What will help my fog lights
- Thread starter Duroman
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Fog lights aren't supposed to have a lot of distance. That's what headlights are for.
Fog lights, as mentioned, are not supposed to be bright. When you are driving in heavy fog, turn headlights off and turn fog lights on and you can see the road much better. Don’t be one of those dill-holes that puts stupid bright bulbs in their fog housing and then blinds every car that approaches.
And to add to this, 20 feet is not a problem because you aren't driving very fast, right?
Most US drivers aren't very familiar with fog lights, their purpose, and what to expect from them. The older Silverado fog housings are actually have pretty good pattern control compared to most vehicles. They're pretty good at what they're made to do but not good at what most people think they should do. The round Sierra lights aren't as good. I'm not sure if the ones on your 2001 are as good as the ones on my 2006.
Do not be tempted to use those nonsense drop-in LED conversions in any application (fogs or headlights.) The filament is not in the correct location that the reflector was designed for. As such, pattern control is horrible. More light is rarely the answer. Silly blue light is not the answer (destroys night vision sensitivity.) Pattern control is the answer.
1) Are the housings good and clear, with good reflector on the back that isn't flaking off? If not, replace fog housings. Hazed or chipped fronts will only scatter the pattern.
2) Order a pair of 9055 bulbs (55 watt) from memotronics.com. 9055 is popular in other countries but 9045 (45 watt) is commonly the brightest you'll find in the US for that base style. You'll also find 9040 (40 watt.) There aren't many sources for 9055 in the US.
3) Avoid temptation to use 9005 high beam bubs. Yes, they'll fit, but they don't have paint on the end of the bulb and will blind other drivers and produce unwanted glare for you.
4) Adjust them so that light cutoff (the top of the pattern) ends about 20-30 feet in front of the truck. They're low to the ground for a reason and if the top of the beam isn't lower than horizontal, they'll blind other drivers and produce glare for you. These aren't bonus low beams. These are close-in driving lights with a low cutoff for times when the low beams produce too much glare to see (dense fog.)
Do not be tempted to use those nonsense drop-in LED conversions in any application (fogs or headlights.) The filament is not in the correct location that the reflector was designed for. As such, pattern control is horrible. More light is rarely the answer. Silly blue light is not the answer (destroys night vision sensitivity.) Pattern control is the answer.
1) Are the housings good and clear, with good reflector on the back that isn't flaking off? If not, replace fog housings. Hazed or chipped fronts will only scatter the pattern.
2) Order a pair of 9055 bulbs (55 watt) from memotronics.com. 9055 is popular in other countries but 9045 (45 watt) is commonly the brightest you'll find in the US for that base style. You'll also find 9040 (40 watt.) There aren't many sources for 9055 in the US.
3) Avoid temptation to use 9005 high beam bubs. Yes, they'll fit, but they don't have paint on the end of the bulb and will blind other drivers and produce unwanted glare for you.
4) Adjust them so that light cutoff (the top of the pattern) ends about 20-30 feet in front of the truck. They're low to the ground for a reason and if the top of the beam isn't lower than horizontal, they'll blind other drivers and produce glare for you. These aren't bonus low beams. These are close-in driving lights with a low cutoff for times when the low beams produce too much glare to see (dense fog.)
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There are many LED bulbs now that put the chip in the correct location for headlights. Bulb facts on YouTube test a lot of different brands. Nineo on Amazon work really well.
The Nineo 9005 bulb will fit into our fog light housings but is not appropriate. Our fogs do not have a glare shield in front of the bulb. Even if the chip was the correct size, placement, and emission pattern, there's no pattern control given by our housings to forward light coming off the chip. This is typical for a high beam application but not acceptable for a low/fog application. Appropriate bulbs for our housings will be a halogen with black paint on the cap.
Even so, they're $80. The 9055s I suggested are $7 each. Money more effectively spent on housings if they're older, foggy, deteriorated reflectors, etc. Arguably, 6500k is also not a great color for visual contrast.
Even so, they're $80. The 9055s I suggested are $7 each. Money more effectively spent on housings if they're older, foggy, deteriorated reflectors, etc. Arguably, 6500k is also not a great color for visual contrast.
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I guess that's the popular thought process. Other folks' lights seem blinding (have glare and complete lack of appropriate lighting pattern) so my lights must be inadequate. I want to be like them! I bet they can see great!
Reality is their pupils are dilated due to the "squirrel light" effect, super reflective road signs, and atmospheric reflection, and inappropriate color temperature output for visible contrast.
For low beams and fogs, you should be able to pull up to a wall and see a hot spot just below horizontal from the lens that gently fades going down, and very little (if any) light above horizontal from the lens. That hot spot below horizontal is what illuminates the road at a distance without being wasted light, in the eyes of oncoming. High beams then complete the illumination field, above horizontal.
State inspections in my state used to require a headlight output and aim check. They'd flag you for having inappropriate bulbs installed. That part of the inspection was eliminated some years ago. I wish they'd bring it back. Too many retards with drop in "MEYOFOFCHI" branded bulbs from amazon that they think are an improvement and are advertised as 340,000 lumens at 6500K color temperature. I mean, higher numbers is always better, right?
Get housings that are 100% if yours are aged. OE is better than crash parts cheap replacements. TYC if you must. Then find higher output halogens that are appropriate for the housing. I promise you'll like the end results. If you were near me you could come see my truck. OE housings, one year old. Perfect condition. Appropriate 9011 high, 9012 low, and 9055 fog bulbs.
www.duramaxforum.com
Reality is their pupils are dilated due to the "squirrel light" effect, super reflective road signs, and atmospheric reflection, and inappropriate color temperature output for visible contrast.
For low beams and fogs, you should be able to pull up to a wall and see a hot spot just below horizontal from the lens that gently fades going down, and very little (if any) light above horizontal from the lens. That hot spot below horizontal is what illuminates the road at a distance without being wasted light, in the eyes of oncoming. High beams then complete the illumination field, above horizontal.
State inspections in my state used to require a headlight output and aim check. They'd flag you for having inappropriate bulbs installed. That part of the inspection was eliminated some years ago. I wish they'd bring it back. Too many retards with drop in "MEYOFOFCHI" branded bulbs from amazon that they think are an improvement and are advertised as 340,000 lumens at 6500K color temperature. I mean, higher numbers is always better, right?
Get housings that are 100% if yours are aged. OE is better than crash parts cheap replacements. TYC if you must. Then find higher output halogens that are appropriate for the housing. I promise you'll like the end results. If you were near me you could come see my truck. OE housings, one year old. Perfect condition. Appropriate 9011 high, 9012 low, and 9055 fog bulbs.
Headlight upgrade?
www.duramaxforum.com
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