Need fog lights for 2016 2500HD

[warren5421]

I live around Indianapolis and now need to drive to Peoria, IL twice a week. I have ran into thick fog twice now where I had to find a hotel as I didn't fill it was safe. It has been about a 70 mile area along Interstate 74 from what truckers say that the white lights make it very hard to drive. I am looking for good yellow fog lights to put on my truck's bumper. When J.C. Whitney was operating in the 60's and 70's you could buy replacement headlights for hotrods with yellow lens.Today with the new lights what would I buy today?

 

[EJR]

Please include the make/model/year of your truck.

 

[John_Galt]

There's some good models available, and I can point you to some tests showing their performance. Is your truck currently equipped with a fog lamp circuit? What is your budget? Are you looking to install them yourself, or have a dealer or local shop do the work? There are several good LED based fog lamps available, but unfortunately it is typically only the "higher powered" and more expensive ones that run hot enough to keep lenses clear in cold weather conditions like freezing rain, sleet and snowy weather. There are still good halogen fog lamps available if you would prefer that, and the selective yellow color can be achieved a few different ways.

Yellow (specifically selective yellow) doesn't "cut through" fog, but by removing some of the blue wavelength of light, and more importantly, having a strict cutoff so minimal lihht is bounced up towards you, fog lamps can help you see somewhat better in poor weather conditions. They are not going to help you drive full speed on the interstate, but they are meant to be helpful to keep moving at slow speeds, so you can safely navigate.

 

[theory816]

The best course of action when you encounter fog is to not drive in it if you don't have to. Throwing more light into the fog also does not help with visibility because the light will just reflect back back you.

Just drive alot slower if you encounter fog. Foggy driving in the morning is so rare in cities that its a non issue(but it does occur)

 

[jzchen]

Please include the make/model/year of your truck.

I Googled 2016 2500HD and got back "2016 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD".

 

[EJR]

I Googled 2016 2500HD and got back "2016 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD".

LOL. I swear the subject line did NOT include the year/model originally. Must have been edited 😝 or I completely overlooked it.

 

[DRW]

LOL. I swear the subject line did NOT include the year/model originally. Must have been edited 😝 or I completely overlooked it.

OK, now you know what he's driving. What's the recommendation?


Here is mine https://www.blackoakled.com/collect...erado-2500-3500-yellow-lens-fog-light-pod-kit

I have some Black Oak lights on my F350, very good bit of kit. I overbought - people chase me down during the day to tell me my lights are blinding them. Sometimes the switch gets knocked to on, I have them for hunting and camping.

 

[EJR]

OK, now you know what he's driving. What's the recommendation?

Honestly, I agree with post #4 above. If conditions are THAT bad (as the OP described) then choosing to pull over and NOT drive in those conditions was/is the best choice. Having "brighter" fog lamps in the moment isn't necessarily going to make the journey "safer" because he would still need to reduce speed by a large margin. And being on the road driving lower than the posted speed limit with other drivers around who think they can drive better in those conditions at normal speeds is a high risk.

I just feel that fog lamps (legitimate SAE ones, not junk found on amazon/ebay or some online shop) in general don't help as much as people would like them to. Its mostly a "comfort" lamp.

Here is mine https://www.blackoakled.com/collect...erado-2500-3500-yellow-lens-fog-light-pod-kit

I have some Black Oak lights on my F350, very good bit of kit. I overbought - people chase me down during the day to tell me my lights are blinding them. Sometimes the switch gets knocked to on, I have them for hunting and camping.

Those may be a great option for off road use (as you are currently using them) but they are NOT a legitimate street legal (SAE compliant) fog lamp.

 

[DRW]

I messed up the year.

These fit a 2016 https://www.blackoakled.com/collect...erado-2500-3500-yellow-lens-fog-light-pod-kit

 

[jzchen]

I just feel that fog lamps (legitimate SAE ones, not junk found on amazon/ebay or some online shop) in general don't help as much as people would like them to. Its mostly a "comfort" lamp.

How about rear fog lamps? Having driven in soup when I was young yes having fog lamps in the front didn't provide any sort of comfort at freeway speeds. Are the rear ones more inherently visible?

(My wife and I picked up a '23 EQB 250+ lease and it appears to only have (a) rear foglight).

 

[jzchen]

LOL. I swear the subject line did NOT include the year/model originally. Must have been edited 😝 or I completely overlooked it.

Hey, I did not know what a 2016 2500HD was, luckily Googling it only came up with one option!

 

[John_Galt]

I messed up the year.

These fit a 2016 https://www.blackoakled.com/collect...erado-2500-3500-yellow-lens-fog-light-pod-kit

Still not a fog lamp, or one that should be used in poor visibility.

OP, budget depending, I would recommend looking at diode dynamics SS3 pods in selective yellow. They offer three levels of output/performance. The sport is the lowest output, and has a very crisp, sharp cutoff. However it does not run hot enough tk keep the lenses clear of snow/ice.

The Pro line has a "softer" cutoff than either the sport or max models. It also offers higher lumen output than either, but this does not translate to higher maximum intensity than the Max model.

The Max model has slightly less lumen output than the Pro. But it both has a very sharp cutoff (which is what you want in a fog lamp) and also runs the hottest of the three models. It will basically never have an issue icing over, outside of arctic circle type conditions.

The morimoto "4banger" (funnily enough using 3 LEDs) may also be worth considering. It is available with three LED options, at "two" power levels. The two lower output models use a Nichia LED, one is just white, while the other is a yellow emitter. Both can be had with their selective yellow filtration front lens. Outputs are very close between these two. The yellow LED + Yellow Lens combo is slightly deeper in selective yellow, but its not a huge difference. The higher output model uses the same Osram LED as the diode dynamics Max line, but is driven slightly harder.

Maximum intensity levels between the high output 4banger and the SS3 max are similar. But the SS3 max (as well as the sport and pro) offer a wider beam pattern that is consistent in intensity from its left to right. The morimoto 4bangers are noticeably narrower, and have a center-weighted beam pattern, which is why yheir intensity level straight ahead of each lamp are very close.