Author Topic: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights?  (Read 4087 times)
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What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « on: January 04, 2019, 11:24:48 PM » Author: Cole D.
Do you think the newer car headlights are better, than the older ones? Because I got a new car last week, and I think the headlights work better to the older one. The new one has those projector looking headlight housings, but I think halogen bulbs. They aren't metal halide bulbs and I don't think they're LED either, although the tail lamps have LEDs. Plus the high beams, turn on automatically when it's very dark and there aren't cars ahead or streetlights. Then they turn off as soon as a car approaches. It works really well.


But I was guilty of it too, because when I started driving, I would drive my mom's car, and have the fog lights on usually. My last car didn't have the fog light option though.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2019, 12:06:07 AM by Cole D. » Logged

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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #1 on: January 05, 2019, 12:18:05 AM » Author: lightinglover8902
I actually think that headlights from oncoming side is painfully glary! Especially these new LED ones on new cars.
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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #2 on: January 05, 2019, 04:06:24 AM » Author: Medved
I had front fog lights on my previous cars, here use to be quite dense fogs mainly during falls, but to me the fog lights were completely useless. They have never offered any better visibility to me than the standard low beam, in the fog you just couldnt see anyrhing and have to go really not much faster than walking pace anyway.
The rear foglights are mandatory on all cars here since late 1980's, but so far they were just making the visibility worse (if tye car in front of me has them on at night, it forms a kind of red wall, blocking any chance for me to see what is happening in front of him. And when driving behind, the regular tailights are visible for way greater distance than anything else, so I don't see how someone could clain he need them without really driving crazy fast into the white blindness... Although the law says you have to use the rear ones at fog (and are not allowed to use them elsewhere), fortunately I havent encountered any officer making any fuss when kept off at night.

For the main headlight, I have experience only with halogens. And the best visibility I remember was on 1997 Skoda Felicia from (made in the 90's as a deeper upgrade/facelift of the Favorit from the 80's), second best were at the 1987 Skoda 120L (ancient design, slow, although the high road clearance, rear engine layout and very light weight had their beauty mainly in winter), both rather large surface H4 headlights (the S120 had them larger, but the steel reflector was really not performing after the years).
The  ars with separate lamps per function (using H7,...; 1990's Ford Mondeo, then bothe Mk5 and Mk7 Golfs I had/have now) had reasonable working low beam, but very bad high beam (the small reflector really does not provide much accurate beam edges) - mainly overilluminating the road close to the car (still in the low beam range) and let that part blind you from seeing the then dark far distance. I think these problems are inherent to the concepts where the low beam remains lit with the high beam on, need for a separate reflector for the high beam and the need to have the front profile low to reduce aerodynamic drag (for fuel economy/CO2 emissions).
I guess it is because these newer cars were/are offered with those fancy HID/LED headlights, where it is not that much practical to combine both functions into one unit. That means they need a separate high beam light, so a "4 eye" car front design. And the car makers obviously dont want to redesign the car front for the cheapest incandescent light option, so the move to the single filament lamps. Plus the single filament lamps are way simpler and cheaper to make (the retail prices are deceiving a lot)...
Few times drove a HID and a modern LED car, maybe a bit better on low beam (but I would say marginal, the glare limit is the same and it is really the main factor there), so haven't convinced me to pay the 20k Kc (about $1000) extra for LED frontlight option with my present Golf7. Maybe the "Pixel control" high beam (high beam composed of few dozens of individually controlled small segments, computer turns off just those that may cause glare, so theoretically you may benefit from high beam without causing glare) may offer the better visibility, but this is rather infant technology, it is still ridicolously priced and I have doubts the object detection is really reliable, so it wont fprce you to turn the high beam off anyway, so have no benefit from all that price (about 25k+ Kc on top of the basic LED, so 40..50kKc above the halogens).
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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #3 on: January 05, 2019, 05:04:30 AM » Author: dor123
My mother Skoda Fabia (Don't remember the exact model) and my brother Suzuki Celerio, both don't have fog lights, and have halogen headlights. My father Subaru XV however, have fog lights.
But dense fog that really requires the use of the fog lights, is common only at the north part of Israel, mainly at the Galilee, Mount Hermon and Golan Heights.
Most people here in Israel, uses the fog lights for glory, which against the law here, which prohibits using the fog lights when it is unnecessary, as it can cause glare to oncoming traffic and for the next cars before you.
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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #4 on: January 05, 2019, 09:30:32 AM » Author: Cole D.
I see, most cars here in United States I don't think have rear fog lights. But the ones designed in other countries sometimes do. Like my aunt's Volvo V50 and a friend's Volvo S40 had it. I hear sometimes people turn them on and it blinds drivers behind, probably because they don't know what that funny looking button is for.

Plus I agree on the fog lights since people tend to drive with their parking lights on and leave the fog lights on all the time, because it looks cool I guess. But on my mom's car it did help to see better at night I found with them on than off.

Another thing that really annoys me, is how people drive in the dark or fog with just their parking lights on. I don't get why they don't just turn their headlights on! It's dangerous because parking lights don't show up as well when it's foggy or dark. There's nothing cool about not having your headlights on in fog, it's just dangerous!
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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #5 on: January 05, 2019, 12:53:44 PM » Author: Medved
I see, most cars here in United States I don't think have rear fog lights. But the ones designed in other countries sometimes do. Like my aunt's Volvo V50 and a friend's Volvo S40 had it. I hear sometimes people turn them on and it blinds drivers behind, probably because they don't know what that funny looking button is for.

Plus I agree on the fog lights since people tend to drive with their parking lights on and leave the fog lights on all the time, because it looks cool I guess. But on my mom's car it did help to see better at night I found with them on than off.

Another thing that really annoys me, is how people drive in the dark or fog with just their parking lights on. I don't get why they don't just turn their headlights on! It's dangerous because parking lights don't show up as well when it's foggy or dark. There's nothing cool about not having your headlights on in fog, it's just dangerous!



Well, if the road has another illumination, turning all the high power light off means your vision is not glared by the scattered light.
But for that reason the fog lights use to be low and lower intensity (they spread the light to wider angle) and during fog, when their use is legal, you may (and it is recommended by the way) to turn rhe main lights to just the parking position.
But indeed, driving just on parking lights (and no main light, nor fog lights, nor DRL) is illegal, as it may confuse others into thinking you are not moving, so they may just pull directly in front of you.

And when speaking aboutbad habits and DLR: Many people ignore the fact theyare supposed  to switch to the main lights from DLR any times whenthe natural visibility is low (bad wheather, night, or even a tunnel,...) and continue to drive with just the DRL. The main thing they are missing in their judgement is, with the DRL the tail lights are not on. What surprises me, the standards actually allow to turn on just front light (although DRLs are of lower power, with intense public lighting they can easilymake an impressionto the driver he has the light on), without illuminating the back. No idea what is the motivation there... A reason, why I wanted the lights to be switched to the main ones automatically (here the DRL are mandatory on new cars, otherwise you have to use thelow beam alos during the day; pretty stupid law if you ask me)
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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #6 on: January 15, 2019, 03:31:05 PM » Author: nogden
Personally, I strongly dislike headlights on most newer cars. My main complaint is that they seem to have too much spill light. This is a problem for both the driver and other motorists. I'm almost tempted to flash my lights at oncoming traffic until I realize they don't have their high beams on; they are just poor headlights. Plus, as cars age, the plastic lenses yellow and lose their seal. For me, nothing beats sealed beam headlights!

I don't mind fog lights so long as motorists only use them when they actually need them. I can't understand why people drive with them on during good conditions.
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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #7 on: January 15, 2019, 10:45:53 PM » Author: Cole D.
Personally, I strongly dislike headlights on most newer cars. My main complaint is that they seem to have too much spill light. This is a problem for both the driver and other motorists. I'm almost tempted to flash my lights at oncoming traffic until I realize they don't have their high beams on; they are just poor headlights. Plus, as cars age, the plastic lenses yellow and lose their seal. For me, nothing beats sealed beam headlights!

I don't mind fog lights so long as motorists only use them when they actually need them. I can't understand why people drive with them on during good conditions.

My guess they do it because they either forget to turn them off, or for looks. Since it's often sports cars that do this.

And I've had that happen where I thought the other car high beams were on. But most often when it happens it's pickup trucks because they sit higher so the cutoff line is in your line of sight vs a car that isn't as high. So I usually tend to not flash my lights unless I'm certain they have their brights on, or I just try to look away.
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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #8 on: January 15, 2019, 10:49:04 PM » Author: Cole D.
And when speaking aboutbad habits and DLR: Many people ignore the fact theyare supposed  to switch to the main lights from DLR any times whenthe natural visibility is low (bad wheather, night, or even a tunnel,...) and continue to drive with just the DRL. The main thing they are missing in their judgement is, with the DRL the tail lights are not on. What surprises me, the standards actually allow to turn on just front light (although DRLs are of lower power, with intense public lighting they can easilymake an impressionto the driver he has the light on), without illuminating the back. No idea what is the motivation there... A reason, why I wanted the lights to be switched to the main ones automatically (here the DRL are mandatory on new cars, otherwise you have to use thelow beam alos during the day; pretty stupid law if you ask me)

With my old car, it had the DRL, but it too was just on the front. They turned on whenever shifted into drive. I did like them, but as you say the tail lamps don't turn on with them, so can't see from behind.

I'm not sure, with my new car whether it has the DRL or not.

One thing I did notice though which is different with this car, is whenever the lowbeam headlights are on there's a green indicator light. So if it's set to auto, I know whether or not they're on. My old car didn't had that, so I only knew they were on by if the backlighting is shining.

However I liked the headlight switch on my old car better. Because it was on the turn signal lever, so easier to reach than the new one which is on the dashboard. Plus on the old one the off setting was also the auto position, so it was impossible to drive without lights on in the dark. The new one the lights can be switched completely off even in the dark.
« Last Edit: January 15, 2019, 10:56:52 PM by Cole D. » Logged

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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #9 on: January 16, 2019, 03:57:29 AM » Author: Medved
The automation is fine, but it should be on the drivers discretion, if and how to use it. I don't like when you can not take over control over what the thing is doing, although I haven't switched the lights from Auto, nor used manual shifting override yet (well, except when playing with it once I got the new car; up to now it did what I liked).

For the green light: I liked that on my first car (1987 Skoda 120; but even there it was a home brew mod by my dad who was first owner), I think it would have way greater use with the automated lights, because there is no easy way to check what the thing is doing (and when e.g. in bad weather it had switched the lights really ON as required by the law here), but it is not mandatory, so makers do not use it.
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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #10 on: February 18, 2019, 12:12:46 AM » Author: icefoglights
I got pulled over in a rental car once for not turning the (tail) lights on.  The rental car I had before that one was equipped with automatic headlights, and nothing I saw on this car to lead me to believe it didn't have them either.  When started up in the dark, the dash lights and head lights came on, but the tail lights didn't.  It didn't have the little green light when the lights were on either.  In my cars that I had at the time, if you didn't turn the lights on, nothing was illuminated.  No headlights or DRL, no dash, nothing.

One interesting thing I've noticed with Korean make cars, is that the headlight switch is powered off the ignition, meaning if the headlight switch is left on, the headlights turn on and off with the ignition.  Also means it's impossible to leave the headlights on and run down the battery.  Seems like all cars with relay driven headlights should be made like that.
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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #11 on: June 21, 2019, 11:20:11 PM » Author: Cole D.
Well I had quite scare tonight! With my headlight switch, it can be set to off - parking - low beam - auto. I didn't realize I had set it to off, since I usually put it on auto. Well, after it got dark I was driving and with the streetlights and other car lights I got a few miles down the highway. I thought to myself that car driving in front really has some bright lights compared to mine based on how it lit the road. Then I realized my headlights weren't even on and I had been driving about 5 miles on the highway.  :o

I used to think it was ridiculous that people could drive at night with no headlights on, but now I realize it totally possible to not realize it.

It was good thing I caught it, before something happened like people not seeing me! Or I could had gotten a ticket for no lights!

I'll make sure I keep it to auto now. With my old car it was impossible to drive without lights at night. Because the auto setting was same as off. So the only way to not have the headlights on at night was to set it to parking lights.
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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #12 on: June 22, 2019, 12:12:51 AM » Author: fluorescent lover 40
They should have photocells.
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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #13 on: June 22, 2019, 12:53:01 AM » Author: Cole D.
They should have photocells.

Well mine do have the photocell, but if the switch is set to off, it overrides the photocell. Where on my old car, there was no way to override it.
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Re: What do you think about fog lights and car headlights? « Reply #14 on: June 22, 2019, 02:42:23 AM » Author: Medved
Well mine do have the photocell, but if the switch is set to off, it overrides the photocell. Where on my old car, there was no way to override it.

Well, the "photocell" is working only in the "Auto" switch position, allothers are overriding it.
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