The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

I mean, I know a guy who likes to play with wires.

 

LOL Ya... if only i had a direct line to an expert in wiring harnesses for Tacomas. Might explore that option still.

Is there anyone that has a picture of backlit DD SS3s "amber/selective yellow" so I can do a side by side comparison of backlit vs non backlit? I like the idea of backlit fogs but I don't like the idea of me tinkering with wires again...

 

Photo above is heading to Tory today. I can make another for you if it meets his satisfaction. Mounting locations and wire lengths haven’t been dialed in yet.

 

They don't look any different externally - on or off.

 

Hey did these laser boys ever show up? I haven't seen em.

 

I don’t have lasers, nor have I seen them yet. Just the 3 emitter 4bangers, in all 4 varieties. Been working on the HXB review the last couple days. Hope to have it ready soon.

 

No, we didnt end up using the lasers afterall. The cost x marginal performance just didnt make sense to chase.

 

SS3 Max backlights, custom harnesses from @daveeasa at FBC Harness Solutions!

https://youtu.be/lRnezgtn0CU

 

Just wanted to give a shoutout to @MattKossoff for sending me these HXB 4bangers wide pattern free of charge. Super cool of him. Im in the middle of moving, but ill be comparing these with my ss3 pro yellows here in the next few weeks and giving you guys my thoughts. Ideally ill try and get some pics out on a trail.

 

Where are you mounting them? Do you have fog mounts?

 

Not 100% sure where i will be mounting them but will probably be behind my grill or on my girlfriends 4runner. So i just asked for the standard universal brackets. With the wide beam pattern they should make good trail lights.

 

Morimoto 4banger HXB



Morimoto has released the first challenger to the market leading Diode Dynamic SS3 Max SAE with their Morimoto 4banger HXB. While initially launched as a Wide pattern, post release Morimoto confirmed SAE compliance, stating the HXBs satisfy the SAE J583 F compliance standard. It is worth noting that since the compliance validation occurred after the release, the product is not stamped as SAE compliant. Both the HXBs and Max use the same automotive grade Osram HX Boost LEDs. Morimoto has a more unique 3 emitter architecture resulting in a more compact product offering.

Morimoto HXB pattern


The beam pattern is tall, at about 2 door panels in height. The 2 emitters on top provide higher pattern intensity in the upper portion of the beam, while the single emitter on the bottom provides less intensity in the lower portion of the beam. A very nice distribution in the center of the pattern, Toyota uses a similar intensity design, having higher intensity at the top of the pattern and reducing lower in the pattern.

Morimoto HXB bottom vs Diode Dynamics Max top


Note: the Max is the Original SS3 Max, not the newer backlit model

There are several interesting notes in this pattern comparison.
1) The Morimoto HXB pattern is taller than the Max (2 panels vs 1.5) and also just slightly wider.
2) The Morimoto pattern is more forward center focused, the intensity is higher in the center upper portion of the pattern but greatly reduced to the sides and lower portion of the pattern. The 2 emitter top design focuses the top of the pattern to be more intense with a wider spread and a somewhat V pattern at the sides of the beam where the lower part of the pattern cuts inward significantly due to the 1 emitter bottom.
3) The Diode Dynamics pattern is more uniform throughout the pattern, with significantly higher intensity to the sides and lower portion of the pattern compared to Morimoto.

To get the most accurate stable readings, I ran these for 2 hours to get them completely heat soaked. The Morimotos pull more power and put down higher intensity numbers.



Incredibly the Morimoto HXB puts down 27% higher intensity than the SS3 Max. How does a smaller pod, with less emitters pull off such a feat? It is cleaver, but there are compromises made to do so.

Back to this picture. The lights are positioned at the left headlight/foglight position in the left bay. The vertical blue tape is in the left headlight/foglight position in the right bay. Mathematically that works out to 33 degrees right of the lights position.


Light intensity at 33 degrees, SS3 Max vs Morimoto HXB


The Max puts out nearly 2.9x higher intensity output to the side of the pattern at 33 degrees compared to the Morimoto HXB.

Power: Initial output, SS3 Max vs HXB


SS3 Max vs Morimoto HXB, 2 hour soak at 69 degrees


The Max dropped just over 20% in power while the HXB dropped just over 26%. The Morimotos still pull more power despite their smaller size. Truly impressive.

Needless to say this pod runs very hot which is great for melting snow. 187 degrees on the body and 141 on the lens for clear lenses.


Looking at the optics, much of the 4banger lens is unused by the TIR optics, vs the SS3 that utilizes nearly the entire surface area.


The Morimoto HXB yellow pods have a great yellow color. The more focused hot spot region in the HXB fog is a bit easier to see in the yellow pattern.


DD SS3 Max vs Morimoto HXB


You can see the Morimoto HXB has a great color compared to the Max, as the Morimoto is a richer yellow with less green.

DD Max top vs Morimoto HXB bottom


That great yellow color isn't without cost though. Both lights are using the same 6000k emitters. Getting a light to be more yellow requires filtering/removing more light from the output. The Morimoto selective yellow optics reduce output 29%.


By comparison the DD Max selective yellow optics reduce output 19%, which is far more efficient. Allowing more blue light through gives greater output, but also causes more of a green hue.


Even with the additional output tax, Morimoto HXB still has higher peak intensity in the center of the beam. However this reduced efficiency vs DD will also mean even higher losses to the sides of the beam pattern.


The less efficient color filtration means the lens runs even hotter than the more efficient Max. A scorching 203 degrees at 69 degrees ambient on the lens.


The Morimoto HXB easily falls into the SAE selective yellow chromaticity window.


Morimoto HXB selective yellow


HXB Pre-production pods (used in some launch demos)
Changes from demo product to production. Board pic, production right. The R5 circuit has been changed in production units to reduce power.


Pre-production demo unit left vs production right. Pre-production units used in many product demos are 22%+ higher initial output than actual production units.


Final thoughts
The Morimoto HXB is the highest output intensity fog on the market, but it does so by making some compromises to the beam pattern. The purpose of a fog is to illuminate the edges of the roadway to navigate at slow speed in poor weather, as such light intensity to the sides of the pattern is important. Focusing light very center/forward drives more impressive intensity numbers, but those values don't portray the full picture on what is useful in a fog light. That said, the performance delivered out of the highly compact 4banger is impressive.

I do have new concerns going forward around companies competing for a single output value vs building a quality uniform fog with a wide reaching spread.

 

Revised backlit model? Can you please explain the difference to us noobs out there?

 

The original SS3 pods were a fairly conventional (except for performance) LED pod. Said another way, they were either on or off. The new / revised "backlit" pods have a feature where you can enable a low powered "back light" function that's pretty much just for looks. The color of the back light function is also user selectable.

To give you an idea how it works, here's another fine Diode Dynamics product - the SS5 LED pod - in my 4Runner. In the first picture, I have the backlight function enabled in amber. You'll note that it's not very bright, but looks pretty neat. (I have them wired to come on with my parking lights.)



Now here's what happens when you turn the actual pods on. The back light goes out, but the main diodes come on for full illumination.

 

The SS3 MAX with a backlight option has a higher output than the SS3 MAX without backlight. It's not overly advertised but I think crash mentioned it in his testing which is probably a few pages back?

 

Thanks for the review @crashnburn80 - lots of great info here! a few things to clarify from our perspective:

1) The SS3 beam is actually a bit wider than the 4Banger, but the 4Banger has a much more obvious gradient, and more foreground - which actually makes it more ideal for use as a fog light, especially on a truck. Its also very even from side to side (The plots in the test reports from Calcoast are the best way to see this)

2) Heat: Though highlighted as an advantage in your overview (melts snow) - I want to remind folks that a toasty heat sink is not something to worry about either. Thats a good indicator that its drawing heat out from inside, doing its job. The more important trait is the junction temp where the LED mounts to the PCB. (again, more info on this in the Calcoast reports, P12 in particular)

Our primary goal was to create a "wide beam" pod that would work well both on and off-road, and indeed there is some give and take in doing so. The LED layout will create a finite amount of light, and how we chose to distribute it is key from there. Off Road, the SS3 is is going to net you a wider beam pattern, perhaps giving it the advantage. On-road, I'd personally run the 4Banger NCS model. This is all my subjective opinion though-

Happy reading everybody!

 

I'd call that a fair review!

First, the color balance might be a little exaggerated on that yellow photo? Fortunately, neither 4Banger or SS3 Max looks quite that green in person!

Here's some thoughts for discussion, would love to hear from the other fog light enthusiasts in this thread.

The SS3 Max was introduced a few years ago. It's no surprise that a brand new product would make gains in some areas of performance - especially by referencing many of the SS3's patent-pending design features, such as the single TIR with exterior optics. As development continues from different manufacturers, the question becomes - what should a fog light be?

When I designed the SS3 fog optic four years ago, my goal was uniform width. Yes, there are slight hotspots in there, but my primary goal was a wide, uniform spread of light. I was not concerned about hitting a specific maximum intensity level. So, the SS3 fog spreads more high-intensity output to the sides of the pattern. If you look at where they provide 10,000 candela, the SS3 is 65 degrees wide, and 4Banger is 50 degrees. That's a huge difference, if width is what you're after.

Yes, I am picking and choosing here - but that's kind of the point. As Matt said, how you choose to distribute the light is key. Power is one thing - the higher power level of the 4Banger is a nice bump up. But if you're trying to achieve a certain maximum intensity, it's relatively simple to put more light in the center. So as stated at the end of the review, if max intensity is the goal for fog lights, this will lead to more center-focused fog lamps. Is that really the best route forward?

Of course, crash covers much more than just max intensity in his reviews, which I appreciate. There's other factors to consider too, like build quality, warranty, fitment, accessories, etc. But for good reason, most buyers just want the "brightest" light available, which poses a concerning question for future development.

Paul

 

@crashnburn80, @Diode Dynamics

I came to this forum because of crashes excellent SAE threads. Have two sets of DD maxes because of them. I really agree with DDs question/ statement above, what is a fog light????

As a true fog light I think my yellow DD max is great, no doubt about it. BUT as a f150 owner with absolutely crappy stock headlights and one of those guys who "used" to run the fogs are all times trying to assist the crappy headlights maybe just maybe I'm looking for a fog with some range. You know sort of a bastardised aux low beam. I could use that every stinking day unlike what is a true fog light is for.

With that being said, and until enough of us can bug Paul for an aux lowbeam lens would the four banger possible do what I'm looking for?