How To Choose The Best Fog Lamps? Tips & Tricks

Xenon and Biksenon are by nature not able to overcome the fog, because they are above, their rays are much thicker than the fog optics. Anti-fog glasses have a simpler structure and a much lower price. They produce a flat and wide beam that goes directly across the road and cuts through the invisible smog cover. It improves the visibility of the path by the occurrence of fog effect that occurs at the boundary of shadow and light.

Criteria for the right choice

Color

When we think about the choice of the fog lamp, we must first look at the color and material of the headlights. It was found that in the fight with the fog you show yourself a more productive device with a yellow or white hue. If you decide to choose the fog lights, then stop at these colors. They are part of the blue spectrum, and in turn, it is better distributed than the rest in the water particles.

On the contrary, the red and blue colors will hardly help you in unsafe weather. They are more beauty-oriented and can cause penalties. All because the lights with the lighting color can not be installed at the front of the vehicle. Also, we do not recommend using bulbs in the design of lamps of different colors, i.e. if the lamp has a certain shade and the headlight must be the same shade.

Marking

All types of headlamps have their own marking and front fog lamps are no exception. It is applied to the body or surface of the device. Good fog lamps with the certificate are identified by the letter “E” and have a product code behind them.

• The passing beam device is designated by the letter ‘C’, but only as a separate lighting device.
• The beam of the device is designated by the letter “R”, but only as a separate device.
• Versions with halogen lamps are usually marked with the letter “H”.
• Lamps with optical plastic lenses are marked with the letters “PL”.
• The glass appliance is marked with the letter “S”.

Additional tips for buying

When choosing the anti-fog optic, you should pay attention to the following points:

• When purchasing, it is best to choose a sealed and robust case, thick glass, but no plastic. PTF is placed very close to the road so that a small pebble can easily damage or break the surface of thin plastic.
• Buy the optics only with the rugged and aerodynamic shape. They do not produce any extraneous noise that occurs at high speeds of movement.
• It is desirable that the design of the lamps can be dismantled, if not, you must buy a new device, it is enough to replace the burnt-out bulbs. This function is useful if the PTF surface is damaged.
• A qualitative restraint is not enough, a good fog lamp should be freely adjustable. Incorrectly set PTFs have the possibility of dazzling other road users, which creates additional situations in the event of an accident.
• After purchasing the optics, it is necessary to allow sufficient time for installation. As a rule, the fixation is given a special place. If this is not the case, the luminaires are adjusted symmetrically to the longitudinal axis and the distance to the road should not be less than 25 cm.
• The fog of the power optics must not exceed 50-60 watts. Lamps of this type are marked H-1, H-3 on their bases.

Fog Lights For Your Car

1. Best fog lamps for cars
2. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HIGH BEAM AND FOG LAMPS
3. CRITERIA FOR THE RIGHT CHOICE
4. HOW FOG LIGHTS WORK
5. WHICH FOG LIGHTS TO BUY
6. WHAT YOU SHOULD CONSIDER WHEN BUYING FOG LAMPS
7. CONCLUSION

Xenon and Biksenon are by nature not able to overcome the fog, because they are above, their rays are much thicker than the fog optics. Anti-fog glasses have a simpler structure and a much lower price. They produce a flat and wide beam that goes directly across the road and cuts through the invisible smog cover. It improves the visibility of the path by the occurrence of fog effect that occurs at the boundary of shadow and light. You don’t know, how to select led light bulbs? So read our review about this.

What are the best lights for fog?

If you stumble out of the door at dawn with coffee in your hand, you will be surprised by a heavy white shroud covering the landscape. It is a super foggy morning that makes for a slow and tricky ride. Fog lights have been developed for such conditions, a safety feature that far outperforms conventional headlights. Let’s take a look at the science behind fog lamps. The best off road lights you find on our website.

Fog lamps for sale

Fog lights are a solution here and go a different way with all the water vapor hanging over the road. They work in several conditions of poor visibility, including fog, mist, snow and even sand. So that you can see the road through the fog, the factory installed fog lights are placed as low as possible, usually in the lower bumper cover in most modern vehicles. Despite its appearance, the fog usually does not touch the ground, but hovers about 18 inches above the surface. Due to the low arrangement of the fog lamps on a vehicle, the light beam can hit the road without interference. With a sharp shut-off angle in the upper side of the lamp housing, none of the beams illuminate to reflect the fog, only the road in front of it. Tilted downwards, fog lamps do not have the “range” of headlamps, but they should illuminate so much of the road that drivers slowly reach their destination. Since the fog lights do not just reflect the light back, other drivers are aware of your presence on the road, which is a second safety advantage.

This optics can be adjusted at will or to buy a car with the option. Most of the time, such optics emit yellow or white light, but to work properly, they must be uniform and identical. In some cases fog can be a substitute for the middle light.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HIGH BEAM AND FOG LAMPS

“Driving light” is an ambiguous term that can mean headlights or any additional lighting such as fog lights or even turn signals. In current use, “driving light” refers to additional large round lights placed at the front as found in rally cars and off-road vehicles. There are many sizes and styles available, most with a universal fitting that adapts to a Subaru WRX as well as a Ford F-150. While increasing visibility at night, driving lights are designed for clear weather conditions.

Fog lamps for trucks

Front fog lamps differ from driving lamps in their internal construction and arrangement. With a beam angle in the upper part of the housing, front fog lamps are designed in such a way that they emit the light only onto the road. Another common element is yellow lenses, yellow light bulbs or both. Many drivers assume that all fog lights are yellow, but that does not have to be the case. The science behind the yellow tint is due to the wavelength of the light colors. Yellow light is a longer wavelength than blue or white light. In theory, the longer wavelength means that it can penetrate a thicker atmosphere or even water, which is why submarines have very long wavelengths to communicate. Fog lights work because of the mounting position and angle they are aimed at, not because of the color.

HOW FOG LIGHTS WORK

To understand how fog lights work, we should first take a look at how fog works. In many parts of the world, especially near large waters, fog is a regular occurrence. If the conditions are right, tiny drops of water or ice crystals can float in the air, directly above the ground surface. The tiny drops of water or ice crystals not only act like a cloud and block vision, but also reduce visibility by reflecting light that hits them. This makes driving in fog with headlights and especially with high beams a frustrating and dangerous experience.

Fog lamps for bike

All vehicles are equipped with headlights. However, not all vehicles are equipped with perfect fog lights and most drivers tend to install them as a personal safety measure. The fog lamp has a unique narrow and flat beam and is placed near the bumper. They also have a separate switch from the headlight so you can choose depending on the weather.

1. Why you need fog lights

The color temperature is the color description given to each light color. The unit of measurement for color temperature is Kelvin, while the unit of measurement for color brightness is Lumen. Contrary to what you would expect, the higher the temperature, the less visible a color is.

Fog lamps used to be yellow for a long time. History goes back to France, where the French used the yellow light to indicate the nationality of foreign cars at night. Yellow light has a color temperature of 3000 Kelvin and is therefore suitable for bad weather conditions as it is very visible. Yellow light was classified as the best result in poor visibility compared to other luminaires.

When buying fog lamps, it is best to choose the yellow ones as they offer the best visibility in bad weather.

2. City laws for fog light colors

Most city laws provide that the fog lamp should be white or amber. Oregon Law, for example, requires fog lights to be either white or yellow. Lights such as blue are prohibited. In addition, fog lights should be switched off if you are within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle. A distance of 350 feet is indicated when one vehicle follows another.

Similar to Oregon, Washington City laws specify white and amber as acceptable light colors for fog lights. Washington law also prohibits the use of fog lights when a car’s dipped-beam headlights are not in use.
You should therefore confirm the permitted fog light colors in your city before purchasing.

WHICH FOG LIGHTS TO BUY

If your vehicle was not factory fitted with fog lights, this is a simple and cost-effective upgrade. There are vehicle-specific kits that you can use to retrofit what the factory could have installed, but this route is not always an option. If you choose factory style fog lights, you simply know that you will probably need to remove the bumper and add the fog-specific grille for a factory look. Universal fog lights are another affordable option and can be integrated into any vehicle. Simply choose the style and size you like and find a place to attach them. They usually include hardware to adapt to almost any grille, bumper or other location of choice. Just note that fog lights with glass lenses are more durable than headlights with plastic lenses, and the yellow is just for the look. In addition, make sure you mount them in a place where they will not be destroyed by a pothole or low driveway.

Do fog lights help at night?

After installing fog lights, take a few minutes to light them on a nearby wall and adjust the beam angle so that it is low enough. Also, remember not to drive with them all the time, as this may be illegal near you and annoy other drivers. When a light bulb burns out, fog lamps are affordable and replaceable in minutes.

What you should consider when buying fog lamps

When buying fog lamps for your car, you will come across various terms that describe the characteristics of different lighting models. You need to know what each of these terms means to help you choose the right fog lights for your car. Here are important terms/factors you need to consider when choosing the best fog lights for bicycles, semi trucks or any other car you have;

1. Compatibility

One of the first things to consider is compatibility. Fog lights are mounted on bumpers, which means you need to check if your car has bumpers for fog lights. Some cars have unique bumpers that make it difficult to install fog lights.

Therefore, before buying fog lights, visually inspect your car to make sure that the fog lights can be installed without any problems. You should also check the sockets to make sure you buy the right fog lights for the sockets on your bumpers.

Other compatibility factors you should check are ensuring that your car has enough power and voltage for the lights. However, this should not be a problem if your car is not equipped with many other devices.
If you have a newer European car, you may need to install a load resistor to avoid flickering.

2. Colour temperature

The colour temperature in this case refers to the tint of the fog lamp measured in Kelvins. Colour temperatures of less than 3,000 Kelvin contain more amber or yellow and are referred to as warm. Higher values of more than 6,000 Kelvin contain blue and are usually cool.

Most fog lights have an average colour temperature of 5,000-6,000 Kelvin. This temperature causes an eye strain due to its blue color portion and produces very brittle pictures. If this gives you cause for concern, you may want to consider a yellow or yellow fog lamp, as these will not stain your eyes even after prolonged use.

3. Brightness

The amount of light produced by a light bulb and usually measured in lumens, which indicates the light intensity. The higher the lumen value, the more concentrated the light.

Fog lamps Lumen Value range from 1000 to 3000 lumens. The average brightness is between 1,500 and 2,000 lumens. Note that the more brightness is generated, the more expensive a fog lamp will be.

4. Cooling functions

Due to the brightness they produce, the fog light generates a lot of heat. While this is no problem for HID and halogen lamps, LED lamps are usually made of materials that can withstand excessive heat. This means that you need to check whether fog lamps have built-in cooling.

Since most fog lamps produce between 1500 and 2000 lumens on average, their cooling requirements are not as high as for example LED headlight lamps with 8,000 lumens.

However, you will still find manufacturers who install a better cooling system in their LED fog lamps to make them durable.

5. Safety functions

These include the housing of the light bulb and the presence of features such as burglar and shock protection. The reason you should pay attention to security features is that LED chips are made of fragile materials, which makes their protection important.

Avoid LED light bulbs with less than IP-67 protection, although you will find some with less protection such as IP-65. With IP-67 this means that neither water nor dust can easily affect your light bulb.

6. Easy installation

In addition to considering the characteristics of a light bulb, you should also make sure that it is designed to make installation in different types of vehicles easier.

Vehicles come with different base types for their lighting system, so you need to buy a light bulb that has an appropriate plug that fits perfectly into your car’s headlight area. If you get a light bulb with a matching plug, then a plug-and-play installation is guaranteed.

With these factors in mind, you will be able to buy the right fog lights for your car. Well, let’s talk about the different types of fog lights on the market.

Conclusion

Do yellow fog lights work better?

The main difference between the two seems to be the price. Perhaps the reason why the yellow light is more expensive than the white light is because of the brighter view. As already mentioned, yellow light has a color temperature of 3000 Kelvin, while pure white light has a color temperature of 6000 Kelvin.

LED light bulbs give you high quality, bright light with low power consumption. They have also been recorded as fast on/off, suggesting that they have a small response time bar. LED light bulbs have also been tested for stable performance and energy savings. Anyone who wants to upgrade their halogen lights should consider the Auxbeam LED lights to be the cheapest choice.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST FOG LAMPS VIDEO