Fog lights, on or off

[Threxx~]

They tend to be left on and of course come on when the auto headlights come on and the DRLs come off.

But it's really just done for looks. I think about the only time I've found foglights to be really useful is at night when I'm parked at a car camping site and need to see - that way I don't have to use the light on my head, the foglights light the immediately surrounding ground pretty well (better than the headlights do).

I've even had times in dense fog where I tried with and without foglights on my gs400, audi, 4runner, silverado, and more and never noticed a truely worthwhile difference. A difference? Yeah, but not like 'hey that helps'... at all.

Fog lights would work so much better for us if the law would allow us to turn off the headlights. Sort of defeats the purpose of good aftermarket fog lights. Wish the factory fogs were better, be one less thing to need to buy in the future.

No true foglight is ideal for driving with in PLACE of your headlights.

Driving lights, maybe, but not foglights.

 

[cdoyle]

How frequently do you have to replace the bulbs if you run your fog lights all the time?

The main reason I don't run mine (except in foggy conditions) is just to prevent early burn-out of the bulbs. On my previous SUV, I only used the fog lights when it was foggy. One bulb was replaced after it was broken by a rock, and the other bulb lasted for over 5 years.

Mine have been on ever since I did the mod, so they could be on all the time. That was about a year and a half ago. Still on the original bulbs.

 

[Falls]

There is no light that cuts through fog. I only use them to add some light on the road at nite or in rain at nite.

I personally think the factory fogs ( if you call them that ) are pretty damn good for factory. I've had some vehicles ( mainly GM ) that has awful fogs on them . My last one 04 Z71 Tahoe and my mothers 05 Trailblazer you literally could not see if they were even on they were so bad. So needless to say I'm thrilled with the 06 SE fogs.

 

[4Stunna]

You should add a choice in the survey. I never use the factory fogs because I think they are worthless.

Do you even have a 4runner yet

 

[drake3]

Do you even have a 4runner yet

That's what I was thinking when I read 007's post. Since your runner is on order how can you say you either use/don't use the "factory" fogs of a 4runner (unless you have a current 3rd or 4th gen)?

Just curious, not trying to slam you.

 

[nated05]

I dont think ive ever used mine, I honestly kind of forgot they were there. I do keep my headlights on all the time for safety if nothing else.

 

[blindside]

i use mine just for looks, i already have HID's so plenty of light for me without the fogs

 

[kscott]

i always leave my headlights on for visibility/safety.

i only turn my fog lights one when i'm trying to get someone's attention to get out of my way.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I have the fog light mod done and I use fogs (driving lights) at dusk or in the rain.

 

[kimboy]

I have a difficult time seeing cars when people use their fogs as driving lights. It's a distraction for me. You can not get a good feel for the size of the vehicle. Moreover, driving lights are required to be a certain height for a reason.

The headlight bulbs are rated the same as the fogs, and the stock Phillips bulbs should last for a very long time. I believe you should maximize your visibility, and not confuse others (using fogs as driving lights). Remember, you may not notice the difference, but other drivers can. Also, the stock headlights work great for our vehicles.

 

[rx900]

Use em because they can fool other GX owners that might think it's a GX from far away. I swear, a 06 or 07 4Runner, with both headlights and fog lights on, you'd swear also you see a GX from far away! :awais: :beer:

 

[sketch1]

I leave mine off simply because it's illegal in Oklahoma to drive with your fog lights on when it's not foggy. I have no idea why, I drove with them on when I first got my runner, but after getting pulled over for it, I decided not to run them. I only got a warning, but it's not worth being pulled over just to have a little more light.

 

[pipspeak]

I leave mine off simply because it's illegal in Oklahoma to drive with your fog lights on when it's not foggy. I have no idea why, I drove with them on when I first got my runner, but after getting pulled over for it, I decided not to run them. I only got a warning, but it's not worth being pulled over just to have a little more light.

I'm glad some states have the sense to have such a law. In the UK it's illegal to drive with either front or rear fog lights on unless there is actually fog, or extremely reduced visibility (snow, for example).

The reason is simple... fog lights are extremely bright and do nothing to aid visibility for the driver in normal weather unless you're driving at 10 mph or have them so badly adjusted that they point up instead of down. I'm often dazzled when oncoming cars have fog lights on when it's raining or the road is wet at night... they produce a huge amount of glare - one reason the UK, and apparently OK, have a law.

 

[<<<<]

On in fog or snow only. I have 80 watt Super Yellow Nokya and those are bright as hell. Also I do not want to run much hotter than stock bulbs longer than necessary.

 

[cdoyle]

I leave mine off simply because it's illegal in Oklahoma to drive with your fog lights on when it's not foggy. I have no idea why, I drove with them on when I first got my runner, but after getting pulled over for it, I decided not to run them. I only got a warning, but it's not worth being pulled over just to have a little more light.

wow that's pretty lame. The stock foglights are really just a driving light anyways. They aren't bright enough to blind anyways.

Can't believe you got pulled over for that.

I thought Washington had some stupid laws, but that one takes the cake.

 

[HiVel-JR]

I do not think the fogs work that well, they only light up the area right in front of the car. I do not know about the rest of you, but I do not drive 6 feet in front of my car, when I look up there is actually more road in front of the vehicle. (LOL) In Europe fog lights are really bright and they have them on the rear too. I use to love turning on the brights and the fogs at the same time, talk about daylight coming from the front of the car!!! The headlights were as big as volleyballs on my BMW and the fogs were quiet large as well.

 

[atomic punk]

do not know about the rest of you, but I do not drive 6 feet in front of my car, when I look up there is actually more road in front of the vehicle.

Exactly. I don't know why people think they actually serve a purpose other than look cool. By the time your stock fogs light up something on the road that your driving lights may have missed, you have RUN OVER IT ALREADY. Trust me, or TRY IT. I don't want to do the math, but unless you are travelling about 5mph, they DON'T HELP YOU.... but if you are driving 5mph, you shouldn't be driving.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

High end car's stock driving lights do work or at least a couple of Lexus and Porsches I've ridden in did work.

I replaced my stock H3 bulbs with Hella Optilux Extreme Yellow H3s since the Silverstars were a decent improvement over stock but didn't do much good in the wet and snow but I've yet to give these new yellow bulbs a real test but for $25 a pair I figured it wouldn't hurt to try them.

 

[icantsee]

I agree w/ atomic punk...

...they don't serve a purpose.

It shines what's directly in front of your bumper, but I don't care, because the headlights already shined what's ahead of me, whatever it right next to my bumper is pointless.

Since I don't have DRL...I run mine w/ parking lights all the time.

And we got auto-off, so we are in good shape.

 

[rx900]

I agree w/ atomic punk...

...they don't serve a purpose.

It shines what's directly in front of your bumper, but I don't care, because the headlights already shined what's ahead of me, whatever it right next to my bumper is pointless.

Since I don't have DRL...I run mine w/ parking lights all the time.

And we got auto-off, so we are in good shape.

Park lights aren't as bright as the DRL, plus your interior controls are kinda dimmed, because with the lights on, supposidly it's "dark" and they dim to lessen glare.

The fog lights help you see potholes in the road for you to avoid. : :zoom: