Fog lights are useless?

[King Crimson]

Hello everyone, 

Yesterday i was making my way back to Athens from a trip, i was in a very mountainous part of the main highway of the country and all of a sudden there was this very thick fog where you could literally not see a cm in front of you. Obviously lowered my speed and switched my front fog lights and my rear so that others could see me, come to find out the front fog lights BARELY did anything, i didn't expect for them to pierce through the fog but maybe give me a bit more visibility? Any thoughts on this? Is this why we see newer cars without fog lights?  

[Stivino]

That’s fog lights for you, they just light up the sides of the road.

[Roy124]

Fog lights can work.  They work best by illuminating under the fog or falling snow. 

I have experienced a fog layer perhaps just 5 feet thick.  The fog layer was solid from the bonnet up to the roof of the car.  Headlights gave me a wall of light.  The fogs lit the edges of the road. 

[Jimota]

Couldn’t have put it better myself.

[forkingabout]

1 hour ago, King Crimson said:

switched my front fog lights and my rear so that others could see me, come to find out the front fog lights BARELY did anything, i didn't expect for them to pierce through the fog but maybe give me a bit more visibility? Any thoughts on this? Is this why we see newer cars without fog lights?  

Halogen or LED front fog lights?

Some newer cars don't need front fog lights as the advanced LED headlamp technology available plus radar & infra red technology gives better results making front fog lights obsolete.

[TonyHSD]

I use mine when turning in dark places and they do help a lot exactly as explained by Roy. 👍 In foggy weather they do help a bit too. 

[King Crimson]

22 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

I use mine when turning in dark places and they do help a lot exactly as explained by Roy. 👍 In foggy weather they do help a bit too. 

Yea i've used them in dark places as well and they light up the corners nicely, i was just expecting them to work better in foggy conditions lol

[GBgraham]

11 hours ago, King Crimson said:

Yea i've used them in dark places as well and they light up the corners nicely, i was just expecting them to work better in foggy conditions lol

Fog lights can never be treated as anything like driving lights, they are always low and are there to show the road centre line and the road verge at close quarters, too bright or higher and they would just reflect on the fog and make your vision a lot worse.

You where unlucky to find fog, I've been on the Peloponnese for 8 years and only encountered what I would class as fog once.

[TonyHSD]

Back in 80’s & 90’s they were widely available dedicated halogen fog lights that can be mounted on or under front bumper and set to light ahead and low, these were powerful and more helpful in dark, rain and foggy conditions. I had some of these on ford escort mk3 and the difference was huge.
Todays  fog lights are indeed more like turning helpers than a real fog lights, still good to have them though. 👍

[a11oge]

As said above, fog lights are more like turning helpers than a real fog lights. I have never found them any use in fog - espacially compared with those strong lights once found on older cars.

This is not just a Toyota thing, had the same experiance with my Jag.

[GBgraham]

2 hours ago, a11oge said:

As said above, fog lights are more like turning helpers than a real fog lights. I have never found them any use in fog - espacially compared with those strong lights once found on older cars.

This is not just a Toyota thing, had the same experiance with my Jag.

But the old cars as you put it were only 55w and a lot used to have a driving lamp on the off side and a fog on the near side. Lucas Square 8's and Silver Sabre's, Raydot and Britax were the popular ones

[Yugguy1970]

I use the front fogs on the RAV when on unlit country roads, just wish they didn't look quite as yellow compared to the LED headlights.

Pondered these but probably not worth the hassle of changing

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223046447387

 

[forkingabout]

1 minute ago, Yugguy1970 said:

I use the front fogs on the RAV when on unlit country roads, just wish they didn't look quite as yellow compared to the LED headlights.

Pondered these but TBH not worth the hassle.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223046447387

 

Maybe wait till a fog light bulb requires replacement then you have the ideal excuse for an upgrade.

[Yugguy1970]

21 minutes ago, forkingabout said:

Maybe wait till a fog light bulb requires replacement then you have the ideal excuse for an upgrade.

And go full barryboys:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223046447387

[TonyHSD]

Or going old school 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115563654277?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=lvU8dUrfSrG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=p34UK1z2T4m&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[GBgraham]

1 hour ago, TonyHSD said:

Or going old school 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115563654277?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=lvU8dUrfSrG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=p34UK1z2T4m&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Are we showing our age 😄

[TonyHSD]

4 minutes ago, GBgraham said:

Are we showing our age 😄

Nope, actually I think I am on the younger side 😂 but just memories has came out from the older times 😉

[Rhymes with Paris]

Can anyone remember those beautifully thick chromed Lucas lights with the blue dot in the middle of the glass?

I gave an as new pair away in 1970 something because I thought they looked old fashioned,🥺

[GBgraham]

5 minutes ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

Can anyone remember those beautifully thick chromed Lucas lights with the blue dot in the middle of the glass?

I gave an as new pair away in 1970 something because I thought they looked old fashioned,🥺

I'm not sure they are Lucas that you describe, the Silver Sabre's were a typical 70's lamp which was a heavy chrome lamp and had a red Lucas motif on the top of the rim.

Raydots had a heavy chrome dot in the middle of the glass lens which always seemed pointless to me

[Yugguy1970]

Trouble is, I would like to make the fogs match the headlight colour better, but I don't want a 90000000000000000000000000000000lumens LED that's brighter than the sun, which is all that seems to be available.

Those Hellas look similar to stuff I used to put on my cars in the 80s, they're proper cool.

 

[forkingabout]

Can you not retrofit the LED front fog lamps then?

 

[Yugguy1970]

2 hours ago, forkingabout said:

Can you not retrofit the LED front fog lamps then?

 

Probably but they'd be pricy I'd imagine.

I've ordered these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403716961032?var=673636061682

Not too expensive and should do what I want as I believe the led dipped beams are a similar colour temperature.

 

[Simone80]

their use is just to make some light on the white stripes on roadside, they don't help you to see anything better in front fo you

in older cars with alogen lamps they indeed help a little, in C-HR I agree they don't make that difference on or off

nowdays with LED headlamps, foglights are more marketing that a real need

[Yugguy1970]

Aye, I find them useful on unlit roads to see the road directly in front and to the side, so I don't need more light so much as just a different colour.

[forkingabout]

9 minutes ago, Simone80 said:

In C-HR I agree they don't make that difference on or off

Depends if there halogen or LED

I find the LED front fogs available on the C-HR perform better then all my previous vehicles I've owned equipped with halogen front fog lights.