Fog Lights

  • Thread starter Thread starter 07runner
  • Start date Start date
good argument, but they still are not practical.... if the fog lights, as you say, are indeed made for and effective for use in fog only, (but low beams are neither made for nor effective in fog because they are up too high), WHY does the manufacturer only allow the fog lights to turn on ONLY when the low beams are on????? Stupid design.

0-8 feet is the effective lighting range for 55w factory fogs. My bet is that the 4R must be going 5mph TOPS to be able to see something in those lights and still have time to stop before hitting it.

only for show - they don't work as fog lights are supposed to be designed to work... go aftermarket. go bright. go low. go independant of all other lighting. and go PIAA.

....'just my $.05 worth from experience in my wrangler that now has dedicated 85w PIAAs for fog and heavy snow conditions. Work extremely well by themselves, but only when my LBs are off. These factory 4R fogs are useless.
 
You can see in my Avatar my Hells'a , They are driving lights and let me tell you they are great it's like turning on the lights in a dark room when I hit the switch, in fog/snow/night/rain/whatever.

I don't know what I am going to do when I ditch the chrome bumpers and go to tubes in the spring, I have too find a way to mount them again.:)


Mike
 
Fog lights have to come on with the low beams because in NY State, and I am pretty sure that in other states as well, the vehicle traffic law requires fog lights to be used with low beams.

Yes I do agree that having to use the low beams with the fogs defeats the purpose of the fog lights. Recently a change was proposed to allow operation of fog lights without the low beams, but the morons we elected to office refused to vote on a change to the traffic law. Guess they did not want to improve vision in poor visibility.
 
driving in dense fog and in heavy snow can be different experiences. I would be very careful in driving in dense fog though we don't have heavy snow in this area.
I use OEM fog lights in dense fog since vehicles in front of you may not be as fast as you can go. It surely force you to slow down. I believe it is safer for everyone. The low placed OEM fog lights is very effect in making sure you are staying in lane. I would use aftermarket fog lights and high beam in heavy snow so other drivers can see me providing high beam does not cause problem to otheres.

me have no preference on brand, but notice HID is available as an aux. light.
 
abin said:
driving in dense fog and in heavy snow can be different experiences. I would be very careful in driving in dense fog though we don't have heavy snow in this area.
I use OEM fog lights in dense fog since vehicles in front of you may not be as fast as you can go. It surely force you to slow down. I believe it is safer for everyone. The low placed OEM fog lights is very effect in making sure you are staying in lane. I would use aftermarket fog lights and high beam in heavy snow so other drivers can see me providing high beam does not cause problem to otheres.

me have no preference on brand, but notice HID is available as an aux. light.
Click to expand...

There is no way you have ever driven in heavy snow. In fog the high beams make things worse. In heavy snow the glare would be so strong that you would be completely blinded. I live in the snowiest metropoliten city in the USA. This is why they wanted to pass the law to allow operation of fogs with no low beams. Low beams in heavy snow fall makes it almost impossible to see the road, the glare is very strong!
 
I've found that if at night by yourself in a blizzard there is enough ambient light to turn off the lights altogether to be able to see better (especially close to a major city). My DRL's put out just enough light for me to feel comfortable doing this. Of course, I turn them back on if I see another car.

IMO, the headlights make it harder to see in a blizzard or fog as they illuminate the snow/fog in your line of sight making it more distracting. Low beams make it tough, and high beams are USELESS if its snowing/foggy and dark. The only reason to have your headlights on is so other people can see you. The lower the mounted light, the more beneficial it will be for your vision in fog/snow.

Many people in CO drive with just their fog lights or low mounted driving lights if its snowing heavily (we don't get heavy fog often), but 4runner owners don't have that option (unless you rewire manually) I was thinking of doing this mod, but I haven't yet. Until then, on a dark road when its snowing I'll flip the switch to parking lights so my tails are still illuminated and drive using the dark amber DRL's which actually are quite bright.

My 2 cents....
 
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atomic punk said:
good argument, but they still are not practical.... if the fog lights, as you say, are indeed made for and effective for use in fog only, (but low beams are neither made for nor effective in fog because they are up too high), WHY does the manufacturer only allow the fog lights to turn on ONLY when the low beams are on????? Stupid design.
Click to expand...

The anwser is because by having your low beams on it may help the vehicles around you see you better.

Koz
 
07runner said:
There is no way you have ever driven in heavy snow. In fog the high beams make things worse. In heavy snow the glare would be so strong that you would be completely blinded. I live in the snowiest metropoliten city in the USA. This is why they wanted to pass the law to allow operation of fogs with no low beams. Low beams in heavy snow fall makes it almost impossible to see the road, the glare is very strong!
Click to expand...
yes. that's true even moderate snow with low beam. it is fun like drving in the space. no highbeam in heavy snow. me would stay at home anyway but good advice.

me wired the aftermarket F-lights so it is operated independent of other lights. it can be used with high beam though me don't see a need. normally, me would use it with low beam and OEM fog lights. occasionally, parking lights with aftermarket F-lights.
 
Koz said:
The anwser is because by having your low beams on it may help the vehicles around you see you better.
.
Koz
Click to expand...

....which is cool, so that when I go spinning off the road because I can't see where I'm going due to my blinding/reflecting LBs being on, at least other vehicles will be able to see my LBs and bail me out of a ditch somewhere.

Excellent thinking by toyota and the lawmakers. :p
 
Although the factory fogs do fill that 0-10 foot space in front of your car and to the sides, you don't need to fill it with light because you don't need to see that area!!

The purpose of having lights is so that you are able to see as far down the road as possible in any condition, at any reasonable speed. Why? So you have enough time to react, slow down/stop/veer to avoid any possible collision or accident. The factory fogs do not help with this: ie, if you are going 30mph, have only your factory fogs on and you see a deer jump out in front of your car, you're going to wish you saw that deer ALOT sooner than 5 feet in front of you. (that is, if you survive the collision) And you're going to wish you had more powerful fog lights that projected the light further.

But, if you people think they help, then whatever, it's a free world.


(they do look cool from the front view though)
 
I don't find the factory fogs all that useful in fog due to their mandated use with the low beams, but the fogs are pretty useful in slow-speed, off-road night driving.
 
Boston_Runner said:
Fog lights are yellow and driving light are untinted. Yellow light will cut thru fog much better, of course you guys know that already.
Click to expand...

Did you read the first page of this thread?
 
Boston_Runner said:
Fog lights are yellow and driving light are untinted. Yellow light will cut thru fog much better, of course you guys know that already.
Click to expand...

Yellow light cutting through fog better is a myth, we all know that, If you really do want a light that will cut through fog smoke suspended particulates then red is your color, but because of the rods and cones in the human eye the percieved brightness will seem dim, even if the actual brightness is strong, as measured with a light meter, also red can not be used because of vehicle traffic laws. yellow being the color of fog lights is untrue. We all know that except you. where do you get your information, the national inquirer, hey we all want to know.
 
atomic punk said:
Although the factory fogs do fill that 0-10 foot space in front of your car and to the sides, you don't need to fill it with light because you don't need to see that area!!
Click to expand...

You don't? I agree fog light don't help much for something too far in front of you, but look again at Koz's drawing earliar in this thread. Fog lights shine out far to the sides of the front too which you can use as a guide to STAY IN YOUR LANE. In the fog you can become very disoriented, even on a road you drive every day, so I think this is very "practical".
 
07 runner

07runner said:
Yellow light cutting through fog better is a myth, we all know that, If you really do want a light that will cut through fog smoke suspended particulates then red is your color, but because of the rods and cones in the human eye the percieved brightness will seem dim, even if the actual brightness is strong, as measured with a light meter, also red can not be used because of vehicle traffic laws. yellow being the color of fog lights is untrue. We all know that except you. where do you get your information, the national inquirer, hey we all want to know.
Click to expand...

07runner, I can see you are real passionate about your fog light colors. I didnt mean to offend you in any way, just trying to pass along some information thats all. Below is a site that talks about yellow fog lights and why they are better. It is posted by daniel stern lighting, they have alot of good information on their site about lighting.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/lights/light_color/light_color.html
 
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