The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

I knew they looked familiar but I kept thinking of the Denalis. You are right, they do look very similar to Lasfit. We saw what a train wreck those counterfeiters were, covered in post #370 here for those that missed it.

 

I really like the general concept of this product. However having removable LEDs will make them not technically street legal. Seems like a poor approach in general, every legitimate headlight manufacture makes these same sizes as complete sealed LED assemblies, it is typically only the cheap low quality ones that sell them with removable LEDs. It would be interesting to know if the optics were specifically designed for this replacible LED unit, vs using a generic optic. Screen shot below shows a very unique tri-directional LED. With screw mounts it seems like it could be proprietary and not a generic optic, and not using a generically replaceable LED. Very disappointing. This product could have been executed so much better. You are not going to get the performance out of a shallow mount reflector headlight using a replaceable side-firing LED, regardless if the optics are optimized for it. Pretty easy to study Truck-lite or KC reflector optic designs for how to do this the right way, by reverse firing the emitters directly into the reflector for maximum intensity and focus of reflected light. Also interesting that they opted for a plastic lens on a classic car product instead of glass.

This could make for a fun comparison test in a 200mm lamp for 1st Gens and classic Toyota pickups (I had a few), and pit these against say a Hella H4 lamp upgrade with some stock wattage performance H4s. Hmm. TRS would have you believe in the video there are no sealed beam upgrade options available for these types of lamps, and that simply isn't the case at all.

 

I know hella and cibie have been the go-to sealed beam format replacement lampsngor a long time now, but Koito entered the market a few years ago, and is apparently significantly more efficient than Hella's offerings in the same size. Would be an interesting, and very time and $$$ consuming endeavor tontest and compare though.

 

this is actually something thats kinda neat to me, as they do have a point that there arnt many/any options for a stock looking light in led. they all that that new look. i just went though this on my 72 corona. all the led replacements wouldn't work due to the depth of the new units and required reworking of the whole headlight bucket designs. I also like that they have 2 color outputs if you want and the yellow is also super cool for the guys with old import cars that like the amber and white.

 

SAE Fog: Beam provides a 80 degree spread.

 

Maybe they mounted the lights sideways?

 

Maybe they meant 08 degrees. Dyslexia is a bicth.

 

They so have a set that appears to be a TIR type lens. But the info isn't the best on the page. They claim an 80 degree beam width and use 4ea 5w Osram LEDs (20w total).

https://vividlumen.com/collections/...s-3-20w-driving-light-pods-amber-dot-sae-pair



I am very interested in the Morimoto/Holley sealed beams. I agree with the video that modern LED replacements usually ruin the look of a classic car or even more modern cars with pop up headlights. I have always preferred an OEM+ style where something is done so well that it looks like it could have come from the factory vs obvious over the top style. I like it when people with a trained eye have to take a second look to figure out that it's been modified, because I appreciate it when people go through that much work to do the same. Call me purits or whatever you like, thats my style. Currently in my MR2 I have the Hella E-code housings with H4 Philips Racing Vision +150 bulbs, if the Morimoto's come close to usable output then that would be awesome! The most I drive in the dark is about 8 miles to work at 0530 and I avoid rain since I don't want to deal with any rust on a 30yr old car and many with classic cars are the same way.

I am curious how they perform, but if they are at least equal to the usable output without excessive glare then that will be great! Generally speaking most cars that use these headlights are mostly cars that only driven on the weekend or when weather is nice. Very few cars that use these types of headlights are driven long distances in the dark and even fewer are driven in poor weather like rain with almost no use in the snow.

 

I should mention I am wondering if the 3000K LEDs could be used in other applications?? Wink Wink Diode Dynamics....

 

Agreed the product concept is great. I’ve long since thought there would be a market for more traditional halogen colored LED headlamps and am excited that others have realized there is market demand in this space. However LEDs pointed perpendicular to a shallow reflector seem pretty subpar for performance from an initial design perspective. Optics 101 says that isn't going to perform nearly as well as aiming the emitter directly into the reflectors, which isn't possible with their design and is what every leading lighting manufactures does. I might have to pick up a set and do some destructive testing, to open the unit and see if there are any special optics for this scenario. Other companies have sold this same style product before (minus the 3000k LED) and just put their LED in a basic reflector and sell it as an assembly "upgrade" for those that use sealed beams. It is really hard to say how credible this product is given the DLG/HR product marketing. But I would be pleasantly surprised if it was an actual upgrade as I'm already aware of many that are interested.

 

I'd be hard pressed to say there's any difference between their fog and driving beams. Maybe fog is different in China? Having been there though, I can tell you it's pretty much the same.

 

Not SAE fog related, but because the new Retrobrights were discussed here I thought I’d share a comment from the products designer from another group when asked why they didn’t make it use an H4 style LED. It sounds like the optics are uniquely designed to the specific proprietary LED light source. I’ll have to get my hands on some.

 

The words contained in that statement should be required reading for anybody considering slapping drop in LED bulbs in their factory housings. Pretty much exactly the opposite of all of that marketing BS that states "Product X (and Y, and Z) have solved the problems of early LED replacement bulbs by duplicating the location of their LEDs to the incandescent filament."

 

Yes but that logic would run counter to the bulk of the products they sell

 

Can anyone/anyone who used Canadian dollars confirm if this

https://www.prolightz.com/products/ddcf274?variant=41087277826225

is typically the best price for this fog kit? This is my first kit and I just want to make sure I get a good deal/open to other recommendations

 

$289 USD is current 15% onsale price for the pro’s so i would say that’s right.

 

That is equivalent to the best 15% off sale price in the US.

 

Price is comparable to the US but with free shipping in Canada, that is where the deal for us North of 49 is.

 

I worship at the altar of Crash, and just upgraded my fogs from the OEM halogens with a yellow overlay to the SS3 Sport. I'm trying to decide now what to do with the rest of my lighting. I have a Heise SL2014 in the bumper, and a pair of

$45 Auxbeam 4" Side Shooter LED Pods 19W 2Pcs LED Light Bar Off Road Light Pods with 19pcs * 1w Led Chips Spot Flood Combom Beam (Pack of 2)

Auxbeam pods as ditch/driving lights at the A-pillar. I was thinking aesthetically, a pair to match the SS3 would look better, but I wonder about performance. Amber/White, combo/spot/flood, etc. I can't say I have too many complaints with the performance, aside from too much of the beam hits the hood even when angled properly to my eyes.

Just doing some long term rumination. I will be doing something else for forward lighting in the future, likely with a roof light when I get a rack.

 

How do you plan on aiming them? If straight over the hood, I'd stick with the driving only optic. If angled off to the sides, I'd go flood for low speed work or combo for a good mix of cornering and fill lighting.

Color is up to you. I upgraded my yellow pro fogs to yellow maxes, and therefore had an extra set. At the advice of @memario1214 , I went with clear combo optics for 4000K cornering/ditch lighting (also matches my driving lights). The extra 10% of output over the yellow optics makes for a better punch.

I'm still debating about where to put them. Easiest place is on traditional hood mounts, but I'm trying to decide if I want to redo my brackets so they can be placed next to my driving lights in the grill.