Options for Driving Lights

[PhillyRube]

New cars with plastic front ends really make it hard to mount driving or fog lights. Not like big chrome fenders where you just drill a hole. So what are the options? I had an idea for mounting a couple lights on the front of a Ford Edge. They make a police style pushbar or bullguard, that have mounting tabs. Only drawback is you start to get that "Mad Max" look. Also figured out a way to use flat steel stock mounted to the steel crossmembers behind the grill, but that again means pulling the entire front end plastic off.

What say you?

 

[-Virgil-]

Better, easier and safer by far: get this very good unit (made by JW Speaker, sold by Hella), mount it easily, dust off your hands, and move on to the next project. Today's cars are different...so are today's lights.

 

[ameli0rate]

Better, easier and safer by far: get this very good unit (made by JW Speaker, sold by Hella), mount it easily, dust off your hands, and move on to the next project. Today's cars are different...so are today's lights.

Oh man, the little pictures in Hella's ads make them look pretty beastly. I rarely drive out in the sticks (2006 Volvo V70 - not the best OEM lights ever made) so I haven't been too tempted by driving lights, but these look like they'd be fun to try AND they'd possibly be low profile enough to not stick out like a sore thumb. Or if there's a way to fashion a quick-release to remove them relatively easily when I don't leave the city at night. A little "stabilizer bar" from the top of this to something behind the grille would probably ensure proper alignment each time I remounted it.

Tempting! Thanks for the link!

 

[PhillyRube]

Better, easier and safer by far: get this very good unit (made by JW Speaker, sold by Hella), mount it easily, dust off your hands, and move on to the next project. Today's cars are different...so are today's lights.

What do you bolt them to?

 

[Interceptor_E]

Better, easier and safer by far: get this very good unit (made by JW Speaker, sold by Hella), mount it easily, dust off your hands, and move on to the next project. Today's cars are different...so are today's lights.

Do do you know if they make an SAE version of these lights? They look fantastic.

 

[-Virgil-]

As far as I know there is no SAE-certified version. Not a whole lot of places where the lack of an SAE mark would matter, though.

 

[Interceptor_E]

That's a shame. But you're absolute right, the only time I can think of when you could have an issue with driving lights that aren't SAE compliant is for commercial vehicles that have to follow FMCSA [FONT=&quot]§393.24. And I've never even heard of that being enforced. [/FONT]

 

[GreySave]

These lights are marketed on Amazon for your OFF ROAD experience and street legal IN CANADA. Run those lights in my State (Pennsylvania) and you will be hit with a $250 fine. Not SAE approved. Not street legal.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

Not SAE approved.

Not surprising, considering SAE International is not tasked with approving anything, and is not a regulatory body anyway.

It should be nearly impossible to get a ticket for using these lamps unless you're misusing them, that is, too close to other traffic (whether ahead of you in the same direction or coming toward you. You might also be careful not to use them in neighborhoods or sub-45mph surface streets). One way to help avoid using them too close to other traffic is to require the factory high beams to be on before these can be activated (don't allow them to auto-on with high beams), and then turn off (and remain off until next manual activation) when you dip the high beams. This isn't too terribly difficult to accomplish with latching relays.

 

[-Virgil-]

These lights are marketed on Amazon for your OFF ROAD experience and street legal IN CANADA. Run those lights in my State (Pennsylvania) and you will be hit with a $250 fine. Not SAE approved. Not street legal.

First of all, there's no such thing as "SAE approval". Second of all, run any "driving lights" (auxiliary high beams) in traffic where there are other people to see you doing it, and you should get an expensive ticket...no matter what markings are on the lens (or aren't).

There's also no such thing as "driving lights" certified to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 (or any other FMVSS 108). Auxiliary lamps are not Federally regulated; there's no provision to certify to. That means every state gets to decide what lights are allowed and how they may be mounted and used. Pennsylvania says the following about auxiliary driving lamps:

Auxiliary driving lamps and fog lamps. Auxiliary driving lamps and fog lamps may be installed on a passenger vehicle or light truck if the lamps comply with the following:

(1) Auxiliary driving lamps may not be substituted for headlamps. Auxiliary driving lamps may only be used with high headlamp beams.

(2) Fog lamps may not be substituted for headlamps.

(3) Auxiliary driving lamps and fog lamps shall be mounted on the front, spaced at least 20 inches apart from center to center and at height not more than 42 inches above level surface upon which the vehicle stands nor lower than the lowest chassis part. Rear fog lamps, if originally installed or offered as optional equipment, are acceptable.

(4) Auxiliary driving lamps and fog lamps shall be aimed when the vehicle and lamp assembly are in the straight ahead position with the beam not above horizontal centerline of lamp at 25 feet.

(5) A vehicle specified under this subchapter may have only one pair of approved auxiliary driving lamps and fog lamps.

(6) Auxiliary driving lamps and fog lamps may not be placed in front of a required lamp.

(7) Auxiliary driving lamps may not be used on snowplows as a substitute for headlamps obscured by blade. A substitute for headlamps used on the vehicle shall be complete, approved headlamps having both high and low beams.

Not a word in that Pennsylvania statute about "SAE approval" of auxiliary driving lamps. None here, either.