When do you turn on your fog lights

Only time I really ever use mine is turning a corner and I can’t see curbs, dividers, etc. when the road is too dark to otherwise see them. They are helpful to see close in objects off to the side that the headlights would shoot overtop of. Kinda like cars that have those dedicated lights when you make a turn and point in that direction when the blinker is on.

Of course it doesn’t help when the windows are up and that I have 15% tint but that’s another matter.

 

SSc3 pro fogs, turn them on in snow, heavy rain, or fog. I'll also use them off road. H9 low beams work great on normal low light conditions. SSc3 4k driving lights set up as aux high beams in the grill make night time driving so much better.

 

When needed


Do it leave them on, on stalk

 

When it is foggy.

If you're seeing deer with your fog lights they are within 10'of the truck. Too late for it to make a difference.

 

The 2 mile unimproved dirt road to my home that's off the highway isn't lit at night so I use my fog lights too. I can see deer in the road better, and avoid them when clipping along slow speeds.

 

Like mentioned my lights are set on Automatic and they come on when needed also my Hi beams are on auto too. Great system does everything for you. just saying.

 

well at this point, nearly half the asshole out there today, are driving with their high beams on, so I find myself reaching for switches to lights I don't even have. I'd turn on the field lights to Candlestick Park if I had em.

 

That’s a good design, I find the value of my wide angle fog lights is most helpful in making a turn in poor visibility conditions. Doubt I could mod my Taco to do that based on steering angle, but a mod turning on fog lights when using the turn signals should be easy enough. However if it’s poor visibility I have my fogs on anyway so not a real need for a mod.

 

Turn them on when conditions have forced you to significantly slow down.

Turning them on any other time is worthless and just gives more glare to oncoming traffic with absolutely no benefit to you.

Fog lights have a cutoff like your low beams, by their very nature they cannot provide significant lighting upwards and nearly all light is aimed downward. To do otherwise would be aiming the hot spot directly into oncoming traffic. Due to the very low position on the vehicle, and the cutoff, the maximum effective reach is still very close to the vehicle, so close that the illuminated region is overdriven by any decent speed.

The light above the cutoff at 50' or so will be less than one or two lux, at the 200' or so you need in order to react at 50mph the light provided is likely less than 1/4 of one lux, or 1/4 of moonlight on a clear evening.

When folks say that their fog lights help with driving they are experiencing a common effect that where strong illumination directly in front of the vehicle makes it "feel" like there is more light, and there is, however that does NOT translate into illuminating objects at any distance necessary to react in time. An additional detriment is that intense foreground lighting forces your eyes to adapt and this actually reduces your distance vision.

In short, leave them off unless conditions have mandated you slow down significantly. Then use them to help ensure you can see the edges of the roadway, using them any other time is pointless and actually may work to your detriment

 

When it’s foggy would be my stock answer, but my fogs went into a box in the garage when I put in my squadrons.

Squadrons only come on with high beams on backroads.

 

That sounds like cornering lights. I have never heard of foglights that come on automatically when turning.

 

I’ve been running with fogs/headlights for 2 years now…haven’t had to replace the bulbs and haven’t been distracted by anything in the foreground, haven’t had any “detriment” to speak of. I deal with fog on a very rare occasion, I just like the fogs on. Give me a good reason to not. I think it’s really up to your preference. Like your a/c settings, how loud you listen to your stereo, if you plug your phone charger in or use the wireless pad…does it truly matter?

 

Fogs on when it’s foggy or rainy, but I also found they help when you’re driving off road at night and want to see how deep ruts and dips are ahead of you as the large ones have a pretty discerning shadow in them from the fogs because they are mounted lower than the other lights.

 

Page 163 2021 Volvo XC60 owner's manual states:


The front fog lamps can include the cornering lights function, which temporarily illuminates...

Cornering illumination is the illumination *of the fog lamp* that corresponds with the way the vehicle is being turned. So while it may be used for cornering illumination, it's still very much a fog lamp, at least on my Volvo. The lights also "bend" to the direction you are turning as well on that vehicle.

 

On a Volvo

 

Right...I said "on my old vehicle" and he said he has never heard of fog lights that come on automatically when turning...that they are instead "cornering lights" - I was simply pointing out that cornering illumination is the fog light illuminating, at least from my old vehicle's perspective.

 

Fog, rain, or rural, unlit areas at night.

 

When I'm driving on 2 lane roads I turn the head and fog lights on. When you flash the high beams the fog lights turn off, hopefully attracting the attention of the idiot coming at you head on.

 

Missed that my bad

 

This is a good point. It also makes it rarer that the person your are "motioning on" at the stop sign doesn't see...since there are extra lights turning off as well.