SAE DOT LED Fog Pods

[MikeP1976]

I've been researching LED pods to go on top of my bumper to replace my fog lights, I have it narrowed down to the rigid SAE and the diode dynamics SS3 I'd appreciate any and all feedback on these two models thank you

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[TNGatorBrad]

I have the DD SS3s and I love them. Great output and color

 

[Cianalas]

I just grabbed the SS3s as well. Based off of their Comparison Video, they've got a better spread than the Rigids.

 

[Mr._Bill]

I managed to pick up a set of these for $195 to replace the factory LED fog lights.
https://www.kchilites.com/gravity-r...con-jt-overland-rubicon-stock-bumper-507.html

I bought a set of these to mount on the light bar just above the bumper so I have a choice of amber or white (or both).
https://www.roughcountry.com/2-inch-led-square-lights-70907.html

 

[DAVECS1]

The stock location fog lights are the DD Pros and the rest are the sports. The pros are supposedly DOT approved but they are really bright! I have even aimed them mostly downward, but I still feel guilty using them in the city limits. I usually switch to the center driving lights, which are sports. Still a good amount of light without looking like the sun. All of them have aged Awesome, they still look like new after multiple off road trips and a full Midwest winter season on them. No moisture, nothing. On the back roads in inclement weather they are absolutely amazing and I do not want to drive anything else.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Most fog lamps are worthless as heck. And to tick a few folks off - most don't even know what they are for, or they use them for things they were not meant to be used for (like lighting the roads at all times supplementing the low beam lamps)
So when talking fog lamps -is that for their INTENDED purpose, or just cool colored lighting?

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

This guy is a technical consultant - has even worked with MOPAR - this taken from his site (thus I furnish the link rather than just steal from him)

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Fog lamps of any type should not be used in dry weather. Leaving the fog lamps on at all times does not actually improve the lighting safety performance or the driver's ability to see, though many people do so in the mistaken belief that they can see better this way at normal road speeds in dry weather. In fact, a systematic study done by one of North America's preëminent traffic safety research institutes shows that in the United States more people inappropriately use their front fog lamps in dry weather than use them properly in poor weather.

Why? Because we human beings generally can't accurately tell how well or how poorly we see. We have subjective impressions, reactions, and feelings about how "good" or "bad" our headlamps are, and they feel very real to us, but they're very far out of line with the objective, measurable, real lighting performance and seeing ability. It's not that we're fooling ourselves, it's that our visual systems just aren't equipped to correctly assess how well or how poorly we can see. The primary driver for a subjective impression of "good" headlighting is foreground light—and remember, that's what fog lamps produce—but foreground light is very far down the list of factors that go into the actual, real safety performance of the car's lighting system; that is, how well it actually lets the driver see what must be seen to avoid a crash. In clear conditions, though it makes us feel (falsely) more secure, more foreground light is not a good thing, it's a bad thing.

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If for off-road use, auxiliary lighting (the way people use fog lamps) make sense as you need to watch for debris, boulders, logs and sharp pointy things in the trail at night.
I live in the sticks, next to the winding Des Moines river. Our roads are very hilly, winding/curving and in places the trees are right up to the road shoulder (that's how I ripped up my SX4 with a deer hit years ago - there could be no warning as she left the trees and jumped onto the road in one single big leap - it was her last) and I think I have used fog lights on my Jeeps maybe 2 or 3 times, tops. They aren't much better than normal lights in heavy snow, they do help in heavy rain after dark.

If I upgrade the fog lamps on my JT - about all I'd consider would be the diode dynamics SS3 but that's just me, personal preference and comparing theirs to info from Daniel Stern and other true experts.

 

[DAVECS1]

That is good information, and intelligently stated. I cannot say I 100 percent agree. There are many factors that go into using lighting. When alternatives to holagens came out I was like this is awesome. As I got older and it became common on cars, I was a fan of the extra light but the color and shine from on coming traffic was not that great. In the country the qhite light gets lost in gravel dust and blowing dust from fields. In the rain and black asphalt, the white light os almost useless. With amber aux driving lights, fog lights, and pillar lights, I get the contrast I need for a number of different driving situations. My amber fogs are absolutely great in the country. They contrast the white light and outlintthe tree line or ditches. I can catch big and little critters before they even get close to the road, and in inclement weather, they just work. My pillar lights are great off road especially going to the cabin wear the path cuts through hills and I drive through many valleys. Great at catchingthe low hanging branches and jutting rocks that mame truck every now and then. Just my two cents.
I whole heartedly agree lighting gets abused.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

That is good information, and intelligently stated. I cannot say I 100 percent agree. There are many factors that go into using lighting. When alternatives to holagens came out I was like this is awesome. As I got older and it became common on cars, I was a fan of the extra light but the color and shine from on coming traffic was not that great. In the country the qhite light gets lost in gravel dust and blowing dust from fields. In the rain and black asphalt, the white light os almost useless. With amber aux driving lights, fog lights, and pillar lights, I get the contrast I need for a number of different driving situations. My amber fogs are absolutely great in the country. They contrast the white light and outlintthe tree line or ditches. I can catch big and little critters before they even get close to the road, and in inclement weather, they just work. My pillar lights are great off road especially going to the cabin wear the path cuts through hills and I drive through many valleys. Great at catchingthe low hanging branches and jutting rocks that mame truck every now and then. Just my two cents.
I whole heartedly agree lighting gets abused.

That's my issue with standard white lights in heavy rain - and on the blacktop/asphalt roads, it's like you have no lights on at all - it's as if the photons get absorbed. (I think he even mentions the light being absorbed by the wet asphalt)
If I upgrade mine - and I suspect I will eventually as the factory ones don't really do much even in our nasty weather, I'd opt for selective yellow (not ordinary amber fog lights)

I mentioned the off-road bit because absolutely, you need lighting that shows you things you won't normally find on a road - and you need to see it and see it fast as there it suddenly is - ready to smack your windshield. Off road is a different animal so I try to not get involved there. My Comanche had some hefty lighting as I farmed then - and a combine break-down a couple miles from home (or more) in the middle of nowhere, you need massive lights covering a lot of area.

I love the way he sums up his article on fog lights ->
In most driving situations, fog lamps are neither useful nor necessary, but—back to that study linked above—more people use their fog lamps when the prevailing conditions don't call for their use, than use them when the conditions do call for their use. Fact is, it's not helping you, and nobody thinks your car is cool because it has fog lamps, and glare is dangerous, so do yourself and everyone a favor: choose them carefully, aim them properly, use them thoughtfully and sparingly, and leave them off except when they're genuinely necessary.

 

[Gren71]

The stock location fog lights are the DD Pros and the rest are the sports. The pros are supposedly DOT approved but they are really bright! I have even aimed them mostly downward, but I still feel guilty using them in the city limits. I usually switch to the center driving lights, which are sports. Still a good amount of light without looking like the sun. All of them have aged Awesome, they still look like new after multiple off road trips and a full Midwest winter season on them. No moisture, nothing. On the back roads in inclement weather they are absolutely amazing and I do not want to drive anything else.

Whered you get those amber pods and mounting plate? I have a similar license plate mount but it sticks out ridiculously far..i like that yours almost rests on the bumper.

 

[texanjeeper]

I replaced my halogen fogs with Lasfit switchback bulbs and I really like them. You can go either white light, or amber light, I haven't had an occasion to use them but I'm sure there will be some reason to soon.

 

[DAVECS1]

Whered you get those amber pods and mounting plate? I have a similar license plate mount but it sticks out ridiculously far..i like that yours almost rests on the bumper.

The plate is off Amazon. I drilled outmy bumper and used clip nuts. The ambers are Diode Dynamic SS3 sport lights. I got the driving patern to add contrastto my LED head lights. They match up well. In the winter when the headlights freeze over I can still drive on my ambers.

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