The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

Okkkaaaayyy. They did put that feature on the SAE driving light bar. Wouldn't it be great if that SAE product was also available in selective yellow...

 

Just messin. Can't wait for the review!

 

But am I?

 

Very promising preliminary results, can’t wait to see how the data compares!

 

I am just waiting to drive in the snow at night and flip on the selective yellow light bar. Don’t know if I will just blind myself or if it will be sweet.

 

This is all great stuff, excited to see the data results for sure!

 

Refresh... Refresh... Refresh

 

Setting up now. Live demo for some that are local.

 

On my way!

 

I’m a little confused here. Where are you guys going to mount the Rigid 360’s?? They wont fit in the factory 2012-2015 fog light hole correct? Thank you OP for putting this thread together. It has been SO helpful.


Also anyone that is selling excellent condition KC G4 amber fog’s to jump to the 360’s just shoot me a PM.. they were my first choice to replace my factory fogs on my 2012 TRD sport

 

I will most likely be selling mine but they don’t fit the factory bumper

 

Got 'em. You won't be disappointed.

 

Local blackouts may apply. Call your cable co.

 

oooO these are neat!

stay tuned for crash's review

 

Rigid 360 Series SAE fogs
White & Selective Yellow



One of the common complaints about fog options for the Tacoma, is that many don't like putting a square light in a round hole, or don't like the look of traditional pod lights. Rigid's new 360 series lights take a different approach by using a round light body for the pod architecture, making them far more aesthetically attractive and the same 4" size as the 2012+ OEM fog light. The new 360 Series boosts 3100 raw lumens, which is the highest of any SAE fog reviewed here thus far. So how do they compare?

The 360 Series pattern has greater area coverage compared to Rigid's SAE D-series.

D-series on top vs 360 Series on bottom


While the D-series fills ~1.5 vertical panels, the 360 Series taller beam fills 2 complete panels. The 360 series also has a noticeably wider beam pattern. Rigid specs the D-series horizontal beam angle at 52 degrees vs the 360s horizontal beam angle at 71 degrees. The combined pattern coverage improvements make the 360s the best in class SAE lights for area coverage, surpassing that of the KC G4. However, spreading the light over a larger area does reduce intensity.

The 360 Series uses two stacked beam patterns of differing intensity. The upper pattern is higher intensity up near the cut off and the bottom pattern is lower intensity. The Toyota Pro fogs use this same concept of higher intensity at the cut off and lower intensity at the bottom of the pattern, as does Toyota's OEM Valeo LED fogs. Like headlights, ideally the leading edge of the pattern should have the highest intensity for best performance as that is the part of the pattern needing to project furthest.

Selective yellow vs white


One of Rigid's areas for improvement in the past has been their 'white' light color, which has been far too high in color temperature. Fortunately they have improved the white color in the 360s. Color temp readings can vary a bit though the pattern, at peak intensity I got about 6000k. In the upper white pattern I saw as low as 5600k. The top beam had a good improvement in reducing color temperature over the SAE D-series, but the lower pattern still had the high color temp of the SAE D-series. While much improved over previous generation lights, they are not down to the 5000k of the KC G4.



Better dedicated shot of the selective yellows to show the differing intensity.



Because the output is two separate patterns of different intensities, and not one uniform pattern, I took separate measurements of the upper and lower pattern.

White
Upper vs lower and vs SAE D-series



360 Upper vs the KC G4



Selective yellow
Upper vs lower and vs SAE selective yellow D-series



The upper beam is 2.5-2.7x brighter than the lower beam when measured at 18'. When comparing the 360s intensity to the SAE D-series, the D-series continues to hold the highest intensity output out of all the fogs covered in this thread. While the 360s series are significant higher in raw output over the D-series (3100 vs 1760 raw lumens), the 360s are also illuminating a larger area meaning the beam intensity when measured at 18' is actually less.

Power draw
2.25A (2.25A x 13.8v = 31w)


A great trait of the selective yellow lights achieved by using an amber filter is the heating of the lens, which is important in cold weather climates. As high color temperature (short wavelength) light is filtered out of the spectrum, the light energy captured by the lens is translated to heat thanks to the law of conservation of energy. The 360 series lights use a warmer color LED than the D-series meaning less high color temperature light to filter out which means less potential heat generation and they also run a secondary outer lens which could also impact how much heat makes it to the outer surface.

With an ambient temp of 64 degrees, after 20+ min of runtime the 360 selective yellow light lens heated to 127 degrees. The D-series in the same test at 63 degrees ambient heated the lens to 143 degrees. While the 360 series is more efficient by using a warmer color LED to reduce filtration losses, it is also higher power putting more output through the lens.


By comparison here is the lens temp of the white 360


What was surprising though was just how hot the bodies get. This was the rear cooling heat sink.


Mounts on pod bodies can be very frustrating, trying to hold the bolt tucked in place on the underside of the pod body while keeping it lined up on the mount and trying to thread the mounting bolt in at the same time. The 360s have a unique system to make that process easier, as the bolt fits into a contoured pocket and is then secured in place by a bolt on retaining strap. Cleaver design. While Baja's threaded bodies are simpler and easier to use, this design is a big improvement and easily serviceable should you strip the mount.



Connectors - there are none
The 360s come with raw wire leads. The separate vehicle specific mount kits come with the required materials to convert the raw wire leads to the correct plug to fit the OEM connector of the specific vehicle. However, if are running standalone or on an aftermarket bumper, then there is no connector included with the light purchase. I would have expected standard deutsch connectors with vehicle specific adapters for the price point, making it all plug and play out of the box like other manufactures.

More pictures coming
I will be installing a 360 on the truck and doing a side-by-side comparison with the existing SAE D-series to get a real world comparison on the output difference. Those photos will be added to this review.

Mounts
The 360s will mount in the OEM fog location on 3rd Gen Tacomas with a mounting kit from Rigid due out this month. It should fit 2012-2015 2nd Gens with minor modification. I'll be installing the mount later today on my 2015 and documenting what mount mods will be required for installing on 2nd Gens.

 

Tacoma 360 mounting bracket install

I received the kit before instructions and packaging was available. Rigid's kit is intended for 3rd Gens, but I've tested it to also work without modification on 2012-15 2nd Gens.
Edit: Modification is required on 2nd Gen for the beam to be level. Update coming soon.

The Tacoma kit.


First the outer sides of the 360 body need to be removed in order to make the light small enough to fit in the mount. 4 hex bolts (standard, not metric), 2 per side, hold the shrouds on.


What the 360s look like with the side shrouds removed.


Then on the back of the 360 body the pivoting mount is attached with 2 more hex bolts, shown on the right. You can see where the protruding pivot point now attached to the light mates to the bracket for the OEM compatible mount on the left. Repeat for both sides.


These mounts have a threaded adjustable aiming mechanism like stock, which is a great improvement for those that have tried aiming pod style lights without them. Find the OEM style mounting bracket you plan on using for the light and insert the white plastic square piece into the light body on the same side as the adjuster on the mounting bracket. (Not shown seated in the picture.)


Seat the light into the mounting bracket by gently pulling the mounting bracket open to get both pivot points into their respective holes in the bracket, then insert the threaded adjuster up into the light from the bottom till it engages the nylon threads installed earlier. Turn it to engage the threads and continue to thread it onto the light till you have small enough play that you can push the adjust in so it clicks into place.


Remove all the trim ring surround mounting bolts.


Remove the trim ring.


Install the plastic Tacoma mount filler so the taller side is on the same side as the adjuster. It just snaps on. The light now looks very different than it did in the beginning. I actually like the look even better. Rigid did an impressive job on modularity on this product.


The 360s come with raw leads and a vehicle specific plug kit. You need to crimp the leads onto the wires, wire crimpers work great, but in a pinch pliers could work as well. Be sure to install the gaskets onto the wires with the necked down side facing the terminals before crimping the terminals on. The wire leads on these lights are very long, if installing in the stock location, I would recommend cutting the wiring down. Keep in mind the stock fogs have no additional wiring. IMPORTANT: Before you insert the terminals into the plastic plug housing, you must test the polarity in the truck.


Testing polarity. Insert the raw terminals into the foglight plug in the truck and turn the fogs on. LEDs are polarity sensitive and will only work when plugged in one way. Don't rely on this picture or wire coloring. Test it on your own vehicle they are being installed on. Look at the internal tab on the plastic plug and note that it will only go on the OEM electrical fog connector one way. Be sure to insert your wires into the plug housing so they match your polarity test.


Completed plug.


Installing the fogs is pretty straight forward. There are 2 screws on the outside edge of the light for 2nd Gens, and 1 screw for 3rd Gens. Remove the screwed and slide the light toward the outside of the vehicle to free it from the tabs on the inside. Install is the reverse. Toyotas tab mount design is a bit of a pain to work with due to the location and akwardness of using a screwdriver in that location. The inside 2nd Gen tab light mounts are just a little further apart than the 3rd Gen according to Rigid, meaning the light tabs on the Rigid mount are just a touch narrow for the 2nd Gen. There is enough play in the flexible plastic bumper material used for the mounts that you can push the Rigid 3rd Gen mount into the tabs without issue. I meant to get a picture of the tab mounts with the cover plate off, I'll get one when I do the other side.


The filler plate seems to sit just a millimeter or two to the right of perfect when mounted on a 2nd Gen. But it looks really good.


There is some gapping from the filler plate to the Tacoma bumper, but some spacing offset is necessary for it to move freely to adjust, but it isn't very noticeable when standing back from the truck.


Overall this is a really sharp looking clean setup.


Rigid SAE D-series vs the 360s. The round 360s look much more OEM like on the Tacoma.


Edited as original post was a placeholder for the bracket install info.


Side-by-side output testing with the side-angled 12-15 D-series mount vs forward facing 360 mount:

 

Great review crash! Appreciate all the time and effort you put into these valuable posts. I will most likely be purchasing the amber 360s later this month!

 

Excited to see this so i can copy it on my 2012! As always excellent testing and review. Thanks!