What is the Benefit of Fog Lights?

[Jucius Maximus]

Do fog lights on a car have any benefit other than cosmetic?

Do they actually improve visibility in fog?

[KawaiiTentacleBeast]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_lighting#Fog_lamps

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/lights/fog_lamps/fog_lamps.html

Basically it's a good way to spot ricers and idiots in a crowd.

[mr_sandman]

we had fog lights on our 08 Caravan rental, they were useless in thick fog, it actually made the visibility worse!

[TheRide]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_lighting#Fog_lamps

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/lights/fog_lamps/fog_lamps.html

Basically it's a good way to spot ricers and idiots in a crowd.

Idiots being the ones that aim it improperly. Please aim your fog/auxillery lights properly to the ground and not to on-coming traffic or our rear view mirrors.

[Pete_Coach]

True fog lights work very well when used properly. They should be (as another poster said), be aimed parallel to the ground and only a few inches above the ground. They should also be used by themselves, meaning, turn off the headlights and only use he fog lights. This reduces the glare created by the wide beam of the headlights. They should also be slightly yellow to cut the fog.
The same aiming process goes for the driving lights.

[squall458]

True fog lights work very well when used properly. They should be (as another poster said), be aimed parallel to the ground and only a few inches above the ground. They should also be used by themselves, meaning, turn off the headlights and only use he fog lights. This reduces the glare created by the wide beam of the headlights. They should also be slightly yellow to cut the fog.
The same aiming process goes for the driving lights.

Not totally sure, but my fogs dont come on unless my headlights are on? I tried to find a way to keep them separate, but I havent figured it out yet.

[ichpen]

Not totally sure, but my fogs dont come on unless my headlights are on? I tried to find a way to keep them separate, but I havent figured it out yet.

THat's quite correct. I believe the earlier poster meant to say high beams not your regular headlights (dipped).

[SkylineR34X]

In order for fog lights to be effective, it should not be used in combination with low or high beam.

The reason why fog is mounted low is to reduce the glare caused by water droplets in fog. Having low beam and fog lights on at the same time is completely useless.

And yes it is true that most North American car's fog lights are for cosmetic purpose only. European (ie. BMW/Audi) can have Fog lights on without having to turn the low beam on.

[gman]

The stock fog light that comes with my van did improve visibility in fog. Not by much though.

[ShadowVlican]

my stock fogs are for show

[torrento]

so.. fog lights are illegal during normal driving conditions? (according to Wikipedia). Does that apply to Ontario drivers as well?

[DJ_Peanuts22]

so.. fog lights are illegal during normal driving conditions? (according to Wikipedia). Does that apply to Ontario drivers as well?

apparently not, because it's always been a "trend" here in toronto

[SkylineR34X]

No it is not illegal to use fog lights in Ontario.

HTA states that the maximum number of forward pointing lights for illumination purposes is 4. So 2 for low beam and 2 for fogs is perfectly legal.

[VorteC]

My fogs aren't really useful for forwards visibility.. but they do provide around 160 degrees of lighting.. that's like my peripheral vision lol. I use it to read house numbers at night when I'm driving down streets. If they were yellow or something, I guess other cars can see my car better in the fog.. however they're colour matched with my HID lowbeams.

[Pete_Coach]

My fogs aren't really useful for forwards visibility.. but they do provide around 160 degrees of lighting.. that's like my peripheral vision lol. I use it to read house numbers at night when I'm driving down streets. If they were yellow or something, I guess other cars can see my car better in the fog.. however they're colour matched with my HID lowbeams.

You have the lower lights pointed so high that you can read house numbers? Isn't that one of the complaints about these lights? Improper aiming?:confused:

[ES_Revenge]

In order for fog lights to be effective, it should not be used in combination with low or high beam.

The reason why fog is mounted low is to reduce the glare caused by water droplets in fog. Having low beam and fog lights on at the same time is completely useless.
With high beams I would agree but with low beams that's not necessarily the case. As a note I do find many cars do indeed turn off their fog lamps when high beams are on, however there are often people that rewire them (rather senselessly IMO) to come on with high beams as well.

As people have mentioned, fog lamps should only illuminate the ground area right in front of the car, so that one can see such things as lane markings so as to stay in their lane. However they provide (or should provide) little forward illumination--that's the job of your low beam headlights.

At night and in fog, you usually still need your low beams on to see anything in front of you as fogs don't provide enough forward lighting as mentioned. In denser/thicker fog, it's true that even your low beams can create enough reflection off the fog that you'll get less visibility ("white out" effect); but though fogs alone would provide less of that effect, they would also not provide much for seeing ahead, meaning you'd have to slow down quite a bit to keep driving safely. There the fogs alone (without the low beams) are certainly more useful than low beams alone or no lighthing at all, but at that point it's probably not a good idea to keep driving either.

High beams of course, in a car, are pretty much a ******** idea in fog because there is so much reflection you usually get totally whited out and can't see anything. However I notice tractor trailer drivers always 1seem to use their high beams even in thick fog--perhaps because their line of sight is well above the path of their headlights (?)

And yes it is true that most North American car's fog lights are for cosmetic purpose only. European (ie. BMW/Audi) can have Fog lights on without having to turn the low beam on.
Nonsense. Fog lights on tons of cars (whether European, North American or whatever) are largely purchased for cosmetic purposes. How useful they are on different cars can be pretty random. And there are certainly "North American cars" that can use fog lamps with only the parking lights on, without the low beams.

[VorteC]

You have the lower lights pointed so high that you can read house numbers? Isn't that one of the complaints about these lights? Improper aiming?:confused:

not really. they're pointed to the ground, they're aimed as low as possible.. anymore i'd snap the spring that positions them.. and they're not very bright.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1221/1450645012_7757bf1879.jpg

[KawaiiTentacleBeast]

The thing most people seem to not understand about headlights is that you don't just want MOAR LIGHT OMG! all the time, you want light aimed at the right spot. Normal low beam headlights are intentionally designed to illuminate the area some distance ahead of the car, and to leave the area immediately in front of the car dark. The reason is that if you are traveling at a normal speed, there is no point in having light 4 ft in front of your bumper, because if theres something that close, you're going to hit it and there's nothing you can do. having light up close also causes your pupils to constrict, reducing your night vision.

Fog lights are designed for a very specific purpose - if there is so much fog that you literally cannot see beyond 4 ft in front of the bumper, you can use the to illuminate that area so you at least don't drive off a cliff or into incoming traffic. Basically if you are going faster than 20km/hr, there is no reason to use fog lights and all they do is reduce your ability to see.

I should find some photovoltaic cells and build a "headlight dyno" or something and charge people $50/each to "tune their headlights for MOAR LIGHT POWA!"