The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

Awesome thread.

 

This isn’t really a fog light exactly, but I keep getting ads for RhinoLightsLLC on my instagram feed. Wondering how these actually fair as pods in general. Anyone have any experience with that brand?

 

Lots of complete, and contradictory BS on the site.

>Picrel

I have my doubts thats a multi-spectrum light meter. A Lux meter that is only meant for an incandescent lihhtsource will Vastly over estimate the light intensity of an HID or LED source.

Secondly, he's got it in print that 1lux = 1 lumen. That's true, if that intensity is evenly distributed over 1 meter^2 of surface area. You can use a lux meter to determine the lumen output of a lightsource if you use an integrating sphere. Basically you use the polished, plain white reflective surface inside a spherical enclosure of a known surface area, and take an indirect intensity measurement. Pointing a lamp at a meter painters taped to a white wall is a way to take a poor intensity measurement. And intensity is increased/decreased by the distance from the lightsource.

His power draw measurements are all over the map. He's saying between 2.1 and 3.5 amps current draw at 14 volts. But a steady 10,500 lumens. So he has a supplier for some of the most efficient, record breaking LEDs available, at between 357 lumens per watt and 214 lumens per watt. At 25+ watt input power, that's amazing, Cree/Philips/Osram/Nichia must be beating a path to his door.

 

I appreciate the rundown on the info, very helpful.

 

I'm not going to say whether its a poorly made light. Just the output claims are bad enough to immediately turn me away from the product.

 

Right, the build seems decent, but as you said, the claims seem a bit odd.

 

Not to mention botching basic terminology. There is so much wrong here.

He is using a cheap $30 Chinese lux meter, not capable of accurately measuring LED output.

$30 Light Meter Digital Illuminance Meter Handheld Ambient Temperature Measurer, Range up to 200000 Lux, Luxmeter with 4 Digit Color LCD Screen

https://www.amazon.com/URCERI-Illum...t=&hvlocphy=9033270&hvtargid=pla-521576659373

The guy clearly doesn't know basic math. A lumen is 1^2 meter of light, aka 1m x 1m. What he has is a meter circle. A meter circle is only 78% the area of a meter square, meaning he is inflating the numbers by 22% at least, in just the area alone. But the 1^2 meter measurement also requires uniform distribution, which that optic will not have. Instead it will be brightest in the center where he is measuring, which will inflate the measurement significantly and on top of that he is adding a 22% multiplier because of the circle vs square. Also just holding by hand while filming yourself is also going to be highly inaccurate. Why would you not hard mount the light?

He also didn't wait for stable output, can take 15-30 minutes of run time before taking a measurement. And stable output is a major challenge in the smaller compact pod sizes, as it is easy for the pod to start bright but then rapidly reduce output intensity as heat soak sets in and minimal material to absorb and shed the heat.

So he is not using a tool capable of accurately measuring the output.
His math is all wrong in calculating the output, greatly exaggerating product performance.
He didn't wait to get an accurate measurement, exaggerating product performance.
Errors x Errors x Errors = Look fantastic performance!

And if you have the engineering and manufacturing resources to make pods in the USA, then why are your product videos self filmed without help on a phone from what looks like a a clutter filled storage area using cheap off-brand lighting tools to sell your product, and botching basic lighting terminology in your video? Personally I wouldn't be buying anything from this company.

 

More great insight!

 

I’ve read through the thread and there’s definitely lots of smart people contributing. I am wanting to add fog lights to my truck. What would be a recommendation for SAE compliant fog lights if cost was not an issue? I’m looking for quality, longevity, and made in USA. Also would prefer not to clash with my “Ultimate Headlight Upgrade”.

 

Exactly what I have on the truck - Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro selective yellow SAE Fogs. Then buy white fog lenses to replace and you'll have very similar color temps to the halogen bulbs. Also the "Anytime Fog" mod to run the fogs when you want for some light without reducing lifespan of the high wattage headlight bulbs.

Sport aren't quite enough light for my preferences and the MAX are too much in a fog.

 

For use in poor weather, yellow is the way to go. Yellow also blends best with the Ultimate Headlight Upgrade. If you live somewhere where snow is a real concern the SS3 Max is recommended as one of the few that can melt snow and has much sharper cut offs and higher output than the Pros. If snow is not a concern the yellow SS3 Elites are worth considering, a much more advanced F3 fog with sharper cut offs and excellent yellow color. See links at the top of the first post in the thread for reviews on each.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm thinking the SS3 Pro Yellow SAE Fog. I'll take comparison photos when everything is installed, Ultimate Headlight, Oshram reverse lights, SSE Pro, and Reverse Camera. Next in line is a 2inch lift and BFG AT

 

The Pros are bright and will melt snow, but the they do not have a well defined cut off. The Max is a much better lamp for the fog purpose, if it is swingable in the budget I’d take a second look at the Max.

 

So…which ones are direct plug and play?

 

All the major ones offer plug and play fog pocket kits for the Tacoma, Diode Dynamics, Morimoto, Baja, Rigid, KC…

 

What do 1st gen folks do for fog lights and where have you mounted them? I don't want them on the hood.

 

If you’re actually going to use them as fogs, down low is the answer. I put some cheap Amazon ones in this gap in the lower plastic under the metal part of the bumper. They weren’t very good with cutoff so I ran them on empty roads. This is one of the few places with no/minimal modifications to the plastic.

 

As @JasonLee points out the lower front valence. Unfortunately there are no mounting kits, so it is a DIY to come up with a solution. The crash bar is right there behind the lower front valence and does have some holes already in it that seem like a mounting possibility, but the bumper may need to be removed for adequate access going that route. In the 1x2 configuration for that location I'd suggest the Morimoto 2bangers.

 

That reminds me, I did drill through the crash bar to mount my fake Baja designs onto something rigid.

 

I did not read through all 339 pages of this thread BUT- does anyone know if the LED Toyota fogs from 3rd Gen trucks will fit into a 2013? They look to have the same shape and mounting points, but don’t really want to buy a set just to find out they don’t fit. Do they have an H11 plug? Thank you!