The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

Well that escalated quickly

 

Oh and the weather is calling for more snowflakes this week.

 

Must be nice to not have to pump your own gas in that weather.



@crashnburn80 dont forget those temperature readings!

 

Some initial thoughts on the SS3s!

This is just a few initial thoughts, full review is to follow soon.

Optic swapping is very straight forward. 4 T10 torx from the rear of the pod and the front of the aluminum housing comes off allowing an easy optics change. Having the screws accessed from the rear provides a very clean look from the front. There is good attention to detail with small insets in the board above and below the emitters and corresponding tabs on the optic that make it not possible to put the optic in incorrectly. Even though it looks like you could, the optic cannot be installed upside-down. It will only fit one way.

Yellow Pro pictured.


Compared to the Rigid 360s (top), the Diode Dynamics Pro fog (bottom) pattern is wider and higher intensity as measured at 18'. Note the 360s use a dual intensity pattern and there is a bit of pattern overlap between the top of the DD fogs and the bottom of the 360s in the picture below.


The Sport pattern is about 1 door panel while the Pro is about 1.75 door panels.


Vs Rigid D-Series top at about 1.5 panels and the 360s bottom at about 2 door panels.


DD Pro 4000k white (yellow pod w/ white lens swap) vs 3000k yellow


DD 4000k white (yellow pod w/ white lens swap) vs 6000k white


Some approximate measurements of yellow fogs using Extech LT45 set to LED yellow:
Rigid 360s: 220 lux (upper beam)
Diode Dynamics Sport: 380 lux
Diode Dynamics Pro: 475 lux

Based on my spectrometer readings the previous best in class Rigid SAE D-series selective yellow came in about 30% higher than the yellow 360s, meaning about 286 lux for comparison with this meter calibration. (I haven't yet removed the D-series from my truck for a direct comparison). Meaning the Diode Dynamics come in higher in intensity at 18' with a wider pattern area.

The Pros cut off is not great, the Sports cut off is better, but neither match the clean cut offs of Rigid's optics. Facing the fogs, the Rigids are not bothersome to oncoming drivers in the slightest, the Sports are not bad, but the Pros are definitely more noticeable than the others, though nothing as bad as the initial Baja fog release. Fogs are a tool that should only be utilized when needed, however many treat them as aux driving lights. If you one that always drives with the fogs on, Sports would be a better choice for other traffic.

The Diode Dynamics yellow SS3s with the white lens swap produces an amazing color white light. This is by far the best white color LED driving/fog I have seen yet. Output measurements are even higher than selective yellow.

The Pros get skin melting hot (a good thing). One of the biggest challenges for LEDs is cold climate performance, all to often they freeze over in the conditions they are most needed in. While the Sports were manageable to the touch, the Pros become so hot becomes difficult to touch the lights. The lens temp does not get quite as hot as the Rigid SAE D-series selective yellows, it is about 15-20 degrees cooler, but the surrounding body becomes far hotter. The hot outer aluminum ring on the face of the Diode Dynamics Pros seems like it would prevent snow accumulation.

Full review to follow soon.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this so quick.

 

Just some crude initial points of comparison and initial thoughts. I'll put together a full proper review that is much more elaborate.

 

It's looking like I need to jump on some pros while the sale is still good. This fog replacement has been a roller coaster

 

Where is the link to the “sale”

 

https://www.**********.com/products...012-2019-toyota-tacoma?variant=31162803388527

Code: DD20 for 20% off. Should be $256

 

Well, the censorship broke the link

 

Those happen on sites that have very poor reputations for significant problems, it is TW's way of protecting its members from being ripped off.

 

Shit. I didn't know that. I saw a few members post the deal and followed suit. I checked Diode Dynamics site and they are an authorized dealer. Should I not order from them @crashnburn80?

 

I understand and agree with this practice. People are always free to do what they want, but at least they know ahead of time that they may be screwed over

 

No idea who it even is. Ripped off is probably overly harsh, but to get the URL ban they have had severe customer service problems on this site to the point TW is trying to protect its members from being involved with them by blocking even the mention of their name. I have no knowledge or background on this particular case.

 

Well the company is **********. I'm not sure of their history here or what might have happened nor am I affiliated in any way. I just saw the 20% and went with it

Well hot damn lol, they must have pissed some people off. The name even gets blocked

 

The company has been blacklisted.

 

Well I took the chance to save some money. I used PayPal though so no real risk on my end.

I followed this post for the discount https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...og-light-review.554813/page-114#post-22371818

 

I can vouch for *********. They (Roman, the owner) are great and I've bought over $6,000 of parts from ********* with no issues at all.

 

That's good to hear. I'm not sure what happened on here to blacklist his site, but I decided saving $64 was worth the risk.