help/suggestions with fog lights

[JdH23OBX]

Need a little help with fog lights, lights on a bumper bar and pillar lights selection. I know there are a ton of threads on this topic but my question is a little more specific. Were the fog lights, etc you purchased based on where you drive? For those of you that do off-roading/trail driving was your selection based on that? Or was your selection simply based on a setup that you liked? I’ve seen threads in this forum where people have listed their light combination. One thread I came across listed DD ss3 pro driving, ss2 pro fog white and ss2 pro fog amber. Another thread I came across ssc3 combo, ssc3 sae fog (yellow) and ssc2 sae fog (white) was listed. Wondering why those were the lights that were selected. I am not questioning why they selected what they did, just questioning what factors made them select the lights that they did. I basically drive on both lit and unlit roads under normal driving conditions, in heavy rain and snow and in both light and heavy fog. Does anyone have any suggestions for each type of light? Are bumper bar lights and pillar lights a waste of money for what I’m using them for? This is the first vehicle that I have ever owned that I am adding accessories to. I am really glad that I bought a Bronco and I don’t mind spending money on lighting, etc. to make it look good. I am looking for something that I can install myself. Any input is greatly appreciated.

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[Headsong]

My 2 cents: Amber fogs give you the best visibility. And if you've ever driven in fog, heavy snowfall, etc. with the pathetic factory fogs, you'll know why @Diode Dynamics are the ones to get. Very nice price, huge output. Price will determine which level you're ok with. And I use mine during deer running season to watch those roadways and sides more carefully. Such a nice improvement.

As to the other lights, be careful. Likely not legal to have some of those on while on the road, and unless they can connect to the bright dimmer built in, I don't see them for road use. Now, if you off road into the woods at night, yowza that would be cool. I don't....

 

[the poacher]

I live and drive in an area where we get a lot of fog and snow, and so everyone of my fog lights are of the yellow/amber colour (no white driving lights). The nice aspect about the Bronco is that you can turn the headlamps off (keeping your running lights on) allowing you in heavy snow or fog to drive with just your fog lights on. This eliminates the star wars effect and provides you with tremendous lighting, enabling you to drive safely in the worst conditions.
Just make sure your fog lights are SAE rated, allowing you to legally drive on our highways and byways.

 

[Callelk]

Looking out my window this morning I'm definitely going with Amber/Yellow fog lights as visibility was about 40 ft and we do get a lot of snow at times. My plan is DD Max Yellow Fogs, and DD MAX White Combos. After reviewing a thread by Chritaka, they looked like the way to go.

 

[Brian_B]

I'm kinda in the same boat as the OP -

I have OEM fogs on my plastic bumper. They work, but aren't great at increasing visibility. I tend to run my fogs with the headlights - most of my driving are rural mountain roads, and deer and other wildlife are the main thing - so having a bit more visibility at the ditch line without running High beams are why I keep the fogs on. But we do get snow from time to time, and if I'm down in the valley that area has notoriously bad fog in the winter, but I'm rarely down in that.

I'm looking at upgrading to a Mod bumper. That means replacing the fog lights. But I live in CA, so the laws here are ... not exactly clear.

Sate Law says I can run one set of fog lights, with headlights. It also says that "Dual lamp system" is treated as one lamp. So I don't know how that applies to the way fog lights work on the Mod bumper. Technically, you can only have 1 set of fog lights, but can run up to 8 additional lamps (4 sets) as "headlamps", but any beyond the main must be covered.

So that may explain why the Raptor fog lights are two lamps in the assembly, but most aftermarket fog light assemblies I see for the mod bumper are 3 lamps. I don't know how the Highway Patrol would treat it if they saw you running down the road with 3 lamps in the fog light pocket running - probably depends on their mood and if it were offensively bright and/or misaligned.

I do have upfitter switches now, so I could split lamps across switches, so that is just part of the question, but a relatively minor one. The bigger part:

Ok, I see Diode Dynamics thrown around a lot. Baja Designs as well. Morimoto and Oracle a bit. And then all the budget brands, of which there are ... many.

I want something street legal for the most part, as that's 99% of my driving. I don't do trails in the dark. What should I be looking for? For example, if I go look at a BD or DD kit, they have over a thousand different combinations of lamps to select. It's a bit overwhelming.

There is a dual lamp bracket kit - that may just let me run both lamps "street legal" and be lazy and just wire up to the stock fog lamp harness, and just looking at SAE options that narrows down the choices significantly. I'm sure there are other dual lamp kits out there (Raptor style, etc) that I just haven't dug into.

It's an entire rabbit hole of it's own.

 

[dejones64]

...and my two-cents... I drive back roads at night sometimes and unfortunately hit a deer. So that moved lights to the top of my accessories list.

DD 3" spots to specifically point towards the ditches at about 20 degrees. Turn off for oncoming traffic.
DD 2" sae white fog, I can leave these on all the time since they are sae. They help when I have to turn off the other lights.
DD 2" sae yellow fog for snow/fog etc, can leave on all the time.
These are all in the Sport model, I wish I could have afforded the Pro or Max at the time.

DD 30" driving beam light bar for distance down the road. By far my brightest light, amazing. Turn off for oncoming traffic.

Rough Country Osrams, 2 pair, specifically ditch lighting. Turn off for oncoming traffic. Worked well when getting into camp after dark.

 

[Headsong]

...and my two-cents... I drive back roads at night sometimes and unfortunately hit a deer. So that moved lights to the top of my accessories list.

DD 3" spots to specifically point towards the ditches at about 20 degrees. Turn off for oncoming traffic.
DD 2" sae white fog, I can leave these on all the time since they are sae. They help when I have to turn off the other lights.
DD 2" sae yellow fog for snow/fog etc, can leave on all the time.
These are all in the Sport model, I wish I could have afforded the Pro or Max at the time.

DD 30" driving beam light bar for distance down the road. By far my brightest light, amazing. Turn off for oncoming traffic.

Rough Country Osrams, 2 pair, specifically ditch lighting. Turn off for oncoming traffic. Worked well when getting into camp after dark.

If you hadn't bought so many, you could have bought the better ones! lol

 

[dejones64]

If you hadn't bought so many, you could have bought the better ones! lol

Good point. I should have went the "by-once-cry-once" route.

 

[HowieLong]

For those with experience, if running amber lights for fog, is it better to have somewhat lower intensity lights? It seems a lot of drivers want the brightest lights available/affordable but I would think with fog the brighter the light the more bounce back of light you see, regardless of color. Therefore, a good balance of bright but not too bright is desired?

 

[dejones64]

For those with experience, if running amber lights for fog, is it better to have somewhat lower intensity lights? It seems a lot of drivers want the brightest lights available/affordable but I would think with fog the brighter the light the more bounce back of light you see, regardless of color. Therefore, a good balance of bright but not too bright is desired?

From what I understand, fogs should be aimed lower than your headlights down towards the road. Density of fog/snow etc will contribute to how much light bounces back too. Have to find a balance. I personally prefer the brighter fog for distance, my white I'll angle toward the ditch a little for more width coverage. Yellow is more for piercing through the fog/snow, still lower than your headlight beam.

 

[Headsong]

Might depend on how much blizzard/fog you drive in compared to just wanting to see the sides of the road. I wouldn't drop down just for the 1-2 times per year that I MIGHT wish they weren't so bright, if that's even a thing.

 

[Oldhippie]

I am not a fan of yellow/amber because they mess with my vision and have lower light output…we have serious fog here on the coast and in the valley along with ”light” laws (yes I have been stopped for legal lights and uncovered lights (in the daytime))…I went with clear SAE pro fog and driving 4” pods from DD…they are super bright and I am pretty cautious running them on the road but fully expect to be pulled over anyway…BD now has SAE fogs so that is also an option…

 

[Baja Designs]

Need a little help with fog lights, lights on a bumper bar and pillar lights selection. I know there are a ton of threads on this topic but my question is a little more specific. Were the fog lights, etc you purchased based on where you drive? For those of you that do off-roading/trail driving was your selection based on that? Or was your selection simply based on a setup that you liked? I’ve seen threads in this forum where people have listed their light combination. One thread I came across listed DD ss3 pro driving, ss2 pro fog white and ss2 pro fog amber. Another thread I came across ssc3 combo, ssc3 sae fog (yellow) and ssc2 sae fog (white) was listed. Wondering why those were the lights that were selected. I am not questioning why they selected what they did, just questioning what factors made them select the lights that they did. I basically drive on both lit and unlit roads under normal driving conditions, in heavy rain and snow and in both light and heavy fog. Does anyone have any suggestions for each type of light? Are bumper bar lights and pillar lights a waste of money for what I’m using them for? This is the first vehicle that I have ever owned that I am adding accessories to. I am really glad that I bought a Bronco and I don’t mind spending money on lighting, etc. to make it look good. I am looking for something that I can install myself. Any input is greatly appreciated.

Having a mixture of Clear and Amber for any scenario is always something we recommend especially if you live in a place that encounters inclement weather frequently. It is important to have them on independent switches to have control of what light you need depending on the driving conditions. Baja Designs has great plug-and-play lighting solutions for the Bronco and here are our two cents.

If you tend to drive on the road more often and occasionally off-road here is the kit we would recommend.

https://www.bajadesigns.com/product...-ford-2021-22-bronco/?vid=158985&sku=447762UP

Squadron SAE -2,420 Lumens, 2.1 Amps, 29 (To maximize your on-road lighting) (Per light)

S2 Sport Driving Combo -1,581 Lumens, 0.9 Amps, 12.4 Watts (Driving combo lens giving you a mixture of distance and cornering) (Per light)

S2 Sport Wide Cornering -1,1581 Lumens, 0.9 Amps, 12.4 Watts ( Wide Cornering lighting to maximize your close-range lighting ) (Per light)


If you plan on doing more serious off-roading while still having lighting for on-the-road use here is what we recommend.

https://www.bajadesigns.com/product...on-bronco-steel-bumper/?vid=158985&sku=448174

Squadron Sport Spot- 3,162 Lumens, 2.2 Amps, 30 Watts (Increased distance while off-road) (Per light)

S2 Sport Driving Combo -1,581 Lumens, 0.9 Amps, 12.4 Watts (Driving combo lens giving you a mixture of distance and cornering) (Per light)

S2 SAE- 1,210 Lumens,0.9 Amps, 12.4 Watts (Useful on-road lighting) (Per light)

For bumper lighting, we would recommend our XL Linkable Bumper kit to increase your close, mid-range, and distance lighting.

https://www.bajadesigns.com/product...t-ford-2021-22-bronco-note-w-oe-steel-bumper/

XL 6 Linkable -18,972 Lumens, 13.2 Amps, 156 Watts (For 6 Linkable)

For A-Pilar light, we would recommend our XL Sport series for any tight turning and slower speeds. They will be tilted slightly outwards for maximum side lighting. (Optional Lighting)

https://www.bajadesigns.com/product...lar-light-kit-ford-2021-22-bronco/?vid=158985

XL sport – 3,162 Lumens, 2.2 Amps, 30 Watts (Per light)

Please let me know if you have any questions, you can email me at [email protected] or via PM we have a variety of kits for the Ford Bronco, and can check them out HERE.

Best,

Brahian Herrera | Forum Sales & Support
Email: [email protected] | Phone: (760) 560-2252 Ext 201
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[JdH23OBX]

Thank you everyone for the feedback. Greatly appreciated

 

[JamesD]

I got mine from F150leds.com. I have a 2023 Outer Banks and I am not a mechanic. These were my first accessories to install (along with the aux switch). Both were fairly easy to install and the lights are incredibly bright. I got the yellow covers for the 'inside' lights and the black covers for the outside lights. I'll take the black ones off when offroading. The videos were very helpful and they weren't as expensive as others I saw online. I'm quite happy with them.

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