The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

Well, the Max uses commercial automotive grade LEDs. And you don’t see cars with 4000k LED headlights, so by that logic it is unlikely unfortunately.

 

Yep, based on your Pro review I didn’t expect something more than an incremental upgrade, if anything. Impressive on their part.

 

I was curious about this as well. Should we expect that the 6000K color will be the only bin released for the boost HX chips? I saw a post on a DIY flashlight forum lamenting the same thing. It really is noticeable how warmer colors are so much easier on the eyes.

 

I'm curious if the Max is currently at the absolute intensity limit for SAE fog, and that might be a limiting factor on how much throttle the lamps have?

If not, more gains could be recognized with better heatsink capacity (and a circuit board to reflect that). I know a limiting factor on the SS3 pro was heatsinking, DD confirmed as such when they showed that the SSC2 pro has slightly higher than (half of) the expected output. The Max chips are rated 20W each and they're not using even half of that output.

Larger pin fins or other heatsinks, active cooling, etc...

 

The commercial automotive sector does not seem interested in entertaining products outside of the 6000k color temp, despite the benefits. I wouldn't anticipate any lower color temps being released any time soon in this chip set.

I don't have the peak candela values at hand for an SAJ J583 F fog compliance. There is certainly room for heat sink capacity improvements with the Max. The Max fog is rated at an incredible 18,000cd. For some perspective the OEM 3rd Gen halogen headlights are tested at 18,750cd based on my numbers. I cannot emphasize just how ridiculous the output is on the Max, a fog should come no-where near the output intensity of a headlight, yet they are nearly equivalent to headlight intensity in the 3rd Gen, despite having a wide angle distributed beam pattern. I'm curious to see where this product will go in the future, but also don't lose sight at how far above and beyond this is to anything else presently on the market.

 

@crashnburn80 diode dynamics should just hire you as a consultant and we can have the ultimate for all of our lighting needs

 

While I wish @crashnburn80 all the best in his professional endeavors, I like his independent voice. He provides honest, objective, and unbiased lighting product assessments, regardless of manufacturer or vendor. Selfishly, I'd like that to continue.

 

Totally true!

 

@Diode Dynamics what is the current draw of the back light LEDs in the C2s?

 

The backlight draws 55.3mA.

-Collin

 

Knew it would be low. Just wanted to check.

Thanks!

 

How do you like the output of the Sport? I assume still a big improvement over stock fogs?

 

When is the next sale

 

For sure a huge difference. I got them in preparation for the winter which hasn't come yet. I don't think I need the pro for the almost $200 difference.

 

This isn’t a Tacoma but I just installed the SS3 Pro’s on my our 2021 Subaru ascent. It had the OEM LED fog lights which aren’t terrible but in poor weather the light color didn’t help, plus from the factory they were aimed so the cutoff was maybe 10ft in front of the car which is common. I aimed them up to give a more even and forward lighting but still lacked performance. They are quite wide in the foreground but have very little forward projection. I know....fog lights aren’t headlights. But there is a lot to be desired with those OEM fog lights.

I have to give a shoutout to @Diode Dynamics! I ordered them Tuesday night (24 Nov) and they showed up on Friday (27 Nov)! Perfect timing since I deployed the 28th and expected to get these after I left and install them 2 months later when I return home. But luckily they came in fast and I was able to install them before I deployed the next morning. Which is great as winter is coming in Iowa and my wife primarily drives the Subaru.

Here’s how they compare. The SS3’s are aimed high in these photos. I did lower them but did not take photos. So don’t flame me for that! Also these are taken on my iPhone 12 Pro and I tried to make them as accurate as I could and the surfaces aren’t exactly level, but it’s the best I can find in my area.

OEM vs SS3


OEM fog light, headlights covered




Here’s the SS3’s for comparison. Again fog lights only.




Headlights and SS3’s. Again this is before aiming them.




And here’s our Subaru ascent as it sits. 17” Fifteen52 Traverse MX wheels with Nitto Snow tires and we have a second set of the same wheels with Falken Wildpeak AT Trail tires for summer. There are some more plans for the vehicle in the future, mild ones as this is our main car. Most notable will be the COBB AccessPort once it’s released for the 21 model year.

 

Great pics, Chris. How did you mount. ‘em on the Drone.

 

If you’re talking about the phone for pictures. There is a stairwell behind the car for door to the store it’s connected to. I’m behind a strip mall.

if you’re referring to the lights. I used the Type-A kit for Subaru/Toyota. It wasn’t a perfect fit as I had to trim the bumper a little to fit the SS3 housing and I need to modify the trim piece that goes in front of it so it’s not blocking any of the lens.

 

I'm on the fence about sticking with either white or yellow fogs. I like driving with the factory fog lights that house Sylvania Silverstars right now, but I'm thinking of upgrading to something better. Plus, my passenger side fog light keeps getting condensation inside which bugs the hell out of me. Is yellow really superior in lighting performance, or is it just a matter of preference? Call me crazy, but I think the white fogs in some of these pictures actually put out better light than the yellow. Also, I think the Sylvania Silverstars are supposed to put out a color of 4000k, which I believe the SS3 Sports are supposed to compare to. Does anyone know if this is correct? I want the colors to match up as close as possible if I go that route. Thanks.