# Fog lights & driving lights



## Sid Post (Sep 8, 2001)

I am in the market for a set of fog lights and a set of driving lights. Selection around where I live is pretty limited.

What brands and models do you guys recommend? Any particularly good web sites? A long time a go I had a set of sealed beam Sylvania's that I loved. My last set were Bosch with individual bulbs which required a lot of maintanence (a lot of relays - about 4 a year) but, when they worked they worked well.

I'm looking for good quality lights that won't break the bank and are relatively easy to install. Good solid connectors that don't corrode easily and don't come loose from the bulbs or relays with road vibration are desired.

Thanks!
Sid


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## NightShift (Sep 8, 2001)

Wow, i've be all over the net when it comes to researching automotive lighting. I've done tons of searching for fog/driving lights for my car. 

I'd say Pilot or PIAA are good quality names. I think Hella is top quality, but a whole lot more expensive.

I've had Rally driving lights, now have Pilot fog lights and also liteglow driving lights still in the box. 

If you order amber lights, it can sometimes be dissappointing when you receive them and one light has hadrly no amber coating or when one isnt sealed properly. Gets costly and annoying when you have to ship them back for a replacement.

Let me know if you have any other questions, im experienced with these things






Just a few old sites I had bookmarked, but try searching with Google for "fog lights" or "driving lights" or both and you will come up with a ton of results:

autobarn
Vehicle Lighting
Light Lens


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## Sid Post (Sep 9, 2001)

Thanks Nightshift!

My search on Google and Yahoo got tons of unrelated light sites (seem like evading red light camera's is a popular web topic).

The comercial sites I went to were cumbersome with a very limited selection.

When I went to the local Pep Boys, they only had one set of amber Hella's available and a bunch of cheap chrome import lights. 

With my current knowledge of lights, I am a little gun shy about buying sight unseen off the web. I have gone to the Hella web site and, liked what I saw at Sylvania.

The Sylvania HID low beams looked good but, the installation looked a little complicated. Also, the $550 price tag sort of gives me a little sticker shock. Based on name recognition, I am a little biased to Hella for a "web" based purchase. I could still use a little help sorting through all the options. Are the Hella 550's a good place to start? @ $80 a pair, they certainly seem like they are priced right. How are they for installation and long term maintanence (is the wiring harness a good durable quality unit, are the housings water tight, buibs long lasting, clear and, bright?)?
http://store.yahoo.com/rodi/hel500higper1.html http://store.yahoo.com/rodi/hel500higper2.html 

Thanks!
Sid


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## NightShift (Sep 10, 2001)

sid, search for your query as a phrase if its more than one word. Put it in quotes like this~~> "fog lights" or "driving lights".
If you use google and say...wanted to find 85 watt oval Pilot driving lights, your search could look like this: pilot "driving lights" "85 watt" oval. But dont make it too specific...you can always work back from too specific by erasing stuff. That helps though to sort out the unrelated junk.

Hope that helps...
Happy surfing


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## Bucky (Sep 10, 2001)

I bought a pair of Hella 500 driving lights for my truck a couple years and they are bright, bright, bright. After copius net research, I settled on the 500s as the best bet for the least money. I found them for $50 for the pair - a steal if you ask me. I could not have hoped for anything any brighter from a pair of supposedly legal lights. They are WAY, WAY, WAY brighter than brights and although legal, should not be used when oncoming traffic is near.

If money is no option and you are looking for the brightest, coolest lights imaginable, I would opt for the Hella 4000 HID Lamps. Make no mistake, these are THE ultimate auxiliary lights - and for $675 each, they better be.

Both of the above lights can be found and purchased here: http://www.adventureaccessories.com/Adventure/Lighting.html 

Hope this helps,

Bucky


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## Lagged2Death (Sep 15, 2003)

Sorry for joining in so late. You may want to peruse Daniel Stern's automotive lighting site, which looks to me like a good source of sound wisdom on automotive lighting. There is some information specifically regarding fog lamps. He specifically recommends against the use of HID sources for fog lights; in fact, he makes a good case against aftermarket HID lights in general.

I'm not an expert on the subject by any means, but I do sometimes snoop around the sci.engr.lighting and rec.autos.tech newsgroups; Mr. Stern is a respected voice there.


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## LEDmodMan (Sep 15, 2003)

That Daniel Stern site has some really good info on fog lights! Finally, someone actually has it right for once!!! (good cut-off, right color, etc.)

I was literally kept from harm by the aftermarket projector fog lights I installed on my Honda Civic (twice, actually). They have a very clear beam cut-off, and use selective yellow principles.

The first time, I had to drive through a blizzard on I-17 just outside of Flagstaff, AZ at about 1am on my way back home from Christmas vacation with family in CO. I didn't realize how bad it was until I was in the thick of it. Cars and trucks were off of the road everywhere, and my wipers could barely keep up! I actually had to turn off my main beams (too much reflected light back into my face) in order to see the edge of the road with the fog lamps. Even then, I still could only safely go about 25 MPH! It was pretty scary. My wife just closed her eyes and told me to tell her when it was over. If you know Flagstaff, storms there can be really isolated at times. The snow didn't start until almost in town on I-40, then got worse heading south on I-17, and then 10 miles later, it was just light drizzle (yes, rain). That one was probably the worst driving experience I've had to deal with, and I grew up in Colorado!

Another similar situation happened to me near Las Vegas, New Mexico (NOT sin city LV). Had to drive home (once again from Christmas in CO) and forgot to double-check the weather in NM, as a storm has just passed through there (it hadn't passed, it was still there). Had it not been for the fog lights, I wouldn't have been able to distinguish the road from the 3 foot wall of snow cut by the plows on either side of the road. Several people had already plowed (no pun intended) into it.

*Properly aimed and used* fog lights are great!!!


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