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Reply to "Fog light wiring."

I’m trying not to sound  like a broken record, but again:

Fog Lights throw light forward and down, sweeping the forward pavement out 50-75 feet (US) or 200 feet (Euro).  They have wrinkly lenses, sometimes even yellow (not amber).  Most American/Asian made fog lights are pure junk. Good fog lights will not reflect much light off of fog, rain or snow out to their limits due to their height cut-off limits.   Bad fog lights (and there are many) are aimed too high and reflect everything - They’re terrible and dangerous, even in good conditions.

Driving lights project light forward, focused between 1/4 and 1/2 mile out (1 mile in Europe) culminating in a bright spot out there 2 lanes wide.  Coming from the other way, that spot is a high intensity blinding light for oncoming drivers and should be used with caution and NEVER on low beam.  The lens is perfectly clear, no flutes at all and NEVER in yellow (unless on a GT car on the track to distinguish from a DP or LeMans car which have white a lens).

Bad fog or driving lights are those “no-name” or unrecognized brands from the Autozones and O’Reilly’s of the world or especially Walmart.  The back-up light on my lawn tractor threw more light than a typical Walmart “Fog light”.  The “Chrome Vintage Fog Light” with amber lens from Speedway motors is about equivalent to an old flashlight.  I’ve seen them on Speedsters (and a few newer Minis) and a flashlight out the window would be better.

Good fog or driving lights come from:  Cibie, Marshall (reproductions are not quite as good as originals, but better than most other Asian versions), PIAA, Hella, Lucas Flame Throwers (only the originals).  Hella has brought out a line of focused LED fog and driving lights that my GT4 racing friend says are awesome (he races the 12 hours of Sebring and the 24 hours of Daytona), but I have no direct experience so far.  I can only imagine that they’re good because the racers use them.

Just remember that quality light, where you want it, isn’t cheap.  If you’re paying less than $100 per pair for fog or driving lights, you probably should be looking for something better from those companies above.  Good light out there, where you really need it, might just save your life or prevent an accident, someday.

Good light hunting.

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