fog lights

Re:fog lights (artymr2)

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 00:44:55 GMT

Oddly, not all new cars have auto off lights, though most beep if you leave them on to spare a flat battery.

Cheers

Re:fog lights (Dudeman)

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 22:20:29 GMT

Tree

Is driving with fog lights only on the freeway okay? Just to save fuel " />

Nah, that would get you two tickets, one for 'use auxiliary driving lights when not permitted' and 'drive during period of darkness without prescribed headlights' - apparently.

Re:fog lights (purple5ive)

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:56:30 GMT

i find that sometimes i have to turn on the driving lights to have a proper view of the speedo but it isnt dark outside yet. so i just use the parkers (along with the driving lights)

im sure all new cars have the lights out function when the keys are taken out even my hyundai has it lol
and yeah i use the rear fogs when i remember at night. its not blinding at all and the stop lights are quite noticable when brakes are used as they are a seperate light again.. ive checked them all and dont see any reason not to use it for safety purposes. if they were confusing to look at from behind i wouldnt use it but thats not the case here.

Re:fog lights (artymr2)

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:43:26 GMT

Fir enough about illuminating the dash lights, but if its dark enough not to see the dash, I would say its dark enough to not be seen properly, so turn on your lights. I generally drive with lights on all the time (so I can be seen), its a habit from driving subarus where you can leave the lights switched on and they turn off with the ignition, brilliant functionality.

Please tell me you dont turn on your rear fog light unless its foggy!! :) They are blinding to people following and make the brake lights much less noticble.

Thats my rant for today!!

Cheers

Re:fog lights (purple5ive)

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:08:26 GMT

sometimes parking lights are used to illuminate the rear lights so others know theres a car there. or to illuminate the dash lights only to see the speedo better etc etc
both my cars have fog/driving lights with the Hyundai even having a set for the rear lamps (yes rear fog lamps, illuminates red and is independently switched as well)
on both vehicles, the driving lights/fogs or whatever you want to call them ONLY illuminate the sides and the very immediate front of the car.
if the driving lights are switched on and off while the main headlights are on you can see a small change in the lighting around the front sides of the vehicle and immediate front.
i use both sets of lights at night always as they dont blind anyone and are very small ouput (27watt i think) and are independently switched.
i dont see anything wrong in using them how i am.

cheers

Re:fog lights (artymr2)

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 22:32:28 GMT

Didnt realise the refelctors are different, but the lenses are definitely different between the fogs and driving lights, the driving lights are more clear with less "lenses" in them, the fogs are full of vertical lenses, to spread the light, so you can visually identify a fog from a driving light just by looking at it. Normally you would turn off main beam when using fogs in fog (run them with parking lights).

Driving light on left, fog on right (pinched from someone's old for sale post here_:

Properly adjusted fogs should not blind others, properly adjust driving lights will (they are like high beams).

My mr2 has one of each!! :)

My pet hate is people who drive with their parking lights on, they are called parking lights for a reason. If you are going to turn on your light, do just that, turn on your light!

Cheers

Re:fog lights (MRTurbo)

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 21:22:30 GMT

Or morons with only 1 working headlight, so what do they do, put on the 1 high beam to piss everyone off!

Re:fog lights (Joel)

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 20:57:43 GMT

Or people that drive with high beams on during the day.

Re:fog lights (Dudeman)

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 19:38:34 GMT

Yeah it can be part of the 'experience' of owning a low set car - 4wd drivers knowing if they offset just a little they get your mirrors...

More annoying are the ignorant drivers with headlights you can adjust from the cabin like vw's.

"oh I set them high so I can see further"

Or some "I keep high beam on so I can see better"

Re:fog lights (Joel)

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 19:17:48 GMT

I find modern Commodores the worse, mainly coming from behind at night. Ridiculously bright in the mirrors.

Re:fog lights (Reddtarga)

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 12:47:06 GMT

GrahamHeadley

Thanks RedTarga. That's good to know that they have different reflectors in them. It would e more for photo shoots then for actual driving purposes.

Many MR2 owners don't realize that if you spend $200 to update your original headlamps with a modern high quality reflector/globe combination the driving lights will be totally redundant anyway.
And I am not talking about HID's.
You can use modern high performance halogen globes with the stock 55/60 watt rating, and on high beam you wont even be able to tell if your driving lights are on.
Check out the article in the technical section of the forum.

Re:fog lights (Reddtarga)

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 12:34:55 GMT

nissky

i find most new car lights to be annoying in the city for oncoming drivers. the lights are too bright for my liking and the more recent super bright led driving lights are even worse.

+1
And the worst offenders are SUV's that are up higher as well anyway and often have 4 bright front lights on.
Is people's eyesight so bad that they need 4 front lights on at the same time around the city, or are they just waaaankers.
Stupid anyway to blind oncoming drivers because you invite a head-on.

Re:fog lights (nissky)

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 11:16:11 GMT

i find most new car lights to be annoying in the city for oncoming drivers. the lights are too bright for my liking and the more recent super bright led driving lights are even worse.

Re:fog lights (GrahamHeadley)

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 10:37:39 GMT

Thanks RedTarga. That's good to know that they have different reflectors in them. It would e more for photo shoots then for actual driving purposes.

Re:fog lights (Reddtarga)

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 10:34:35 GMT

There is a lot of confusion about this subject.

The driving lights fitted to Aus delivered cars according to law are wired to only come on with the high beam.
And why would you ever want them to come on independently anyway, because the beam is designed to illuminate the road a long way ahead and would dazzle oncoming drivers in a low beam situation if they were switched on. Much better to have them switch off automatically if the low beams are on because you would forget.
The genuine Toyota clear lens type fog lights that are fitted to some JDM cars a look exactly the same externally as the driving lights fitted to Aus del cars, but have a different reflector designed to focus low and wide.
If you fitted those you would definitely not want them on with the high beam in fog so they should be wired independently.

BTW, in Victoria it is also illegal to have fog lights on during the day unless you are driving in fog.