Amber LED Fog Light Kits vs Bulb Replacement

Crash, thanks fot your info. Im running the optilux one’s now. Im going to try the hella’s or the nokya ....... Thanks alot for your knowledge and testing ...

 

I don’t think it would necessarily be worth switching to most people if you already have them in there, but for your next set I’d get one of the higher quality brands mentioned earlier.

 

This right here. Bulbs are mostly bullshit because the majority are being put into assemblies not designed for the throw/projection of the light. Please read up on the great info provided on this site by crashnburn80. The majority of the blinding headlight and fog lights on the road today are uninformed people running LED bulbs in halogen housings, which are not designed for the different wavelengths of the LEDs, effecting cutoffs and glare. Don't be "that guy."

 

Quick Update Here.

I was originally debating between the following three choices for upgrading my fogs to an amber option

1. Replace OEM bulbs with an Amber bulb
2. Replace OEM bulbs with an LED Amber bulb
3. Replace entire OEM Fog Lamp fixture with aftermarket LED assembly

Actually ended up doing two of these.


I decided against an LED bulb for a few technical reasons, but long story short I don't believe LEDs function well in a H11 bulb format. They don't get enough heat dissipation and they don't project the light in the correct direction for efficient light transfer within the fog lamp fixture.

I bought a set of Hella Xtreme Yellow 2900K H11 Bulbs and I ordered a set of Diode Dynamics Amber SS3 Fogs

I'm happy I bought both because I recently received an email from DD saying they wont be able to ship my SS3s for 4-6 weeks...Darn, but at least I have the Hellas for the mean time.

I installed the new bulbs last night (super easy 5 minute process) and I gotta say I am happy so far with the Hella Bulbs!
The color is great and they don't appear to have an output loss compared to the OEM bulbs... And they were $20




Hella 2900K and the OEM bulb




Hella Ambers in the shop



Outside at night. You can see the contrast in color between the Fogs and the LED DRLs




I know this is not much of a scientific review and its not meant to be. Just an update and my opinion on the options for fogs.

I'll try to get some pictures in the snow comparing with my OEM bulbs soon

And I'll post updates on the SS3 pods

 

Sounds like you like them?

How long have you had em?

 

This is a product that should definitely be avoided. LEDs in halogen reflectors cause glare and loss of focus, the best ones are thin blade designs, as thin as possible with LEDs pointing to the sides to mimic a halogen filament. The worst ones are the designs of those you have bought with large bodies and LEDs pointing in many directions. They completely lose focus losing their projection performance and cause massive glare to blind oncoming drivers, while making them ineffective as a fog.

 

They aren’t bad at all. I stood in front of the truck and the sides, and it’s no more annoying than the stock bulbs. The front of the LED has its own projector lens built in so it throws light forward in a focused pattern. In the pics in the post above you can see there is plenty of focus. I’ve used them in the fog and they work great. If you can back your statement with data I’m happy to learn about it, but so far they are throwing more light forward and better than the stock fogs

 

I think you may be right about those LEDs throwing more light, but i think Crash is right about using those LEDs in the stock housing.

I'm not an expert on lighting, but I do work as an engineer designing products that occasionally have lights. There's been a few occasions where we've designed and manufactured LED lights from the component level up, so I do have good working experience with what makes a good vs bad LED assembly.

If you think about it (see below), the stock H11 bulbs throw light in a 360 circle and even have a cap on the front to reflect extra light back into the housing so it can be projected to the optimal, legal and safe fog light pattern. Engineers spent plenty of time optimizing that fog bulb housing for the H11 bulb.




As for as your the LEDs bulbs go there are a few elements of their design that should would worry anyone who understands lighting.

1. They project light unevenly in 5 directions. It is a 4 sided bulb with LEDs pointing forwards as well. This is all good and fine if you have a housing that is designed to work with that bulbs projection pattern, but we don't. As you can see in their advertisement above the stock bulb shines low with a flat cut off line against the wall. Although they changed the camera angle for the LED so its pointing into the camera to make it look brighter, if you look at the all there is so cutoff, the light shines in a random flood pattern. This is not good for oncoming drivers and its actually not the best for fog conditions either. You can tell by the pictures you posted that your fogs are no longer projecting in a proper SAE/DOT fog pattern.

2. They project light forward. This is not good because you will get a partial flood pattern going forward, this is not ideal for fog lights because it sends light away from where you need it (down towards the ground) and into oncoming drivers eyes. Its far better to have slightly less power, but focused exactly where you need it rather than more power dispersed randomly.

3. There is no heat sink for the LEDs...this is a terrible design as heat is the #1 enemy of LEDs. Its like a car with no radiator or cooling system. If you look at any decent led light bar or bulb it will have a massive heat sink (usually on the back). An LED light assembly is basically a light emitting diode on circuit board with a lens in front and a heat sink in the back. This is because as LEDs run and get hotter, their brightness and efficiency go down. Higher temp heat cycles also decrease lifespan in LEDs

Long story short, despite their advertisement, you're far better off with a standard H11 bulb. Or upgrading to a full SAE/DOT LED Fog light assembly.

In my opinion most of the aftermarket LED replacement bulbs are real garbage quality with some super misleading marketing attached. Most people have the perception of LEDs as being a higher quality product across the board, but consumers need to recognize there's some real garbage product out there being labeled as great. Who the hell makes a LED bulb with no heat sink?

 

I tried these same bulbs in my OEM fog housings earlier in the year and it was a waste. I returned them real quick. The arrangement of multiple leds is a terrible design for focusing light in one direction using the reflector. I found the it was throwing light in every direction except down low into the fog. There was yellow light from these lamps halfway up my condo building , and that was much Much higher that my low beams could reach even coming up the driveway hill.

I just waited until a company made a usable DOT/SAE yellow fog. I ordered a pair of the Diode Dynamic SS3 Pods selective yellows to replace my OEM fogs, which will be awesome. Im just waiting for them to come.

 

I just got these and they are bright. I would recommend for sure.
https://caliraisedled.com/collectio...a-tacoma-tri-color-fog-light-replacement-bulb

 

Not everything needs LED bulbs. As some have found out they don't always defuse light properly or last.

 

https://tacomabeast.com/collections...r-squadron-sport-amber-wc-automotive-lighting

 

I was planning on doing the BD squadrons but got a good deal on some Rigid SAE lights with the mounting kit. I’m happy with them. I hate when people put led bulbs on stock housings. Sure, they put out light but the pattern is wrong and generally they blind oncoming traffic.

 

Baja Designs Squadron Sport gets my vote. Yes they're a bit pricey but you get what you pay for


Headlights only


Fog Pods only

 

I have the pro version, installed about a week ago. Had a heavy fog yesterday morning, and they worked GREAT.
EDIT: And snow expected through the weekend. We have snow waaaaaay more often than fog, and that's the reason I wanted higher power, selective yellow fogs.

 

ok, returned. Looking at the Baja Designs now

 

I wouldn't do that, this is Baja Designs new fog optic below (not joking). You can see a full review in post #970 here. Baja has 1/2 the intensity of the competition with worse cut offs.

Instead check out the products from Rigid, KC and Diode Dynamics covered in the SAE thread.

 

I’m interested in this kit without that silly black cover. If I bought those lights I would pop that black cover out. The below have 5 star reviews across the board

https://www.bajadesigns.com/products/Toyota-Tacoma-Tundra-4Runner-Squadron-Sport-Amber-WC.asp

 

They have 5 stars because they are good lights, for off road use. They are not fog lights at all. They are super blinding to oncoming traffic on the street because the don't have cut offs, which is why for street use you should run SAE fog lights that have cut offs. Other brands that I mention engineer far more efficient cut offs with better optics that actually have much higher output intensity than Baja's SAE lights, which use that black out insert.
See this thread for examples of the pattern differences:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-led-sae-j583-fog-pod-fog-light-review.554813/

 

I’m really not concerned about blinding traffic where I live. My truck is also not my daily driver. I want serious illumination. That’s it

What do you suggest? I’m tired of reading through all these threads. Is Diode dynamics worth a damn?