The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

I hope this is actually a performer. It would be good to see morimoto bring some high performance lighting to the market (more is always welcome), even if they can't count.

 

One thing that strikes me is that the typical TIR "cone" is truncated on all 3 portions of the optic, in order to fit them into that staggered pattern. I wonder if this has an effect different from the ones on the stage series, which are fully realized until they meet at the face (exit) of the optic.

 

LETS GET IT ON!!!!!

Can't wait to see the results and how they stack up in reality!! Pause everything in your life and get to it already!!!!! haha, just playing

 

$10 says quality control issues and a needed replacement is in order.

 

Reading this article about a Jeep Wrangler tipping on a small overlap test... And this is only thing I retained from reading it "Both vehicles have subpar headlights."

 

Pretty stupid of them to compare the crash effects of a live axle vehicle vs an IFS set up. Would have been similar results if Ford had kept the solid front axle.

 

Yep. You can see it rotate under the floorplan and cause the tip. Engineering is always a compromise.

 

Waiting to see if the 4bangers really are here to take the crown

 

I'm sure crash is hard at work on his usual unbiased, highly scientific tests and the results will be more than worth the wait.

I'm going to offer my opinion though before the results are in. Even if the new Morimoto units out-perform the Diode Dynamics Max, I'm not going to run out and buy them. My reasoning? I'm a retired engineer with over 35 years of manufacturing experience. (Yes, I've been there and done that.) I have not been impressed with the engineering and manufacturing chops behind Morimoto products. And yes, some of this is from personal experience. From what I've seen, even if they perform in the short term, they don't last. It's kind of like certain auto manufacturers that rate highly in the JD Power Initial Quality rankings, but fail miserably in long term reliability. Could they surprise me here? Maybe, but I'm not holding my breath. Just my personal opinion.

 

For me it's the fact that they're not as wide. And the "top dawg" version isn't SAE compliant. Those two criteria make them a non-starter for me. And the spot/combo patterns just look like an afterthought.

 

100% This!! I get that they are trying to meet a price point and have a different customer base, but overall Morimoto is just meh in overall quality in my experience. Morimoto's projectors are the one area that I would say they excel. Mainly because because the only other options for retrofits are lesser grade or OEM. The "lesser grade" projectors usually seen on ebay, aliexpress, etc are usually the same as Morimoto's but lesser quality control grades and/or older obsolete models. We all know Yoshi Ishida (Morimoto's engineer) can make lighting products with amazing output and quality, but he has to work within the bean counters and Morimoto's marketing parameters. I would love to see a version of lighting Engineers Gone Wild to see what they can come up with!! Especially since companies have adaptive light bars that have amazing technology!! IE XK-Glow S.A.R. light bars, Rigid ADAPT, Feniex AI series just to name a few as well as some of the lights out of Australia, though they come at quite a high cost!!

Don't get me wrong, I think Morimoto makes decent products, customer service is amazing, usually simple to use and they do tend to be innovators in the custom lighting industry. But again they have parameters they need to stay within. A company won't be successful making the "best" product if the price is out of reach. But it's also about brand recognition, Morimoto sounds more exotic than Diode Dynamics and Morimoto has become a buzz word like Rigid and Baja Designs.

Exactly! A more narrow light in a "fog" light beam pattern is not the purpose. I'm very curious as to actual reason the HXB (top dawg) is not SAE compliant?? On their website it does state this:

HXB WIDE BEAM: Illuminates the ground directly in front of the vehicle. The HXB Optics feature dual axis control. 1) for width, and 2) active hot spot control to project peak intensity right along the top of the beam pattern. The proper vertical gradient resembles an SAE-Compliant fog light pattern, but with added intensity throughout thanks to the Osram HX Boost LEDs. The 4Banger HXB Wide beam delivers the best combination of width, intensity, and control -- making it the most effective off-road LED fog light in the world.

So on their site they even mentions that that the HXB only "resembles an SAE-Compliant fog light pattern". But their marketing and youtube videos are completely the opposite with many average people would easily be confused by the language on their website and think they are being responsible. It's not solely the fault of the customer if they don't understand, its the responsibility of the marketing. Of course many people don't give 2 f*cks about proper lighting anyways and are just fanboys looking for brand recognition for their Instagram cred, that will never change.

 

I keep hearing that they're not as wide, but again, I'm waiting for @crashnburn80 to publish the results of his testing to see.

Here's my main concern on quality and longevity. When comparing the top dog Morimoto to the top dog Diode Dynamics, the Morimoto has 3 emitters, and the Diode Dynamics has 4. (They both use the exact same Osram HX Boost LEDs.) The Morimotos appear to have a smaller heat sink area. If the Morimoto indeed has a greater output, they must be driving the chips harder. Coupe this with less heat sink area and I don't think this is going to end well. Again, I'll wait for quantified, objective, unbiased scientific testing - which we all know is only conducted by one guy.

 

The only thing that needs attention on the projectors is the high beam actuator and they recommend that it be tested with a 9v at least 50 times to test it's function reliability. The rest of the HID components tend to be hit and miss as far as reliability.

 

That is annoying to test the high beam function. I used to build power supplies that I called Tacticool Powertool for retrofitters, life has been busy though and I haven't made any for a while. It's surprising that there are so many extremely talented retrofitters out there that just don't want to deal with making a power supply rig. Crazy seeing $1500+ builds and they are using a power tool battery for testing. lol Anyways, on the 3rd circuit (far right) I had a on/off/on switch that was full on/off/adjustable relay. At first I just thought about using the adjustable relay so you can test blinkers and the builder could send a video of the final product. But the first buyer mentioned how it could be used for testing the high beam actuator testing. He claimed that was one of his favorite functions and I have to agree with him!!

It isn't a fancy high dollar power supply, but it works for just about anything automotive lighting testing. The pig tails are tied into circuit 1 and 2 with 9006 connectors so you can connect directly to the ballast instead of messing with power leads and a bunch of excess wire. I still have 1 left if anyone wants it too, not trying to put a sale plug in here.







Sorry to get off track, but it goes along with the general lighting nerdery stuff. lol

 

Haha yes this was a true story, back in the early 2010's when the high beam mechanisms were operated by the vertical solenoids. That became a problem of the past once the Mini D2S was in its third gen, and Mini H1 went to the 7th gen back in 2015 or so

 

Are you the real Matt Kossoff that hails from TRS? Welcome to TW and I look forward to seeing your comments as one of the OG's in retrofits/aftermarket lighting!!

 

haha yes, same guy! Just a bit older and with slightly worse vision after many years of staring at bright lights (albeit with proper cutoff lines of course!)

 

Has anyone tried these bulbs? 2019 SR5. Wondering if these can work without replacing the entire unit. Thanks

Fog Light LEDs for 2016-2021 Toyota Tacoma (pair) (diodedynamics.com)

 

It depends on what you're looking for. If you're just looking for something that "looks cool," they'll probably be just fine. If you really want a performance upgrade, you need to replace the entire unit(s).

 

Thanks. Just looking for something brighter than stock and the yellow or amber color for better visibility when the fogs are needed.