User of Fog lights in cars?

[willy]

Can anyone tell me the actual use of a Fog Lights in the cars? And why the fog lights are always in the bottom of the cars?
What should be the color of the light? Some cars it is Yellow and some in Blue and so on...

I feel, the fog lights are placed so low because it is better visible in the fogs.

[200mph]

i like the fog light coz they look good on the car, and the increase the vision during winter time out here in delhi thats what i have noticed

[Rtech]

Fog lights produce a short but wide beam spread which falls close to the car. This allows the driver to see the edges of the road and a bit ahead without the glare of the main headlights reflecting off the fog and in essence, blinding the driver itself.

Yellow light is more effective in bad weather. Some else here may go into the details of wave lenghts etc. Blue is NOT a colour used for any sort of fog lamp.

The common mistake most users make when driving through fog is to turn on their high beams. This is infact the worst thing to do.

[willy]

Ok Rtech, What i understand from your text is that. One should always try to use the Fog lamps in places where there is more fog instead of head lights.

But the reason it is placed so low in all the cars? What do you have to say about that?

Thank you moderator to moving the post to the right thread I always make this mistake

[viper]

Hi,

You need to use your main lights as well but in low beam & not high beam. Well it is mainly placed so low for 2 reasons:

1> Not to blind oncoming drivers
2> So that the beam is focussed closer to the road that you need to see during foggy conditions.

Viper

[willy]

It really makes sence to me.

I nowadays see guys keep the foglight on even on normal days(Where there is no fog).

[speedsatya]

read this for more info on adjusting the lights
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html



abt blue fog lamps ...Hella makes blue fog lamps in its FF series
http://www.hella.com/produktion/Hell...Jumbo_Blue.jsp

[Rtech]

Hella makes blue fog lamps in its FF series

Those seem similar to the "blue bulbs" we get for headlight (crystal/diamond vison etc). More for the 4x4 driver who never takes his truck offroad.

[revharder]

Originally Posted by willy

But the reason it is placed so low in all the cars? What do you have to say about that?

it is fixed at a lower height because proper fog lamps does not have any long throw of light. they gives a very short but quite wide light.
and hence they are placed very low in bumpers to allow drivers see the road ahead in dense fog.
it doesnot helps much in seeing the things at a distance and at height.

best fog light colour is yellow coz it penetrates the fog just ahead of car and allows one to see the road.

and the need of low beam of main headlamp is not a compulsion in cases where foglamps are already working. high beam is strictly prohibited.

some jeeps and cars have fog lamps fixed on their roofs!
and they have the poorest visibility when there is a maximum need of visibility! all they do is blinding the oncoming traffic which in turn can take them head-on!

safest bet is to use yellow spread-type fog lamps and fix them lower in bumpers and keep their focus onto ground.

one tip to share:
driving in foggy nights is much easier than in foggy daylight!

[headers]

Revharder and Rtech have really said what i wanted to say..Also using your normal headlights in fog will not improve and infact reduce your visibility..

[Boom Shiva]

I think it's now also illegal to have any lights (fogs or other) which are above the height of your headlights. Could someone please clarify this?

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by willy

But the reason it is placed so low in all the cars? What do you have to say about that?

On our TBHP drive to mahableshwar (PICS : Team-BHP 200 Horsepower Drive), i remember GTO mentioning that the reason fog lamps are always placed as low as possible is because the fog never settles all the way to the ground, so it is always a bit less dense at that low level.

I think there is an existing thread discussing this, will try to find it.

cya
R

[willy]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

On our TBHP drive to mahableshwar (PICS : Team-BHP 200 Horsepower Drive), i remember GTO mentioning that the reason fog lamps are always placed as low as possible is because the fog never settles all the way to the ground, so it is always a bit less dense at that low level.

I think there is an existing thread discussing this, will try to find it.

cya
R

Yes , i too had the same in my mind. Thank for all your clarifications friends....

[nitinbhag]

One more reason for this:
The easiest way to drive in fog is to watch the lines painted (or reflectors) on the sides or middle of the road. Fog lamps at a lower height are best for this..

Of course, in our country, you will have to go searching for roads that have painted lines at the edges..

[tsk1979]

Color :
The reason is scatter. Smaller wavelengths scatter more. Thats why the Stop Signal is Red and not Blue. So in a fog there is more chance of seeing red than Blue
Rainbow is VIBGYOR in increasing wavelength. So Red is the best color for brake lights. But in Fog lamps apart from making sure oncoming traffic sees us, we also need to make sure we see the road. So Orange-Yellow or Yellow is used. A tip, when in a dense fog switch on your hazard lights.
Position :
Any light placed high up will reflect right into the eyes of the driver. Try this, in dence fog switch to high beam, your visibility will go zilch.