What do you use fog lights for?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(banjoman @ Oct 30 2007, 12:10 AM) [snapback]532306[/snapback]</div>

you will find it useful when fog comes and rainny nights....besides that..nothing much

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(banjoman @ Oct 30 2007, 01:10 AM) [snapback]532306[/snapback]</div>

Both. Some cars even have fog lights in the rear so they can be better seen by cars behind them.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 30 2007, 01:16 AM) [snapback]532311[/snapback]</div>

I understand that generally, after-market fog lights are much more effective than OEMs.

 

They really don't help at all, I find the glare from oncoming cars with their fog lights on, to be highly annoying.
I don't remember seeing them on cars until the eighties, give or take. I guess it's a profit thing, pay six times the cost.

Dan.... I HATE FOGLIGHTS and the RUDE, mostly OBLIVIOUS, MORONS that leave them on constantly.

Yep, they are a pet peeve of mine, hence the anger---

 

I live in a true tule fog area, and have had real fog lights (always aftermarket) on other cars that did make a difference on rural roads on foggy nights and mornings. The ones on the Prius are accent lights that I only use to wink at other Prius nearby.

Fog lights are most usefull when they light up the first 40 feet or so when you can only drive 20 miles per hour because the fog is so thick. The lights should have lenses that focus the beam lower and broader than the low beam headlights. Good fog lights are rarley used and do not blind oncoming traffic.


B) Lee

 

I live on a twisting mountain road with many hairpin turns and no street lights. I converted the fogs to HID bulbs and it helps a bit to leave them on so I can see the turns in the road as I'm going around them.

If you are being bothered by others leaving the fogs on they are probably not adjusted right to begin with. No one flashes me when I'm driving the Prius or my Tacoma and both always have the fogs on. The other Tacoma's I see on the road at night with their fogs on seem fine to me.

 

Your four lights make it harder for me to see, make it eight, with the reflections if it's raining. I agree that a high quality fog light serves a needed purpose, it's the always on crowd that drives me nuts. Most people don't even know they are on, much less that they are controlled by a switch.
And yes, out of adjustment lights are a growing problem.
Lastly, in WI, fog light use is only allowed during "inclement" weather.

Dan, continuing the burden of Politeness Man....added glare is RUDE.
.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gadgetdad @ Oct 29 2007, 11:08 PM) [snapback]532327[/snapback]</div>

Gadgetdad has the credentials to know what real fog and real fog lights are. I grew up in the central valley of California, and just as some areas have snow days, we had fog days where school was delayed or canceled due to heavy fog.

The fog lights on an HID-equipped Prius are essentially useless as fog lights because the HIDs reflect way too much light off the fog back up into your eyes for the fog lights to be of any use That's exactly what you don't want in fog; the whole point of fog lights is to project a wide and low beam that doesn't reflect back up into your face The only cars I've ever driven which had useful fog lights were those with fairly weak, non-HID low-beams which did not reflect off the fog back up into your eyes, or cars where the fog lights could be turned on independently of the headlights. I've driven in fog so heavy that I had to stop and open my door and look down to see where on the road I was driving.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DGH @ Oct 30 2007, 01:27 AM) [snapback]532318[/snapback]</div>

How are foglights rude? They are dimmer and way out of the line of sight of oncoming drivers. A lot of modern cars that have foglights dont have a 2nd switch just for the fogs, they always come on with the headlights. The stupid $50 yellow ones that fag ricers put in their grills are annoying, because they dont point them correctly, but thats besides the point.

 

So if these fog lights are pretty much useless, how much of a hack would it be to convert them for use as Daytime Running Lights?

 

I love my HID's. I keep the fog light off because they use more power than the HID anyway.

 

I like the way they make the Prius look, so I leave mine on at all times that the headlights are on.

(Sorry to anyone who is offended by this...)

Honestly, I don't think they blind oncoming cars, as I have passed a number of Prii at night with theirs on, and they did not hamper my vision at all.

 

As others have said what makes them fogs is that they're mounted as low as possible to avoid reflecting off the fog back in to your eyes and the low wide beam (once again to prevent the beam from going to high and bouncing back in to your eyes). Also, HID's are the worst for fog. Pretty much the brighter white the beam, the worse it is. A yellow hue is typical for "real" foglights.

If you were to get in to the situation where you were driving in fog and couldn't see, turn on your parking lights and your factory "fog" lights. Keep the main lights off and drive carefully. Your fogs won't do any good if your main lights are reflecting in to your eyes.

 

Addendum to why the OEM fog lights are useless as fog lights: They can't be turned on independent of the headlights. So if your headlights are lighting up the fog and blinding you, the fog lights only add to the glare, rather than give you the more sensible option of a lower-angle light that's more offset from your line-of-sight to reduce glare.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 30 2007, 01:16 AM) [snapback]532311[/snapback]</div>

There ARE a few folk who've mod'ed them where they actually DO some good. Then there's Darell, who came up w/ a switch so you can run w/ them on while the head lights are off. Way cool (but not necessarily legal in all states).

 

REAL foglights are generally yellow--because they're less reflective in heavy fog at night. I've driven overseas and they're a necessity, not to mention the bright running lamp in the back during foggy conditions. ESPECIALLY on the Autobahn where rear-ending someone can be death at those speeds.
I drove in Utah for years. The dummies out there would go MachII down the interstate irrespective of the conditions. Temperature Inversions were deadly and that type of driving would inevitably be responsible for 10-20+ car pile-ups. Being SEEN is as crucial as being able to SEE in fog.

The lights on the Prius are, as folks have said, worthless except for about 20' out during normal conditions. As they ONLY run with the combination of headlights being on the reflection from the fog makes them virtually useless in fog. When combined with HID headlights they're pretty much cosmetic in MY opinion, but look sharp. Don't much care about the whiner in the vehicle coming at me because, if they're pissed off at my lights, chances are they're pissed off at pretty much every thing/one else that they can't control, too.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(skguh @ Oct 30 2007, 08:22 AM) [snapback]532419[/snapback]</div>

Wow, I've never heard of factory fog lights that have to come on with headlights. Typically they will come on with the parking lights or headlights. When used in conjunction with the parking they're somewhat useful, but yeah, when used with the headlights (especially HID) they'll just make driving in the fog even more difficult.

Mike

 

1) "How are foglights rude? They are dimmer and way out of the line of sight of oncoming drivers. A lot of modern cars that have foglights dont have a 2nd switch just for the fogs, they always come on with the headlights."

2) "I like the way they make the Prius look, so I leave mine on at all times that the headlights are on."

3) "When combined with HID headlights they're pretty much cosmetic in MY opinion, but look sharp. Don't much care about the whiner in the vehicle coming at me because, if they're pissed off at my lights, chances are they're pissed off at pretty much every thing/one else that they can control too."


#1, Uh. all lights cause glare, all proper aiming can do is minimize the effect. Please let me know what car has unswitched fogs.

#2 Then why not add some more to look even better, right?

#3 "Race Ipsa Loquitur", sad case.

Seriously folks, at least #2 and 3, you define rude and ignorant with the above statements. Maybe your eyes are not mature enough to be bothered by glare, but through your selfish, immature attitudes and actions, you cause grief for others. Do a Google on fog lights and glare, it's not your own private little island.
Harsh, maybe, but safety is first.

Dan.... shut off your useless, gas robbing, glare causing..... fog lights.

 

I don't know if the "accent" lights on the Prius can even be aimed...maybe some of them are out of adjustment, and despite their dim light, can cause irritation to some oncoming drivers...?

Just a thought.

Personally, I think it's the HID's themselves that are irritating; when I go over bumps I can really tell the glare coming from mine varies a lot, depending on the momentary angle of the car.

For me, that's a much more serious issue, that "flashing" and "color shift" effect that HID's can have, especially on a car like mine where the suspension has been modified.