.

The sad truth is that the vast majority of drivers have no clue as to what effective lighting really is and/or how to use it correctly. And many believe that "more lighting" is the same thing as "more effective lighting." A few of us know those are two very different things. This explains why so many folks want "fog lights" on their shiny new vehicle.

 

I see a lot of new cars with fogs but all they do is light up the ground 90* below the light. Like a license plate light. Ridiculous.

 

My rigid fogs are great for spotting suicidal wildlife. The wide beam is great for illuminating far into the fescue and other agricultural crops I drive through daily. Does it limit the distance I can see when I can’t use my brights? Eh, maybe. The number of deer you see just out of the beam pattern of headlights is pretty amazing. The fogs have saved my front end many times. I’d prefer to not have another reason to be pulled over when somebody deems it not foggy enough for me to use my fogs.

 

What's a wide narrow beam?

 

Twice a Year? Really? Sure not like that on the Manitoba side.

 

Vertically narrow, horizontally wide.

 

I'm was most vertically wide in my middle school class

 

I see, I thought the ridids were a pretty narrow beam horizontally, at least for a use as a fog?

 

Absolute Functional Beauty!

Thanks @crashnburn80 & to @Taylor@KC HiLiTES for your meticulous detail & follow up. Guys, these are a must have if your Drivin in Winter.

Sure would help out a lotta Folks if there was a Group Buy.

 

Those amber or white? I ordered Monday but still have not gotten shipping notification.....

 

Definitely Amber. White is useless in a WhiteOut.