The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

I believe the 2019 and before have the H11 plug. Cannot speak for their fitment into 2Gs tho

 

Many manufactures sell their aftermarket fogs to fit 12-15 and 16+ with the same unit. That said there are slight dimensional differences on the mounts, but it should more or less work. The H11 and H16 base use the same plug, so yes they are the same for 12+ 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen regardless of the trim. The OEM Toyota LED fogs are good bang for the buck, but I'd strongly consider the DD Elites in selective yellow instead. Selective yellow is a better color for poor weather performance than 6000k LED white used by the OEM Toyota fogs, and the Elites are higher performing than the OEM units.

 

Thanks @crashnburn80 appreciate your lighting knowledge. Those dd elites aren’t tooo much more than the oem led black bezel, plus I do like the idea of the yellow for actual foggy/snowy conditions. I’ll probably save up for those or snag a used pair if they ever pop up.

 

DD will have 15% - 20% sale on various holidays that's what I did.

 

that'll probably be when i pull the trigger on em

 

Again thanks to @crashnburn80 and all for providing the great lighting information on TW! I did the ultimate headlight upgrade over a year ago. Finally swapped to DD SS3 Pro’s (no backlight)from the stock fog lights. Aimed and no flashing from oncoming traffic. I use the pros as drl’s also. Totally unscientific pics from iPhone 8. Pro’s alone, added low beam 90/100 Osram, and with high beams. As stated earlier in CB’s testing, the pro’s don’t have a clear cutoff. They do have awesome peripheral lighting. Haven’t used them in foggy or snowy conditions yet but a great upgrade so far.

 

Agreed, I like the light bleed past the cutoff for slower speed + low beams rather than ditch lights or a light bar. Provides me the supplemental light I need without having to buy more lights. I rarely drive in bad weather, so I rarely need the fogs as actual fogs.

 

I remember switching from pros to maxes with the first impression that there was less light. It took me a while to realize that there was less spilled light, but the intensity was vastly improved. I think the biggest advantage with the maxes and their tight cutoff is that you can aim them higher/further out.

But as all all-purpose light, the pros are pretty great.

 

Fun comparison, how do the modern LED fogs from this thread compare to long time halogen performance fog classics? For those in heavy snow environments this may be of interest.

Hella 500 halogen fogs


Fist thing is obvous, the form size of the 6" Hella 500s are much larger than the traditional 3" pods like the popular SS3s. Depth is nearly identical. Though notice the somewhat similar, but different, fluting lens optics.

The beam pattern of the 500s has tight cut offs, labeled as an SAE F 03 fog.

Output with stock Hella 55w bulb


Hella 500 fog w/ Hella 55w bulb


The beam pattern is absurdly wide, wider than anything else tested.


Comparing output intensity with the SS3 Sports
Hella 500 w/ stock 55w Hella bulbs vs SS3 Sports in 4000k


Out of the box the Hella 500s come in about 11% higher in peak output intensity over the SS3 Sports.

But every lighting enthusiast knows that most Hella bulbs should go straight to the trash and be replaced with a much better performance bulb. Quality halogen lamps are highly dependent on the quality and precision of the bulb for their performance, so running good bulbs is essential to get the most out of the lamps. So before really digging into the performance characteristics of the lamp lets get some good bulbs to truly see what they are capable of.

The lamps take H3s, and the best stock wattage H3s are currently the Osram Night Breaker Laser +150s and for high wattage the Osram Super Brights (same as the Ultimate Headlight Upgrade thread).


Osram Night Breaker Laser +150



Hella 500 w/ Osram Night Breaker Laser +150 (bottom) vs DD SS3 4000k Sport (top)


The Hellas have a much sharper defined pattern, much wider pattern, and interestingly where TIR optics narrow at the outside of the pattern the halogen optics actually expand the pattern coverage. Remember the fog is to illuminate the edges of the roadway so greater coverage to the sides is beneficial. What is also interesting is how the Hella pattern narrows on center, this would reduce the foreground light compared to patterns that maintain the same width, without sacrificing that wider shoulder coverage. The more focused center area does drive higher forward output intensity.

Hella 500 w/ Osram Night Breaker Laser +150 vs DD SS3 Pro


The Hellas gain +22% output intensity over the stock bulbs. Not only do the Hella 500s running a legal performance stock wattage bulbs have a far more disciplined pattern with better cut offs than the Pros, they outperform the DD SS3 Pro fogs in peak output intensity, though the pattern area is vertically smaller and also wider. (Note Pro pattern not pictured).

Hella 500s w/ Osram Night Breaker Laser +150s tested in 69 F ambient.


These lamps run off the chart hot compared to any LED, like melting flesh at the touch hot. Standing in front of the lamp it feels like an IR heat gun. For comparison the DD SS3 Max selective yellow (one of the hottest LEDs) hit 173 F on the lens after a long warm up period, these lamps are running over 300 F in minutes. In extreme snow environments the extreme heat of halogens for snow clearing will be beneficial to ensure the lamp is always clear.

Stepping up to the Osram 100w Super Brights. The bulbs are actually about 90w as measured, it is common for high wattage bulbs to round to nice numbers.

Osram Super Brights in Hella 500 Fogs


Hella 500s w/ Osram Super Brights (bottom) vs DD SS3 Sports 4000k (top)


The Osram Super Brights are an off road bulb and not legal for on-road use as the wattage is above the legal max. Testing of high wattage bulbs has shown Osram Super Brights to be some of the best at maintaining output quality at higher wattage. Osram is also a Toyota OEM supplier. The Hella 500s with the Osram Super Brights appear to have better cut offs than DD SS3 Sports, even though using a high wattage bulb.

Hella 500 w/ Osram Super Bright vs DD SS3 Max selective yellow


The Hellas gain +44% output intensity with the Super Brights over the stock bulbs. The Hella 500s with a Osram Super Bright bulb upgrade beat out the DD Max selective yellow by about 7.5%. Now the 6000k Max will do much better and easily beat out the Hellas, however 6000k is a not a ideal color for fog/poor weather use, hence comparing to 4000k and yellow vs ~3200k-3400k halogens. The Max is not available in 4000k.

Hella 500 w/ Osram Super Bright in 69 F ambient


Interestingly the lamp peak temp is the same as with the Osram 55w +150s, this must be due to more focused output. The overall lamp is much hotter with the Super Brights as shown by the proximity temp measurement coming in at 20%+ hotter.

Lots of trade offs with halogens, great at melting snow but larger lamp size and short bulb life. The Osram +150s H3s have a lifespan of 150 hours and the Super Brights about 50 hours. But while that is short, in a fog application use time should be minimal, as fogs should rarely be used, only when conditions call for slow speeds where visibility is limited and it is difficult to find the edge of the roadway.

Note that thermal shock with water splashing on a hot lens in very hot halogens can cause lens failure/cracking.

But the 500s are not Hella's best performing reflective fog.

Hella 4000 Rallye Fog


This lamp is massive.
Hella 4000 vs Hella 500


The 4000s are stamped SAE F 91.

Hella 4000 (far) vs Hella 500 (near)




The outer fluting didn't stagger as much on the 4000 vs the 500s, so the outer edge of the beam didn't fan out like the 500s and it isn’t quite as wide as the 500.


Hella 500 w/ 55w Hella bulbs vs Hella 4000 w/ 55w Hella bulbs


Wow.

In reflector optics larger and deeper optics are more efficient than shallower and smaller optics, the 4000s are much larger and deeper. The 4000s return an impressive +42% output intensity improvement over the 500s using the same stock Hella bulb. The stock 55w bulb in the 4000s provides roughly the same level of peak output intensity performance as the Osram Super Brights in the 500s. These 4000 lamps will excel with bulb upgrades.

Hella 4000 w/ stock Hella bulb vs DD SS3 Max in selective yellow


The Hella 4000s outperform the SS3 Max in selective yellow in peak intensity without any bulb upgrades, running the stock Hella 55w bulb. The 500s gained +22% output intensity with the Night Breaker Lasers and +44% output intensity with the Osram Superbrights over the stock Hella bulbs, this being a larger and more efficient lamp I'd expect even better gains.

Hella 4000 w/ 55w stock Hella bulb


The 4000 lamps are very large and heavy, I won't be able to use them. So I plan on returning them without taking them apart for further bulb testing.

LED lamps certainly have the small form factor, life longevity, durability and efficiency but it is very interesting to see how classic halogen fog lamps stack up to the modern LED ones in terms of performance, as it isn't quiet as one sided as it may initially seem.

 

might be time to make a comparison grid chart

 

Any speculation on how the rectangular Hellas (450 and 550) would compare to the 500?

 

Hella has low resolution iso plots of the beam patterns on their site. They could be much better but give some indication. These are a top down view.

500 fog


And of course I say that, but Hella has plots for all their fogs except the 450 and 550.

If someone had some and wanted to send them on loan my way I'd be happy to compare them. I think @Too Stroked might have some yellow ones.

Edit: Link to Hellas aux light page with iso plots:
https://myhellalights.com/product-category/aux-lights/page/2/

 

Yes, I do have a set of Hella 550 yellow fogs in perfect condition. Would you like me to loan one or two to you for testing?

 

If you want to send me one I'll include it! No need for both. I've also got some yellow 500 fogs inbound from Europe, so it could be a direct comparison vs comparing yellow to white. I can then send it back to you with your other Hellas from the J581 thread.

 

Those 4000 fogs are ridiculous. I'm all about it. I love the additional halogen testing.

 

No problem. I'll send you one in a housing. Don't worry about the 500's I sent you. I'm sure you can put them to good use - or dispose of them properly. I'll try to get it packaged up and shipped this weekend. I will need the 550 back though. BTW, note the neat yellow reflector with a clear glass lens.



PS: I also have the extremely rare 550 mid-beam. Do you want one of them just for giggles?

 

If you want to send me the J582 lamp I’ll certainly take a look. Not really sure where’d be the most appropriate place to post the results, but I’ll find a spot.

 

Consider it done. I will need this one back to someday. These bad boys are rare!

And for those of you that don't know what this particular light looks like:

 

Ooh, yes, yes, please send the j582 lamp, I'd love to see the beam pattern and performance.

 

One Hella 550 yellow fog and one Hella 550 mid beam (J582) are winging their way to @crashnburn80. Supposed to arrive Monday the 23rd.