Question about the Pro5's foglights!

[hihoslva]

I don't hear anybody whining. The purpose of FOGLIGHTS is to SEE better in FOG - not to "be seen".

Lights whose purpose is to let the car "be seen" by others are called RUNNING lights.

All we're doing is debating the effectiveness of what Mazda calls FOGlights.

Sorry that seems to bother you so much.

~HH

 

[bmorton]

This is like arguing which came first, the chicken or the egg. HH is right, the rationale behind fog lights is that they're supposed to help you see in fog (however, it's NOT true that yellow light is better, although this is a popular misconception). The problem is that most fog lights, not just the ones on the P5, don't really do much.

I've yet to drive a car in fog with fog lights that made any real difference at all from just having my headlights on. So, you've then got these extra lights, you may as well use them for something--and turning them on in bad weather to make your car more visible seems to be a reasonable answer. Personally I think that's the only value these 'fog' lights have. If anything, ours are better than those on most cars because of their sharp upward beam cutoff. Sure wish Pontiac could design a fog light that doesn't blind oncoming traffic.

 

[FuNwaGoN]

Wow is it getting a little warm in here or is it just WhatDAHell heating things up. I too agree that nobody is whining it is more just debating. I do also agree that the point of fog lights is for better visibility in FOG not for other to see you better. I can say that since I lived in Europe many cars come equiped with what they call a foglight in the rear of the car that does just that(MAKES OTHERS SEE YOU BETTER) Great example is on the old Porsche 944. The rear FOG light was this little dorky looking red lamp hanging from the rear bumper that would come on and off with your front foglights. I had one on my old scirocco S because I went with the whole euro look (wide bumpers and all.) Europeans deal with far worse driving conditions than we do for the most part and don't have as strict of laws as we have governing their cars. thus the reason for the difference betwwen european healdlight and us-spec headlights. I have done euro spec headlights in 4 of my previous cars, VW, BMW, VW, and Yes even my Jeep. (Hella makes a euro replacement in round or square) anyway my point to all of that was that every time I have done it, I realized just how crappy the us-spec lights are and also that it was the best money spent on each of the cars as far as mods. I also agree that the stock P% foglights do very little as far as funtionality when driving in fog. They do seem to be more pointed down but it is not the light it is like the others said and is just the reflector inside. I plan on replacing them with a set of 6" Hella Driving lights. And then adding some smaller foglights only to be used when....IT'S FOGGY OR RAINY Maybe some piaas but I have just always loved hellas(had 8 total on the jeep both driving and fog)

That is the next important topic to bring up. Each Auxillary light (meaning fog/driving/running...etc...) is specifically designed for a particular function. this function can be hampered or affected by just the improper mounting of the lights. I used to install foglights for all of my friends back in high school(around 80 sets at last count, hey it was $$$$) I have installed the same lights on several different cars and seen their effectiveness go from incredible to actually working against you (Getting glare from fog like when you use high beams) just by where they are mounted on the car and how they are aimed. oH AND IN MY OPINION i HATE YELLOW FOGLIGHTS.... damsn lexus' always blind me. Not saying I don't like how they look but I hate them just the same. As far as their effectiveness, The only thing they do is reduce glare a little bit over a normal white bulb. Now if you reallywant some nice fog lights get the HID's they are expensive but I have seen them work in dense fog and WOW!!!!!! The guy even turned off his headlights and the were still amazing. They are a little too expensive for my needs, not that much fog in NC.

Sorry such a long post and not trying to flame anybody but thought that a few things should be explained a little better or a little different.

Anyone know if the euro verion of our headlights or the jdm version are any different. I know about the black canada lights but that is just a trim piece not actually a different reflector.

 

[FuNwaGoN]

BTW WHatdahell wasn't trying to single you out was actually just making a pun about your name "HELL" = HOT.... Just wanted to clarify. Oh yeah and the difference between foglight and driving lights is just that. Driving lights are like a second pair of headlights and foglights are supposed to only be used in fog or adverse weather. Check out the Catz website as they have some great pictures of the difference between the beams, diagrams as well as actual in car shots.

www.fet-usa.com

 

[Rogue_Biker]

We get a lot of fog here in Southern Cal. I mean a lot. I'd say more than half the days of the year we have fog in the morning. And if you live near the coast, you get fog almost all year long. And there's all kinds. Light fog. Thick, soupy fog. High ceiling fog. Etc. So, over time I've used all types of lights on all kinds of fog on all kinds of cars/trucks. I have found that the best fog lights for fog are the yellow ones and when they project a low, short beam. There isn't a vehicle light in the world that can penetrate fog so having a light the projects farther than 6-10 feet would be usless since most of that light will get reflected back. You're suppose to reduce your speed in fog anyway so driving faster than what you're able to see through fog is extremely dangerous.

Also, in REALLY BAD fog, turn on your hazard lights. It increases your visibility to other drivers big time and may prevent them from slamming into you.

 

[PBH]

Interesting debate. My opinion? The "fog-lights" are useless in the fog. I installed PIAA Ion Crystal lights last week & the yellow light (which is MUCH brighter, btw) that they project can't even be seen by the driver! I have to lean forward to see any evidence of them being on.

However, I LOVE how it looks on the road. Lost of attention

 

[NAYo2002]

I read it somewhere that fog lights work beacuse fog always seems to hover around 18 inches off the ground. So by putting some light below the fog, the light doenst hit the fog.