What's the Best TRUE Fog Light?

[Alaric Darconville]

And even that fog pretty much appears to be not thick enough to warrant fog lamps, judging from the detail one can see in it.

 

[Hilldweller]

And even that fog pretty much appears to be not thick enough to warrant fog lamps, judging from the detail one can see in it.

It's almost noon and I dialed in as much contrast as I could.
It was soupy...

 

[Hamilton Felix]

I know what GuySmily is saying. I recall one night on a residential street in Seattle's University District (where many young pedestrians believe they are invulnerable because pedestrians have the right-of-way), with my old Saab 99 Turbo. I had stopped, turned on right signal, was easing out clutch... when a female in a black leotard jogged in front of me from the right, no pause, no slowing, no slightest acknowledgement of the car. That was over 30 years ago, and my reflexes were fast. But I think what saved her were the big clear Cibie 175 fogs with their 120 degree wide beam pattern.

Year later, when those 175's were getting somewhat sandblasted, I moved them to the extended bumper of my old International 4x4, so I could see around switchbacks when four wheeling at night.

 

[GuySmily]

Is there something we can do for your headlights first?
What's the MR2 have and what condition is it in?

Fog lamps are only useful in the fog, very heavy dust, or torrential rain (and only at low speeds). Your low-beam headlamps should be ample, so long as the lenses are clear, the bulbs are getting sufficient voltage, and good bulbs are installed-- and, of course, the lamps are aimed correctly.

My headlamps are in excellent shape. In 2003, Toyota redesigned the headlights and changed from reflectors to projectors. The beam pattern of these lamps are superb, but I still find myself wishing for extra beam width.

Have you ever seen a Lexus LS430 on the freeway? The earlier one suck, but later years have the craziest width you will ever see. They will light up the freeway off ramp on the other side of a 5-lane (each way) freeway. That's the kind of width I want.

I've seen all kinds of crazy ideas, even sticking a mirror on the projector to reflect light to the side. I definitely wouldn't do this, lol... Instead, I'm hoping to use fog lights for extra width. Fog isn't really a problem where I live, so I don't really need to use them as true fog lights. It's just to prevent situations like Hamilton Felix explained.

 

[deadrx7conv]

The fog lights in my '04 Camry and '08 Highlander were junk as fogs and did nothing for 'auxiliary lighting'. But, the recently acquired '11 Avalon has excellent fogs(as auxiliary lighting). I can look out the front passenger door window and see a deer 50ft off the side of the road. With the other vehicles, I just pray that the deer aren't suicidal.
With the '11 Avalon, I can see the joggers/bikers/dog walkers that I would've never seen with the Camry or Highlander. I do recommend that you run down to your local Toyota dealership and find an Avalon w/fogs to test drive at night. Maybe you'll be able to source the fogs at the salvage yard and graft them on.

 

[krutj]

Bump.... also curious. I'm looking for something, and no problem with big or heavy since this will be mounted to an F350 bumper.

I just built a custom set of aux. lights using 7" Hella headlights and a custom harness from rallylights(they build a ton of harnesses, even for DS) I have two switches inside the cab to operate high/low beam, so I actually have four headlights, these lights have multiple use since I can use high/high, low/low or any other combination. Aimed properly, these Hellas really work to get light in front of you, I just used them on a foggy, rainy night and the only issue is turning them off for oncoming traffic, four headlights is a ton of light. These are H-4's, and I've never had a better set of aux. lights, but they have some size to them, wouldn't work on a little car, work great on my Jeep JK....this project cost me $142, but I had the Hella lens already, add about $80 total for the lens.(both shipped)

 

[Hilldweller]

You have some pictures, don't you krutj?