DOT aftermarket fog lights

[Rivetboy]

After being overwhelmed with all the choices out there, legal and off road, the decision is leaning to DOT compliant fog lamps. Anybody been down this road or have a favorite pair? My budget is max $200 and don't mention it to my wife...

[Rochey6957]

so i just bought these. I dont think they are DOT spec.... Tested them on a power supply, at 13.7v the two pull 1-2 amps if i remember....

i haven't mounted them yet, but testing on the power supply i could spot light into the neighbors living room across the street 0_0 ! Seemed like good quality heavy duty bodies...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[s2mikon]

I don't think those are fog lights. Fog lights have a very flat and wide beam. They have a very pronounced cut off to keep from having the light bouncing back in your eyes. When i lived in the central valley of CA the only fog lights I found to work were Hella fog lights. I used the 181 series now discontinued, on my cars and trucks. The tule fog there was real bad during the winter and even the best fog lights were challenged.

[Iceni John]

I also installed a pair of Hella rectangular fog lamps in my front bumper, wired so they only can be switched on when the headlights are on low beam (the standard European way), and I'm very impressed. They have a very wide beam pattern but with a sharp vertical cutoff, ideal for seeing the white fog lines next to the right lanes. I use selective-yellow lamps in them to prevent any short-wavelength light from glaring back at me, and that really makes a difference - Daniel Stern's excellent website explains it better than me! And, most important of all, I also have a Hella red rear foglight in my rear bumper; I'll never understand why they're not used in this country, because in thick fog or heavy rain I'm more concerned about who's behind me than what's in front of me. The original rear red flashing lights are now repurposed as extra high-mount brake lights that work only when the fog lights are switched on, another line of defense against idiots behind me.

With fog lights I feel that one should buy the real ones, usually made in Europe, or nothing at all. There's nothing worse than buying crap lights that lull you into thinking they're effective, when actually they're useless or even worse than useless, such as most so-called "fog lights" on vehicles here that are at best just pointless fashion accessories that do nothing useful. Buy Hella or Cibie - they're still the best.

Don't worry about finding "DOT-approved" lights. Remember, the federal DOT in their infinite bureaucratic wisdom approved those godawful sealed-beam headlights that infected the entire US auto industry for decades, and it's only recently that decent headlights are becoming common. For me, if headlights say "DOT-approved" or something to that effect, I definitely WON'T be buying them!

And so endeth the sermon of the day . . .

[s2mikon]

Amen Brother John.

[Rivetboy]

Thank you Gentleman

[Simplicity]

No input on which lights to buy, yet something I'm considering when it comes to external lights, is planning on using what's legal in my state, especially since that's where I'll be driving mostly. Then, when I'm in another state, if I get pulled over, I can say that they are legal in my state and beg for forgiveness.

Are you truly using them only for fog, or are you using them for stronger driving lights? If truly for fog, I wouldn't think many cops are going to be pulling people over in foggy conditions. More likely when you're using high powered lights in clear conditions and blinding oncoming traffic.

Hope you find what you're looking for...through the fog of the internet! lol.