When do you turn on your fog lights

Do you guys leave your fog lights in the on position, so that they come on automatically when it's dark enough out that your headlights come on?

My previous vehicle controled them automatically. Like if I was turning left, the left fog light would come on, then it would go back off when I was done turning.

Thanks.

 

Back in 2019, I did a cross country drive in my 2019 Tacoma TRD Sport. During that drive, which I usually started each day sometime shortly after midnight, because there was less traffic. Because I was driving a lot of hours at night, sometimes, I would come across construction where there were those concrete barriers on the side of the road, really close to the edge of the lanes. Also, because of driving at night, i came across fog here and there. Now, I have never even had fog lights until I got this truck and rarely turn them on. BUT, what I have found, is that they are GREAT when driving at night, and there are concrete barriers close to the edge of the lane, or when driving on a narrow bridge. They seem to shine or illuminate towards the side edges a lot better than the headlights, so for me, they were really helpful in these situations, which again, I encountered quite a bit of situations like this, during that cross country drive.

 

Turn them on when it’s hard to see the road.

That said, stock fogs are not that impressive so it doesn’t really hurt much other than a little distance vision from the extra foreground light.

If you add aftermarket SAE fogs then only when you cannot see the road… all the time is not a correct answer to that.

If you need better headlights then use better headlights. H9
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...11-projector-headlights.589465/#post-19689308

 

Old halogen bulbs work best in fog. Brighter lights like newer LEDs look brighter in the fog but actually reflect and scatter, making people think they can see further but really it's just brightening up the fog right in front of the lights.

It's called the Tyndall effect.

Keep your fog lights factory and use them whenever you think they are needed.

Factory fogs are low and not too bright, they won't blind other drivers will minimally reflect off of fog. Leave them on all the time, if you like changing the bulbs every x amount of hours

Also, lighting up a concrete barrier right in front or to the side of the truck is not good. That is a distraction and you should be looking much further ahead than 40ft.

Don't mind me, I'm just an old man rambling.

 

Stock lights and fogs for me. I turn them both on when it’s dark.

 

Luxury vehicle perk usually controlled by steering angle and CAN-BUS. Not so on Tacoma, not even in the Limited.

 

I run all lights alot.
Kid doing a right on red totaled my 08 said he didn’t see me.
All lights and an inferno taco now.
Can you see me now?

 

I run the fogs with the headlights. A few times I caught a glimpse of a deer sooner than if I hadn’t had them on. Like the previous post keep them stock. The brighter they are you loose the benefit they give.

 

Thanks all.

I definitely plan on leaving them stock. I think the lighting with LED headlights is really nice (effective as well as nice-looking for the opposing viewer as well).

I do have the auto high beams as well, which I've never used in any vehicle. We have too many rolling hills here, so they would constantly go on/off and the person infront of me would be so confused.

 

I have them set to come on when my headlights are on.

I have the diode dynamics SS3 fogs so they’re as bright or brighter than my OEM headlights and they are a huge help illuminating the roadway and things on the side of the roadway because they have a very wide angle. They throw light much farther out to the side than the headlights so they help see things like people, deer etc on the side of the road.

 

I have pro SS3’s. I have the H9 bulbs in the headlights, so I only turn my headlights on when it’s dark to try and make them last as long as possible. The fogs and parking lights come on whenever it’s not sunny, but still bright enough for me to see.(Cloudy,dusk,dawn,rain,snow) As soon as it’s dark enough for headlights, the fogs get shut off. That way they don’t effect my night distance vision. If visibility is reduced shorter then the throw of the headlights, the fogs come on. That’s just the way I do it. Not saying this is the right way, or even the best way, but that’s what I have found to work best for me.

 

I have amber fogs. They're on 95% of the time when it's dark. 95% of the time I'm on completely empty country roads where it's just me, deer, rabbits, and ditches/shoulders obscured by snow. It's also open prairie where there is either dust or snow blowing.

In town or on a clear but busy highway they're off. Not much help for driving and nothing more than a nuisance to oncoming drivers.

 

I leave the Light Control Switch on "Auto" (and keeps the DRLs on constantly) to include the fogs so they both turn on (Headlight & Fog) when the sensor (on the passenger side) turns them on.

As a reminder, I installed OEM LED Headlights last year...which led me to replacing the OEM fog lights with LEDs (just the bulbs).

The fogs do point downward and towards the outer side of the truck, which is a nice feature.

As has been said, the Tacoma does not have auto capability to turn on/off the fogs in certain instances...so mine are constantly on during dark hours.

Reminder, I live in urban/rural Delaware and certain areas of travel do not have street lights unless I'm on a main road.

This is my first New Truck...and a smaller version of what's already on these Delaware Roads.

 

Always. They’re wider and I can see deer better.

 

At night.

 

All the time I like the way my amber bulbs look as daytime running lights. And the more lights the people see me better they are already terrible distracted drivers

 

When it’s foggy.

Or when it’s night and I’m in a very dark area without normal street illumination. I don’t use them on the Interstate but I’ll switch them on when I’m on the dark backroads.

 

My SS3 Max in selective yellow are used only in rain, snow, fog. They have no practical effect on driving otherwise.
Yes, they illuminate the side of the road better than headlights, but not far enough ahead to matter at normal speeds and dry conditions.
If you need extra light down the (empty) road then replace the fogs with driving lights. If your fogs are illuminating down the road with your headlights then they're not aimed properly.

 

Only in fog.

Subarus and some Fords stupidly turn on a fog / driving light in corners to help the safety systems see the line. It's annoying as fuck for oncoming drivers or to see that shit winking in the mirror. Not the drivers fault, just a crappy nuisance.

 

When it’s snowy, foggy or dusty roads. People talking about aftermarket’s being not as effective as stock either have shitty ones, don’t have a true fog pattern or have them aimed wrong. Diode Dynamics yellow are fantastic.