Why You Should Consider Yellow Fog Lights
When it comes to lighting upgrades, people tend to fall into two different camps. The first is those who are looking for the most aesthetically appealing look, something that will benefit the look of your vehicle. The second are those who are looking for the best possible performance when it comes to automotive lighting.
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If you are in the latter group, you are probably going to want to have a yellow light for your fog light application. This is especially true if you live somewhere with harsh weather conditions that make driving in low light difficult. We&#;ll get into why choose yellow fog lights over white ones, and some bulb options that you can choose from.
DO I REALLY NEED YELLOW FOGS?
If you have ever flipped on your high beams while driving through snow or fog, you may have noticed how difficult it gets to see. The particles act like small mirrors that then refract the light and sends it through the other particles in the air. Not only does this make it difficult to see for you, but other drivers too.
This idea sources from a study conducted in France during the s. It claimed that the use of yellow headlights, not just fog lights, reduced the amount of scattered light in particle-heavy atmospheres. Since then, this claim has been eliminated from serious consideration by our understanding of physics. However, there is still some truth to the practice.
The original study claims that the Rayleigh Scattering effect is applied to very small scattering particles that match the size of the wavelengths that travel through them. This is what gives the sky its blue color. For inclement weather, the particles in the air are much too large for that so the effect does not apply to the same degree.
Modern headlights offer clearer beams that lessen the glare and refraction of light in inclement conditions. Lights that best eliminate the glare caused by said conditions will typically come in yellow or orange-colored light.
In the past, we have discussed the role that color temperature plays in nighttime visibility. In short, the closer the color temperature of the light is to white the better visibility you receive. So, while orange light may help cut through the fog, your visibility will not be as strong as a yellow light, which is closer to white light.
To answer the question as to whether you really need yellow-colored fog lights, the answer really comes down to personal preference. Thankfully for you, we have prepared some non-yellow fog light options if that suits your driving needs. See the Ultra Series 2.0 or the 2Stroke 3.0 LED Bulb, for example. Both are great options and come from reputable brands like GTR Lighting and Morimoto.
WHICH YELLOW FOGS SHOULD I BUY?
Over the last few years, brands like Xenon Depot and S-V.4 have introduced yellow chipped lights to their popular bulb lineups. For Xenon Depot, it is the XTREME LED Pro which comes in several sizes to fit your application. The same applies to S-V.4 with their LED bulb product line.
If you are looking to spend a bit more money, we recommend the Ultra 2 Series from GTR Lighting and the 2 Stroke 3.0s from Morimoto. The Ultra 2 comes in both H11 and H10/ sizes to fit different fog light assemblies. The same can be said for the 2 Stroke 3.0, as it is sold in an H11 and H10/ sizes too. Morimoto did not originally offer a yellow chipped light prior to the 2 Stroke 3.0 Series, so this is the first of its kind from Morimoto.
If you are still on the fence about making the switch, ask yourself: How much inclement weather do I drive through in the year? If you are driving in foggy conditions daily or perhaps you live somewhere with heavy winters, yellow fog lights are a must-buy.
If you are more of a visual learner, be sure to check out our video on why you should consider yellow fog lights. While you are there, make sure to like and subscribe to our channel for the latest lighting upgrades for your vehicle.
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GreySave said:
Before anyone can answer this question you have to look at the individual vehicle involved and the person driving it.
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Not really, no. Fog lamps are essentially, basically, objectively useless for most drivers in most conditions. This is not a matter of opinion or guess or stacked-up assumptions. Driving conditions exist where fog lamps can be potentially useful, but they are very uncommon -- and even where those conditions exist, most drivers cancel out the potential benefit of fog lamps by driving too fast.
Poorly designed and manufactured fog lamps provide poor lighting and a lot of glare.
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That is true.
Fog lights, when properly designed, manufactured, and aimed, do NOT blind oncoming drivers.
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That generalization can't be supported by reality, even with the wiggle-room you've afforded yourself by saying "blind" rather than "glare".
They have a very low cut off point that keep the light on the ground essentially shining no higher than the lamp assembly height itself.
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However, they tend to be small, which means they have very high luminance, which makes them glaring. It is an error to think that a lamp can be glaring only to those whose eyes intersect the actual beam coming from the lamp.
While designed for use in fog the wide flat beam they provide can be useful in the rain
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In heavy rain, fog, snow, dust, and smoke, yes...at extremely low vehicle speeds only.
on wet roads
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Wet roads are a vexing challenge. Because they are more specular than dry roads, they seem to "eat up" the light from the driver's headlamps. It doesn't actually get eaten, it actually reflects at an angle equal and opposite to the angle of incidence. That means oncoming drivers get that light in the form of reflected glare. Turning on the fog lamps can marginally improve the driver's ability to see the road, but it adds more reflected glare to other drivers. At best, this is a safety zero-sum.
and yes, even in city driving.
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No, it just feels like they help in city driving.
True yellow / amber fogs lamps
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There is no such thing as a "true yellow/amber fog lamp", that is a persistent myth. Fog lamps are defined by the beam pattern, not the light color. Amber is not an appropriate color for fog lamps. There is some evidence that
HID / blue tinted fog lamps do affect other drivers because ot the way that the blue light scatters
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No, this is another myth. Blue-light scatter is called Rayleigh Scattering. It's why the sky is blue, but it only occurs when the diffracting particles and droplets are smaller than the light wavelength. That happens up in the sky, but not down at roadway level. Blue light is, however, difficult for our visual system to process.
Fog lights can also make up for poorly designed headlamps.
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No, they cannot. That's simply not correct.
Many of today's manufacturers place style ahead of function. While the headlamps may meet the minimum federal requirements they may still be poor in comparison to headlamps designed for functionality rather than style.
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Actually, the average performance of headlamps has been steadily increasing for years. Sure, there have been some vehicles with very poor headlamp performance (many Chrysler cars of the s, for example) but in general today's headlamps are at least as good as the best headlamps of years past. That's the objective reality. Subjective perception is often different, because what inspires subjective assessment of a headlamp as "good" or "bad" differs from what makes a headlamp's objective safety performance good or bad.
The use of fog lamps can also be an aid to drivers who are perfectly capable of night driving and who are legally licensed but have some vision impairments.
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This is in the realm of possibility, but the number of cases in which it is actually true is very small (vs. just feeling like it's true).
Again....Well designed, well manufactured, and properly aimed fog lamps will not bother oncoming drivers, so no harm/ no foul.
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That simply is not correct, no matter how many times you say "again".
And please folks.....Use bulbs of the wattage and design the manufacturer specifies. Few if any of us are properly qualified to make changes to these lights.....
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That's good advice.
Not really, no. Fog lamps are essentially, basically, objectively useless for most drivers in most conditions. This is not a matter of opinion or guess or stacked-up assumptions. Driving conditions exist where fog lamps can be potentially useful, but they are very uncommon -- and even where those conditions exist, most drivers cancel out the potential benefit of fog lamps by driving too fast.That is true.That generalization can't be supported by reality, even with the wiggle-room you've afforded yourself by saying "blind" rather than "glare".However, they tend to be small, which means they have very high luminance, which makes them glaring. It is an error to think that a lamp can be glaring only to those whose eyes intersect the actual beam coming from the lamp.In heavy rain, fog, snow, dust, and smoke, yes...at extremely low vehicle speeds only.Wet roads are a vexing challenge. Because they are more specular than dry roads, they seem to "eat up" the light from the driver's headlamps. It doesn't actually get eaten, it actually reflects at an angle equal and opposite to the angle of incidence. That means oncoming drivers get that light in the form of reflected glare. Turning on the fog lamps can marginally improve the driver's ability to see the road, but it adds more reflected glare to other drivers. At best, this is a safety zero-sum.No, it just feels like they help in city driving.There is no such thing as a "true yellow/amber fog lamp", that is a persistent myth. Fog lamps are defined by the beam pattern, not the light color. Amber is not an appropriate color for fog lamps. There is some evidence that selective yellow fog lamps do work better than white ones, but the effect is small relative to that of the beam pattern characteristics.No, this is another myth. Blue-light scatter is called Rayleigh Scattering. It's why the sky is blue, but it only occurs when the diffracting particles and droplets are smaller than the light wavelength. That happens up in the sky, but not down at roadway level. Blue light is, however, difficult for our visual system to process.No, they cannot. That's simply not correct.Actually, the average performance of headlamps has been steadily increasing for years. Sure, there have been some vehicles with very poor headlamp performance (many Chrysler cars of the s, for example) but in general today's headlamps are at least as good as the best headlamps of years past. That's the objective reality. Subjective perception is often different, because what inspires subjective assessment of a headlamp as "good" or "bad" differs from what makes a headlamp's objective safety performance good or bad.This is in the realm of possibility, but the number of cases in which it is actually true is very small (vs. just feeling like it's true).That simply is not correct, no matter how many times you say "again".That's good advice.
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