The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

Do we need to have Crash put a top 5 listing at the beginning of this thread?

 

I do think it would be worthwhile if he wouldn't mind editing the first post "cliff notes" section. I think it's significantly outdated as to be a bit misleading.

Cliff notes recommendations
I know this is a huge overwhelming amount of info, and many just want to know what is recommended. However no one solution is best for everyone, so I'll make a few depending on budget and needs.

Cheapest budget option
Morimotos XB LED fogs are the most affordable option in the group, being a direct replacement without having to purchase adapter plates provides a savings. However these are also the 2nd to lowest performing fog lights in the group, and their beam is very short meaning low area coverage compared to some more expensive alternatives.

Low budget option
OffRoadTown LED fog pods are a little pricer than the Morimotos when you factor in the adapter plates required to mount them, depending on the year of your Tacoma. 05-2011 get by with less expensive adapters. But for only a little more cost, the OffRoadTown pods come in at 2x the intensity, while utilizing the same single large black out projector of the Morimotos. Well worth the small price difference IMO.

Higher budget option for high quality light
KC G4s produce very high quality light, with more long wave wavelength light for a given amount of output than any of the competitors, meaning this light should do the best for poor weather visibility. The KCs illuminate 2x more area than the other fog lights (except being equal to Rigid) meaning greater poor weather visibility coverage. The 23 year warranty lets you know this is an outstanding quality product. While pictures do not do it justice, you'd question if the light from these came from an LED light source when comparing to the other lights in the group. Being a direct replacement, these do no require adapter plates and with the reflector design will appear nearly stock to those that don't look extremely closely.

Highest budget option for highest power
The Rigid SAE fog pods produce more output than any other LED fog light, and produce wider area coverage than all others except being equal to KC. These are the most expensive pods and then still require specialized Rigid mount adapter plates to put them in the OEM location, adding even more cost. However, with that cost comes the highest power and greatest light intensity with a lifetime warranty. These are nearly 2x brighter than the OEM TRD Pro Rigids, and come in at 33% more lux than the KC G4s, however their light is very high in color temperature and the short wavelength spectrum spikes making it less ideal for poor weather conditions than KC, though it may have advantages in self defrosting in cold climates. If you want the brightest LED fog possible, this is it.​

 

I thought I had updated that. Clearly need to go back and revisit.

 

No Diode Dynamics?

 

Separate thread by Now.

 

Anyone install anti theft hardware on SS3 pods? Too many crackheads have broken into my truck before in Denver. If anyone knows what size I’ll need or have ordered before any info is appreciated.

 

Looks like combo optics are live. On backorder though.

 

I'm assuming the Combo optics are not road legal though.

 

No, I'd assume that the flood portion of the optics would violate the glare threshold.

 

The half-pod shootout:

 

Sport/Pro (left) vs Max (right) selective yellow optic.



It is subtle but noticeably different, the darker color is needed to have greater color correction with the 6000k Max vs the 4000k Sport/Pro.

Testing tonight will likely post data tomorrow.

 

Correct. The optic is half flood, flood is not a street legal pattern.

 

I might already know the answer to this but can the overall tinting be lighter if the light is traveling through a thick optic? It seems like the yellow/amber lenses on other pods/lights with 5000K base emitters are a lot darker then even the Max optic. Is it because they have to perform more color correction in a thinner lens?

 

The earlier photo does make it appear lighter vs when mounted in a lamp without light behind the lens. Here is a comparison of the Rigid’s selective yellow lens color vs the Max. Rigid uses higher color temp emitters than the Max.

But I would think the thicker colored optics are going to have a higher filtration effect than a thinner traditional outer lens with all other variables being equal.

 

Those will be perfect for scene lights up top.

 

Spitballing from the flashlight side of things here: probably has more to do with the specs on the LEDs other manufacturers are purchasing. LEDs typically get sold in reels of 1000 chips. LEDs get tested after production and get sorted by "Bins" (efficiency thresholds) and "Tints." It's a mixed bag that gets produced. So manufacturers are buying 10k emitters at a time need them to be relatively consistent in terms of efficiency and tint. Easiest way to accomplish that goal is to go with wide tints ranges.

A lot of higher color temp LEDs are binned above the "black body radiator" curve. So they can appear greenish hued. You need to filter more green more green wavelengths to then get to your end range selective yellow.

Cree produces tons of green-hued cold white LEDs. So do Luminus and Samsung. Osrams automotive line, while all cold white usually show tint ranges right at the BBRC. So they're not producing as much green, meaning they don't need as much filtered out to reach that same selective yellow end result, even starting with a higher color temperature.

On the flashlight end of things, I have plenty of cree chips that look very unpleasantly green to the naked eye at lower or medium outputs. However, I have several flashlights that use cold white osram LEDs, and for being 6000/6500k cold white, they often appear much more visually neutral than my other lights with cree LEDs, barring lights that I've swapped for specifically binned/tint selected cree chips.

So I would hazard a guess that while DD determined they did need to filter more green from the cold white max lamps, they didnt need to filter as much as other companies using similarly high color temp cree LEDs.

 

That's some great insight. That also shows why chromacity coordinates tell more information than just a single Kelvin number.

 

Following up on my question, Diode Dynamics got back to me quickly
For the SS3 line
-2 Allens to mount the sides of the SS3 to the bracket: 10-32x1/2" socket head
-1 Bolt for mounting to vehicle: Flat 5/16-18x1

Now to find some quality anti theft hardware. It all seems to be very expensive.

 

Agreed. My 5000K Samsung 351d LEDs have a distinct green tint, whereas my Osram flat white LEDs are pretty neutral even though they are a colder 6000K. I personally prefer the CREE XPL HI in 4000K, much better color rendering, a slightly rosy hue, but you get great output and solid distance projection, while also running pretty thermally efficient. My Osrams and Nichia LEDs get hot much more quickly than the XPL HI at comparable output levels

 

You might be able to get it piecemeal at a hardware store like Ace/True Value. I get stainless security Torx bolts from McMaster-Carr. You'll obviously need an appropriate key tool for each size as well.

Is all this for the factory fog locations? I wouldn't worry too much about those, as they would really have to dig into the fender liners for that. If you really want, just get the single mounting bolt to the bumper. It would be a royal pain in the ass to get the lights out using the 10-32 bolts. The inner one isn't even that accessible.