The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

Oh don't get me wrong they make a good product as does rigid I just think DD has a little bit better product. My BD I have on my ditch lights do well.

 

I don’t have much to compare it to haha. Just the stock headlights, ARB fogs and the IPFs. None of which hold a candela (ha) to the BD. Sounds like most people like the DD. I probably would have gone that route, but I found the BDs first.

 

Lots of simple upgrades that offer big improvements to the stock headlights for little cost. What Gen do you have? It isn’t listed in your profile.

 

I have a second gen. The BDs have been a huge improvement over stock. I was surprised.

 

See this thread. Scroll down to stock wattage bulbs for the plug and play option and check out the latest Philips Racing Vision GT200 +200s.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

 

@crashnburn80

kind of a tangent from the fog light question. But I figured you may know this and can answer before Diode Dynamics can. I already have the SS3 yellow max fogs, but I’ve discovered I want more distance lighting.

I’m debating between the DD SAE dual 12” driving lights behind the grill or the non sae 30” Stealth bar with driving pattern. Now my question is this:
-is there any difference in the optic between the 12” SAE driving optic compared the to the 30” driving optic? Or is the SAE version only given the designation because it’s a lower lumen light?

 

Each of the 6 inch segments of the stage series bar is identical- so getting five 6 inch bars is the same as getting a single 30 inch bar (assuming you have the same lenses installed).

So, an SS30 will have more intensity than two SS12 bars. If you want the most light out of all the options you mentioned, the SS30 with the stealth mount from DD is a great choice. I have an SS30 on my roof and it's an excellent bar (though its mounting location and intensity make it illegal for street use).

If you are looking to maintain SAE J581 compliance for driving lights, only 5 products from Diode will fit the bill.

1. (2) SS6 bars in the white driving pattern
2. (2) SS3 sport pods in the white driving pattern
3. (2) SS3 pro pods in the white driving pattern
4. (2) SSC2 sport pods in the white driving pattern
5. (2) SSC2 pro pods in the white driving pattern

Notice that you have to have 2 separate and distinct lamps in order to be compliant, so a single SS12 bar won't be legal even though it's functionally the same as 2 SS6 bars.

Check out the driving lights thread for more ideas.

 

Thanks. I figured the optics are the same. Though, they do have SAE driving in the 12” as well.

https://www.diodedynamics.com/stage-series-12-sae-dot-white-light-bar-pair.html

 

Yeah, I think that's a mistake on the website. Each 12 inch driving bar has 110,000 candela, which is greater than the 98,000 candela from the SS3 max driving pod (the max driving pod is non-compliant).

Each page says: Not just off road. In six-inch size, when installed as a pair and aimed in accordance with your state's regulations, the Driving pattern meets SAE J581 as a Driving/Auxiliary High Beam Light, and the Wide pattern meets SAE J583 as a Foglamp, for legal on-road use. Please check your local laws and regulations for aiming, installation, and applicability.

But I do agree it's weird that the SS12 is listed as "SAE driving" instead of just "driving" like the other bigger bars. @Diode Dynamics

 

Yea, that’s a good point on the Max Driving not meeting compliance due to intensity. A single 12” has a higher candela and lux @10m than the Max, yet it’s still being labeled as SAE compliant…. Hopefully DD can chime in and clarify.

 

Paging @Diode Dynamics

 

That’s next on the list. Thank you for compiling that. I had no idea there were other options that maintained factory cut off, if that’s the proper term.

 

Thanks, I am looking into this. Not sure offhand if the SAE title on 12", or the 12" data needs adjustment. The 6" is definitely compliant for Driving.

Paul

 

Well, it will be interesting to see if they are actually pursuing that, making a separate version later that is pending certification or if it will be like Baja Designs where they claim them to be street friendly?

Is the one you have a "Pre-Production" model or the actual production model? I'm curious if this is the case with the videos online also?

 

SS3 pro’s ordered!!

 

Awesome! Thank you!

I'm not trying to wholly dismiss the Morimotos or act like a Diode Dynamics fan boy. But like I have said in previous comments...I find it hard to believe that Diode Dynamics left 20% more output on the table in comparison to the HXB. I find it harder to believe that 3 of the same LED chips can outperform or perform equally to 4 LED chips while operating safely. My only thought as to how is that the light is more concentrated since the beam pattern is more narrow. But even then I am skeptical.

@crashnburn80, are you planning on testing these even if they are not SAE J583 compliant? I think it would be worth while to test them as an informative source since many people reference this thread across the automotive spectrum.

 

Diode Dynamics has made a very high performance light with their max pods. However, they built a product that balances performance with lifespan.

The LED that is used in both the Max and the HXB 4banger is capable, with adequate heat sinking, of producing north of 1400 lumens per chip... at an 8 Amp drive current. That's over 33 watts of energy. A significant amount of heat to dissipate. The Osram boost hx chip is being run somewhere in the 3.5A area at a very stable output. The pod itself is the limiting factor, there is only so much surface area the SS3 has to dissipate heat. DD could absolutely pump 6+Amp into each chip and then use a temperature sensor to throttle that back. This would result in extremely high performance on startup, but would drop off extremely quickly. 40ish watts is a lot of heat to dissipate in such a small form factor. Such abuse is also going to shorten the lifespan of the chips.

You're also forgetting that the HXB optic doesn't have as wide a beam pattern as the max fog optic does. The HXB doesn't have to make as much total light as the SS3 if its lighting up a smaller area. And if the thermal mass and surface area per LED chip is slightly more for the HXB vs the SS3, then you have some additional room to push each of the three emitters harder, at least until (hopefully) a thermal circuit drops it back. On balance though, the driver circuitry of the HXB may shed more heat than the SS3's, nullifying that mass/surface area difference.