Driving Lights Or Fog Lights

[Xizor]

Kinks they are not meant to illuminate forward. They illuminate the ground immediately infront of the car and to the side a bit. To be honest i feel safer driving with them on because low beams in my car are not that great and it helps me see the immediate area around my car better than otherwise. If i was in heavy traffic i would generally not use them.

Ive hit animals before so every bit helps. And they do light up underneith the fog aswell when driving normal, where i live thats quite common and they help alot in that situation. Mind you most people dont live in areas anything like mine. But picking on most fog lights is simply bs there alot more cars out there with blinding low beams and dodgy HID conversions than "fog lights".

[Wink]

Kinks they are not meant to illuminate forward. They illuminate the ground immediately infront of the car and to the side a bit.

Exactly - which is why I don't understand hatred such as this:

Yes they can fine you, keep them off. They're fcuking annoying and glarey and piss everyone else off when it hammers them in the eyes. Use them only in adverse weather as the rules state.

The original post is talking about R33 Series 2 foglights. These don't distract or cause blindness. Yes it is illegal to have them on (as other car models foglights do distract other roadusers) during clear conditions but to say R33 Series 2 foglights are detrimental to other roadusers could not be further from the truth.

[Xizor]

Man dare i say it most fog lights arent distracting. Commodore ones are ok, falcon ones are a bit brighter but still ok to me. Big arse WRX ones are blindingly obviously bigger and brighter and some european cars have annoying ones but on the whole its such a blown out of proportion issue its just fund raising and easy at that. Its easier to get a decent guy for fog lights or a pod filter compared to some troublesome dickhead causing havoc in the neighbourhoods.

[Keepleft]

Xizor' wrote this day 2 Sep 2006 at 01:13 PM'

Kinks; they are not meant to illuminate forward. They illuminate the ground immediately infront of the car and to the side a bit. To be honest i feel safer driving with them on because low beams in my car are not that great and it helps me see the immediate area around my car better than otherwise. If i was in heavy traffic i would generally not use them.

FRONT FOG LIGHTS have an effective range up to 50 metres, but typically perform 10 - 35 metres. Why? Because under the weather conditions for which they are specifically designed, heavy fog, heavy rain, in bushfire smoke, heavy snowfall - it is not technically feasible to send a beam of light out much past this - without causing hideous amounts of glare. Such a light would then be more technically akin to low-beam or high-beam!

They offer reduced, reflected glare, you can note the difference between low-beam and front fogs on the headlining when you switch between them. Front fogs are also designed to show up the EDGES of the roadway whilst your at low-speed, so that you don't drive off the road, rem - this is when your at slow speed!

The front fog lights MUST be compliant, more on 'compliance' shortly. Compliant front fog lights are either 'white optic' or 'selective yellow' in colour, indeed, the majority factory-fitted these days are yellow, around the 97% mark on new market vehicles.

Xisor states he uses his to 'supplement' his low beam, highlighting his observation that the extra light 'close-in' helps him see better and avoid hazards.

BUT, the argument fails in one primary respect, 'speed', the faster you go the less effective the front fog lights become, at 100km/h you are at 28 metres per second, IF you rely on front fog lights to see 'at speed' - you will have effectively seen and hit the hazard, and perhaps be past it before you react!

Front fog lights are EXCELLENT for their designed intention, BUT it is crucial to have reduced your speed by a large amount, in Germany in heavy fog we have a law restricting speed on the autobahn to 50km/h - that gives you an idea, since you need this reduction, as a minimum to avoid any nasty happenings up ahead.

Front fog lamps are NOT compliant daytime running lamps.

In SEVERE low visibility conditions, or in general rainfall on the freeway in daytime, it is best to use only your park lights and front fog lights, this further reduces reflected glare, AND allows your front blinkers to be seen 'better' by other traffic, as low-beam can often mask front indicators.

In Europe, the EU Transport Commission experts will tell you that 'the primary defence against fog and fog like crashes - IS the "rear fog light", IT IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY REAR FOG LIGHTS, and not FRONT FOG LIGHTS ARE MANDATORY IN THAT MARKET in their design rules.

WA and NSW have seperate rules to the ARR's prohibiting the use of front fog lights in clear conditions, as they are NOT daytime running lamps, and can be a distraction and that can lead to annoyance by some. That said, we are very close now to a re-worked Australian Road Rule 217 that will prohibit the use of front fog lights in clear weather conditions, this measn it will become an offence to have them on in clear weather throughout Australia, effectively bringing us up to date with most of the world.

HOW TO TELL IF THAT LIGHT IS ACTUALLY A FRONT FOG LIGHT:

look CLOSELY at the lens, you are looking for an "E Mark"; example "E13".

THE "E" or "e" means the lamp unit was submitted for world homologation testing and approval, this checks that the lamps design falls within the parameters set by the relevant UN/ECE design rule, which Australia then adopts as both ADR and then in the National Vehicle Standards.

NEXT to this E wil be a two digit number that represents the country code, example "E1" means the lamp was tested in Germany for world compliance. E11 is GB and so on.

NOW - NEAR this E mark will be the designation "02B"; here the letter 'B' or 'b' is UN/ECE codespeak for "front fog light".

OR A DRIVING LAMP:

A 'driving lamp' - used to aid in high-beam performance, will bear the same E Mark and the designation "HR" on its lens; here the letter "R" is UN codespeak for driving lamp!

Example; "HR-P" = halogen driving lamp bearing a plastic lens!

PACKAGING: Some shops sell what are actually marked fog lights as driving lights, just be aware of the compliance function, often the suppliers get it wrong, and thats a fact.

NOW - SOME lamps bear BOTH markings! Here the packaging is usally correct, in that the lamp is a driving lamp typically, BUT be aware that it will NOT perform as well as a dedicated single marked HR lamp. Such dual types are a 'compromise', more supplementing stanard high-beam than furthering it.

Ive hit animals before so every bit helps. And they do light up underneith the fog aswell when driving normal, where i live thats quite common and they help alot in that situation. Mind you most people dont live in areas anything like mine. But picking on most fog lights is simply bs there alot more cars out there with blinding low beams and dodgy HID conversions than "fog lights".

THE issue of aftermarket HID modifications is a serious one, doing an illegal modification can land you a defect notice and an infringement under typically ARR for 'causing undue glare'. Don't do it UNLESS you get a guarantee they are ADR compliant.

YOU CAN - Upgrade your light bulbs to marketed PLUS 30, 50 or even PLUS 60 Phillips type IF the products have the E MARK branded on the steel portions.

You can also add a dedicated set of driving lights, say to a light support bar.

IF you replace a set of front fog light bulbs, I suggest trying the "ALL WEATHER" variety, AS IT IS BETTER TO reduce glare in heavy fog, not increase it.

Edited September 5, 2006 by Keepleft