The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

This has likely been discussed previously so any pointers to posts are appreciated.

What types of factors might one consider if attempting to pick between DD SS3 Sport driving vs fog pattern for on-road use? Does the driving pattern truly aid vision on dark roads in good weather with high beams employed?

 

SAE driving lights essentially perform the same function as your high beams, with perhaps a bit more of a focused pattern. They throw light far down the road for distance vision at speed. Being slightly diffused allows them to spread a bit to light the edges of the road, whereas a spot beam may not fully illuminate the road width. They are best used in conjunction with your high beams (do not use with opposing traffic).

Fog lights have a very specific use case, and that is for fog or heavy inclement weather at low speed. They have a wide, low pattern to illuminate the edges of the road under the fog, so light isn't reflected back into your eyes and dazzling you. They also have a cutoff along the top edge so that glare doesn't dazzle oncoming drivers. Good fog lights also serve well as periphery lighting on the trail at night.

If you're asking which light to select for your factory fog buckets, I'd suggest the fog pattern. Fogs are mounted lower than headlights to do their job correctly. For driving lights, they will get the most distance by being mounted higher in the grill. Unless you do the fog anytime mod, you will not be able to activate the high beams and fogs at the same time. Also, you will have to remember to hit the fog light switch to turn them off when passing oncoming traffic. This is less instinctive can toggling your high beam stalk.

I ended up doing both SS3 fogs and driving lights.


I control the driving light relay with an SPDT switch. Low turns them on anytime, high is tapped into the high beam circuit so I can toggle them with the factory high beam stalk (and of course, center is off).

 

So, bottom line, for fog light brackets, always go with a fog pattern, period. Thanks for that.

Might you happen to have any photos of distance lighting with high beams on, with and without your driving lights? I’m curious how much they aid your vision.

Thank you for the explanations.

 

i have the exact same issue with my SS3 pods.. i have a total of 5 pairs. Same issue on all. Problematic only on 3 of them where my bumper has slots cut in for pods, and the slot just barely fits the included carriage bolt. I got it to fit with some insane amount of torque..

 

Man, I'm glad I'm not crazy cause this happened to me on my c2s... I made it work with a couple washers.

 

Yes they are the 4000K lamps with clear lenses swapped in. I did find the standard white to be a touch too blue.

That's a good question! I don't have any comparative photos of the view from the driver's seat. I'll try to get some exposure locked photos or maybe a video soon.

 

Yeah i still think that if they just used thicker material for the mounting bracket, it would solved all the issue's.

@Diode Dynamics

 

Understandable suggestion! There are reasons to keep the bracket thinner. From a manufacturing standpoint, it is far more difficult to achieve the 90 degree bend radius on a very small bracket like this when you increase the material thickness. In general, we try to keep the brackets only as thick as necessary, to make them manufacturable, and also avoid extra weight and cost to you.

There shouldn't be any problems when mounting in a 3/8" hole. We've added that to the mounting instructions to avoid any problems in the future. Sorry for the confusion, and thanks for your support!

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, that's a very clean install for your driving lamps. So nicely tucked away like that I would be very tempted to do a 2x2 setup with a set of the driving lamps and spots.

I have a set of Cibie Super Oscar LED lamps on my 3rd gen (4runner), which crash has tested previously, but I don't think they would be nearly as easily mounted on a 5th or later gen 4runner, especially not that high as to be in-line with the headlamps.

 

I think a set of big reflectors looks awesome, but I haven't seen a great way to mount them without having a hooped bumper and I'm just not there yet. These are great cubes that pack a punch for their size.

I'm eyeing those double-mount SS3 frames, for the same reason you mentioned. However, the radiator support bracket that mine are mounted to might be a bit too flimsy. The brackets are sort of cantilevered, and they do vibrate a bit off road (I can see the beam pattern shake). On road they are rock solid.

 

Can’t wait to install these. Ordered the clear driving and flood lens to enjoy the 4000k goodness.

 

Is this a new DD product? ditch light?

 

This thread was a huge help, Went with The dd SS3 pro amber and couldn't be happier!
Thanks @memario1214 for the fast shipping!

 

Will trade pixels for lumens! Haha

 

Diode Dynamics SS3 Max - Preliminary testing



The Diode Dynamics SS3 Pros are the current highest output intensity fog in this thread, followed closely by the SS3 Sports which provide sharper cut offs than the Pros though lower pattern intensity and slightly smaller area coverage. I currently run the SS3 Pro fogs in selective yellow, and my only significant critique has been I wish the cut offs would be sharper, even though they fall within the legal SAE F-spec compliance requirements. So how do they compare to the new SS3 Max fogs?

SS3 Pro SAE Fog


The new SS3 Max SAE Fog


The new SS3 Max has far better focus and sharper cut offs than the Pro, meaning less glare to oncoming drivers and less reflection off precipitation for better poor weather performance.

But what is most interesting, is the +40% output intensity of the Max over the Pro! As shown by the lux measurements below.



I cannot even begin to emphasize just how ridiculous this product is. The SS3 Pros set a new bar for output performance in the SAE fog segment, and the SS3 Max redefines that with significantly higher output intensity while also providing better cut offs for less glare than the Pros. The Max provides significantly higher output with better beam pattern discipline.

The SS3 Max is power hungry, but after 30 minutes of run time I have their draw at 36.7w. Power draw initially starts around 40w and drops as the pods heat up.



The SS3 Max runs scorching hot, with body temps approaching 210 degrees and clear lens temps approaching 160 degrees (tested in 60 degrees ambient). Selective yellow optics not available at this time of testing, but selective yellow lens temps would run hotter.




So power-wise these are only slightly more powerful than the Pros once output is stabilized, why is the output intensity so much higher?

Recall that in a focused optic a smaller light source provides greater focus and therefore higher output intensity as described by Philips here. In comparing the emitters the Max emitters are smaller than the Pros, providing better focus. The Max also appears to have a revised circuit board.

Max vs Pro vs Sport


Closer look at Max vs Pro


The emitter set used in the Max is currently only available in 6000k, meaning no 4000k option. At this time a selective yellow lens is not yet available for testing (it will need to be darker to correct for 6000k vs 4000k), but should be coming soon. Since the emitters are 6000k heavier filtration losses will be incurred to correct to selective yellow, which will also mean hotter lens temps. While Diode Dynamics has a best in class optic efficiency with their 4000k emitters + selective yellow optics, I'd anticipate a more typical mid-high teens in output loss with a selective yellow optic for 6000k, but with the incredible performance of the Max would still place it light years ahead of the competition.

It is remarkably impressive for a company to launch a next gen product that completely redefines the standard of what is possible when they already own the top spot in the market and the competition hasn't yet responded in a meaningful way. As an extreme lighting enthusiast I am drawn to products that truly push the limits of what is possible and lately no-one is doing that better than Diode Dynamics.


MAX Selective yellow update below, originally covered in post #4420 here. The max selective yellow optic was not available at the time of initial release, and was later added on 1/25/2021. The review has been copied here for convenience.

Diode Dynamics SS3 Max Selective Yellow
This post is imperfect, which I will explain later in the post.

The selective yellow Max uses 6000k emitters vs the industry best optimized selective yellow Sport/Pro using 4000k emitters with a lighter filtration optic, meaning that the Max will require a darker optic for greater color correction and incur greater losses than the Sport/Pro.

Sport/Pro (left) vs Max (right)


Again the Max output has a tighter pattern with better cut offs than the Pros while also providing higher intensity output.


Correcting a high color temp lamp (6000k) to selective yellow tends to have a more green hue than correcting a low color temp lamp (4000k). Pictured below is the SS3 Sport (top) in selective yellow vs the Max selective yellow (bottom). It is a little difficult to tell in the photo, but the Max has just slightly more green hue. I was actually anticipating more green given the 6000k emitters, so while the color isn't as rich of a yellow as the Sport/Pro, it still exceeded my expectations and came reasonably close to the Sport/Pros.


The spectrum comparison chart shows the yellow optic eliminates all short wavelength light.


Comparing the selective yellow Max output values to the white Max, by my numbers the selective yellow Max optic incurs a loss of about 19.7%. This is significantly higher than the ~8% loss of the Sport/Pro selective yellow. To be fair Diode Dynamics has optimized their selective yellow lamps with the Sport/Pro far more than any other company in the industry by using lower color temp emitters paired with lighter filtration optics to provide highly efficient lamps with low losses. So higher losses are expected on the Max with 6000k emitters.


Selective Yellow Max CCT Plot



SS3 Max Selective Yellow Chromaticity window plot. With the 6000k emitters it still falls in the legal selective yellow chromaticity window.



Vs SS3 Pro Selective Yellow Chromaticity Box



The Max runs scorching hot, which will excel in snow/icing environments. These selective yellow lamps have the hottest lenses recorded yet, meaning they will be best able to combat icing compared to all other LED fogs. As someone who semi-regularly dives across remote mountain passes at night in the snow, this feature is of significant importance to me. Having your lamps ice over in the conditions for which they are intended to perform is unacceptable, which will not be a problem for the Max selective yellows. Keep in mind the lamps are intended to run at these temps, so there is no cause for alarm.


How do the numbers compare to the Pros?


Based on my numbers the Max comes in at about 22% higher output intensity than the Pros with much sharper cut offs, which is better in every regard but maybe not as appealing as the white version.

But here is where things go a little sideways and why I mention earlier that the data is imperfect. 15-20 minutes had been adequate to get the LED fogs to stable operating output in the past. However, Diode Dynamics Max fogs are so much more powerful that I believe the previously used stabilization period is inadequate, and in retrospect likely applies to the Pro fogs as well. If you were paying close attention, the peak amplitude in the spectrum comparison chart between 500-600nm comparing the Max white and Max selective yellow should likely have been identical, but it is not. So I do believe the Max and possibly Pro stable values are a few percentage points off vs what I have logged. It shouldn't make a difference in the big picture, but as a data driven individual it bothers me.

The selective yellow Max is the highest performing selective yellow lamp on the market, with better cut offs and higher output intensity than anything else available. However the 6000k white Max offers performance advantages in output intensity over the higher filtration losses experienced by the selective yellow Max.

 

Man I just got my second pair of pros and now this... Who wants a couple pairs lol

I'm sold just by the more defined cutoff